SARTORY BILLARD

CRATFTED WITH INTENT

Form follows intent.

Not function. Not fashion. Not convention.

Every Sartory-Billard piece begins with a spark: a question, a material, a story.

The result is not a product. It’s a creation.

Sartory Billard was founded in 2015 with a simple idea – design and create timepieces that capture and express the unique history and personality of their owner. The first three model series (SB01, SB02, and SB03) put Sartory Billard on the radar of watch enthusiasts around the world. The current SB04 and SB05 families have enabled Armand Billard to further refine and develop a unique style of hand craftsmanship and incorporate it into his vision of what bespoke watches could be. The brand’s vision is global, and it translates into a wide range of customization possibilities, giving free rein to the client’s imagination. The results have been well documented by not only their owners, but the world’s watch journalists and enthusiasts.

The founder

Designer. Visual thinker. Engineer by instinct.
An industrial designer self-taught watch maker who merges artistic intuition and technical precision.
Every creation is shaped through dialogue — with the material or the collector.

“I truly believe that everybody has a creative part inside himself, but sometimes it’s difficult to express and I will take them by the hand, help them, expand their creativity, and I will make a watch for them.”

A former independent designer and director of his own design agency, Armand Billard began his adventure in watchmaking in 2015. His goal was to bring his own vision to the world of watchmaking, while opening new doors for the creativity of his customers. After selling his design agency, Armand immersed himself in his new profession, steeping himself in the techniques of watchmaking, which were totally unknown to him up to then.

Armand Billard

With a strong entrepreneurial drive, he decided to surround himself with talented craftsmen, while focusing on learning new skills. His ultimate goal? Offer high-quality unique watches, combining the use of premium materials and advanced techniques, with all watches finished and assembled in France. Thanks to his cross-functional skills and numerous conversations with collectors from around the world, Armand Billard is now able to harness the imagination of his customers’ creativity, helping them manifest their horological dreams into highly-personalized Sartory Billard watches. Armand ensures that the customer is at the heart of his work, and ensures that they are intimately involved in the process, making them a true co-creator of their watch.

A story of improvement

Sartory Billard took its first steps into the world of watchmaking in 2015 with the creation of the SB01, a model initially intended to be a personal project to celebrate a milestone birthday, which Armand Billard developed with Ludovic Sartory.

The following year, the SB02 took over from the brand’s inaugural model. This new model aimed to offer a “do it yourself” customization opportunity with bezels that could be changed by the customer with the use of a simple tool, and straps with quick change springs that could be changed by hand. Assembled in France, the SB02 was offered at a truly affordable price.

Sartory Billard then launched the SB03 in 2019, a new model that once again aimed to satisfy his customers’ quest for personalization. This watch position itself as an exceptional timepiece that reflects the personality of the wearer.

SB04 & SB05

In 2020, after a great deal of experimentation and research, the SB03 gave way to a more polished and refined vision of a customized watch: personalization paired with high-quality materials – the SB04, a watch with a more classic round dial, evoking a return to authenticity, while highlighting sophisticated materials and techniques.

Over the years, Sartory Billard is keeping its promise of customization possibilities: the SB04 is capable of meeting various creative requirements, giving customers the opportunity to unleash their most prodigious ideas. The success of the SB04 led to the creation of the SB05 in 2021. 

The SB05 sports a slightly smaller dial, a better movement and more finely refined details, resulting in a significantly higher quality watch. This pursuit of excellence led to a partnership with Comblémine for the production and assembly of the model, a manufacturer located in Switzerland and well known for working with talented independent watchmakers. 

Recently, Sartory Billard had the honor of seeing its SB05 “Black Mother of Pearl and Dark Grained Titanium” model selected for the GPHG 2022.

our philosophy

We believe form follows intent.
Each watch begins with something that stirs us: a material, a sketch, a memory.
That spark becomes a conversation. The conversation becomes a design. And the
design becomes a watch — one that speaks with clarity and soul.

With a maximum production of few hundreds watches per year, the amount of orders is deliberately limited. The very small team allows to remain close to customers and have real discussions with them, enabling them together to achieve unique creations that poetically reflect their story and personality. 

Thanks to its independent manufacture status, Sartory Billard has the freedom of time and creativity, allowing the production of exceptional timepieces that stand out in a market where industrialization is increasingly present.

OUR PROCESS

• One by one – No shortcuts.
• In-house artistry – Dial design and finish developed internally.
• Built for resonance – Each piece must strike a chord.

The client is kept informed of the creation process in real time, which allows him to actively participate and add some details to his watch if needed.

The watchmaker encourages the customer to play with colors and materials, and also gives them the possibility to add a personal phrase to the back of the watch, once again pushing the customization process to its peak.

Once the customer is happy with the design, it takes between 6 and 9 months to bring his creation to life. In a world where everything goes faster and faster, Sartory Billard gives meaning back to the purchase of an object such as a high-end bespoke watch, making patience an admirable value again. There is, finally, a real satisfaction in waiting for such a personal and exceptional piece.

GPHG: Recognition from the Watchmaking Establishment

The story begins in 2020, when Sartory-Billard submits its SB04 “Blue Titanium”, a minimalist yet powerfully graphic timepiece with a mirror-polished titanium dial — a technique mastered by only a handful of workshops. Though the watch was not nominated that year, its presence on the GPHG’s (Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève) official entry list marked the beginning of a long and steady climb toward recognition.

Two years later, in 2022, the maison returned with the SB05, this time featuring a dark mother-of-pearl dial encased in grained titanium. Entirely customizable by the client yet framed by a precise design language, the piece stood out in the Challenge category. It was nominated and exhibited as part of the GPHG’s world tour — a turning point that confirmed the legitimacy of Sartory-Billard’s approach: artisanal, tailored, and sincere.
In 2023, the brand entered the fray again, this time with a bespoke SB07, adorned with lapis lazuli and meteorite. Despite being a one-off piece made for a private client, its nomination in the Sports category underscored the GPHG jury’s growing openness to personalization — and to non-Swiss players capable of merging creativity and robustness.

But it was in 2024 that the brand delivered its most technically ambitious entry to date: the SB06-24HM “La Nuit”, a poetic flying tourbillon with a 24-hour complication. Entirely powered by Sartory-Billard’s in-house movement SBTV01, the piece was nominated in the Tourbillon category, one of the GPHG’s most competitive. The watch — whose dial evoked a celestial arc where a golden sun and luminous moon alternately crossed — symbolized everything the brand had become: emotional, technically bold, and quietly confident.

More Than a Competition

For Armand Billard, the GPHG has never been a finish line, but rather a mirror. “It’s not about validation,” he often says, “but about showing what independent design can bring to watchmaking when it’s free from conventions.” Each nomination was not only a recognition of skill, but also of vision — of a brand that had never sought approval, but won respect by staying true to its voice.

The founder’s words

1. What excites you most about connecting with collectors from all around the world?

I’m genuinely excited to meet collectors from around the world who approach watches as works of art, not just as status symbols. Across cultures, there’s a shared appreciation for craftsmanship, detail, and storytelling – values at the heart of Sartory Billard. Many have followed our work from afar, and when travelling and during fairs I have the opportunity to connect in person, to place the watches in their hands, and to begin those meaningful conversations that so often lead to unexpected creations.

2. You’ve said that “form follows intent” - not function, fashion, or convention. Can you explain what that means in the context of Sartory Billard’s approach to watchmaking?

For me, every watch begins with why it should exist — the intent — rather than simply following tradition or market trends. That intent might be to explore a new material, express a certain emotion, or bring a collector’s vision to life. Once that purpose is clear, everything else — the proportions, finishes, mechanics — flows naturally from it. It’s a way of ensuring that each Sartory Billard watch feels coherent, personal, and meaningful, rather than designed to fit into an existing box.

3. Each Sartory Billard watch begins with a conversation — sometimes with a material, sometimes with a collector. Can you share a memorable client story that captures this creative process?

One of my favorite examples began with a collector who wanted to capture the feeling of standing on a cliff, watching waves crash below. We spent time exchanging photographs and sketches until we found the perfect way to interpret that vision — a titanium dial, mirror-polished and engraved with a ripple pattern, then heat-blued to evoke deep ocean tones. It wasn’t just about making a beautiful dial — it was about creating a wearable memory. When he received the watch, he told me it instantly transported him back to that place.

4. Sartory Billard watches are finished and assembled in France — a notable distinction in an industry often defined by Swiss or even German standards. In your view, is there a particular nuance or philosophy that sets the French approach to watchmaking apart from its Swiss or German counterparts?

French watchmaking has a long history, but today it’s less constrained by the weight of tradition than in Switzerland or Germany. That gives us a certain creative freedom. I think of it almost like French cuisine — there’s a respect for technique, but also a willingness to reinterpret, to mix influences, to treat each creation as a unique expression rather than a strict recipe. That freedom allows Sartory Billard to blend engineering precision with a more artistic, almost couture-like sensibility.

5. From the early SB01 to the award-nominated SB06, your collections have evolved significantly. What does each new model represent in your journey as a designer and watchmaker?

Each model marks a chapter in my own learning curve. The SB01 was about proving that I could design and produce a watch that was truly my own. The SB02 and SB03 explored bespoke possibilities with more materials and dial techniques. The SB04 introduced mirror-polished titanium dials. The SB05 refined proportions and details for a more architectural presence. The new SB04‑E embodies our vision of a distinctive, beautifully crafted watch made for daily wear. And the SB06 pushed into high complications with a flying tourbillon, marking our arrival on the global stage. Each is not just a product, but a step in expanding what Sartory Billard can be.

6. You describe yourself as a designer and engineer by instinct, rather than someone who had gone through formal training. How has that shaped the way you approach watchmaking?

It has made me unafraid to question established rules. I didn’t start with the idea of “how things should be done” — I started with curiosity and problem-solving. I often approach challenges from a different angle, combining influences from industrial design, architecture, and art. That’s why many of our techniques, specially on dial finishing, came from experimenting and adapting methods from outside watchmaking.

7. Bespoke watches are usually seen as a luxury reserved for a few. How do you make that creative process more accessible and meaningful for your clients?

The key is conversation. I treat every commission as a collaborative journey rather than a transaction. We use drawings, renderings, material samples — anything that helps the client visualize and refine their idea. And I encourage them to bring in personal references, whether it’s a favorite color, a landscape, or even a memory. This makes the process less intimidating and more personal, turning the watch into a story they’ve helped author.

8. Sartory Billard’s recent nominations at the GPHG reflect increasing recognition from the industry. What do these moments mean to you - and do they influence your creative direction?

It’s incredibly validating to see our work recognized alongside the best in the world, especially as an independent brand. That said, I don’t create watches to win awards — the focus remains on making pieces that feel authentic to our vision and our clients. If anything, the nominations reinforce that staying true to our approach resonates with both collectors and peers.

9. In a world that’s moving faster than ever, your process celebrates patience and dialogue. Why do you think that resonates so deeply with your collectors?

Because it’s rare today to find something made slowly, with intent, for just one person. Our clients value the fact that their watch didn’t exist until they imagined it with us — that it carries a piece of their own story. The time spent discussing, refining, and crafting is not a delay; it’s part of the value. In a way, it’s a quiet rebellion against instant gratification.

10. Could you please describe Sartory Billard – the brand – in 3 words?

Personal. Sincere. Intentional.