Everyone likes a good comeback story, and Carl Suchy is one of the most recent, and it’s been off to a good start.

The brand was first established in 1822 by the Austrian watchmaker with the same name. Back in the good old days of the Austro-Hunagiran empire, Mr. Suchy did quite well for himself - as is usually the case during imperial times, if you’re on the right side of course. So well, in fact, that his watches were worn by the likes of Emperor Franz Joseph, and even Sigmund Freud.

Carl Suchy Waltz No1 in steel

When the sun set on the Austro-Hunagiran empire, so it did on the watch brand as well. That is until last year when the brand Carl Suchy & Söhne was rebooted at Baselworld 2017.

The man responsible for the revival is Robert Punkenhofer, who is known internationally as an art and design expert. Among his previous accomplishments are the Vienna Art Week, and Austria´s participation at the World Fairs in Aichi, Japan, Zaragossa, Spain, and Shanghai, China.

With that kind of background, the revived brand would take on a distinctive aesthetic. The first watch release was the Waltz N°1. Designed by the Serbian-born and Swiss-based Miloš Ristin, the watch was inspired by Viennese Modernism and the works of architect Adolf Loos.

The Waltz N°1can be summarized as nothing other than classic and understated, featuring and pure lines and smooth curves on the 41.5 mm polished steel case. It remains available in white, blue or black dial options, at a price of 8,500 Swiss francs.

The watch sports a so-called “waltzing disk” which rotates in place of the second hand at 6 o’clock. Once every minute, the disk’s guilloche pattern aligns with that of the dial, producing a nice visual effect.

The automatic timepiece features a relatively slim caliber by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF). Swiss watchmaker Marc Jenni, a former member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, has also had his hands on the movement, making it a bit more special than the standard issue from VMF. Its gold plated and off-centre micro-rotor can also be appreciated through the sapphire case back.

Along with the Waltz N°1, this year at Basel the brand presented a skeleton version. The modernist skeletonized dial of the Waltz N°1 Skeleton available in either black or silver colour – it is vertically striped on the left side and horizontally striped on the right side.

The same waltzing second disc also animates the watch at 6 o’clock. It too features a striped guilloche-pattern that aligns with that of the dial one time every minute.

Carl Suchy Waltz No1 Skeleton

The Waltz N°1 was a solid release in 2017, but it didn’t really have that “wow” factor. If the look of the new Waltz N°1 Skeleton is any indication of what to expect from current owner Robert Punkenhofer in terms of design, I look forward to what the future has in store for this Austrian brand.