Some, like Michel Parmigiani and Peter Speake-Marin, also honed their skills restoring vintage rarities.

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"Every day another concern failed, and the newspapers were black with bad news, " Parmigiani recalls.

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Across the road from Chopard in Fleurier is the small workshop of Michel Parmigiani.

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Parmigiani was in the U.S. recently to deliver a one-of-a-kind minute repeater to a client in Chicago.

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Now 50, Parmigiani spent most of his career restoring antique clocks and creating one-of-a-kind pieces for collectors.

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In 1996 the Sandoz family backed Parmigiani in a venture to sell watches under his own name.

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Audemars, Parmigiani, Rolex and Patek Philippe are technically independent, too, but they are different beasts than Speake-Marin and his cohorts.

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The Cartier Roadster, the Pirelli P Zero and the Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Type 370 have also been coveted among enthusiasts.

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Hublot showed off its newest Big Bang Ferrari and Parmigiani Fleurier showed its new Bugatti Vitesse titanium watch and the Bugatti Super Sport watch in rose gold.

FORBES: Fast Times