– By Sophie Furley
Some watchmakers make so few timepieces that their names only pass the lips of a handful of watch collectors. These are connoisseurs who already own the most sought-after timepieces and are forever hunting for something truly original.
Hungarian-born Aaron Becsei is one such watchmaker, crafting just three to four watches per year from his workshop in Budapest.
Through the Generations
Becsei is a third-generation watchmaker, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and uncle, all of whom specialized in restorations.
“My grandfather started the profession in the family in the 1950s. He was self-taught and very talented. People would bring timepieces to him that no one else could repair and he would fix them,” shares Becsei. “I was more interested in computers and mechanics, so I imagined myself more as an engineer or a programmer, but watchmaking was always there.”
After finishing his training at a Budapest watchmaker school, where he learned to disassemble and assemble watches, he graduated from the School of Technical Sciences of Budapest with a focus on engineering. He then continued his tutelage under his father.
He says: “I was restoring some really old clocks and watches at the time which required me to completely remake all kinds of different parts from scratch. This made me start to think about the possibility of making a completely new timepiece for myself.”
From the Miniature Zappler to Baselworld
His first piece was a tiny pendulum clock called the Miniature Zappler, which he worked on in his spare time and completed in 2003. Two years later, he presented his Tourbillon No.1 clock, featuring a tourbillon, calendar, world time, power reserve indicator and thermometer.
It wasn’t until 2008, however, that he finished his first wristwatch, the Primus tri-axial tourbillon, which started to get him noticed. Shortly afterwards, he was accepted as a member of the prestigious Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (ACHI), exhibiting at the now-defunct Baselworld watch fair, which cemented his path into the haute horlogerie world.
Five years passed from that first exhibition and the first order, but since then he has been creating one-of-a-kind timepieces to his clients wishes, to the rhythm of one or two years per piece.
Working in this way demands an enormous amount of effort as each new timepiece takes him back to the drawing board for an entirely original creation. It is a wonderful way of making watches, but not necessarily the most sustainable or efficient.
The Turning Point
“We had been building a new workshop for a long time, and when we moved in, I started to think about how we work,” notes Becsei. “We decided to shift our strategy, moving away from one-off bespoke pieces to creating mini series of 12, and we are now working with Mo Coppoletta, who is guiding all of the creative thinking.”
The idea came after a mutual collector friend asked Coppoletta for help with the design of his Aaron Becsei watch. Coppoletta explained that he didn’t design one-off watches, only large design projects, so the collector spoke to Becsei and a conversation naturally began.
Coppoletta says: “For an artisan in the middle of the countryside of Hungary, who had always been doing everything by himself, all the renderings, all the styling, it was hard to trust someone even if you know him and even if you know what he is capable of. The trust started slowly, as it should, and now there is full trust. Aaron is smiling much more because a lot has been taken off his shoulders.”
Coppoletta wasn’t only tasked with designing a new collection, but also with the entire brand identity, from creating the narrative to the set of fonts, the color palette and the landing page of the website. The result is, in many ways, an Aaron Becsei 2.0.
The Design Journey
To design the new series, christened Pameus, Coppoletta turned to his library of 1920, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s watches from Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe and others. “I wanted to bring the dial back and focused on an interpretation of a sector dial that would be the most luxurious sector dial I could imagine,” he explains.
Moving away from Becsei’s signature tonneau case shape, this new timepiece is housed in a 38mm round case and comes in a choice of platinum or yellow gold.
Mid-length baton indexes have been used on the dial, instead of the usual full-length ones, stopping just before the first chapter ring to give the impression that they are floating over the rings.
There are also subtle differences between the two versions: while both models feature applied chapter rings with lacquered recesses, the platinum timepiece utilizes a railroad pattern whereas the yellow gold version displays a periphery of dots. The stepped case is a pure exercise in Art Deco, with two flanks that come together without any soldering to create seamless lines down through the lugs.
On top of all that, the 72-hour power reserve double-barrel movement has been designed from the ground up.
“I didn’t use any base movement or outsourced components, so I was free to make anything I wanted,” notes Becsei. “I started from a blank sheet of paper and made the calculations and designed the gear train, the bridges, the screws and all the components. It is maybe the hardest way to make a timepiece, but it gave me a lot of flexibility in terms of design and possible solutions.”
A Diamond in the Rough
“This project has been very special to me,” says Coppoletta. “Aaron embodies exactly what the world needs and what the world wants at this moment. It is his time as the small independents are the hottest tickets right now. With all those years under his belt already, he is a diamond in the rough.”
The duo presented the new collection to the collector community this week during an exclusive event at Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in Geneva, a moment that not only unveiled a new watch, but signaled the beginning of a new era in Aaron Becsei’s quiet yet extraordinary career.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: DECADE ONE auction having realized $83 million in 2025 with 100% of lots sold. Phillips now holds the top three highest grossing watch auctions of all time.
About Sophie Furley
Sophie has spent the past 20 years covering watches and jewelry for leading print and digital titles, including Revolution, Telegraph Time, India Today and WorldTempus. She joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in early 2025 as Head of Digital Marketing. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives on the outskirts of Geneva with her family and their dog.
Recommended Reading
The Best of Independent Watchmaking at the Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII