Formex
Formex Watch SA is an independent family-owned watch manufacturer founded in 1999 and based in Biel/Bienne — known as the cradle of Swiss watchmaking — where the brand designs, develops, and assembles every watch at its own headquarters. The company was created by two Swiss brothers, both watchmakers and enthusiasts, who wanted to combine their passion for watches with their love for motorsports. The very name Formex derives from the French 'forme extrême' — extreme shape — reflecting the engineering ambition that has defined the brand from its first day. Inspired by the mechanics and engineering of high-performance racing cars and motorcycles, the brothers developed what would become Formex's signature innovation: the patented Case Suspension System. This cushion-like internal mechanism decouples the movement from the outer case, protecting it from shocks and vibrations in much the way a racing car's suspension isolates its cockpit from the track surface — while also distributing the watch's weight more evenly across the wrist, making it noticeably more comfortable to wear than a conventionally constructed case of the same size.
Over the following fifteen years, Formex launched more than forty collections of modern timepieces, all built around the Case Suspension System, earning a devoted following among aficionados of extraordinarily engineered sports watches. In 2016, the brand made a pivotal strategic decision: to exit traditional brick-and-mortar retail entirely and move to a direct-to-consumer model, bypassing the distributor and retailer markups that inflate the price of most Swiss watches without adding value to the product itself. Instead, Formex invests the margin savings directly into product development, engineering, materials, and craftsmanship — forgoing expensive marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements. The result is a range of watches that deliver genuine Swiss manufacture quality, COSC-certified movements, and proprietary engineering at a price point that would be impossible through conventional distribution channels. Today the brand is led by CEO Raphael Granito — son of its founder, who spent his school holidays working in his father's watch component company and learned movement development from engineers working with some of the most renowned brands in the Swiss industry. Raphael is himself an extreme sports enthusiast: downhill skater, car racer, snowboarder, freediver, surfer, skydiver, and paraglider, embodying the adventurous spirit that the Case Suspension System was engineered to serve. All watches meet the current strict Swiss Made requirements (as revised January 2017) and carry a three-year international warranty.
The current collection spans eight lines. The Aria is Formex's most refined expression, a 40mm manufacture chronometer (COSC-certified) in an elegantly proportioned case available in multiple dial executions including the striking Denso Blue; the Aria represents the technical and aesthetic apex of the range. The Essence is the core collection, available in three case sizes — ThirtyNine (39mm, classic proportions for a refined, understated fit), FortyOne (41mm, versatile from suit to weekend), and FortyThree (43mm, bold presence and maximum legibility) — all powered by COSC-certified automatic movements with 55+ hours of power reserve, all featuring the Case Suspension System. The Essence Leggera is the lightweight variant of the Essence, constructed from ultra-light carbon fibre and scratch-resistant high-tech ceramics; available in FortyOne and FortyThree sizes, it is engineered for those with an active lifestyle who want to forget they are wearing a watch. The Essence Ceramica is a skeletonised expression in ceramic, available in FortyOne.
The Reef is the brand's dive watch family, offered in three configurations: the Reef 39.5mm (a more compact hand-finished stainless steel case), the Reef 42mm (the original and bestselling format, 300-metre water resistant, COSC-certified movement with 56 hours power reserve), and the Reef GMT (which adds GMT functionality to the Reef 42mm platform, with bezels interchangeable between the dive and GMT configurations — a practical modularity unique to the line). The Stratos UTC is a bold sport-aviation watch with world time functionality. The Field Automatic is the rugged tool watch entry in the range. Special Editions complete the current offer, produced in limited configurations for specific markets and occasions. All Formex watches come with free worldwide express delivery (two business days within Europe, three for overseas) and free 30-day returns.