My Friend's Watch - And Why It's Great When The Good Guys Win!

One of the really great things about writing this bloggy-wog is the friendships that I have made over the years. And friendship is a funny thing, it can sometimes be more transactional when business is involved. But then other friendships are simply that. Friendship.

I first encountered Armand Billard stalking the halls of BaselWorld in (if my memory hasn't totally pooped out) 2018. He was a real presence, wearing a custom jacket (of which, I believe, he had two).

And the watch he was promoting was the Sartory Billard SB02 -

It is hard to believe that it has been six years! In fairly short order, Armand's brand has evolved.  He is now a highly sought-after independent watch maker, who I am proud to call my friend. And Sartory Billard has grown from a project two friends put together to celebrate a milestone birthday, to one of the hottest independent brands in the world.

Today Armand has a keen focus on bespoke work, but in all honesty I am an even bigger fan of his "ready-to-wear" items. In particular, this blue dialed time machine -

Courtesy of Sartory Billard

This is the SB04 BLUE GUILLOCHÉ.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter. The dial, which let's be honest, is amaze-balls, is a beguiling blue guilloché, with applied indices. And most importantly - at least in my opinion, it bears the Sartory Billard name just below 6 o'clock. Of all of the "off the rack" options, this is my favorite.

Courtesy of Sartory Billard

The movement is from La Joux-Perret, the G100.

In this day and age, you don't really need a watch. So if you're going to have one, it should be one that you really want ; )

And even though he is a Watch Town superstar, he still has time to for his friends, as you will read about in a few weeks' time.

Stay tuned!