NOT SO STANDARD TIME

The Paragon is a Canadian-made example of how a new generation is entering luxury watchmaking. JEREMY FREED talks to its creator, Bradley Taylor, about crafting for serious collectors

If your average Timex is a top 40 radio hit, the Bradley Taylor Paragon is a 20-minute free jazz opus by a composer with an unpronounceable name. Most people won’t understand and few will care, but those who get it, well, they care a lot. That small, deep-pocketed, semi-fanatical community of watch collectors is exactly who this Canadian watchmaker created the Paragon for.

“The Paragon is definitely not someone’s first watch,” says Taylor, who grew up in Toronto and studied watchmaking in Le Locle, Switzerland, earning certifications at the esteemed workshops of Patek Philippe and Hublot before setting up shop earlier this year in Vancouver at the age of 30. “Most of my customers have bought a lot of high-end brands and want something that has been truly considered inside and out.”

The Paragon, Taylor’s first creation, is certainly that. The dial is made by Kari Voutilainen, a highly respected independent maker of six-figure Swiss watches. It features specialized guilloche engraving and hand-polished numerals. The movement is made by Vaucher, another Swiss specialist, and the fineness of its hand-finished surfaces can only be truly appreciated through a jeweller’s loupe. The hands, meanwhile, are crafted by Taylor himself, who spends 20-plus hours shaping, polishing and heating each one to achieve a specific shade of deep purple. In a nod to national pride, the movement is held together by Robertson square head screws (a Canadian invention) and the Paragon is available on straps made from beavertail and salmon leather.

Taylor is making 12 Paragons, each priced at US$22,000. While they sold out within six weeks of taking orders, other pieces are in the works. “It’s hard to explain what I do,” Taylor says. “But just telling people that I make a few really high-end watches every year is kind of funny.” Funny to some, but a serious business for those in the know.