Habring² – The Smallest True Manufacture

Richard and Maria Habring, co-founders of Habring², have successfully transitioned their company into a self-sufficient, small-scale independent watchmaker, currently producing approximately 300 watches annually. The Habrings have adeptly developed their capability to design and manufacture their own movements, collaborating with independent component suppliers nearby from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In addition to their producing their own watches, they provide movement design and supply parts to other independent watchmakers and small brands.

Mechanical watches made with love by organic farmers of independent watchmaking, as the brand founders Maria and Richard Habring call themselves. They have a small team of all-female watchmakers and specialists (excluding Richard), hence Habring² can without exaggeration be considered the smallest true "manufactury".

Initially, the Habrings did not aspire to achieve full independence, as they were satisfied utilizing reliable ETA movements. Richard himself noted the potential to modify these movements, likening it to transforming them into "racing engines." However, this strategy was compelled to change following the Swatch Group's announcement that it would cease the sale of ETA mechanical movements and parts in 2011. This pivotal moment necessitated a strategic shift for the Habrings, who had been modifying ETA Valgranges (Valjoux 7750/7760) movements for their own unique complications.

This transition saw the Habrings gradually reducing their dependence on external ETA movements. Initially, they adapted the ETA Valgranges train gear with custom in-house bridges. This evolution culminated in the creation of their own fully in-house movement, starting with the A08MR in the Doppel 2.0 in 2012. Achieving complete independence, they launched the A11 movements in 2014 starting with the Felix model, marking a significant milestone in their journey as independent movement creators.

The A11B movement, initiated in 2014, had its developmental origins dating back to 2011, as indicated by the "11" in its name. This manually wound, three-quarter plate caliber operates at a frequency of 4Hz and is equipped with a 48-hour power reserve. It features 18 jewels and comprises 99 components in total.

The design strategy adopted by the Habrings for the A11B involved closely aligning it with their previous ETA Valgranges movements for practical reasons of servicing existing watches produced over the years. Richard Habring describes the A11B as "an evolution of Edmond Capt’s 7750 industrial caliber." Notable enhancements include a balance spring designed in-house, a Carl Haas hairspring of chronometer quality, a Triovis fine regulator, KIF shock protection, an improved gear train, and sophisticated hand finishing.

Furthermore, the Habrings took a pragmatic approach in the development of the A11B by designing and creating prototypes within their workshop. They strategically partnered with reliable, small family-run businesses to handle the production in small volumes, ensuring high quality and efficiency in their sourcing and manufacturing process.

A few master watchmakers have crafted fine complications either using existing pedestrian movements or designing simplified in-house movements. One of the most legendary is Kurt Klaus, who used a module on top of the Valjoux 7750 to create the IWC Da Vinci perpetual calendar, allowing all adjustments to be made through the crown. Paul Gerber designed the movement with an alarm function for the world's first automatic Fortis chronograph, and later developed the triple rotor under his own brand. Then there's Ludwig Oechslin’s calendar complication based on the Valjoux 7750 for the MIH watch, and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht’s work to create lateral, linear, jumping, and retrograde hours based on the ETA 2892 for Romain Jerome’s ultra-cool Spacecraft.

In my humble opinion, Habring is currently the undeniable maestro of clever and enjoyable complications. Their COS chronograph features a start-stop-reset function controlled entirely by the crown. The Doppel 38 is a compact, slim, manual winding split-seconds chronograph (rattrapante). The Erwin model is fitted with a jumping seconds complication, where the seconds hand “jumps” every second, similar to a quartz movement. The Foudroyante-Felix model showcases a unique combination of slow jumping seconds and continuously “flashing seconds” (Foudroyante) that measures ⅛ of a second. The Habrings have also added a five-minute repeater that chimes the hours and five-minute intervals, and a perpetual calendar to their well-rounded collection of clever complications. The brilliance lies not only in the function of the complications but also in their design.

Let's take for example Habring's Erwin model featuring the jumping seconds complication. At first glance, one might assume that the watch is powered by a quartz movement, as the seconds hand ticks once per second, similar to a quartz watch. However, this watch, in fact, is driven by an intricately designed mechanical movement.

In a conventional mechanical watch, the spring-powered seconds hand typically oscillates between 5 to 10 times per second. In contrast, a jumping seconds watch ticks precisely once per second. There are few ways to achieve this rare complication. For instance, Gronefeld utilizes two distinct gear trains—one dedicated to the seconds hand and the other to the hour and minute hands—to accomplish the jumping seconds functionality. Habring employs a jumping second module on their in-house gear train in the A11S movement. In fact, the Felix model with A11 movement has been around for a while. Habrings were awarded the GPHG award for Felix in 2015.