In the City of Biel, nestled at the foot of the Jura mountains in Switzerland, a small watch factory was born. It came to be known as HORAGE. There were many other watchmakers in this region, from small artisan workshops to giant factories - all located within a stone's throw of HORAGE, but something here was quite different from these others...
In the City of Biel, nestled at the foot of the Jura mountains in Switzerland, a small watch factory was born and came to be known as HORAGE.
The team behind HORAGE were outsiders - they were an international team and with a background in entrepreneurship and manufacturing, they had a very different mindset from most other watchmakers. Without the burden of tradition, they were free to think outside of every box and to question established orthodoxy.
Over the years, their ambition, passion, and yearning for innovation resulted in a range of products that built up a global following. Collectors and connoisseurs from all around the world came to love what they did. Among their most popular models was a watch that stood out, a watch which over time became known as "The Golden Ticket".
The non-traditional background of HORAGE's team allowed them to challenge conventional watchmaking practices and foster innovation.
HORAGE's fascination with gold began many decades earlier. Tales of ancient civilizations perched on top of precipitous mountain ridges buried deep in the jungle. Tales of swashbuckling pirates driven mad by greed, tales of kings and queens adorned with opulent jewels of gold in both life and death. Gold wasn't just a metal; it was a symbol of power, prestige, wealth, and proof of the divine right given to rule and govern. Gold was timeless, its worth never to diminish or wane. The luster of the material could not be damaged by any force known to man. Rare, desirable, and mystical—gold was able to captivate all who beheld its beauty regardless of culture, language, or epoch.
Yet all too often in the world of Swiss watchmaking, this fascination was translated into an unmissable opportunity to ramp up profit. If a timepiece in stainless steel was worth 10,000 Francs, then its golden sibling could command a price of 50,000 - bling, bling ker-shing. The fanaticism of the conquistador hacking through the jungles of the Andes fast-forwarded some centuries to the snow-dusted peaks of the Alps.
Driven by a passion for honesty and innovation, HORAGE created 'The Golden Ticket,' a watch made from gold that avoided exploiting the material's inherent desirability.
For HORAGE, this lack of honesty in an age of immediate information felt jarringly out of place. There had to be a more transparent and equitable solution. The desire to make a watch from gold without exploiting the material's desirability led to the creation of "The Golden Ticket".
What do you think makes a watch truly valuable - its material, its craftsmanship, or the story behind it?
We need some annual / perpetual / skeletons watches. I need to add more Horage to my only Horage collection.