Founded in August 2022, Byrne Watch is the creation of Claire Cohen, a luxury and fashion expert, and John Byrne, a visionary designer and master watchmaker. The brand carries John’s name and reflects his boundless creativity, alongside their shared passion for exceptional craftsmanship. Since its inception in 2022, Byrne Watch has developed one calibre each year—an extraordinary accomplishment that culminates in the unveiling of its third movement introducing a world’s first and its most advanced creation yet.
The Byrne Star is inspired by a historic timepiece from Vacheron Constantin pocket watch that John Byrne painstakingly restored over two decades ago. Originally purchased in India, this rare watch, believed to have belonged to a Pope, features a detailed map of Italy, making it an exceptional artifact. John, a skilled watch restorer, carefully restored the piece in 2005, recreating lost champlevé enamel sections, including an entire top section at noon.
The result was a watch radiating an undeniable aura, deeply connected to Italy, a country of great personal significance to John. Vacheron Constantin took notice of his meticulous restoration, and the watch was eventually acquired by their museum. To honor the 200th anniversary of this masterpiece, John designed the Byrne Star – a modern homage to the Pope's watch. This creation celebrates both the art of watchmaking and John’s lifelong passion for innovation and history. Byrne's style is distinctly sport-chic, with sleek, barrel-shaped cases that exude a casual yet refined elegance.
The Byrne Star introduces two remarkable complications: a classic 12-hour Worldtimer and the groundbreaking Time Flow gyro-complication, a unique feature that John has spent years perfecting. After countless hours of development, this complication radically transforms our understanding of time, creating a deeply emotional connection to the passing moments of each day across the globe. At its center, a Worldtimer disk displaying 12 locations and time zones and a Gyro-complication at the cardinal points with four rotating cubes that track key moments of the day across 16 major cities, updating every 6 hours.
The central disk displays 12 locations across the globe, making it simple to track time zones including time zones like London, Athens, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka, Macau, Brisbane, Midway—Brisbane and Midway are marked in gold on the disk to indicate their reading sequence—, Juneau, La Paz, Havana, Brasilia, and Azores.
The Time Flow complication is a world’s first on the signature gyro dial. Four rotating cubes represent morning, noon, evening, and night in four cardinal cities, offering a dynamic, synchronized visualization of the passage of time across the world. This goes beyond a simple AM/PM function, providing a unique perspective on the unfolding day.
Time Flow Cities indicated as follow:
12 o'clock (Hanoi, Paris, Rome, New York)
3 o'clock (Male, Tokyo, Baku, Rio)
6 o'clock (Taipei, Hong Kong, Oslo, Bern)
9 o'clock (Doha, Sydney, Noumea, Dubai)
Powering this new watch is the manual wound BYRNE calibre 5558 composed of 274 parts and which includes a central hours and minutes, 12-hour worldtimer, gyro flow complication, flat hairspring, and provides a power reserve of 66 hours.
Imagine landing in Brisbane on a Monday morning, with a call scheduled for Rome in the afternoon, followed by watching an NBA game in New York later. For moments like these, a Worldtimer is essential. But Byrne goes further, adding a poetic twist with its unique Time Flow complication. The signature gyro dial brings the day to life in real-time, visually portraying the changing phases of time around the globe.
The gyro dial divides the day into four distinct phases:
Early Morning: A soft, light sky blue symbolizes renewal and the start of a productive day.
Noon: A vibrant turquoise blue, representing energy and activity at its peak.
Evening: A deep, dark blue, evoking introspection and relaxation as the day transitions to night.
Night: A starry sky color, symbolizing peace and stillness, reflecting the quiet nature of the night.
Setting the Complication and Adjusting the time requires the following steps:
Pull the crown to position (1) and turn it to adjust the hour and minute hands to reflect the local time.
As you turn the hands, the cubes representing Time Flow will also rotate. Ensure the correct moment of the day is indicated by adjusting the time accordingly.
Adjust the Worldtimer disk using the push button at the bottom left of the case. Each press increments the disk by one hour, aligning the city of your time zone with the hour hand. The Worldtimer disk rotates every 12 hours.
The 16 cities represented on the dial hold special personal meaning for John, each connected to pivotal moments in his life or places where he has lived and experienced significant events. The Byrne Star pays homage to a historic watch through a completely reimagined 38 mm case, 2 mm thinner and more rounded than its predecessors. Crafted from Grade 5 titanium, the case strikes the perfect balance between strength and lightness, offering a refined yet durable feel.
The rhodium-finished sunburst dial adds depth, while the yellow gold, open-worked hands reflect the sunlight, nodding to both the sun and the Vacheron Constantin pocket watch.
The Byrne Star is paired with a luxurious double crocodile strap, featuring navy blue alligator Louisiana ‘Grandes Ecailles’ on the top layer and smooth, small-scale alligator leather on the back. Hand-stitched ‘saddle’ seams and a rich blue color provide a stunning contrast to the watch.
Sticker Price CHF 32,500—approx USD 36,700. For more info on BYRNE Watches click here.
