You may not have heard of Ketelaars Watches prior to now, however this very young Dutch micro brand are doing big things.

Situated in Waalre, just outside Eindhoven, the brand started making watches in January 2017, under the direction of Stefan Ketelaars, a guy in his mid twenties with a very ambitious vision.  Stefan designs, engineers, tests and makes each watch BY HAND himself.

The watches are all conceived in house and although there may be similar elements you may have seen before from other well known manufacturers, the combinations and execution are very Ketelaars.

Stefan explains the inspiration behind this particular Ketelaars creation, the 3D Terra in Motion:

I have always been fascinated by difficult complications. My hobby beside watchmaking is rock climbing and mountain climbing, that is why I did travel a lot to different places in order to clime different rock formations and mountains. When I started my first 3D earth complication it was to capture the urge to discover in a single timepiece. This piece was a reflection of my passionate hobby and when I would wear this watch, it was to remind me that there was more than a 9 to 5 job and life was worth living for (as in my previous profession).

Ketelaars 3D Terra in Motion

Face & case

Ketelaars manufacture each piece by hand and there tends to be at least a few watches of each style and/or design made, but as the watches evolve over time, their appearances can changes slightly as subtle alterations are made.  This piece is unique and made working with the client to achieve a “one off” look.

Made from stainless steel, the case is 42mm with a combination of polished and brushed edges.   The sapphire glass box crystal sits high above the case, which enhances the appearance of depth within the dial.

The main dial base is made from titanium and has been heated to create the champagne colour; this was then hand-hammered to result in a rough, stippled effect on the surface, which appears different depending on how it catches the light.

The dial itself is made up of multiple layers and is visually balanced, being split into 3 main focal areas – an hours and minutes sub dial sits at 4 o’clock, a 24 hour 3D earth at 8 o’clock and the balance wheel aperture at 11 o’clock.

The 3D globe is a hand engraved and lacquered earth globe, which rotates on a central vertical axis as time changes; it’s purpose to act as a day/night indicator.  This sits framed within a deep “bowl” of brushed steel and is the highest part of the elements making up the dial.  The sub dial where time can be read, is the largest of the 3 focal points and features Roman numerals as hour markers engraved on a brushed steel ring, which also has polished angular edges on the inside.  This appears to be floating above the visible movement gear wheels which connect the two areas.  The champagned titanium complication lid is a unique element of this piece and sits above the flying regulator, all beneath the heat blued titanium hands.

Lastly, the balance wheel aperture is at base dial level and finishes off the visual trio.  The aperture features another unique element, a champagned titanium ring circles the edge of the aperture.  Holding the watch up to the light, the aperture is fully open, giving clear sight through to the other side.  

The rehaut is relatively wide, with a gentle gradient sloping in towards the centre of the dial and actually cutting across about a third of the top of the balance wheel aperture.  KETELAARS is engraved on the area that crosses the aperture and follow the rehaut all the way around and it disappears under the higher elements of the dial construction.

The onion crown is large and the grooves well defined, so winding and changing time is effortless.  You may also notice the lugs appear to be a little more elongated than usual, which seems to aid a closer fit around the wrist.

Turn the piece over and the first thing you will see is the balance wheel spinning beneath the sapphire crystal.  The main plates are brushed with polished edges and there is a spattering of colour, with numerous heat blued screws and purple jewels.  The words “Piece Unique” are proudly positioned on a plaque which is screwed to one of the plates.

Ketelaars 3D Terra in Motion Case Back

Movement

The 3D Terra in Motion is powered by a Caliber ETA 6497 which has been highly modified by Ketelaars.  The movement is hand wound and as mentioned already, features a flying sub-dial regulator, 24h 3D hand engraved earth complications.  The original movement features subsidiary seconds, however this function has been omitted.

The base ETA Caliber includes 17 jewels as standard, however the Terra in Motion has 19 jewels, due to the additional 2 jewels used to aid the movement of the 3D globe.

Oscillating at 18,000 vph, expect a power reserve of 46 hours once fully wound.  

Ketelaars 3D Terra in Motion Side and Crown

Strap

Ketelaars provide a choice of different straps from various leather/skins.  There is also the option to “create your own” should you wish.

The strap on this unique piece is also unique – hand made from a light tan coloured ostrich leg suede, to match the tones of the dial, the main stitching is patina/beige with blue single stitch highlights at the lugs to compliment the blue colours of the globe and hands within the dial.  This combination was made to the owner’s request.

A highly polished stainless steel pin buckle deals with fastening; the brand’s logo neatly engraved in a corner.

Ketelaars 3D Terra in Motion Strap and Buckle

Other stuff

Stefan seems to be very spiritually connected to his watch creations and it has also been quoted that he is “inspired by time itself” – the fact that it is not possible to touch it, or contain it, but it has been measured for centuries and can also be worn on your wrist.

He always had an interest in both time and the complex engineering of a watch movement – watchmaking began as a hobby, however as for many people in the watch industry, it quickly became a passion and only actually sold his first watch in 2018.

After spending 8 years studying electrical engineering, he secured a position at a large blue chip corporation.  During his time working there, he realised that he was not able to follow his passion of solving technical challenges; as his days were mainly made up of meetings and paperwork.  So on evenings and weekends, Stefan started spending more time on watchmaking and eventually decided to follow his dream and stopped working the 9 – 5 in order to become a fulltime watchmaker in 2017.

Interestingly, other than an internship at at a watchmakers atelier, almost all of what Stefan does is self taught.

Stefan’s main goal has been to push the limits of what is possible in a watch as far as possible – this hunger for perfection and a real passion for traditional watchmaking is evident in each of his creations.

Ketelaars 3D Terra in Motion on the Wrist

Our verdict

The 3D Terra in Motion is a beautiful piece. 

Spend a little time looking into the dial and you will appreciate the layered depth that has been created – you will likely notice another detail each time you look at it from a different angle.  The 3 core elements all being on different levels is a clever trick, which really works to increase aesthetic value.

It actually appears bigger than 42mm on the wrist, this is likely due to the box crystal which actually rises above the case by 3mm, giving the watch much more height than usual.  In saying that though, it is actually only 13mm thick, so probably few issues fighting with cuffs.

The watch is very comfortable, well weighted and the oversized onion crown is a pleasure to use; it is possible to easily wind the watch whilst still on the wrist, which can not be said for many.  When setting the time, I found myself going around another 24 hours, just to see the earth globe rotating again!

With prices starting at around 4,000 Euros (plus Dutch Tax), this really seems to be excellent value – additional personalisation requests will incur additional costs.  There are not many places you would be able to purchase a hand made watch with a highly modified Swiss movement (and have an input into the design, should you wish) for that kind of money.  And, with only a maximum of 20 pieces being manufactured each year, even if your watch is not a “Piece Unique”, you can almost guarantee that there will not likely be another person in the room wearing one.

Ketelaars watch designs are always evolving and I am keen to see where the founder’s passionate imagination takes the brand in the future.

https://ketelaarswatches.com/