Andreas Strehler is an independent watchmaker based in Sirnach, the German speaking part of Switzerland. Andreas Strehler designs, constructs and manufactures his movements in his own workshop with the help of a small and dedicated workforce.
He also develops and constructs many of the tools and machines he uses himself. Through UhrTeil SA, his movement production business, he develops, designs and manufactures movements for other brands.
Born in 1971, Andreas Strehler discovered his love of mechanics and watch making at an age when other children were still playing.
Andreas Strehler eventually started learning the profession of watchmaker in Frauenfeld in 1987. After completing his training in 1991, he worked for four years as the head of prototype development with Renaud et Papi, where he gathered wide experience in the development and construction of complicated machinery. And in 1995 he set up business as a self-employed watchmaker, concentrating of the restoration of antique watches.
Over the next few years, Andreas Strehler used the experience he had gathered to create a number of unusual timepieces. And more and more watch-lovers wanting their own individual watch turned to him to realize their dream. And so it happened that year after year he created a series of individual watches which met the exact demands of his customers who, in Andreas Strehler, found a watchmaker with a dedication to detail and perfection and the ability to fulfill their wishes.
Besides that, Andreas Strehler continued to present unusual timepieces which captured the imagination of the watchmaking world. In 1998 his Perpetual Calendar represented a new version, a new interpretation, of Abraham Louis Breguet’s Sympathique.
In the same year he patented a time-display switch with push-button operation. The following year saw the presentation of the corresponding pocket-watch Zwei (Two).
Andreas Strehler also turned his attention to the use of new materials in watch construction. He introduced the compensating carbon balance-wheel which he patented in the year 2000. The Chronoscope, which Andreas Strehler developed for Chronoswiss in 2003, was elected Watch of the Year.
Besides developing and producing his own watches, Andreas Strehler continued to construct movements for other famous brands. His cooperation with H. Moser & Cie began in the year 2003 and led to the creation of the Moser Perpetual which won first place at the Grand Prix de Horlogerie de Geneve for the firm in the complication category .
In 2006 he developed Le Chronographe for Maurice Lacroix, their first in house movement. And in 2007 the Opus 7 appeared in cooperation with Harry Winston.
In 2005 Andreas Strehler founded his own development centre, UhrTeil AG, which enabled him to attain the greatest possible scope of manufacturing precision.
As a result, today Andreas Strehler is not only an extraordinarily gifted developer and constructor with a high reputation for reliability, but also an entrepreneur who is able to develop almost all component parts for watches and to manufacture them in his own UhrTeil AG. What’s more, if a machine required for their manufacture does not exist, he develops one himself.
The models Papillon (2008) and Cocon (2012) are examples of Andreas Strehler’s philosophy of the perfect minimalisation of a movement as a living organism, giving a new interpretation to the traditions of the watchmaker’s craft.
In 2013, Andreas Strehler received the Prix Gaïa in the category Artisanat-Création for his ingenious, minimalistic mechanical movements which are conceived like true living organisms.
Timeline
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Born January 1971
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1987-1991: watchmaker apprenticeship at a workshop in Frauenfeld, Switzerland and classes at the Watch makers School in Solothurn.
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1995: independent Watchmaker, restoring antique clocks and watches. 4 Years at Renaud et Papi as head of prototypes and training in watch engineering.
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1998: First exhibition at BaselWorld with the “Perpetual Calendar” – the first watch with a mechanical memory – a new interpretation of A. L. Breguet’s Sympathique.
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1998: Patent no. CH693155 for switching indications
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1999: “Zwei” the first mechanical pocket watch with switching indications
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2000: Patent for a compensating carbon balance CH695174
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2001: Zwei, first mechanical wrist watch with switching indications
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2002: Chronoscope movement for Chronoswiss (Watch of the Year 2003)
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2003: Development, design and engineering of their movements for H. Moser & Cie
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2005: Foundation of UhrTeil AG an engineering firm and also the manufacture for Andreas Strehler watches and movements, prototypes and parts for other brands
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2006: Le Chronographe the first manufacture calibre Maurice Lacroix
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2007: Move to the new workshop in Sirnach, Switzerland
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2007: Creation of the Opus7 for Harry Winston, based on the Andreas Strehler’s patent no. CH693155
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2008: Creation of the Papillon the combination of Watchmaking and elegance
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2012: Creation of the Cocon
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2013: Creation of the Sauterelle, Prix Gaïa Artisanat-Création
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2014: Unveiling of the Sauterelle à Lune perpétuelle 2M watch
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2015: Launches the Papillon d’Or watch
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2016: Creation of the Lune Exacte and the Time Shadow watches
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2017: Introduction of the Sauterelle à Heure Mondiale
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2018: Creation of Trans-axial® Remontoir Tourbillon
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