ver the past 23 years, Speake Marin has transformed from a discreet niche brand into a fully-fledged independent manufacture, creating its own movements. In the early days, it sold only a few dozen watches a year. Today, the brand’s annual production is nearing 600 to 700 pieces – a significant increase in scale.

“It has been a great adventure,” exclaims Christelle Rosnoblet, reflecting on this evolution. “When I met Peter Speake-Marin in 2002, he was producing ten watches a year, and the company had three people. The brand focused on ’bespoke’ designs and unique pieces. Peter himself worked on the movements and collaborated externally with artisans in various crafts.”

Christelle Rosnoblet, CEO of Speake Marin

It was upon discovering the Piccadilly case, a key identity element of the brand, that the entrepreneur recognised its differentiating potential. She continues, “Before diving into modernising the company, I had to understand the watchmaking environment, which was new to me at that time. I quickly realised that the movements were essentially made on a Technotime base. They proved to be unreliable and led to extensive after-sales service. It was therefore necessary to reassure the market first. I called upon Vaucher Manufacture, which was much more recognised, and we worked with them for three to four years.”

Developing in-house capabilities

Rosnoblet’s partnership with Peter Speake-Marin deepened, and she became CEO in 2011. The following year, her meeting with Nicolas Herren and Alain Schiesser, who had just created their movement company, Le Cercle des Horlogers, was another pivotal moment. "The idea of partnering with them seemed obvious to me. I believed that to be truly recognised, an independent brand had to produce its own movements. Together, we spent two years to create our first calibre, the double vertical tourbillon, followed by the Magister’s single tourbillon. Given the quality of the products, we invested in Le Cercle des Horlogers in 2015, and gradually transitioned from Vaucher to our own movements.”

The brand, then focused on the Piccadilly line, began evolving through small touches, such as modernising the iconic case to make it thinner and more ergonomic, in line with the slimmer new movements and market expectations. Then came the switch to titanium, replacing steel. In 2017, Peter Speake-Marin announced his departure, marking a new era for the brand.

The new Speake Marin identity

That same year, Rosnoblet met watch designer Eric Giroud, who redefined the face of the Piccadilly collection. The small seconds was placed at 1:30 – now a signature of the brand. The case became even sleeker, and the logo was repositioned at 7:30, another distinctive feature of the current collection. Colours were also introduced.

Openworked Sandblasted Red Gold model

Rosnoblet recalls, “It was unquestionably a new beginning, both aesthetically and technically. Moving the small seconds to 1:30 seemed impossible at first. We had to completely rethink the movement. This prompted our first manufacture movements. From there, the brand’s new identity was born. Then came new collections, the Openworked and the Academic. With our debut at SIHH in 2017, the brand truly made a name for itself, and we reached 300 watches that year.”

Since then, twelve in-house calibres have been developed, the latest being the Ripples skeleton in 2024.

The Ripples collection, a new dimension

Launched in 2022 at Watches and Wonders, the Ripples collection was a great success. What role did it play in the development of Speake Marin? Rosnoblet says, “We wanted to merge sport and ultra-chic. To do that, we hired a new designer, Stéphane Lacroix. It took us two years to finalise the design, which integrates Speake Marin’s DNA while opening a new path. The 40.3mm model in anthracite grey, introduced at Watches and Wonders, was a big hit across all our markets – Europe, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. This strengthened our ties with existing partners and helped us grow in Northern Europe and the Middle East.”

Ripples Skeleton

The collection also significantly reshaped the brand’s clientele, as Rosnoblet points out: “Initially, our clients were 100% male and generally older. Over time, the average age dropped, especially with the new Piccadilly. Then the launch of the Ripples introduced us to a younger audience in their 40s and even 30s, and many women, who now represent 20% of our clients. The collection was a real turning point for the brand, placing us among the independents known for their manufacture movements.”

Today, the Ripples accounts for 50% of the brand’s sales. The rest is split between the other four collections: the Openworked, Academic, Haute Horlogerie, and Art Series.

Continued development

Le Cercle des Horlogers, the manufacturing arm of the brand, appointed a new production director, Laurent Pin, in August 2024 to continue the development. The stated goal, as the CEO of Speake Marin and a shareholder of the company declares, “is to continue progressing as an innovative technical office to become indispensable in product and patent development. Speake Marin is just one of the 22 clients of the Cercle, but the development of the Cercle is important because it will enable us to design complications that could make both the Cercle and Speake Marin renowned. Being able to rely on this technical expertise is crucial to succeed in reaching 1,000 watches per year while ensuring 100% Swiss made. Production costs and timelines are high, but that’s the price to pay for true Swiss made.”

Laurent Pin is the new managing director of Le Cercle des Horlogers, Speake Marin’s manufacturing arm, in which the brand holds a stake.

She adds, “Our desire is not to become a volume brand, but to work increasingly on finishes, as demonstrated by our latest Ripples Skeleton, launched at the 2024 edition of Geneva Watch Days, with its ultra-thin calibre. The horological expertise of the Cercle is also our trademark.”

Dual Time Terracotta

With 100% Swiss-made production, proprietary movements, and a distinctive design, Speake Marin seems to possess the assets to endure. However, it has not escaped the current market tensions. Rosnoblet states, “We saw the first signs as early as Watches and Wonders last April. It was to be expected after the post-Covid rebound. Adding to that are geopolitical tensions and economic slowdowns in many regions around the globe, and it is evident that they impact Speake Marin. We don’t have a production drop at the Cercle, but we do have to redouble our efforts in personnel training in shops and in our communication.”

The person steering Speake Marin’s destiny considers herself "proud to still be here and not just a fleeting star in the world of independents”.

She says, “I am particularly thrilled about the work we have accomplished in creating our movements, developing the brand’s reputation and that of Le Cercle des Horlogers, as well as growing our teams (8 people in-house and 60 at the Cercle, editor’s note). In 2025, we are launching two new models at Watches and Wonders in the Ripples and Piccadilly collections. It is said that it takes 20 years to build a real brand, and we have succeeded!”