Craftsmanship

Made the long way round.

Every Vantos begins as a drawing. The tooling that makes it is cut for that design and nothing else, a sample is built and approved before any production starts, and every finished watch is inspected and pressure tested on its own.

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1 · Page header — something process-led
Goes directly under the heading, full width, 16:9. A technical drawing on paper, a case in a polishing jig, a dial blank under raking light. Reads as making, not selling. Calm and quiet — it sets the tone for the whole page.
Placeholder — remove once the image is in.
How a Vantos is made

Three lines, one watch.

The case, the dial and the bracelet are made separately, each on its own line, each signed off before it goes anywhere. They only meet once all three are right.

The case

  1. 1Engineering drawing
  2. 2Design confirmed
  3. 3Mould cut
  4. 4Drilled and polished
  5. 5Sample approved
  6. 6Production run
  7. 7Plated and inspected

The dial

  1. 1Designer drawing
  2. 2Design confirmed
  3. 3Mould cut
  4. 4Polished and coloured
  5. 5Sample approved
  6. 6Production run
  7. 7Inspected

The bracelet

  1. 1Shape confirmed
  2. 2Steel selected
  3. 3Links cut
  4. 4Drilled and polished
  5. 5Polishing checked
  6. 6Links assembled
  7. 7Plated and inspected

Then, together

InspectionEvery part checked, one hundred per cent, before it meets another.
AssemblyMovement, dial, hands and case brought together.
Quality controlChecked again once the watch is whole.
Pressure testEach watch tested for water resistance individually.
Bracelet fittedSized, fitted and set on the case.
PackedInto the box with its card and tag.
What we use

Four materials, no substitutions.

ICON

Stainless steel

Cases and bracelets are cut from solid stainless steel. It takes a brushed finish cleanly, holds a polished edge, and gives a watch its weight.

ICON

Ion plating

Gold finishes are applied under vacuum — a titanium nitride base with a fine gold layer bonded over it. Harder than traditional plating, and it keeps its colour.

ICON

Hardened crystal

Sapphire-coated, so the glass shrugs off the marks a watch picks up against a desk, a doorframe or a sleeve.

ICON

Japanese movements

Chosen for accuracy and for how long they run between services. Named calibres, not unmarked modules.

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2 · The three finishes on one surface
Sits beside the Finishing text, so portrait or square. An extreme macro across a case edge where brushed flat, cut bevel and polished edge all appear together in one frame, lit so the three read differently. This is the single best image for proving finishing quality.
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Finishing

Brushed, polished, bevelled.

Flat surfaces are brushed, edges are polished, and a cut bevel runs between the two. Three finishes on one piece of metal, each doing a different job — the brushing hides daily wear, the polish catches light, and the bevel makes the change between them read as deliberate. It is the slowest part of finishing a case and the first thing a hand notices.

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3 · Engraving, close
Sits beside the Engraving text. A tight macro of engraving cut into steel — case back rim, clasp or crown — shot at a raking angle so the depth of the cut is visible and the letters hold shadow. Portrait or square.
Placeholder — remove once the image is in.
Engraving

Cut into the metal.

Case backs carry the model, the reference number and the specification. Crowns carry the V. Clasps carry the reference. All of it is cut into the steel rather than applied to it, so it is still legible long after the box has been thrown away.

Why we work this way

It shows on the wrist.

Tooling made for one design gives a case its own shape. Approving a sample first means the colour is right on every watch, not most of them. Testing each piece individually means the one you get was checked, not the crate it came in. None of it is visible in a photograph. All of it is the difference between a watch you wear for a season and one you keep.