Patrium: bimbu reveals a mineral heart
Created by Aldo and Mario Magada, bimbu blows winds of change across the watchmaking industry with their first collection: Patrium. Here, a streamlined and unmistakable design is completed by natural stones and contrasting finishing. The 5 first ethereal watches confirm that every detail can make a difference. Nothing is left to chance: both bracelet and movement are 100% Swiss-made. A free-spirited and precise creation, faithful to its roots.
Patrium is more than just a new watch collection – it celebrates the emergence of the Swiss high watchmaking sphere’s newbie: bimbu. The 2 brothers Aldo and Mario Magada chose this emotional name to embody the Swiss-Italian tradition they proudly inherited from – marrying passion, family and freedom. It also embodies the creators’ dearest dream: creating a human-scaled brand free from any rule, where excellence merges with sincerity. They strive for redefining the luxury world through emotion, transparency and handicraft. Each component of the Patrium models is 100% Swiss-made, produced by cherry-picked independent workshops. A throw-back to the spirit of 19th century watchmaking factories, where the best craftsmen would unite around a shared project.
Patrium by bimbu: a streamlined design linking heritage to modernity
Designed by Fabrice Gonet and Olivier Leu from Edge Design, the 39mm grade 5 titanium case of the Patrium model presents a retro-futuristic outline, conceived by Ab Product in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The piece marries lightness and elegance: pierced integrated lugs, polished bezel, a satin-finished case band and a micro-blasted case back, for a total thickness of 8.8mm.
Technical cleverness was clearly the watchword – even the bracelets are convenient. Grade 23 titanium inlays make them easily interchangeable. The dial, supervised by GT Cadrans (Lonay, Switzerland) is worth lingering on. With a knurled rail-track minutes circle and luminescent ceramic indices, it is adorned at 6 o’clock with a small seconds counter made of natural semi-precious gemstones – jade, turquoise, quartzite, marlstone, lapis lazuli or Tahitian mother-of-pearl.
A solid 18K 5N gold hand glides over such mineral microcosmos, with matching stone inserts that surround the transparent case back. Bimbu’s emblematic subtle sophistication is revealed by the light rays that smear those delicate surfaces. The bracelets, made by Multicuirs SA (Meyrin, Switzerland) are either available as FKM rubber, alligator or grained-leather straps with an exclusive titanium ardillon buckle developed in collaboration with Beauregard Manufacture.
Sporty-chic or classic, each combination becomes a personal signature. Indeed, on bimbu’s website, an online configurator allows customers to design their own Patrium watch – dials, hands and bracelets – according to their personality.
“Our customers will have an unprecedented wide range of possibilities from the start, but they will also be able to transform their watch, to change the dials and the straps afterwards.”
Aldo Magada
Timeless inner-workings and family spirit
At the heart of the watch, the ETA/Peseux 7001 movement beats, an ultra-thin manual calibre revisited by Concepto in La Chaux-de-Fonds. With a height of 2.5mm, it features bevelled bridges, a sun-brushed ratchet wheel and a double-snailed barrel. The whole piece is an incentive for a freer, truer and more sustainable luxury world. Even the jewellery case can be transformed: designed by The Bespoke Company (Paris, France), made of royal blue Italian leather, you can turn it into a functional backpack delivered with a watchmaker eye loupe – celebrating a thought-through design where beauty becomes convenience.
With the Patrium collection, bimbu reveals an unyielding plan: making the watchmaking industry straight, thrilling and eternal. An elegant and free-spirited manifesto that resembles its creators, where each detail bears the trace of an artisan, a hand, a legacy. Here, high watchmaking means both hand-made and eternal.
€15,000
Technical details:
Case
Diameter: 39mm
Material: Grade 5 titanium
Finishes: Polished, brushed, micro-blasted case back and case band
Case back: Two semi-precious stone inserts surrounding the movement, matching the small seconds counter
Dial
Sapphire crystal: Double anti-reflective treatment
Small seconds at 6 o’clock: Semi-precious stone
Recessed and raised minute circle
Photoluminescent indexes machined from a Super-LumiNova ceramic compound
Hands
Shape: “Sitelle” baton
Small seconds hand: Solid 5N gold Super-LumiNova treatment
Movement
Type: Concepto, based on the Peseux 7001 caliber
Exclusive finishes: Modified and decorated bridges (hand-beveling, grained and copper-colored finish), sun-brushed ratchet wheel, double-snailed barrel
Height: 2.5mm
Frequency: 3Hz
Power reserve: About 42 hours
Bracelet
Material: Alligator
Exclusive interchangeability device: Grade 5 titanium insert
3 sizes available: Grade 5 titanium ardillon buckle