About Hasan Bekmezci

A Lifelong Obsession with Horology

Hasan Bekmezci has been captivated by the art of watchmaking since childhood. What began as quiet fascination became a consuming passion that shaped his career, his travels, and the friendships he holds closest. He has a particular gift for inventing rich, imaginative histories around watches he encounters, weaving stories of the people who might have worn them and the lives they might have lived.

Over two decades of collecting, Hasan has assembled a carefully curated collection that spans Swiss grand complications, independent Haute Horlogerie ateliers, and rare vintage pieces rescued from estate sales and forgotten drawers. His particular interests lie in minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and the singular craft of hand-engraving, an invisible artistry that rewards only those patient enough to look closely.

From Enthusiast to Editor

FLÂNEUR grew out of a simple frustration: the watch press was either inaccessibly technical or breathlessly promotional. Hasan wanted something in between: writing that treated watches as cultural objects, placed a new release in the context of horological history, and spoke to readers who were genuinely curious rather than merely shopping.

He launched the publication to fill that gap, drawing on years of salon visits, manufacture tours, and late-night conversations with watchmakers, collectors, and dealers across Geneva and Istanbul. Every article on this site reflects his conviction that a great watch deserves great writing.

The Collection Philosophy

Hasan collects with patience rather than breadth. He rarely buys on impulse and has been known to spend years researching a single reference before committing. He believes a collection should have a point of view, that the watches you choose to live with say something about what you value in craftsmanship and time itself.

Get in Touch

Hasan welcomes correspondence from fellow collectors, independent watchmakers, and anyone with a story worth telling. Reach him through the contact page or find him at Watches & Wonders each spring.

Why Flâneur

Most people look at a watch and see the time.

We see stories.

The movement of a hand is never merely a mechanical event. Sometimes it is the story of a sailor finding his way across an ocean. Sometimes it is a pilot measuring hours above the clouds. Sometimes it is the pursuit of perfection by an engineer who devoted decades to a single idea.

Inside a watch, more than gears are turning.

Ideas turn.

History turns.

Humanity turns.

At times, we follow the trail of a complication. We ask why a moonphase display exists. Soon we find ourselves among astronomers centuries ago. We explore the science behind luminous materials and suddenly the journey takes us through rare earth elements, crystal structures, quantum tunneling, and even the supernovae where the atoms around us were first forged.

Because a watch is never just a watch.

On your wrist, you carry a story millions of years in the making.

That is why Flâneur exists.

We do not see watches as lists of specifications. We are not interested only in reference numbers, calibers, or catalog pages.

We are interested in the stories watches tell.

When we write about a chronograph, we write about racing circuits.

When we write about a GMT, we write about oceans and continents.

When we write about a perpetual calendar, we reflect on humanity's attempt to tame time itself.

Every complication is the story of an idea.

Every mechanism is a solution to a problem.

Every watch is a trace left behind by the people who imagined it.

The name Flâneur comes from the curious observer who wanders, notices, and follows details wherever they lead.

That is what we do in the world of watches.

We slow down.

We observe.

We ask questions.

And we follow the stories hidden beneath the dial.

Because sometimes the best way to understand a watch is not to know how many beats per hour it makes.

It is to listen to the story it tells.