PS Horology 

Peter Speake is an English watchmaker who first trained at Hackney College London in the mid-eighties, before attending the Swiss watchmaking school WOSTEP in Neuchatel.

Peter Speake worked for multiple companies in the UK, in Oxford, Southampton and several companies in London, notably at Somlo Antiques (then based in The Piccadilly Arcade), where he developed the first workshops that specialised in restoring antique and vintage timepieces.

Between 1996 and 2000, Peter worked for Renaud & Papi in Le Locle, Switzerland, after which he co-founded and developed the brand Speake-Marin. He remained active with the brand until 2017, after which he spent the next five years in horological education.

Renaud et Papi were producing some of the finest complicated watches on the market at that time. Peter’s first task was working on Tourbillons for Audemars Piguet. Tim Grönefeld was Peter Speake’s project manager, and his brother Bart managed the overall running of the workshop.

Audemars owned roughly 50% of the company, and during my time at Renaud et Papi they acquired a much larger stake and increased their influence over the day-to-day running of the business.

Peter lived in an old Swiss farmhouse in the small hamlet of Les Replattes on the outskirts of Le Locle. Peter built a workshop in one of the bedrooms, installing all of the tools he had bought over the years.

After three years at Renaud et Papi things began to change. The initial period was a golden time. The team of were of diverse nationalities: Finnish, New Zealand, Dutch, French and even the odd Swiss. Down the road from Renaud et Papi, John and Stephen McGonigle were working at Christophe Claret in another workshop and Kari Voutilainen and Stefan Sarpeneva were in Fleurier at Parmiagani. Towards the end of Peter’s time at R&P the multinational team began to break up. Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel left the company; Simo, one of the Finnish watchmakers central to the group, went back to Finland, as did Stepan Sarpaneva a little later; the Grönefeld brothers went back to the Netherlands and John McGonigle to Ireland. Life changed. While at R&P Peter jumped around within the company from Tourbillons to réglage of minute repeaters and grand sonneries. Peter had a period in prototyping, the time in training and he even helped with tours to the factory, translating (badly) for the journalists that would visit the facility. Eventually, the learning curve tapered off and the magic of the earlier years thinned out and life became a little flat.

It was then that Peter started to design and build what became known as the Foundation Watch which later gave birth to the brand that would carry Peter’s name, and that of Daniela Marin who was the driving force behind Speake-Marin.

In 2000 self-employment beckoned, registering at the Chamber of Commerce under the company name “The Watch Workshop”. With the tools Peter used to make the Foundation Watch, they set up a small workshop in Rolle on Lac Leman. The first client was Vaucher in Fleurier building minute repeaters. Peter could assemble two in a month (working non-stop like an animal) and earn 20,000 Swiss francs for each delivered pair.

In parallel, Peter finished the Foundation Watch over the course of the first year, and in 2001 went with pictures of it to Baselworld with Kees Engelbarts (a Dutch engraver based in Geneva).It was at Baselworld that Kees introduced Peter to Philippe Dufour, who suggested that the following year that Peter should exhibit with the Independent Watch and Clock Makers Academy (AHCI). Philippe and Antoine Preziuso, both well-known watchmakers in this small obscure world of independent watchmaking, would become Peter Speake’s sponsors for admission to the AHCI. In 2002 they exhibited in the AHCI booth at Baselworld for the first time. The Foundation watch and the first of the prototypes of the Piccadilly were presented and the brand Speake-Marin was born. Each exhibiting member had a display cabinet, despite the long hours on one’s feet, Basel was a great place to meet people and it was that first year at Basel that Peter met Eric Giroud. Eric is now one of the industry’s most celebrated watch designers. They became friends chatting in front of the display cabinet.  A few years later, Peter would introduce Eric to Maximilian Büsser, then director of the watch department at Harry Winston in Geneva, Max was already well known in the watch community and had developed the “Opus” programme. It was Opus that transformed the watch business of Harry Winston from a loss-making subsidiary into a major force.

Peter Speake would assist in the development of the Excenter Tourbillon for Harry Winston. Later Max left Harry Winston to develop his own company, MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends). The first watch was called the Horological Machine No.1, Peter acted as a technical advisor and assisted with the logistical execution of the project. Prior to working with MB&F, Peter had been approached by an American entrepreneur who had asked him to assist with the development of another new brand. Later in 2006 Peter Speake started working with Mâitre du Temps. With MDT, Peter worked with Roger Dubuis (the individual), Daniel Roth and Christophe Claret as well as the manufacturer he had built repeaters for when I first become self-employed, Vaucher.

In 2008 Peter stopped the collaborations and the consulting to concentrate on Speake-Marin watches.

A few weeks later Lehman Brothers collapsed and the Swiss watch industry ground to a halt.

Previously published collaborations include Harry Winston (Ex-centre Tourbillon), Maitres du Temps (Chapter 1), MB&F (Horological machine No.1), The Wostep Watch (For OnlyWatch), Frederique Constant (QP), Schwartz Etienne (Phoenix).

PS Horology was founded in July 2022.

PS HOROLOGY- Tsuba Blue

The first Tsuba timepiece designed by PS Horology, the Tsuba Blue edition is influenced by elements from early vintage wristwatches combined with modern materials and manufacturing techniques. Classic index and hand design is combined with modern techniques of printing on sapphire resulting in a visual depth to the dial details.

About the Tsuba Case:

The ergonomic shape of the case was inspired by the tsuba, a shaped guard at the end of the grip of a Japanese sword that contributes to both the balance of the weapon and the protection of the hand from the blade. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), these guards evolved from simple and practical to highly ornamental and were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was to make tsubas.

Although tsubas are now collectors’ items in the present day they were often heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with Samurai roots often had their family crest crafted onto a tsuba, immortalising their lineage.

Tsubas were fashioned in a range of different shapes, and this tsuba-inspired case is a hybrid of the quince shape and the octagonal shape. The quince shape represents a cross-section of a quince fruit symbolising prosperity, while the octagonal shape, representing stability and balance from the number eight, was considered sacred and auspicious in ancient Japan.

The Making of the Tsuba Case:

The Tsuba’s research and development began in 2019. Darren Jones provided the guiding design, and Peter Speake developed and executed the project. The most challenging element of manufacture was the Tsuba’s case, because of its scalloped and rounded surfaces, which are complex to machine and hand finish.

The decoration of the case requires a five-stage finishing process, including brushing of the external surfaces and polishing of the concave surfaces. A range of different techniques were used to protect the polished surfaces from being touched during the graining process.

Details of the PS Horology – Tsuba Blue

The case is made in Le Locle, Switzerland from 316L stainless steel. Both front and back glasses are made from sapphire and water resistant to three atmospheres. From 3 to 9 o’clock across the case excluding the winding crown the case measures 38.3mm and 8.91mm thick.

The movement is made by Vaucher Manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland, calibre 5401 with micro-rotor automatic. It measures in thickness 2.60 mm and in diameter 30.00 mm (13 ¼”’). The number of components is 176, and the number of synthetic jewels 29 with a personalised tungsten micro-rotor, turning on a ceramic ball race. The power reserve lasts 48 hours, and the balance wheel is free-sprung. Balance frequency 3 Hz (21.600 A/h).

The dial centre is made from sapphire, the dial frame anodised metal.

The intergrated bracelet has a butterfly deployment buckle.

Available from: Switzerland, PS Horology

Delivery by August 2025.

The Price is CHF 19,500.- (excluding tax and shipping), 30% reservation deposit.

There will be 100 pieces made in 2025, 99 for purchase by collectors.

Video documentary PS Horology- Tsuba Blue https://youtu.be/1m5TzSqQtl0