I was happy to see Peter Speake return with PS Horology and the Tsuba. Peter was one of the first independent watchmakers I got to know well on a personal basis, and I have followed his career for almost two decades now.

I first met Peter sometime in 2005, either at Baselworld (it was my first time there) or in Singapore during his regular round-the-world tours. He was then a fresh face in independent watchmaking, having just founded his brand Speake-Marin in 2002. In the context of the period, when independent watchmaking was a truly niche segment, Peter was a star (although he is modest enough he might disagree).

Founded by Peter and Daniela Marin, who were then married, Speake-Marin was a promising brand with many of the ingredients for success, including a strong aesthetic (thick, chunky, and ETA-based but I liked it), good watchmaking and quality thanks to Peter’s own skill, and of course Peter himself – the personality is as important as the product in independent watchmaking.

The unique Majestic Monkey of 2008, one of the first custom Speake-Marin watches I saw in person

Peter was not the only watchmaker I met around that time, but I got to know him better than most other indie watchmakers, as a result of an annual watch fair that took place in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Known as A Journey Through Time (AJTT), the watch fair was staged by YTL Corporation, a Malaysian conglomerate with diversified interests ranging from power generation to luxury shopping malls (where the fair took place), and even ownership of watch brand Bedat & Co.

Every year for three or four years starting in 2009, Peter and myself were regulars at the fair, him as a star watchmaker and myself as a judge and journalist. Because the fair was almost a week, I got the chance to spend time with Peter and other participants.

Amongst them was the late Rolf Schnyder of Ulysse Nardin – he lived in Kuala Lumpur so was a frequent participant – and Max Büsser on one or two instances. It was often breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then drinks with them, inevitably at the same venues in the basement of the mall. It was an unexpected (and maybe undeserved) privilege for some like me at the time, and also informative, instructive, and enjoyable.

Lunch with Max Büsser and Peter Speake at AJTT in 2009

Another regular participant at the fair was Franc Vila, then with his eponymous brand that was in its heyday, able to sell a few dozen tourbillon and minute repeating watches each year.

Proving that history never repeats but rhymes, today Peter and Franc are in the same place – each departed his namesake brand but reestablished himself. Franc did it a few years earlier with the FVF1 Tourbillon Superligero that debuted four years ago.

Franc Vila in 2009. Image – YTL Corporation

Those years, however, marked both the peak and beginning of the end for Peter and Speake-Marin.

The peak was the launch of the in-house SM2 movement in 2009. It was top quality, with fine finishing and high-end construction, but in a manner that was difficult for the average enthusiast to understand. As a result of the quality, the price was high, which coupled with the lack of understanding, made it a tough sell.

All that was exacerbated by the slowdown in demand for luxury watches in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Peter was not the only watchmaker affected by the slowdown, Franc found himself in the same boat.

Peter in Singapore in 2009 when he launched the SM2

As a consequence, Peter was compelled to seek investors in his business. As I recall, he progressively sold off small stakes in the business. By 2012, he had essentially no equity in Speake-Marin, and in 2017 he left the business altogether. Speake-Marin is still in business, but it is an entirely different proposition now.

The arc of Peter’s career over the years echoes independent watchmaking in general with its cycles of brands and watchmakers coming and going. Brands that have found spectacular, nine-figure success like F.P. Journe and MB&F are the exception rather than the norm.

I admire and respect Peter as a watchmaker, and appreciate him as a person, so I am glad he is making a comeback in good form with PS Horology. The venture is actually Peter’s second try, an earlier attempt was with (very) inexpensive and uninteresting watches, which did him no justice.

Though entirely different from his work at Speake-Marin, PS Horology feels like it has the attention to detail that marks out independent watchmaking that is done well. I look forward to seeing what else Peter has in the pipeline.

Correction January 18, 2025: Speake-Marin was founded by Peter Speake and Daniela Marin, and not only Mr Speake as implied in an earlier version of the article. We apologise for the error.

The debut of PS Horology, just six days into the new year, is the first significant relaunch of 2025 but probably not the last.

Initial thoughts

Mr Speake is a significant figure in the early history of independent watchmaking, so the launch of his new brand attracted my attention. While the designs are a departure from what I’m used to seeing from the projects he’s been involved with in the past, they are nonetheless executed with an eye for the details.

The Tsuba is all about its case and bracelet design, which is almost organic in feel, calling to mind watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus. But the Tsuba’s design has an altogether different influence, and the similarity is incidental.

The unusual shape of the case means it’s difficult to manufacture and finish, with dramatic transitions between brushed convex surfaces and polished concave surfaces. The watch is powered by the well-known Vaucher cal. 5401, a thin, sophisticated calibre that helps the Tsuba achieve its appealing slimness of just under 9 mm.

The multi-part dials are also worth close examination. The standard model, the Tsuba Blue, features a sapphire dial with an anodised frame that brings to mind gothic British tower clocks like Big Ben. Of all the design elements, I find this dial to be most deeply connected with Mr Speake’s earlier work. A pleasing Easter egg on the dial is the alignment of the logo with the open observatory-style hour hand at noon and midnight.

On the other hand, the dial of the Tsuba Dong Son, a limited edition exclusive to his retailer in Vietnam, is made of 18k gold and relief-engraved with motifs from Dong Son culture of ancient Vietnam.

The Tsuba Dong Son with a slate dial

At CHF19,500, the Tsuba Blue is priced reasonably considering its pedigree and execution, in-line with other watches powered by the same movement.

But it was likely costly to develop; its unique shape means that seemingly ordinary components, like the front and rear sapphire crystals, required development specifically for this model, since off-the-shelf components would not work.

The man and the brand

Then still Peter Speake-Marin was part of the first big wave of independent brands in the early 2000s, launching Speake-Marin in 2002.

Prior to establishing his own brand, he studied watchmaking at Hackney College in London alongside Stephen Forsey, and later walked the same path as many other legendary watchmakers, starting with restoration before moving to Le Locle to work for Renaud & Papi. Mr Speake also had a hand in developing key products for other independent brands, most notably MB&F’s debut model, the Horological Machine 1.

Peter Speake

But independent watchmaking is a difficult business, and Mr Speake ultimately departed his eponymous brand, which continues to operate under different ownership.

After a stint providing collectors and enthusiasts with highly valuable movement deconstructions on his website The Naked Watchmaker, he founded PS Horology in 2022.

Eastern influence

Aesthetically, the Tsuba represents a significant departure for Mr Speake. While his original Piccadilly collection was inspired by his time restoring watches in that district of London, the Tsuba looks eastward for its inspiration. The Asian inspiration is not recent for Mr Speake – he was one of the first independent watchmakers to employ Japanese themes and techniques on his watches some two decades ago at Speake-Marin.

The name itself refers to the guards of Japanese swords; protective, functional devices found on Japanese swords like katana for centuries. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), tsuba gradually transformed from merely practical elements into blank canvases for decorative and artistic expression.

An example of tsuba

The shape of the case is directly inspired by the typical tsuba, which is loaded with symbolism. To execute on this vision, Mr Speake turned to designer Darren Jones, a British watch designer who provided the initial sketches and concepts for what would become the Tsuba.

The case is also the most complex part of the Tsuba to make, with its scalloped corners and rounded surfaces requiring a complex, multi-step process for machining and finishing. Interestingly, the articulation of the bracelet and the size and shape of the case were developed specifically for small and medium wrists, to appeal to clients in the Asian market.

Perhaps because of the complex form of the case, which required equally complex sapphire crystals, water resistance is just 30 m, which is probably sufficient but less than one would typically expect from a sporty watch with an integrated steel bracelet.

Detail of a bronze drum of the Dong Son culture of Vietnam

A tried-and-true movement

The Tsuba is powered by the Vaucher cal. 5401, a slim, micro-rotor automatic movement used by big names like Parmigiani and Hermès, and also supplied to small independents like Kikuchi Nakagawa, Laine, and Bradley Taylor.

The cal. 5401 is fairly ordinary on paper, ticking at 3 Hz and running for 48 hours on a full wind, but is exceptionally thin and well constructed. Mr Speake seems to have an affinity for Vaucher movements, which he documented in great detail on his website The Naked Watchmaker.

Key facts and price

PS Horology Tsuba
Tsuba Blue
Tsuba Dong Son Slate
Tsuba Dong Son Ultramarine

Case diameter: 38.3 mm
Height: 8.91 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Vaucher cal. 5401
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 48 hours

Strap: Stainless steel or synthetic textile

Limited edition: 99 (Tsuba Blue) and 80 (Tsuba Dong Son)
Availability: Directly from PS Horology (Tsuba Blue); from Miluxe in Vietnam (Tsuba Dong Son)
Price: Tsuba Blue: CHF 19,500 (excluding tax and shipping), with 30% deposit for delivery by August 2025; Tsuba Dong Son: Upon request

For more, visit ps-horology.com.