This article was originally published in the Design 2023 Issue of the WatchTime print magazine. Photos by Marcus Krüger and Ochs und Junior.

Ochs und Junior was founded in 2006 by the innovative developer Ludwig Oechslin and his partners; today it belongs to the Oechslin family. Only 130 watches are produced each year at the company?s headquarters inside an Art Nouveau villa in La Chaux-de-Fonds. One might expect extremely high prices under these conditions, but the watches begin at 3000 euros even with an innovative weekday display. Ludwig Oechslin carried out and documented a restoration of the Farnese Clock in the Vatican from 1978 to 1982. He was then discovered by Rolf Schnyder (CEO of Ulysse Nardin until his death in 2011) when searching for a designer who could create astronomical complications. Oechslin first developed an astrolabe for Ulysse Nardin, followed by other complex models like the Freak and a perpetual calendar. From 2001 to 2014, Oechslin led the Musée International d?Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He studied mathematics, astronomy, archaeology and theoretical physics in his academic career, culminating in doctoral and post-doctoral degrees. And during that time, Oechslin also completed a watchmaking degree and master watchmaker examination. For him, science and craftsmanship are not polar opposites but come together neatly in watchmaking. ?For me, everything is part of a single thing, the one complements the other. Scientific work provides ...