Independent watchmaking is perhaps more exciting today than it has ever been. While established names such as F.P. Journe, Philippe Dufour, and Kari Voutilainen have rightfully become some of the most coveted watchmakers in the world, a new generation is beginning to emerge with ideas that feel genuinely fresh. Among them, Sylvain Berneron and his eponymous brand have quickly become one of the most talked-about.
Berneron's background is somewhat unconventional. A designer by training rather than a watchmaker, he spent years working in the automotive industry with names such as BMW, Porsche, and Ducati before eventually moving into watches, first at IWC and later Breitling. It was while working at Breitling that he began developing his own watch, with the intention of creating something without the commercial and technical constraints normally associated with a larger brand.
The result was the Mirage, an unusual asymmetric watch designed quite literally from the inside out. Rather than forcing a conventional round movement into an irregular case, Berneron developed the movement, case and dial together, allowing each to follow the same wonderfully distorted architecture. It was an ambitious approach for a first watch, but one that immediately gave Berneron a design language entirely of its own.
Following the original Mirage 38, Berneron introduced the Mirage 34. While the name might suggest a simple reduction in size, it is actually a considerably more involved watch than that. The proportions were reworked entirely, a new movement was developed specifically for the smaller case, and natural stone was introduced to the Mirage for the first time.
Here, we have the Mirage 34 Tiger Eye, measuring 34mm x 30mm and an incredible 7mm thick. The case is made entirely from 18-carat yellow gold and retains the same irregular curves as the original Mirage, but the smaller proportions give the design a noticeably more delicate quality. If the Mirage 38 feels almost sculptural, the 34 is considerably more subtle and perhaps even jewellery-like on the wrist.
The Tiger Eye dial works beautifully with this. Sourced from South Africa, the natural stone shifts between gold, brown and almost black depending on the light, with its distinctive bands appearing to move across the surface. Against the yellow gold case, the colours feel remarkably cohesive, while the natural variation of Tiger Eye means that no two dials will ever be exactly alike.
More impressive is the way Berneron has dealt with the small seconds. Rather than fitting a separate register onto the dial, it is sculpted directly into the Tiger Eye itself, with the stone reduced to just 0.40mm thick in this area. It is an incredibly elaborate way of achieving something that appears so simple, but that is very much in keeping with the philosophy behind the Mirage.
Powering the watch is the manually wound Cal. 215, an entirely new proprietary movement developed specifically around the smaller case. Measuring just 2.15mm thick, it provides an impressive 72-hour power reserve, while its solid-gold construction and asymmetric architecture continue the same obsessive approach found in the original Mirage.
Like most watches from Berneron, production is extremely limited. The Mirage 34 Tiger Eye is planned to be made in just 24 examples per year over a ten-year production run, starting in 2025, with most already allocated.
For me, the Mirage 34 is successful because it doesn't simply feel like a smaller Mirage 38. The proportions change the character of the watch entirely, while the Tiger Eye introduces another organic element to an already fluid design. The yellow gold case, irregular architecture and constantly changing stone dial all work together remarkably well.
Rare, unusual and beautifully made, the Mirage 34 Tiger Eye shows that Berneron's original idea has considerably more room to evolve.
