Craft is Everywhere: How Statera Brought Old World Watchmaking to Brazil

When I first met Rafael Guimarães a few months ago, Statera hadn’t crossed my radar in a big way. The small brand, which has a fair claim to being the first watch brand born and built in Brazil, had already sold through a few production runs of nice-looking watches, but the brand had yet to make a real splash or to break out from the typical microbrand mold. Their first few releases certainly showed evidence of an eye for quality and detail, but for Rafael and his longtime friend and co-founder Antonio Almir dos Santos Neto (the two have known each other since they were five), it wasn’t enough.

“For the first watch, the ST01, we made the design, and then the watch was fabricated in France… it was more like a [proof of concept] to see if we are able to sell watches,” Rafael explained. The obvious next step was to turn inward, to move away from external manufacturing and create what would be (and now is) the first independent watch not only conceived in Brazil, but made there as well. The result is the ST02 Esmalte Grand Feu, a handsome take on the everyday watch born out of a unique perspective paired with a generation’s worth of accumulated knowledge.

How We Learn

The path to the ST02 was neither short nor simple. Reaching the next level when you live and work in a part of the world with no history of watchmaking isn’t easy, and it’s not made any easier by Brazil’s restrictive tax structure. “We are fascinated by métier d’art. and we are fascinated by dials made by hand. And if you are living in the country, where you pay a hundred percent in taxes, when you import something — to bring a machine to Brazil was at that point impossible. Imagine to bring a guilloché machine, for example, or to buy guilloché dials, then when they arrive, 100% in taxes.”

Author’s note: Import tariffs in Brazil are notoriously high, often about 60% of the cost of retail goods. With other taxes, fees, and the cost of shipping to Brazil, goods brought in from outside the country can easily, and often do, double in price for Brazilian consumers.

“It’s very hard, but that’s insane. That’s insane, but it was like this. But to make enamel dials, I need silver — [which] I can buy from local suppliers — enamels; it’s a cheap thing. You can buy like a kilo of very good quality [enamel] for $50,” Rafael told me. “So it’s cheap. And the ovens are not that expensive. So we make this decision because we are in love with enamel, and we are really wanting to work with it.”

A tradition of making things the old fashioned way is also important to Rafael. “We always do things with our hands,” he said. “We have that artisan soul, I can say, and then we chose this path, because at that moment it was the cheaper thing that we can deliver with the biggest impact. Because imagine a Brazilian brand making enamel dials. It will be a hell of a story, won’t it?”

With their mission in mind, the Brazilian duo fell back on a lesson they had learned with their first watch, the ST01. Armand Billard, the founder of Sartory Billard, had been instrumental in helping Rafael and Antonio bring the first project to fruition. The pair, according to Rafael had “knocked on his door on Instagram to talk, to say, ‘Hey, man, how are you doing this? How are you doing that?” 

Billard connected the Brazilian duo with contacts in Europe, helping them source parts and manufacturing, but with the ST02, and facing the more complicated prospect of manufacturing dials and cases independently, Rafael and Antonio knew they needed to put in the leg work first. “We didn’t want to knock on someone’s door like we did to Armand without experience, you know? When we knocked on someone’s door, we have to make it solve our doubts.”

In other words, they had to be ready. So they undertook what Rafael now calls an “exploration period.” But, with no local expertise to guide them, and a practical limit on materials and tools, where should a young watch brand turn? Well, like any one of us might, the duo behind Statera turned to the internet, and started down the long path that would eventually lead to the ST02. “It was like 2 years of studying, mastering,” said Rafael. “We bought all the books available on Amazon, firstly, obviously. And we bought like a 3 feet-squared sheet of copper. And we bought enamels. We bought the oven, the books, and then we start to burn and see what happens — let’s talk, let’s try, let’s read, let’s see YouTube videos and everything, and let’s try.”

There’s no question that how we learn new skills has changed dramatically over the last twenty or thirty years, but regardless of the incredible democratization of knowledge, or the access tools like YouTube provides, there comes a point when what you need to find are experts — people more experienced than yourself who can help you avoid the pitfalls and false starts that come with any endeavor.

“So we did it this way, that way, and it works. And then the first door that we knock on after this exploring phase; we knock on Naomi Nevill’s door.” Nevill, a master enameler from Wales who has helped produce Grand Feu enamel dials for brands like Vitreum, soon became a valuable mentor for Statera. She offered the duo advice and helped them through the critical change of swapping out copper dial blanks for sterling silver.

“She helped us a lot. At that moment, we were suffering a lot with bubbles on our enamels. So she helped us to avoid these bubbles, and then we started a weekly call using Zoom. We would work a whole week, and then on Thursdays, we would meet with her on a video call… We were suffering with this [technique], and then she started to help us, and then we went to the next level, then to another, to another, to another level.” 

Yet another level came a few months later. While in Switzerland for a polishing course with WOSTEP, Rafael went to visit Gabriel Colliard. A longtime veteran of Patek Philippe, Colliard is undeniably a master of enameling for watch dials, having worked with the likes of Vacheron Constantin, Louis Vuitton, Rexhep Rexhepi, and so many others over an illustrious career. He also happens to be South American, a very important point of connection between Rafael and the established enameler. “I went to Gabriel Colliard, I’ll tell you. And this was for us for sure. A game changer. And we have an instant connection,” Rafael told me. 

“At this point, we are in the middle of the process, developing the watch, and then we went back to Switzerland to do a small workshop with [Colliard]. Three days of enameling together. Antonio went at this time, too, and he taught us the details that are missing for us to be able to deliver enamel dials.”

The SB.02 Esmalte Grand Feu

The result of all this time spent focused on learning is the SB.02 Esmalte Grand Feu. I’ve spent the last few weeks with the SB.02, and while it’s not exactly what I expected it to be, I have to say I’m thoroughly impressed. The new watch, at first glance, makes for a beautifully refined, simple dress watch, with sharp dauphine hands, minimal markings, and zero lume, but surprisingly, and unexpectedly, the Esmalte Grand Feu also does its best to present as a go-to all-rounder, suitable for everyday wear.

Sure, it’s slightly dressier than your everyday sports watch, but in practice, the SB.02 walks a deft line between formality and ease, with a character not dissimilar from the likes of the Rolex Explorer or a first-generation Omega Aqua Terra. Available in two sizes (37mm and 39mm) and three different dial options (black, ivory, and blue), there is plenty of variety in the SB.02 collection, but regardless of what configuration you opt for, I’d expect these watches to spend more time on your wrist than in a watch drawer.

Now, if you’ve read this far, it probably goes somewhat without saying that the leading feature of the SB.02 is its Grand Feu enamel dial. The black dial on my press sample is a deep, glossy black. Looked at head-on, the dial of the Statera reminds me of the black lacquer dials found on Rolex Professional models. Like the Explorer or Submariner, the Statera boasts a deep, even black. But turn the SB.02 in the light, and the magic of Grand Feu Enamel makes itself apparent. The glassy smooth surface gives way to a wonderfully subtle texture, one only visible in just the right light (though seemingly more apparent in some colors than others).

But for as good as the Grand Feu enamel dial is, it’s not what I would characterize as the watch’s best feature. To my eye, what really stands out is the cohesiveness of the watch as a whole, something which can be credited in no small part to the influence and input of longtime industry veteran Angelique Chappuis — or, as Rafael put it himself, “the ST02 project was made by six hands; Angelique, Rafael, and Antonio.”

Angelique Chappuis, an expert in the field of habillage — which roughly translates to ‘dressing’ but describes the side of watchmaking that deals with the fit, finish, and casing of movements, rather than the mechanical side of the field — has, over a long career, worked with just about every name you can think of, including Cartier, TAG Heuer, and various Swatch Group brands. Chappuis discovered Statera on Instagram (how else?) and was drawn to the brand, in part because of her own Brazilian heritage. “She’s half Swiss, half Brazilian… and she used to live in Brazil. She lived in Brazil until 12, and then she moved to Switzerland,” Rafael explained.

Now based in Neuchâtel, Chappuis became an invaluable partner in the development of the ST02. “Angelique is the key for us to be able to machine the case here in Brazil. She is in habillage — it’s the job that she’s been doing for 30 years; to choose parts, to develop hand shapes, to develop cases. So she’s the designer behind the ST02 case, and then we bring our background as enamelers at that point.”

That experience shows in the final product. The 37mm ST02 is a remarkably coherent watch, replete with detail. The cardinal indices interpret the shape of a local tree’s pine nut, while being perfectly complemented by the sharp dauphine hands, finished in a matte texture that makes them both legible and entirely different from what one might expect on a watch like this. The pad-printed indices and markers are crisp and well laid out, such that you hardly notice they’re there because they seem so obviously in the right place. The dial’s balance of glossy and matte textures is reflected in the case finishing, which balances polished and brushed elements. The case’s overall shape is familiar, evoking classic forms without feeling like a carbon copy of any particular watch.

All of this comes packaged around the La Joux-Perret G100 automatic movement. This automatic movement has become a favorite of small indie brands and is robust, reliable, and (in this case) somewhat beside the point. The only major component of the ST02 to be produced outside of Brazil, the G100 does exactly what it needs to without drawing too much attention to itself. Still, it’s nicely finished and is a perfectly fine choice for a watch of this quality, in this price range.

Of course, there are some considerations to be made if you’re thinking of picking up the ST02. For one, the case isn’t water resistant. It’s a well-made modern watch, so I have no doubt of its ability to shed off some light rain or a splash of water when washing your hands or doing the dishes, but I wouldn’t subject it to much more than that. I’d love to see future versions produced with a screw-down crown, or even a clear water resistance rating — even 100 meters would make this a far more versatile option.

Overall, the ST02 Grand Feu Enamel is an excellent all-rounder, and feels like a real shot across the bow from Statera. The revitalization of watchmaking outside of Switzerland has been a sight to see in recent years, and seeing a duo like Rafael and Antonio bring the industry to an entirely new part of the work is really exciting. The ST02 itself perfectly encapsulates this, offering a truly first-of-its-kind experience, and acting as an exciting fusion between longstanding Swiss and nascent Brazilian watchmaking, all while just being a very good watch all on its own. Statera

Author’s note: Since the writing of this piece, the team at Statera has confirmed that the ST-01 is rated as water resistant to 30m. This confirms my hunch that while the ST-01 will hold up to day-to-day encounters with water, it shouldn’t be treated as a waterproof sports watch.