Kerbedanz
Founded in 2011 by Tigran Kerbedanz and Kalust Zorik (CEO) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland — an esteemed watchmaking city whose neighbours include Bulgari, Panerai, and HYT. Their atelier enjoys a balcony overlooking Lake Neuchâtel, giving the chief designer a setting to brainstorm the poems and symbolic allegories woven into every timepiece. Their bold entry into watchmaking: the first 50 watches were personalized for and sold to Most Important Personalities (MIPs) around the globe. A 100% independent Swiss watchmaker, Kerbedanz promotes a spirit of unconventionality with the motto 'Crafting Your Singularity' — creating bold, inventive pieces designed to stand out. The iconic Maximus (2017) houses the world's largest tourbillon ever fitted to a wristwatch: a 27mm central flying tourbillon cage of 75 components weighing just 1.35 grams, nearly twice the size of the previously known record, rotating once every six minutes at 18,000vph. Powered by four mainspring barrels in parallel (patented), KRB08 calibre, 415 total components, 34 jewels, 54-hour power reserve. The 49mm case is in titanium ($220,000) or 18k rose gold ($275,000); wound by rotating the caseback with an octopus-shaped winding key. Limited to 99 pieces.
In 2024 the Maximus GR8 accelerated the rotation to every two minutes. Beyond the Maximus, complications include perpetual calendar, jumping hour, minute repeater, moon phase, roulette date, and the rare Equation of Time. In 2021, for its 10th anniversary, Kerbedanz reinvented itself with a more open creative portfolio including the more accessible Cadanz by Kerbedanz collection, plus a new line of accessories including leather goods, cufflinks, and writing implements.
The name itself is a statement of intent: Kerbedanz means leader and precursor, and the GR8 evolution has pushed that ambition further with each release. The 2-Minute Tourbillon reworked the original cage in titanium at 73 components, added a flip-out winding crown that leaves the four-barrel array and arc-shaped power-reserve indicator fully visible, and has been offered in a monocrystalline sapphire case that suspends the tourbillon seemingly in mid-air — limited to 33 pieces, with pricing that climbs well past CHF 165,000 depending on materials and gem-setting. In 2025 the collection widened further with the Maxima GR8 39mm in black and white ceramic, each limited to 28 pieces, running the automatic KRB-13 and pairing an in-house openworked dial with an interchangeable rubber strap for daily wear — a deliberate move to make the record-breaking tourbillon spectacle liveable rather than purely ceremonial. Kerbedanz's symbolist streak runs in parallel to the engineering: the Tree of Life series sets gold bas-relief, enamel, and diamonds across a 41-piece run, and a one-off Armenian Alphabet piece, its hour markers rendered in Armenian script, was gifted to the Vatican — a fitting gesture for a house whose founders' Armenian heritage runs through the brand's storytelling as deeply as its micromechanics. Exhibiting at WatchPro Salon London in autumn 2025 and continuing to develop the GR8 platform into 2026, Kerbedanz remains committed to what it calls the micro-mechanical show: watchmaking conceived, unapologetically, as spectacle.