Cramain was founded by a young duo, Kilian Leschnik and Dr Julian M. Stiels, out of the shared vision to create timepieces that would be crafted solely by their own hands, with traditional craftsmanship. Cramain therefore combines the words ‘crafted’ and ‘main’ (hand, in French). Their inaugural creation is an impressively complex and detailed time-only piece, fitted with a constant force mechanism called the Cramain Mark II.

Kilian Leschnik, 28 years old, graduated from watchmaking school in Germany in 2016. There, he was awarded as the best student with his Mark I ‘Piece Ecole’ watch. The curriculum of Julian M. Stiels is far less classic, as he graduated Doctor of Medicine. Always drawn to mechanical watches, he is self-educated in CAD, movement design and construction. 

The duo started to work on their Mark II timepiece as early of 2014 (Stiels joining full time as of 2018). With a vision to create watches that would be crafted solely by their own hands, their effort consisted of creating their workshop restoring vintage machines like Hauser jig borers or SIXIS milling machines. This was a prerequisite for practising traditional manufacturing and finishing techniques.