Anton Suhanov watches: history, models and owner reviews

Anton Suhanov, founded in 2019, is an independent Russian manufacture established in Saint Petersburg by watchmaker Anton Suhanov; it speaks to collectors drawn to visible mechanisms, retrograde displays, multi-axis tourbillons, spectacular table clocks and author-led watchmaking in which engineering becomes a form of mechanical storytelling.

Saint Petersburg, engineering and Russian watchmaking independence

Anton Suhanov does not come from a classical watchmaking path. Trained in mechanical engineering and computer-aided design systems, he first worked in a design bureau connected with the defence sector before joining Konstantin Chaykin in 2007. For more than ten years, he developed a very complete culture of mechanics, movement design and production there. This engineering origin explains the way his watches show function instead of hiding it.

The founding moment came in 2016 with Black Clock, a table clock equipped with a three-axis tourbillon. This piece won him the Young Talent Competition supported by François-Paul Journe and the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, then opened the way to a more personal approach. The Anton Suhanov manufacture then appeared as an independent atelier, centred on rare creations, often produced in very small series. The brand was therefore built around technical recognition before becoming a commercial signature.

Its territory is very different from that of traditional Swiss luxury brands. Anton Suhanov favours moving complications, bridges that tell stories, displays that jump, jewels that become design elements and cultural references linked to Saint Petersburg, vintage automobiles, Russian history or the philosophy of time. Each creation seems to start from a precise mechanical idea, then seek a form capable of making it visible and emotional.

Black Clock, Pharos, Lotus and the world of table clocks

Before wristwatches, Anton Suhanov became known through highly complex table clocks. This larger scale allowed him to explore the multi-axis tourbillon, slow animations, world-time displays and almost sculptural architectures. Pharos is inspired by the Lighthouse of Alexandria, with a vertical body, sapphire dome and three-axis tourbillon, while Lotus turns the clock into a mechanical flower whose petals gradually open. These creations give the atelier an identity of poetic, spectacular and highly unconventional mechanics.

• Anton Suhanov Black Clock — Table clock with three-axis tourbillon, founding 2016 piece, which gave Anton Suhanov international recognition among independent-watchmaking enthusiasts.
• Anton Suhanov Pharos — Table clock inspired by the Lighthouse of Alexandria, made of four hundred seventy-two components according to sources, with three-axis tourbillon beneath a sapphire dome.
• Anton Suhanov Lotus — Flower-shaped mechanical table clock whose petals slowly open and close around a three-axis tourbillon placed inside a glass sphere.
• Anton Suhanov St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon Clock — Contemporary egg-shaped clock, with twenty-four-second central flying tourbillon, twenty-four-time-zone display and 2025 Horological Revelation Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

The St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon Clock marks an important step, because it connects the tradition of Fabergé eggs with a modern reading of the horological secret. The object contains functional surprises, a tumbler-like form, guilloché and enamel decoration, a world-time display and the “flaming” balance dear to the creator. This GPHG award gave Anton Suhanov much stronger international visibility than that of a confidential regional atelier.

Racer, Chronotope and Flamingo: the move to the wrist

The move to the wrist began with Racer Jumping Hour GMT in 2021. The inspiration comes from the dashboard of old cars, but without being limited to an aesthetic quotation. The dial becomes a two-sector composition, with retrograde hours and minutes, jumping twenty-four-hour GMT indication and time reading conceived as a mechanical stage. Racer shows how Anton Suhanov transposes his taste for complex architectures into a wearable object.

• Anton Suhanov Racer Jumping Hour GMT — First wristwatch of the manufacture, with retrograde hour and minute display, jumping twenty-four-hour GMT indication, small seconds scale and date.
• Anton Suhanov Racer Retro — More open evolution of Racer, limited to twenty-eight pieces, with openworked dial, one-hundred-thirty-two-component indication module, thirty-nine-millimeter steel case and modified automatic movement.
• Anton Suhanov Chronotope — Forty-two-millimeter watch with peripheral automatic rotor, retrograde day-of-the-week display, date, power-reserve indicator on the back and numerous jewels used as both functional and decorative elements.
• Anton Suhanov Pobeda-80 — Commemorative watch connected with the Great Patriotic War, with chronology display, animated dial elements and hands with a very specific language.
• Anton Suhanov Flamingo — Recent watch centred on a large visible balance, a non-linear power-reserve indicator and visual references to the architecture of Saint Petersburg.

Chronotope is especially representative of the atelier’s maturity. The Su200.10 movement uses a Swiss base as a donor, but transforms it deeply with peripheral automatic winding, a retrograde day display driven by a snail-shaped cam, ruby pallets reducing friction and a visible power reserve on the back. The watch almost becomes a lesson in mechanics, but with real research into formal beauty.

Flamingo continues this direction with a more contemplative approach. The dial-side balance becomes a visual phenomenon, the power reserve accelerates in its final sector to suggest that time seems to run faster when little remains, and the bridges refer to the geography of Saint Petersburg. The strength of these watches comes from their ability to blend function, metaphor and personal signature.

Rarity, prices, service and buyer profile

Anton Suhanov remains a proposition for insiders. Production is limited, prices are high, availability often goes through the atelier, specialized retailers or interest lists, and service must be considered seriously given the level of mechanical modification. Some wristwatches sit well above the price of already established Swiss independent watches, while the table clocks belong to an even more exclusive universe. The purchase belongs less to rational comparison than to adhesion to an author’s universe.

The ideal profile is that of a collector already sensitive to independent watchmaking, able to appreciate an original module, artisanal finishing, unusual architecture and sometimes disconcerting aesthetics. The brand will suit less those seeking a thin, discreet watch, immediate liquidity on the secondary market or support from a very wide international network. One must accept rarity, waiting, service complexity and the strong personality of each piece.

The appeal of Anton Suhanov is also cultural. In a world dominated by Switzerland, Japan and Germany, the manufacture proposes a contemporary Russian reading of high watchmaking, with a strong imprint of Saint Petersburg and a desire to prove that mechanical creativity can emerge outside the usual centres. This singularity can become a major asset for a collector seeking something other than an already established name.

Conclusion

Anton Suhanov is aimed at enthusiasts who want independent watchmaking that is highly personal, complex, visible and narrative. The manufacture stands out through table clocks with three-axis tourbillons, wristwatches with retrograde displays, expressive use of jewels, references to automobiles, Saint Petersburg and Russian cultural objects, as well as recent international recognition. The choice should begin with the collector’s sensitivity: spectacular table clock, automotive jumping-hour watch, visible calendar mechanics, flaming balance or object awarded at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Before purchasing, compare creativity, legibility, comfort, service, rarity and real wrist emotion with owner experience through Dialicious customer reviews.

(Updated October 2026)