Biver AB: The Independent Watchmaker’s First Steel Watch Is No Compromise

Biver has launched the AB, its first steel watch and first manually wound timepiece, with a new in-house calibre, a 120-hour power reserve and a black onyx dial set against yellow gold. It is also the independent Swiss watchmaker’s smallest model to date, measuring 38mm across and just 9.8mm thick.

The AB began as a request from Biver’s collectors. Rather than simply recase its existing Automatique in steel, co-founder and CEO Pierre Biver opted to start again, developing a new case, dial construction and movement from scratch. The result is a watch that brings together a more understated case material with the level of hand finishing associated with the brand’s considerably more complicated pieces.

The dial pairs black onyx with 2N yellow gold, a champagne-toned alloy making its debut at Biver. A gold track sits directly on the stone, while gold hands provide the hours and minutes. At 12 o’clock, a power-reserve indicator displays the remaining energy, marked by a gold pin. Small seconds sit at six, incorporating Biver’s signature zero-reset function: pulling the crown returns the seconds hand to zero for precise time setting.

Inside is the new JCB-004, a manually wound calibre featuring two barrels and a power reserve exceeding 120 hours. Its architecture uses a mainplate and bridges made from PD210, a palladium-rich white gold alloy that does not tarnish or require plating. The movement’s decoration includes circular graining and sandblasted bridges, with each component finished in a carefully controlled sequence.

Each AB is assembled from start to finish by a single watchmaker, with the wider technical, decoration and quality-control teams contributing to its production.

The steel case and bracelet mark a departure for Biver, but the CHF 68,000 price tag places the AB firmly in high horology territory. It is priced at approximately $82,500, and available now.