Forget the Waitlist: Sartory Billard is What Luxury Should Feel Like

Photo by Chris Antzoulis

Let’s be honest: if you’ve ever walked past a luxury watch boutique in an airport terminal and thought, Yeah, this is exactly where I want to drop five figures, then you might be part of the problem. We’ve reached a point in the watch world where exclusivity is being mass-produced, and “luxury” is starting to feel a lot like that one cologne sample they keep handing out at Macy’s. It’s everywhere. And if everyone has it… is it really special?

Luxury isn’t only being mass-produced; the cost of it is also increasing astronomically, while the products themselves remain largely the same. “Watch journalist” jargon like “bang-for-buck” is losing meaning as brands ask us to drop more coin, aggressively expanding the wealth gap. I would argue that it’s time for us to start looking for something different.

Enter Sartory Billard! A name that sounds like it could either be a French watch atelier or a Bond villain with a monocle fetish. Thankfully, it’s the former (though the watches are dangerously good-looking). I recently spent time with two of Armand Billard’s latest creations: the SB04-E Tantalum, a moody, engraved masterpiece in a metal so scarcely used it’ll make a billionaire blush, and the SB04-E Ruby Platinum, which looks like it was carved out of the dreams of a rock god and a Swiss sorcerer. These aren’t watches. They’re wearable mic drops.

Photo by Chris Antzoulis

We live in a world where we’re drowning in steel sports watches with multi-year waitlists and six-figure auction drama. It might be time to ask: What if your wrist didn’t need to shout a brand name to say something bold? What if you skipped the hype machine entirely and went bespoke?

Let’s talk about why buying a one-of-a-kind, or small batch, watch might just be the most rebellious and rewarding move you can make in horology today.

The Case for Going Off-Menu

Here’s the thing: most of us are told subtly, persistently, and through a barrage of lifestyle marketing, that a “real” luxury watch comes from a big brand with a century-old backstory and a marketing budget the size of a small country’s GDP. The message? Get in line, pay your dues, and maybe one day we’ll let you buy a black dial diver just like the one your dentist has. 

Photo by Chris Antzoulis

But what if you don’t want to wear a luxury-themed douche-bro uniform? What if you want something with soul—a watch that actually says something about you that isn’t I Googled ‘top 10 watches to buy after a promotion? Yeah, I’m looking at you, Tyler who works in finance and thinks wearing a Rollie Sub to the office will give him a seat at the table, or wearing a Cartier Tank with jeans and a t-shirt over the weekend is a revolutionary idea. Sit back in your Eames lounge chair, take off those ridiculous loafers, and grab a drink from your carefully curated collection of bourbon and humor an elder emo as he attempts to influence you to tap into your creative side. Are you ready?

Because this is where Sartory Billard comes in like a velvet-gloved uppercut. Armand Billard creates miniature universes he produces in small batches, like the two I tried, or he collaborates with YOU to craft the perfect bespoke piece. His dials don’t come off an assembly line. They emerge from a design process that feels more like commissioning a piece of art than placing an order. Want tantalum? Sure. Ruby dial? No problem. Meteorite, mokume-gane, hand engraving, or a drop of Jupiter if you ask (or croon) nicely—he’s game. You’re not just choosing materials; you’re building something that didn’t exist before you dreamt it up with a craftsman worth his weight in whatever metal he’s going to source for you next. OH MY GOD, Armand, can we do something in adamantium?!?! CALL ME!

There’s a rebellious elegance in creating something truly unique. In a watch world where scarcity is artificially manufactured, a Sartory Billard piece is rare simply because no two are the same. It’s not limited by marketing. It’s limited by imagination.

And honestly? That feels a lot more luxurious than fighting over your spot on the waitlist. And I won’t have to hold back the vomit when someone posts HASHTAG #IGotTheCall. 

Two Watches, Zero Compromises

I had the pleasure—no, the privilege—of spending time with two Sartory Billard creations.

Photo by Chris Antzoulis - SB04-E Tantalum

SB04-E Tantalum: The Gentleman Scoundrel

Let’s start with the SB04-E Tantalum. If watches had personality types, this one would be the rakish villain who steals the crown jewels and your date, then escapes via speedboat in a tuxedo that somehow doesn’t wrinkle. The dial is made of tantalum, a notoriously difficult metal to machine and finish—the horological equivalent of saying, I like my steak cooked with a flamethrower by a blindfolded French chef.

But it’s worth it. Tantalum has this deep, stormy hue with just a smooch of blue, like brushed steel that’s been moonbathing. It’s masculine, mysterious, and just left of center in the best way possible. You won’t see this on the wrist of a finance bro flexing at Equinox.

SB04-E Ruby Platinum: The Showstopper

Then there’s the SB04-E Ruby Platinum, which is somehow even more arresting. At first glance, it reads as elegant, but then there’s something a bit rock n’ roll to it. A slice of ruby at the center of the dial pulses loudly as you can see the veins flowing through the stone. The ruby core is accented by a platinum outer ring that exudes a subtle sophistication. 

But wear it for a few minutes, and it reveals layers. The way light goes through the ruby dial is borderline hypnotic. You start noticing things: the texture beneath the sapphire disk applied atop the dial, the ghostly shimmer of the hands. It’s not flashy; it’s intimate. This is a watch that doesn’t beg for attention, but earns it, slowly and permanently.

Together, these two models show the emotional range of Sartory Billard’s work—from bold and engraved to sleek and translucent. And both prove something that should be obvious by now but somehow isn’t: when it comes to luxury, it’s not about how many people want it. It’s about who it was made for and the life you build with it.

Photo by Chris Antzoulis

The Value of the One-Off

Value in luxury watch circles has become a warped concept. We're constantly told a watch is worth owning if it holds value, as though the whole point of wearing something beautiful on your wrist is to eventually flip it like you're trading Pokémon cards in a recession.

Photo by Chris Antzoulis - SB04-E Ruby Platinum

But value isn’t just resale. It’s resonance. It’s emotion. It’s knowing that your watch wasn’t just another number in a production run so large it required its own power grid. With Sartory Billard, you’re not buying into brand clout, you’re investing in craftsmanship, artistry, and intentionality.

And yes, the prices for a Sartory Billard can run high. These are luxury watches, not clearance-bin finds. But stacked against mass-market luxury pieces, many of which now come with price tags that suggest someone’s doing cocaine in the pricing department, these watches actually make sense. You’re getting precious metals, handmade dials, and an individualized experience that would cost you triple if it came with a Geneva seal and a century-old logo slapped on the dial.

In a world of “limited editions” made in batches of 1,000, Sartory Billard’s work feels truly rare, and that rarity isn’t performative, it’s personal.

A Word to the Collectors (and the Curious)

To the seasoned collector with ten Rolexes in the safe and an AP on backorder: isn’t it time you stopped playing the same greatest hits on loop? You’ve mastered the blue-chip game, now try something custom-tuned to your actual taste. Not the taste of your AD. Not the taste of that one YouTuber who swears by lug-to-lug measurements and the legacy of Gerald Genta. YOUR taste.

And to the first-time buyer with one shot at making it count: don’t be fooled into thinking your only options are between what’s hot and what’s hotter. The right watch doesn’t just sit pretty in an Instagram flat lay; it speaks to you every time you check the time, even when it’s just to make sure your meeting really is at 4 and not 3:30.

Rebel! And get a watch that wasn’t made for everyone. In a hobby where people will argue for six hours over font thickness and then all buy the same black dive watch anyway, wearing something truly unique is the real punk rock. 

Transparency

I was sent these watches from Sartory Billard on loan. There was no expectation for me to write about the watches or the brand, and Sartory Billard had no input on the contents of this article.

REMEMBER, nerds…. to keep the comments clean. Please don’t make me pull out ole Abraham-Louis here.