Krayon was founded by Rémi Maillat, a watch design engineer whose background is in micromechanics rather than traditional watchmaking, a distinction that shows in everything the brand creates. After years spent developing fine watchmaking movements for Cartier, Maillat set out on his own in 2013, initially as an engineering studio before channeling his ideas into his own creations. His debut, Everywhere, arrived in 2017 and did something no mechanical watch had done before: it calculated the precise time of sunrise and sunset at any point on the globe, adjusted entirely through the crown. The complexity was staggering, and the achievement earned Krayon the Innovation Prize at the 2018 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. In 2020, Maillat followed with Anywhere, a more wearable evolution of the same idea, which went on to win the Calendar and Astronomy prize at GPHG in 2022. Krayon has since expanded the family with Anyday, the world's first mechanical daily planner watch, and a series of Métiers d'Art editions that translate astronomical data into genuine works of art on the wrist. Oster Jewelers is proud to carry Krayon, and Melissa and Jeremy have long admired the way Maillat brings mathematics, engineering, and a deeply personal sense of place together in every piece. Listen in as we sit down with Rémi to trace the origin story behind Krayon, from a snorkeling trip in Costa Brava that sparked the idea for a sunrise-and-sunset complication, to building prototypes and running a workshop overlooking Lake Neuchâtel today. We talk about the engineering philosophy behind the Universal Sunrise Sunset calibre, how Rémi thinks about complexity versus wearability, the hidden details worked into the finishing of every movement, and what it means to build a brand around something as intimate as a person's relationship to their own place on Earth. As always we hope you enjoy this captivating conversation, and, if not already familiar with Krayon that you enjoy discovering one of independent watchmaking's most quietly extraordinary voices. Thank you, as always, for downloading and listening to Keeping Time Podcast. The ultimate compliment is if you would share Keeping Time with your friends and, of course, if you could take a moment to post a favorable review on your chosen podcast platform. Please reach out with any comments or suggestions for future episodes directly at keepingtime@osterjewelers.com. Visit the Keeping Time Podccast blog page for corresponding photos and the complete podcast listing.
