Against the Grain: A Cultural History of Swiss Independent Watchmaking (published April 30, 2026).
A book about makers who answer to no one is, in the end, judged by others anyway. What follows is that record, as it accumulates.
The Calibrated Wrist
Brent Robillard · 6 July 2026
“The auteur does not manufacture scarcity. The auteur is scarcity.”
— from the book, cited by Robillard as its governing thesis
Robillard’s review singles out the book’s narrative craft as its most unexpected strength, calling the storytelling itself “the biggest surprise” of a work ostensibly about horology. He closes:
“You will have to read the book for yourself. And you should.”
More reviews will be added here as they arrive.
On the book
The numbered first edition — 25 copies, signed and numbered — is sold out. Unnumbered copies, signed but not numbered, remain available by direct enquiry.