Kerbedanz Maxspor Gr8: A 41mm Monopusher Chronograph

Early Impressions

• Two years after the 46mm original, the MAXSPOR GR8 41mm arrives with a rethought architecture: the KRB14-2 calibre’s screw-regulated balance wheel is mounted reversed onto the dial side, replacing the conventional third counter with a live view of the regulating organ in constant oscillation.
• Three versions are offered — polished titanium (CHF 36,000), DLC black titanium (CHF 38,000), and 18k rose gold combined with black DLC titanium (CHF 68,000) — each limited to 28 or 18 pieces worldwide.
• Grade 5 titanium construction, a guilloché dial hand-decorated by KERBEDANZ, and a double-gasket pusher that operates underwater complete a specification set designed for versatility across environments.
• A tool-free interchangeable strap system in hand-polished titanium allows the rubber strap to be swapped without removing the watch from the wrist.

Design & Mechanics

At 41mm diameter and 50mm lug-to-lug, the MAXSPOR GR8’s case proportions are compact enough for a business setting, substantial enough to read as a sports chronograph. Where most monopusher chronographs place three counters across the dial, KERBEDANZ redirects the space occupied by a third register toward the balance and hairspring, brought to the front through an architecture conceived by Aram Petrosyan, Chief Design Officer and co-founder of KERBEDANZ. The organ is not merely visible: it is mounted in reverse, so the collector observes its oscillations from an angle unavailable on any conventional watch.

A three-armed star-shaped balance bridge anchors the regulating organ to the dial, its surfaces finished with anglage and sandblasted contrasts. The structural component doubles as decorative centrepiece. Below it, a complex guilloché pattern — exclusively designed, manufactured and hand-decorated by KERBEDANZ — shifts character under different light conditions, providing a refined foil for the kinetic spectacle above.

Movement & Materials

The KRB14-2 calibre counts 343 components and 33 jewels, beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, and stores 48 hours of power reserve. Its defining upgrade over the movement in the original 46mm model is the screw-regulated balance wheel, which allows finer adjustment of the regulating organ and tightens overall chronometric performance. Concentrating start, stop and reset into a single pusher preserves the purity of the case profile while keeping the mechanism firmly within the tradition of column-wheel chronograph construction.

“With the new 41mm version, the challenge was to preserve this spectacular architecture within significantly more compact proportions, while taking the concept further. We refined the movement with a screw-regulated balance wheel, introduced a more sophisticated guilloché dial and enhanced the overall versatility of the watch,” said Vahé Vartzbed, CEO of KERBEDANZ.

Market Position

Three case configurations address distinct collector profiles. The polished Grade 5 titanium version — limited to 28 pieces at CHF 36,000 — pairs lightness with optical contrast between brushed and polished surfaces. The DLC black titanium variant, also 28 pieces at CHF 38,000, unifies the case in a single dark register that makes the guilloché dial luminous by comparison. At the top of the range, 18k rose gold combined with black DLC Grade 5 titanium, limited to 18 pieces at CHF 68,000, introduces precious-metal warmth without adding meaningful weight to the wrist.

Within the independent Swiss Haute Horlogerie segment, positioning between CHF 36,000 and CHF 68,000 for a dial-side regulating organ with genuine hand-decoration is competitive. Collectors following independent watchmaking from the GCC — a market attuned to rarity and mechanical originality — will note that global allocations across all three versions total fewer than 75 pieces, a figure that concentrates secondary demand considerably.

Day-to-Day Ownership

Water resistance to 50 metres / 5 bar is standard for a sports chronograph, but KERBEDANZ goes further: a double-gasket sealing system around the pusher allows the chronograph to be activated at depth within specified parameters. Grade 5 titanium keeps the watch comfortable through extended wear, and the tool-free strap-change mechanism in hand-polished titanium means the watch transitions between a rubber sport strap and presumably future alternatives without intervention from a watchmaker.

For collectors in Watches and Wonders-adjacent markets accustomed to independent Maisons, KERBEDANZ — founded in Neuchâtel in 2011 by Aram Petrosyan and Kalust Zorik — occupies a distinct position: small production volumes, in-house dial decoration, and a mechanical concept strong enough to frame an entire collection around one architectural idea.

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