A superb symbiosis of avant-garde aesthetics and artisanal watchmaking, the David Candaux DC6 Carbon Titanium Purple watch is an exceptional proposition. Presented in a forged carbon casing, the watch carries a unique arrangement displaying a micro hours and minutes dial paired with a bi-plan flying tourbillon, each enclosed within their own sapphire crystal, and surrounded by beautifully executed contemporary guilloché decoration. Limited to only 8 pieces, this highly desirable timepiece from the bench of one of the horologic masters of our time, the DC6 is crafted entirely at the David Candaux atelier in the town of Le Solliat, in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux.

A truly profound talent from the very cradle of Swiss watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux, David Candaux is a third generation master watchmaker who follows in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, who continues to work alongside him. Refining his prodigious gift for traditional haute horlogerie over many years at the grand maison of Patek Philippe, that uncompromising craftsmanship which is evident in his extraordinary timepieces, has gained him full membership of the prestigious, invitation-only Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI). A superb addition to his portfolio, the DC6 Carbon Titanium Purple model is characterised by a combination of broody high tech materials enlivened by deep purple colour tones.

The face of the watch is gently inclined from the twelve down towards the six, so as to enhance the viewing angle. A deeply engraved guilloché decoration enhances the surface, while two round apertures, each with their own specially machined sapphire crystal, provide wonderful equipoise. On the right and rendered in scintillating purple, the miniature domed hour and minutes dial is equipped with hands whose convex forms conform to the shape of their dial. On the left, the unique Bi-plan flying tourbillon is offset at an incline of 30º. Within its round aperture, it rotates every sixty seconds, and a little blue pointer indicates the seconds while the tiny mechanism revolves on its axis. At the 12, a curved letterbox aperture displaying the power reserve finishes the arrangement.

Weighing only 29.8g, and boasting an impressive water resistance of 50m, the forged carbon fibre case measures 43mm across, and with no crown upon its side, its unique profile remains wonderfully uninterrupted. Instead, and integrated into the surface of the case at the six o’clock position, a unique retractable ‘secret’ crown rises telescopically for the purposes of winding and adjusting the time.

Inside the case, and visible through the sapphire exhibition caseback the movement is entirely manufactured and finished by hand in the watchmaker’s atelier in the village of Le Solliat, using traditional local Joux Valley know-how, and encouraged and inspired by his neighbour, mentor and friend Philippe Dufour. A breathtakingly beautiful work of uncompromising precision and exquisite finesse, the manual winding Calibre 1740 is manufactured in natural titanium, and its plates are finished with Cötes de Solliat stripes and mirror polished anglage around their curvaceous edges. Even here, where it is largely hidden from sight, the watchmaker’s obsession with perfection and individuality are to be found, as the plates and the gear train are inclined at 3º and cascade in minute but obvious increments from one to the next. Beating at 21’600 vib/h it derives 55 hours of power reserve from its single barrel.

A watch that affirms this maker’s place at the upper echelon of artisanal independent watchmaking, the David Candaux DC6 Carbon Titanium Purple edition is strictly limited to only 8 pieces. The model comes presented on a bright purple rubber-velcro strap secured with a stainless steel and titanium pin buckle,