F.A.Q

As you might have seen through reading the website, we are based in Neuchâtel which is at the heart of Swiss watchmaking. Our small but well equipped workshops are manned by some highly qualified watchmakers who also work with some of the better named brands. Read more about us here. 

Simple economics. It’s no secret that the major brands spend large amounts of money on sponsorship and advertising, often in the millions.

Many of these brands also have significant overheads which we don’t, they also have to take into account the supply chain which means wholesaler and retailer costs added to the end cost for the consumer.

By minimising our supply chain and utilising social media as our main shop window we are able to keep our costs at a minimum. We also have relatively low overheads which helps keep the end cost down. 

Regardless of which model we will always use a Swiss movement. Currently we focus on ETA and Sellita but plan on creating our own in-house movements. 

We implement a proprietary compound into the forging and casting of our steel which we import directly from a foundry in Germany. This effectively case-hardens the steel creating a scratch resistance not rivalled by either 316L or 904L steel. We believe that no other company has anything near the scratch resistance that our compound offers, at least to the best of our knowledge. 

Everything related to the watch is made in Switzerland. From the casing to the dial, markers, hands and even the spring-bars are Swiss made. The only things we outsource are the packaging and certain straps which come from either Italy or Germany. 

Anyone can claim to be Swiss made, many do. The truth is though that to be truly Swiss made you have certain legal obligations to fulfil. This includes having an official certificate of origin from the relevant local government. If a brand doesn’t hold this you have to question are they really made in Switzerland or simply using the movements. 

Every timepiece is hand milled and finished on an individual basis. This is the same with the majority of our parts which are then hand assembled in our workshops. This is effectively making each watch bespoke. This method takes time and it is for that reason we only take reservations. As we evolve and are able to put any profit back into the brand our production capabilities may improve as will capacity output. This may allow us to hold some level of stock for immediate purchase. 

We’ve part answered this already. Hand crafting quality timepieces takes time. We strive for perfection and would rather it take time to achieve this than rush and offer a poor quality product. 

The only way to obtain a KG&S is to apply to go on the reservation list. You can do this by filling in the form here. 

Our business model has revolved around creating a viable long term mid tier luxury brand. To achieve this we need to prove ourselves. in order that we do we heavily subsidised the first and second models where we ran at a significant loss. It’s impossible to maintain that strategy hence the return to a more realistic cost which is still better value than many brands at our level.

Further to this our prices will reflect improvements which might not appear obvious but are definitely there. Our brand is not for profit. Any margins are given back into the brand for R&D and the remainder to charity. 

No. Biatec are a sister company with the sole responsibility of overseeing our production in Switzerland and dealing with product logistics and quality control. 

We have a strategy not to. Each model is a careful evolution designed for brand owners. If we produced multiple models at the same time many of our clients would be unable to buy each model they might want. This is a loyalty brand. We create for our clients not our pockets. Making models in order allows more flexibility on procurement for owners. 

All timepieces are hand made to order. We initiate production the instant an order is made. This means the procurement of materials and allocation of time. Many major companies use a deposit or pay in advance model to prevent loss from cancellations and in the interest of brand protection. We strongly encourage anyone who is unsure of paying in advance not to order if they have any doubts. 

Because we have spent more effort than most in research and development along with the procurement of the finest materials. We only contract watch and case-makers who have many years of experience and holders of recognised industry qualifications. This isn’t the most cost effective method but it ensures we can be confident in our quality being as high as possible. 

In short, no. With retail comes cost. The supply chain expands and as wholesalers and retailers want their piece of flesh the cost rises to where we aren’t comfortable. E-Commerce is successful for a reason. It keeps costs down. We aim to stay exclusively online. 

Quality comes at a cost; time being one of them. Because we procure, hand-make, and assemble everything individually, our manufacturing process takes significantly longer than mass produced brands made in Asia or elsewhere. We also have a limited but highly qualified team of watch and case-makers who refuse to be rushed. 

We employ a small but highly skilled group of craftsmen and women  who work on a sub—contracted basis. All of them also work, or have worked with other high-end brands in Switzerland. Our watchmakers have all been formally trained and qualified watchmakers and are  certified members of many major globally recognised horological institutions.. 

Unfortunately yes. Short of completely closing us the pandemic has had a major impact on production lead times. This has meant exaggerated delay on shipping, but not on moral. We are one of but a few true Swiss watch manufacturers to have survived the pandemic. Something we are proud of.  

Yes. our brand was created to be a legacy. To allow that we felt there was no better way than to allow the buyers to become stakeholders. When the time is right, all original owners will be allocated shares. 

Yes. However, if you sell your timepiece without notifying us you run the risk of having your timepiece delisted as an official timepiece of KG&S and certainly invalidating any warrantee. By allowing us to document the timepieces sale, it gives us the ability to keep audit of said piece. This goes some way into further protecting our brand from forgery and theft. 

There are many reasons for limiting editions. Ours are for the following.

• Firstly, we don’t want just anyone to wear our timepieces. That would dilute the brand. We wish to remain somewhat exclusive. The only way to achieve this is to limit production.
  
  
• Our timepieces are hand-made. Unlike most smaller brands we don’t have a minimum order constraint. We can make one or one million. The fact we hand make each piece makes it time consuming and by consequence limits our capacity to produce large quantities.  
  
  
• Making smaller quantities means we can spend more time on each piece. This model is used by the likes of Patel, Rolex, and many other major brands. If it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for us. 

Currently the only way to get your timepiece repaired is through our sister company Biatec Watches who triage the watch before redirecting it to our team in Switzerland. Due to the highly sensitive nature of our DNA security we vigorously enforce this.   

We have no way to verify if a watchmaker is qualified to work on timepieces, not will they have access to authentic replacement  parts. It is for these reasons we require a back to base repair scheme.  

Yes. We spent years of research and development to refine smart-water Technology. We went one step further and invented a way to incorporate real DNA into the watch which cannot be forged.