Horizon - History, Models and Owners' Reviews

Horizon is a young brand and yet it may be my favorite brand. If there is one thing I particularly like, it is the novels of Jules Verne, not only for childhood reading memories, not only discussions with my grandfather who had read dozens of them during his own childhood and who had himself become a character who exceeded the imagination of Jules Verne, I read or reread many more than I watch series. Jules Verne created a work in the 19th and early 20th centuries that is the first truly Pop culture, prefiguring what would be a century later James Bond, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, DuckTales or Tintin... Cultural universes of adventure, known and shared worldwide. I will not elaborate, Nicolas Allard's essay on the subject is sufficiently eloquent. In the world of watchmaking, we do not count the Nautilus models. We can put this down to the iconic work of Gérald Genta or the luxurious image of Patek Philippe, but there is of course much more. The Nautilus, Nemo, Jules Verne, are names that mobilize the imagination of billions of people on the planet. It is therefore no coincidence that designer Fred Bekher wanted the first models of his brand to refer to buildings or characters from Jules Verne's novels. This is the second watch from Horizon, the Pilgrim, the ship that Dick Sand will be led to command despite his young age. And it works perfectly, seeing the watch on the wrist we think of the first part of the novel "a fifteen-year-old captain". All the energy, the passion, the natural wisdom of Dick Sand despite his lack of experience and lack of theoretical knowledge. And yet, I do not have the young captain edition which with its light color further reinforces the trait. The color I chose is "ocean green" and accompanied by a green rubber strap that I find very balanced. This is not really a dive watch, the bezel is internal, bidirectional and operated by the crown at the top. The hands are stylized, exactly what you would expect for a ship that goes hunting for whales. They are very legible (which was not really the case for the Nautilus). The date, as always with Horizon, is hidden in an index - it reminds me of my grandfather's library where a secret passage was hidden. Horizon is a brand to watch because it is based on an extraordinary duo. Fred Bekher's design work is always long thought out with attention to detail while Sugi Kusumadi combines meticulousness and commercial sense. Without giving any spoilers, I must say that it ends very badly for the Pilgrim ship at the end of volume 1, and volume 2 plunges our characters into even more terrible throes where the representatives of the free world and human rights confront the savages and slavers imposing their law through terror, torture and torment. There is nevertheless a happy ending for volume 2. The Pilgrim watch was released in 2023, after Fred Bekher's city was taken and occupied by the Russian army and then evacuated and continues to be bombed today from the other side of the river. His house was destroyed. On this side, the happy ending has not yet happened, if it ever will. I really like this concordance of times, of eras, this reference between the imagination of 19th century pop culture and the reality experienced by the young watch designer in the 21st century. This watch is not just another watch in a globalized consumerist system, an object created by marketing that is added to the others. It is a creation that refers to fights for freedom and humanity. On the movement side, it is a Sellita SW200-1, nothing to complain about. The case is made of steel. A marmot and an additional bracelet were offered. The horizon is something unattainable by definition, close or far depending on the point of view, it recedes when you approach it. As well as perfection in work. The horizon is also the door to the imagination, what is behind it? What wonders, what dangers, what wild hordes, or civilized peoples? It seems to me that we have not finished hearing about this small Ukrainian-Singaporean brand. Adjectives: Young, fiery, free, human; promising, impertinent, passionate