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Machiel Hulsman’s Marie-Elise is a time-only mechanical wristwatch that Monochrome Watches called the first entirely handmade Dutch wristwatch in a 2019 feature. That distinction needs context: the watchmaker made most of its components himself, but the crystal, strap, mainspring and balance spring came from outside suppliers, and he used a CNC machine. The Marie-Elise is a useful case study in what bespoke watchmaking can mean: a client helps shape a watch with its maker, while the maker’s own production and sourced components should be described precisely.
Who is Machiel Hulsman?
Before becoming a watchmaker, Hulsman worked as an IT consultant. Monochrome reported that he began the Marie-Elise project about five years before its 2019 feature and worked in a small atelier in Hilversum. Hulsman Timepieces says he began making watches there in 2014 and now works from a workshop in Heerde, in the Dutch province of Gelderland.
Hulsman’s own site frames his approach around collaboration: “Let your ideas come to life, for you and the next generations.” Bespoke, in this context, is not simply choosing a color from a catalogue. The maker invites clients to help define the design and, depending on the project, its complications and how it is set and operated.
What is the Marie-Elise?
The Marie-Elise is a manually wound, time-only wristwatch. Hulsman Timepieces describes its movement as designed, calculated and made from scratch. The maker’s product page lists a rose-gold case with open lugs, a silver guilloché dial, and heat-blued steel hands and indices.
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Hulsman Timepieces also specifies 20 jewels, including hand-cut and polished rubies for the pallet and impulse jewel, and a 46-hour power reserve. Its description names Côtes de Genève, perlage, anglage and black polishing as movement finishes. These are maker-published specifications, rather than independently measured figures.
How “entirely handmade” should be understood
Monochrome’s 2019 description of the Marie-Elise as the first entirely handmade Dutch wristwatch is a historical claim attributed to that feature and Hulsman’s own site; it should not be read as the result of a comprehensive survey of Dutch watchmaking. The same contemporary account makes clear that handmade did not mean every component was made by Hulsman or that no machinery was involved.
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According to Monochrome, Hulsman made most of the watch’s components in his atelier. He made the screws, plates, bridges, springs other than the mainspring and balance spring, and the jewels. The crystal, leather strap, mainspring and balance spring were made by others. He also used a CNC machine, and an experienced watchmaker and clock restorer helped with the project.
That distinction matters when comparing independent or bespoke watches. “Handmade” can describe substantial individual work without meaning that every part is made in-house, entirely by hand, or without specialist equipment. Hulsman Timepieces now describes its watches as nearly entirely handmade, with a few specialist components sourced externally.
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What bespoke means in Hulsman’s work
Monochrome reported in 2019 that clients could participate from start to finish, choosing the broad style, case, dial, hands, indices and complications. The maker’s current site continues to invite clients to co-create watches and names perpetual calendars, 3D moon phases, tourbillons and remontoirs among possible complications.
Those options make bespoke more than a matter of appearance. A complication can change the movement’s design and construction, while choices about setting and operation affect how the owner interacts with the watch. The Marie-Elise shows one end of that range: a restrained time-only watch whose individuality lies in its design and hand-finished execution. The newer examples on Hulsman’s site demonstrate more mechanically ambitious directions.
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For a meaningful comparison between bespoke watchmakers, ask about:
- In-house production: which components the maker designs and produces, and which are sourced.
- Client input: which design decisions the client can make, and when those choices must be finalized.
- Complications and operation: what functions are possible and how they are set or used.
- Materials and finishing: what is offered, and which parts or finishes are made by the watchmaker.
- Price and timing: the current written quote, payment terms and delivery estimate for the specific commission.
Monochrome gave about a year as an estimate for a future Hulsman commission in its 2019 article, depending on complexity. That is a historical estimate, not a current lead-time promise. The sources do not establish a current Marie-Elise price, whether it can still be commissioned, or its present delivery time.
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How the Marie-Elise fits Hulsman’s newer watches
Hulsman Timepieces’ examples page now presents watches that extend well beyond the Marie-Elise’s time-only brief. Its Tourbillon Solstitium (2026) listing describes a one-minute tourbillon, retrograde minutes, jumping hours, a hidden power-reserve indicator and customization options. The maker presents it as a twelve-piece subscription series.
The same page lists the Easy Perpetual (2025), with a 39 mm gold case, perpetual calendar, crown-operated bidirectional setting and a stated 90-hour power reserve. It too is presented as a twelve-piece subscription series. The examples page displays a price of €138,000 for each model; those are current maker-listed details, so prospective buyers should confirm price terms, order status and availability directly with Hulsman Timepieces.
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