Ochs und junior

Ochs und junior is a small Swiss watch manufacturer based in La Chaux-de-Fonds and focused on mechanically driven wristwatches. The company was established in 2006 by Ludwig Oechslin, a scholar, inventor and master watchmaker, together with Kurt König, managing director of Embassy, and Beat Weinmann. Its identity is closely tied to Oechslin's approach to watchmaking: complications should be made as intelligible and mechanically economical as possible rather than presented as displays of ornamental complexity. The brand's principal subjects are astronomical indications and calendar functions. Its collection includes moon-phase, sun-related, annual-calendar and perpetual-calendar watches. The moon-phase mechanism is a defining example of the company's engineering philosophy. It uses a compact epicyclic gear train with five components, including the dial, and is calculated to remain accurate for approximately 3,478.27 years before accumulating a theoretical one-day deviation. Rather than hiding the mechanism behind conventional decorative finishing, Ochs und junior makes the functional logic of the watch central to its visual language. Ochs und junior builds its watches around basic mechanical movements sourced from Swiss manufacturers such as ETA or Ulysse Nardin. The company develops the additional modules, movement architecture and construction concepts itself. Cases, crowns, dials and straps are designed in-house, while specialized external suppliers manufacture many individual components. The company has emphasized transparency about this division of labor: research, development, construction and final assembly remain under its control, but component production is entrusted to specialist subcontractors. Its own watchmakers assemble the finished watches at the La Chaux-de-Fonds workshop, which also functions as the brand's showroom and direct sales location. The watches are deliberately austere and are designed around their functions. Dials form part of the movement construction, cases generally do not receive conventional polishing or decorative finishing, and prominent branding is largely avoided. Customers have historically been able to specify colors and other details through an online configurator, making individual configurations a major part of the offering. The company introduced a range of fixed-specification design models at the end of 2020. These models cannot be customized and were intended to provide a lower-priced entry into the brand's mechanical calendar products, including a perpetual calendar. The business operates as a niche manufacturer rather than a volume luxury-watch company. Publicly described production was approximately 130 watches in 2018, and sales have been conducted directly from the company location and through the internet rather than through a broad retail network. Prices described in reference material ranged from about CHF 6,000 to CHF 21,600 depending on the model and configuration, with special requests potentially increasing the price; these historical figures are not treated as current pricing here. Ulysse Nardin became a shareholder in 2012, but Ochs und junior later returned to family ownership. Following Beat Weinmann's departure at the end of November 2019, the company moved its headquarters from Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds in March 2020 and appointed Marc Bernhardt as interim managing director. From the end of 2020, the company was again described as being solely owned by Ludwig Oechslin and Kornelia Imesch and operated as a family business. Its continuing distinction lies in combining Swiss mechanical watchmaking with unusually explicit engineering, restrained aesthetics and customer-level configurability.

Ochs und junior was founded in 2006 by Ludwig Oechslin and Kurt König, with Beat Weinmann also associated with the company's founding and long-term management. Oechslin brought to the business a watchmaking practice shaped by scientific reasoning and an interest in reducing mechanical systems to clear, efficient solutions. The resulting brand did not follow the conventional path of emphasizing elaborate decoration, large complications or overt status branding. Instead, it concentrated on watches whose displays and mechanisms could be understood as direct responses to practical or astronomical functions. From its beginning, the collection focused on moon and sun indications and on calendar mechanisms, including annual and perpetual calendars. The company pursued simplicity not by eliminating sophisticated functions, but by reducing the number of parts needed to provide them. Its moon-phase display is the clearest example: an epicyclic gear train using five components, including the dial, provides a theoretical accuracy of approximately 3,478.27 years. This construction became representative of the brand's belief that a technically demanding result can be achieved through an economical mechanism. The production model combines internal design authority with specialist external manufacturing. Ochs und junior develops its movements' additional modules, researches the mechanisms and produces the construction designs. Swiss base movements, including movements associated with ETA and Ulysse Nardin, provide the foundation for some watches. Specialized subcontractors manufacture components such as wheels, cases, crowns, dials and straps, while the company maintains transparency about their origin. Final assembly is performed by the brand's own watchmakers in its workshop. The design language follows the same principles. Dials are treated as functional parts of the movement construction rather than merely decorative surfaces. Cases are not conventionally polished, and the watches generally avoid prominent logos or special lettering. Customers have been able to use a configurator to select individual combinations, reinforcing the idea that the watch is a functional object designed with its owner rather than a standardized luxury product. The logo's principal visible use is an embossing on the inside of leather straps. The company's ownership and organization changed during the 2010s and early 2020s. Ulysse Nardin became a shareholder in 2012. Beat Weinmann, a key executive involved in the company's operational interface with production, planning, communication, sales and service, departed at the end of November 2019. In March 2020, Ochs und junior moved from Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds, a major Swiss watchmaking center, and Marc Bernhardt was appointed interim managing director. By the end of 2020, the company was again described as being solely owned by Ludwig Oechslin and Kornelia Imesch and operating as a family business. At the end of 2020, the brand broadened its commercial structure with fixed-specification design models. These watches could not be customized and were priced lower than fully configurable alternatives, while retaining the company's emphasis on mechanical calendar functionality. This move provided a more accessible route into the collection without abandoning the central design philosophy. Ochs und junior remains a deliberately small manufacturer. Reference material described output at approximately 130 watches in 2018 and sales through the La Chaux-de-Fonds headquarters, both in person and online. The workshop also serves as a showroom. The brand's significance therefore rests less on scale than on its distinctive synthesis of Swiss manufacture, scientific watch design, transparent subcontracting, direct customer involvement and restrained aesthetics.

• 2020

  Headquarters move to La Chaux-de-Fonds

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates from Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds and appoints Marc Bernhardt interim managing director.

• 2020

  Fixed-specification models enter the collection

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces qualified design models that cannot be customized and are offered at lower prices, including a perpetual calendar.

• 2020

  Return to family ownership

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  From the end of 2020, the company is described as solely owned by Ludwig Oechslin and Kornelia Imesch and operated as a family business.

• 2019

  Beat Weinmann departs

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Beat Weinmann leaves the company at the end of November after many years as a central operational and commercial executive.

• 2018

  Niche production level reported

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Reference material describes annual sales of approximately 130 watches, illustrating the company's small-scale manufacturing model.

• 2012

  Ulysse Nardin takes a shareholder position

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Ulysse Nardin becomes a shareholder in Ochs und junior AG.

• 2006

  Ochs und junior is founded

  [1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Ludwig Oechslin and Kurt König establish the Swiss watch company, with Beat Weinmann associated with its founding and subsequent management.

An independent Swiss niche watchmaker positioned around radical functional simplicity, transparent engineering, astronomical and calendar complications, direct sales and extensive customer configuration rather than conventional luxury ornamentation.

• Astronomical mechanical watches

  Moon-phase watches

  Moon-phase watches are among the brand's defining products. Their display is built around a compact epicyclic gear train consisting of five components, including the dial. The mechanism is designed to track the lunar cycle with a theoretical accuracy of approximately 3,478.27 years before a one-day deviation would occur. The construction reflects Ochs und junior's preference for technically effective mechanisms with a small number of parts rather than visibly elaborate complication architecture.

• Calendar mechanical watches

  Annual-calendar watches

  Annual-calendar models form part of the company's calendar-focused collection. They present calendar information through the brand's functional dial architecture and are developed around internally designed modules added to sourced Swiss mechanical base movements. As with other Ochs und junior watches, the emphasis is on legibility, mechanical economy and a restrained case and dial treatment rather than traditional decorative finishing.

• Calendar mechanical watches · 2020

  Perpetual-calendar watches

  Perpetual-calendar watches extend the brand's interest in useful astronomical and calendar indications. The company develops the relevant module and construction concept while using a Swiss base movement and specialist component suppliers. A fixed-specification perpetual-calendar design model was introduced at the end of 2020 as part of a lower-priced range that could not be individually configured.

• Customizable mechanical watches

  Configurable design watches

  The configurable range allows customers to create individual watch combinations through the company's online configurator. This approach makes color and component choices part of the product experience and means that many watches are effectively unique configurations. The design remains deliberately plain and function-led, with limited external branding, unpolished cases and dials that contribute to the mechanical construction.

• 2020

  Move to a direct, workshop-centered operating model in La Chaux-de-FondsStrategy

  Background

  The company relocated its headquarters from Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds, where the workshop also serves as a showroom and direct sales location.

  Action taken

  Ochs und junior consolidated workshop, customer visits and direct sales at the La Chaux-de-Fonds site and appointed Marc Bernhardt interim managing director.

  Aftermath

  The move reinforced the company's independent, small-scale and direct-to-customer model in a major Swiss watchmaking center.

  Source

• 2020

  Introduce fixed-specification design modelsProduct launch

  Background

  The established collection emphasized customer configuration, but the company also sought to offer selected designs at a lower price.

  Action taken

  Ochs und junior introduced qualified design models that could not be configured, including a perpetual-calendar model.

  Aftermath

  The new format created a more standardized and potentially more accessible entry point while preserving the brand's mechanical and functional design principles.

  Source

• 2020

  Resume family ownershipStrategy

  Background

  Ulysse Nardin had become a shareholder in 2012, but the company later changed back to a family-owned structure.

  Action taken

  From the end of 2020, Ochs und junior was described as solely owned by Ludwig Oechslin and Kornelia Imesch.

  Aftermath

  The company continued as a privately held family business rather than as a shareholder-held affiliate of Ulysse Nardin.

  Source

• 2020

  Ochs und junior relocates to La Chaux-de-Fonds[1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Other

  The company moved its headquarters from Lucerne to La Chaux-de-Fonds and appointed Marc Bernhardt interim managing director.

• 2020

  Fixed-specification design models introduced[1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Pricing

  Ochs und junior introduced watches that could not be configured by customers and were offered at a lower price, including a perpetual-calendar model.

• 2019

  Beat Weinmann leaves Ochs und junior[1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Beat Weinmann, who had handled responsibilities spanning production, planning, communications, sales and service, left the company at the end of November 2019.

• 2012

  Ulysse Nardin becomes a shareholder in Ochs und junior[1]Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Ulysse Nardin acquired a shareholder position in the independent Swiss watch company.

1. 1Ochs und junioren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ochs und junior: Watches That Follow the Starsnytimes.com
3. 3Ochs und junior and the aesthetics of anti-aestheticshodinkee.com