Staudt Chronometrie
Staudt Chronometrie
Yvo Staudt at home, with an instrument and a Staudt poster in the background

From music to mechanics

The first watch.

“Since I was five, I dreamed of becoming a musician. But during my conservatory studies in Italy, I found another love: my own watch. It became my life's work.”

Yvo Staudt

Founder and designer

Pescara, Italy, 2013

Staudt did not start as a brand.

It started with a watch that Yvo Staudt could not find anywhere. While studying classical music at the conservatory in Pescara, he was looking for a watch that felt exactly right: classical, understated, with a blue dial and the calm of a well-composed piece of music.
Yvo Staudt leaning over a movement at the workbench with a loupe

When he could not find it, he started making it himself. First sketches. Then parts. Old movements taken apart, sometimes without returning to life as neatly as planned. Trying, starting over, learning by doing. It was not a business plan. It was a personal project, almost obsessive.

What had first been sound became form. What had first been rhythm became proportion. The silence between two notes became the space on a dial. The discipline of practising became attention to every detail.

That origin is still present today: in the calm lines, the restrained proportions and the belief that a watch does not need to shout to be noticed.

Four blue Staudt watches next to each other, from the first model to the current collection
The development of Staudt blue, from the first watch to today.

Prelude

The first watch was given a musical name: Prelude.

An introduction. An opening. A beginning. The name fitted the watch, and it fitted what would follow. What began as one personal project gradually became a collection, a brand and ultimately a life's work.
The name remains because Staudt is still not an end point. A watch starts with us in Ootmarsum, but it gains meaning through the person who wears it, the time that goes into it and the story that becomes attached to it.
View the Prelude collection →

“I am aware that nobody truly needs a precious watch.

That is exactly why every watch must carry meaning: layered beauty, attention in every detail and a calm kind of conviction. Just as in music, the same notes can sound, but it is the intention that stays.”

For those who take the time

Join the waiting list for the Staudt book.

One hundred and sixty pages about watches, delivered to your home free of charge. Not a PDF, not an email, but a book to keep. Leave your details and we will let you know when your copy is ready.
Join the waiting list →

Good to know

Who is Yvo Staudt?

Yvo Staudt is the founder and designer of Staudt Chronometrie. Before he made watches, he studied classical music. During his conservatory studies in Italy, he made his first watch, originally for himself.

When was Staudt founded?

Staudt was founded in 2014. Yvo Staudt made his first watch in 2013, while studying classical music at the conservatory in Pescara, Italy.

Where did Yvo Staudt make his first watch?

The first Staudt watch was made during Yvo's conservatory studies in Pescara, Italy. Later, that personal project grew in Ootmarsum into Staudt Chronometrie.

Why is the first collection called Prelude?

Prelude is a musical term for an introduction or opening movement. The name refers to Yvo's background in classical music and to the first watch with which Staudt began.

Is Staudt a Dutch watch brand?

Yes. Staudt Chronometrie is a Dutch watch brand from Ootmarsum. Our watches are designed, developed and assembled in the Netherlands.