Watch industry supplier turned watchmaker Stephane Greco has introduced what I believe is his first publicly available watch, with the new and rather clever Greco Hexagonal Nut watch, as part of his Les Temps Modernes family of timepieces. The name of the watch is rather straight-forward, as the case is actually a titanium reproduction of an actual industrial nut – that is a hexagon. The two Les Temps Modernes launch models are the references LTM-18t and the LTM-04t.

There are a few versions of the watch, with the most interesting having matching hexagonal nut hour markers and (fitting) wrench-style hands. It all looks a bit silly until you realize that it actually aesthetically works. Greco has produced a few timepieces in the past that he never went public with and only sold to close colleagues. Though, the last time we spoke a few years ago, he did mention that his “brand” was going to be a bit more visible soon. Yes, in the Swiss watch world, 1.5 years later is “soon.”

Stephane Greco is a congenial, pleasant guy who while running an important watch component electro-plating supplier company is also living the dream like a big kid. His favorite activities include driving (and owning) fast vehicles, and he is often seen wearing a funky t-shirt that sharply contrasts with the deeply conservative image the high-end Swiss watch industry wants to portray to the world. In his own sense, Greco is a successful and playful nerd who is able to do a lot of what he wants in life because of his ability to offer a very valuable service to some of the most important Swiss watch companies.

Most people who know Stephane Greco recognize him as the owner of Rhodior – which is the name of his company. It is situated in the heart of the Plan-les-Ouates part of Geneva, which is also home to a series of big watch companies who have major facilities there, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Frederique Constant, and more. By offering a desirable and highly specialized service, I have a feeling that Rhodior simply fell into success given its location and regular customer needs.

Stephane himself is a Chemist and more recently, a sort of artist, having designed a number of interesting yet simple watches. The Greco Hexagonal Nut watch is the latest in a series, but is perhaps the most distinct. The new watch collection aimed at everyone from gear heads to engineers was launched just a block or so away from Rhodior at the local exotic car dealership, where many Swiss watch executives (including probably Stephane) go to purchase their Lamborghinis.

It is interesting to see the 13mm thick nut-style case, which mixes a sense of industrial refinement with a familiar shape. The case is in polished and brushed titanium or in black coated titanium and 49.6mm wide at its widest point and 43mm wide when measured from flat area to flat area. A look around the periphery of the dial allows you to see the nut-style screw threading which has been faithfully reproduced on the flange ring around the watch face. Even the crown is a matching hex nut. Given the inherent flexibility of the design, there are, of course, various versions of the Greco Hexagonal Nut timepiece available.

Inside the Greco Hexagonal Nut watch is a Swiss ETA 2892-2 automatic movement with the time and date. While the overall presentation of the watches is simple, I deeply appreciate the many fine details. You get the sense that the person who designed them certainly likes wild things, but is also familiar with what to expect from a high-end watch. Given Rhodior’s facilities, I am sure the plating processes on all the watches is top notch (as is the luminant).

Attached to the Greco Hexagonal Nut watches is a textured silicone strap which is meant to look like the tire tread of the wheels on a large 4×4 truck. The case isn’t ultra sporty, as it only has 30 meters of water resistant, but it does sport a sapphire crystal over the dial as well as over the caseback exhibition window. For Stephane, the Greco Hexagonal Nut watch is about “celebrating the iconic aesthetics of the industrial machine nut,” and in that, he clearly succeeds. Timepieces like this will surely find their audience. greco-geneve.com