INITIAL brings together the three founding pillars of the brand: tradition, craftsmanship and innovation.
The construction of INITIAL draws inspiration from the traditional codes of historic watchmaking and the exacting standards of artisanal Haute Horlogerie.
Throughout its development, Jérôme Marcu gave himself the freedom to craft almost every component by hand, while making innovation an integral part of every decision. A form of artisanal watchmaking that is both traditional and inventive.Every element serves a function and is guided by intention.
A constant balance between technical mastery and aesthetic sensitivity, where even the superfluous becomes essential.
A major innovation. At the tip of each hand, a baguette-cut diamond. An idea that appears simple, but whose realisation required a complete re-evaluation of forces, inertia and stability. From the calculation of masses to the dynamic balance of the calibre, the solution is structural.
A hand-decorated steel counterweight, positioned directly opposite, counteracts the effects of gravity, ensuring consistent timekeeping over time.
The challenge lies in the ability to cut a groove directly into the diamond. Here, the precision of this groove, cut into the diamond pavilion, is uncompromising.
It determines how the diamond is set at the tip of the hand, ensuring a perfect invisible setting. The hands are cut using electrical discharge machining, then adjusted by hand, one by one.
This process achieves the precision of workmanship essential for setting a baguette-cut diamond at their tip. Whilst a traditional hand is generally 0.2 mm thick, INITIAL’s diamond-set hands are 1.4 mm high. The diamonds are custom-cut and of the very highest quality (D, IF, VVS1).
Particularly complex in design, the hands consist of 11 distinct components. They are crafted from hardened steel, then polished and flame-blued as required – a method favoured for its aesthetic qualities and durability.
Jérôme Marcu
The base dial is entirely hand-crafted to create a motif known as ‘pine needles’. Stroke by stroke, Jérôme uses manual milling to create a pattern he has designed himself. The result is a texture that is unique every time, full of life, where the material retains the trace of the craftsman’s touch. It takes 20 hours to complete each dial. This motif adds depth and a play of light, whilst ensuring a clear and precise reading of the time.
Thirteen distinct elements make up the dial and organise the display of the hours and minutes. The minute track is raised on four pillars held in place by visible steel screws. This architectural choice draws direct inspiration from the mechanisms of automaton as well as certain features of antique watches, where three-dimensional construction played a key role in both legibility and aesthetics.
The M of MARCU is not drawn; it is constructed. Handcrafted, it consists of three distinct elements, each attached by hand one by one and precisely adjusted to form a single symbol. On the right, Jérôme’s J can be glimpsed – a discreet presence, a personal origin. At the top, a square root, like a requirement: that of rigour, balance and mastery. Its two arcs convey balance : precision under control.
MARCU is not a brand name. It is a responsibility. That of a man, a watchmaker who has chosen to ensure that every detail matters, that every choice is visible, that every decision is personal. INITIAL is the first piece to embody this commitment.
Produced in a limited series and crafted by his own hands in his Geneva workshop.
The bezel is raised by four pillars secured by visible steel screws. This design choice directly references certain features of vintage watches, where the three-dimensional construction played a key role in both legibility and aesthetics.
This design also offers a major functional advantage: the bezel is fully protected from external damage.
Positioned beneath the sapphire crystal, it remains shielded from knocks and scratches, thereby preserving its decoration and finish over the long term.
The 40 mm case, with its classic round shape, is crafted from Grade 5 titanium, chosen for its lightness, colour and durability. A sapphire crystal, treated with an anti-reflective coating, sits flush with the edge of the case middle, whilst attached lugs are integrated into it to ensure a seamless aesthetic finish.
The press-fit caseback is reminiscent of the construction of vintage watches. This design allows for a reduction in the case’s size and thickness whilst facilitating maintenance and restoration over time.
The INITIAL movement is uncompromising, both powerful and legible, structured around a boldly symmetrical architecture and a level of finish faithful to the highest standards of artisanal Haute Horlogerie.
Among the hallmarks of this hand-crafted execution, the movement stands out for its multitude of fully polished angles; a perfection extended even to the hairspring stud holder, black-polished by Jérôme.
Its construction is both simple and sophisticated: symmetry, legibility, structure.
The hand-guilloché barrel is positioned at 12 o’clock. In a design carefully balanced, Jérôme, working with his independent watchmaker Eric-Jean Weber, has positioned the winding click as a mirror image of the crown wheel. Visible and in motion with every winding, it balances the movement’s appearance.
The balance wheel designed by Jérôme features integrated white gold screws that adjust its inertia. This in-house balance wheel, positioned at 6 o’clock, forms part of a specific architectural design. It does not merely mark the time; it organises the calibre. Just as the positioning of the gear train contributes to the overall balance of the construction. The hairspring stud holder is fully bevelled and mirror-polished.
On the gear bridge, Jérôme’s metaphor for precision is engraved in full: ‘Adjusted like music paper’. A personal metaphor, inherited from his childhood, inspired by those mechanisms capable of playing a melody with perfect precision, even a hundred years later, simply from a perforated strip. Without alteration, with the same precision. Absolute rigour: the promise of repeatability. A commitment he engraves directly onto the gear bridge, his words evoking the traditional ‘adjusted in five positions’.
A sensitivity and humility that can be found, silently, in each of his timepieces.
Components requiring work outside Jérôme’s workshop are produced entirely in collaboration with Geneva-based craftsmen, drawing on local expertise and recognised as the finest artisans in the city.
INITIAL is powered by a hand-wound calibre, offering a 50-hour power reserve at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour, regulated by a flat balance spring with a movable stud and a gold balance screw; its architecture comprises 116 components for the movement and 51 for the case, housed in a 40 mm case water-resistant to 30 metres.
Pure craftsmanship has its human and material limits. INITIAL is produced in a run of 33 pieces, comprising three versions of 11 pieces each.
Balancing production discipline, responsibility and symbolism, this number is no coincidence. A deliberate limit, a real capacity: that of designing, crafting and mastering each piece without compromise. Beyond this limit, the relationship between the creator and the object would become diluted; the craftsmanship would lose its precision, and the watch its accuracy.
Each timepiece is individually numbered. The engraving is carried out by hand on the gear bridge, at the very heart of the watch’s calibre.
Jérôme Marcu
