A new independent maison founded by Wei Koh and Guillaume Tetu: Legare debuts with Chapter 1 AGP Inverted, a watch with two escapements driven by a differential, inspired by Albert-Gustave Piguet’s 1932 watch.

Press Release information with insights and commentary in italics.

New: Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted

The Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted retails at CHF 81,944 before taxes for either version. Limited edition of 25 pieces for each version.

Insights and commentary

We first spotted the watch on Wei’s wrist at Watches & Wonders 26, and covered it in a bit of detail then. Linked in the photograph below is the video clip of Wei showing us the Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted. I also covered it in the Competitive Landscape section on my comprehensive review of the Candaux DC12.

Two versions of the watch are being offered. The one on Wei’s wrist in April was what is now known as the Darth.

**Legare Chapter 1 AGP Darth on Wei’s wrist. Photographed April 2026.**

The Darth version is more raw and perhaps more intense in the feel it conveys as I look at the watch. The finishing on the black rhodium surfaces have a matte finish which looks sand blasted, or frosted.

Personally, I prefer the other version, which Legare calls Elegant. It is true to its namesake, i.e, the aesthetics are more elegant. This version is finished with Côte de Genève shown on the dial side on the bridges and plates which are in untreated maillechort. The German Silver movement will patina over time, usually gaining a golden hue which glows. But visually, it is a toss up. Either version looks quite nice, with different emphasis and each shows a different character.

I also particularly like that Legare makes no effort to conceal who actually makes the movement, who does the finishing and the suppliers of the hands, dial and case. See the press release for these details. I love this transparency in an independent.

I find it interesting that one of the founder/owner of a major watch publication is now not only distributing vintage and new watches through collaborations, but also now founded his own watch brand. I have greatest respect for Wei, and not making even the slightest hint of any impropriety. I have known him for more than a decade. Meanwhile, with the other Legare founder/owner, it is perhaps par for the course, as Guillaume has always been a brand owner and visionary throughout his career. I have also known Guillaume for perhaps even longer, since his early days when he started Hautlence in 2004. Both are very knowledgeable and professional. And indeed it is wise of the watch community to tap on the brilliance of both men.

In the video with Wei, he told us that we will be getting a loaner for a full hands on review. When we get a sample for perusal and photography, I will review it in detail and comparing it to what I feel is perhaps the closest modern competitor – the Candaux DC12.

Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted Release details

LEGARE is an independent Swiss brand dedicated to the contemporary realization of forgotten horological possibilities.

For its inaugural chapter, the brand turns to one of watchmaking’s most influential yet often overlooked figures: Albert-Gustave Piguet. Best known for his work at Lemania and his contribution to the legendary caliber 2310, Piguet helped shape the history of the modern chronograph. Yet decades before that achievement, he created something altogether different.

In 1932, while a 17-year-old student at the Vallée de Joux School of Watchmaking, Piguet completed a pocket watch featuring two large split bi-metallic balance wheels whose rates were averaged by a differential. Only six examples are known to have been produced between 1932 and 1934, across three movement sizes.It was a watch of remarkable intellectual elegance: rooted in the classical traditions of Vallée de Joux watchmaking yet animated by the curiosity of a young watchmaker exploring new approaches to precision.

The question that inspired LEGARE’s first chapter was simple: what if this idea had continued to evolve? What if the double-balance concept explored by a young Albert-Gustave Piguet had become the foundation of an entirely different watchmaking journey?

The Chapter 1 AGP Inverted is LEGARE’s answer.

Presented in a Grade 5 titanium case measuring 37.5mm in diameter and 9.95mm thick, the watch combines architectural influences drawn from the 1930s and 1940s with contemporary construction and finishing. A stepped bezel, raised case flanks and sharply defined lugs create a distinctive profile, while intricate concave bevels reveal the level of craftsmanship involved in its execution.

The movement is inverted, bringing its twin regulating organs to the dial side. Two independent balance wheels beat visibly at 21,600 vibrations per hour while a differential continuously averages their rates and transmits a single output to the hands. Unlike a resonance watch, the system relies on the independence of its two oscillators, with the differential acting as a mechanical mediator between them. To achieve a compact architecture, the movement employs side-angled lever escapements more commonly associated with tourbillon construction.

The Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted “Elegant,” featuring an inverted movement in a Grade 5 titanium case The result is both technically compelling and visually engaging. The watch invites the eye into the movement, from the twin balances and their mirror-polished plates to the interplay of the escapements and differential, visible through skeletonized apertures when held to the light.

The Chapter 1 AGP Inverted is proudly Made in Switzerland and produced through a network of specialist partners located within approximately 100 kilometers of Neuchâtel. The movement is manufactured with PURTEC, part of TEC Group. The case and buckle are machined by UM2 and finished by Polissage des Franches-Montagnes. Dials are produced by FABRIKA, sapphire components by SEBAL and hands by WAEBER HMS. Product development, sourcing, final assembly and quality control are coordinated by GLS2F in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The Chapter 1 AGP Inverted is offered in two executions: Elegant, featuring untreated German silver, and Darth, rendered in black rhodium. Each is limited to 25 individually numbered pieces and priced at CHF 81,944 excluding taxes.

More than a tribute to Albert-Gustave Piguet, the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted establishes the foundation of the LEGARE project.

“We are horological archaeologists, uncovering forgotten possibilities and bringing themto life through contemporary watchmaking.”
Wei Koh, Co-Founder

Each chapter begins with a lost horological idea — a remarkable invention, concept or creation whose story was never fully told. Rather than reproducing these works as historical artefacts, LEGARE imagines how they might have evolved had their development continued uninterrupted into the present day. The Chapter 1 AGP Inverted is only the first. It will not be the last.