Tad Kozh: Empowering Artisans and Young Watchmakers
Tad Kozh, founded by Baudouin van Es, aims to foster heritage craftsmanship and support emerging independent watchmakers. The initiative pairs established watch brands with master artisans, granting them creative freedom to produce unique timepieces. Proceeds from these limited collaborations directly fund competitions, tooling, and mentorship for young talent in the watchmaking industry.
- Tad Kozh is an incubator for heritage craftsmanship and a springboard for young independent watchmakers.
- The initiative funds competitions, tooling, and mentorship for new talent.
- Tad Kozh's first collaboration was with Genus, featuring Cloisonné enamel.
- The second major project is a collaboration with Armin Strom, planned for November.
Tad Kozh's philosophy is to promote craftsmanship through genuine collaborations where the artisan has complete freedom of expression, inverting the typical brand-dictated model.
The name 'Tad Kozh' means 'grandfather' in Breton and is a tribute to Baudouin van Es's grandfather, honoring his legacy of craftsmanship and providing a safe harbor for self-expression.
The inaugural collaboration with Genus involved master enameler Mathieu Soufache and watchmaker Sébastien Billières, pushing creative and technical boundaries with Cloisonné enamel on the dial, indicator arrows, and hour markers.
The Genus collaboration is an ultra-creative, highly technical five-piece subscription series, with buyers directly involved in the production process.
The Tad Kozh new talent competition involves a jury with both technical masters and commercial experts to assess candidates' watchmaking skills and business viability.
The program provides winners with specialized tooling, machinery, technical and business mentorship, and introductions to the collector community.