Independent Austrian mechanical watches created by Maria Kristina and Richard Habring, known for proprietary A11 movements, unusual complications and small-scale hand production.
Founded in 2004 by Maria Kristina and Richard Habring, Habring² is an independent Austrian watchmaker specializing in mechanical watches produced on a deliberately small scale. The brand combines traditional hand finishing with technically distinctive complications such as dead-beat seconds, monopusher chronographs and split-seconds chronographs.
Habring² is an independent Austrian watch manufacturer founded in 2004 by husband-and-wife team Maria Kristina and Richard Habring. The squared symbol in the name represents the two Habrings behind the company. Rather than operating as a large luxury group or industrial watch producer, Habring² follows a small-scale approach in which watches are assembled, adjusted and finished with extensive manual involvement at the company’s workshop in Austria.
Richard Habring brought decades of technical watchmaking experience to the project, particularly in complicated mechanical movements. Together, Maria and Richard developed Habring² around a straightforward idea: produce reliable, serviceable mechanical watches with interesting complications without making those complications unnecessarily elaborate. That philosophy remains one of the clearest differences between Habring² and many traditional high-end watch brands.
A major part of the modern Habring² identity is the proprietary A11 movement family. The platform was developed after ETA began restricting the availability of movements and spare parts to independent manufacturers. Habring² created its own architecture while retaining compatibility with several functional modules the company had already developed.
The A11 family provides the foundation for watches ranging from simple hand-wound models to chronographs, jumping-seconds watches and split-seconds complications. Components are produced with specialist suppliers primarily within the German-speaking European region under Habring² specifications, while assembly, adjustment and finishing remain closely controlled by the company. Movements typically feature hand finishing, shock protection and approximately 48 hours of power reserve.
Felix is the natural starting point in the collection. It uses the hand-wound A11B movement and focuses on traditional hours, minutes and small seconds in a compact 38.5 mm case. Felix also received the Petite Aiguille prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2015.
Erwin builds on that concept with a dead-beat, or jumping, seconds mechanism. Instead of appearing to sweep continuously like most mechanical watches, the seconds hand advances once per second while remaining completely mechanical. The complication has become one of Habring²’s signatures.
Chronograph enthusiasts have several more unusual options. Chrono-Felix combines the compact Felix format with a monopusher chronograph, while Doppel-Felix adds a split-seconds chronograph capable of timing intermediate intervals. Doppel-Felix won the GPHG Petite Aiguille prize in 2018. The COS-Felix offers another distinctive solution, operating its chronograph through the crown rather than conventional external pushers.
The collection has continued to expand beyond the original Felix family. Oskar combines a pointer date with small seconds and an optional moon-phase display, while Josef uses a regulator-style display with separate hour, minute and dead-beat seconds indications plus a power-reserve indicator. More recent projects such as Jorge demonstrate that Habring² continues to experiment with movement architecture, dial finishing and collaborative watchmaking while retaining relatively compact case sizes.
Habring² occupies a specialized part of the luxury watch market. Current U.S. retail pricing starts at roughly $5,850 for simpler Felix models and rises substantially for chronographs and more complicated watches, with perpetual-calendar models reaching well above $20,000. Prices vary by configuration, market and retailer.
These watches are aimed less at buyers seeking a widely recognized luxury logo and more at collectors interested in independent watchmaking, mechanical engineering and uncommon complications. The restrained designs often hide surprisingly sophisticated movements, making Habring² particularly appealing to enthusiasts who value what happens inside a watch as much as the name printed on its dial.
Price Range: $5,850 – $27,750+
Positioning: Luxury
Choose a country to explore trusted online stores and authorized retailers where Habring² Watches may be available.
Habring² watches are created by independent Austrian watchmakers Maria Kristina and Richard Habring. They founded the company in 2004 and remain closely involved in the production, assembly and finishing of its mechanical watches.
The squared symbol represents the two people behind Habring²: Maria Kristina and Richard Habring. The company describes the name as representing both Habrings working together.
Habring² watches are made in Austria. Movement components are produced with specialized regional suppliers according to Habring² specifications, while the watches are assembled, adjusted and finished under the company’s control.
Habring² uses its proprietary A11 movement family in many current watches. The movements were engineered by Habring² and use components produced by specialist suppliers according to the company’s technical drawings and specifications.
Felix is one of the simplest and best-known Habring² watches. It is a hand-wound mechanical watch with hours, minutes and small seconds, typically housed in a 38.5 mm stainless steel case.
Felix uses a conventional small-seconds display, while Erwin is distinguished by its mechanically driven dead-beat or jumping seconds hand, which advances in precise one-second steps.
Doppel-Felix is a mechanical split-seconds chronograph. Its additional chronograph seconds hand can be stopped independently to measure intermediate times before catching up with the main chronograph hand.
Yes. Felix won the GPHG Petite Aiguille prize in 2015, while Doppel-Felix received the same prize in 2018. The earlier Doppel 2.0 also won the Sports Watch Prize in 2012.
Current U.S. retail prices start at roughly $5,850 for simpler Felix models. Chronographs and other complications cost more, while highly complicated models can exceed $20,000.
Yes. Habring² is an independent, family-run Austrian watch manufacturer rather than part of a major watch or luxury group. Its small-scale production and proprietary mechanical developments are central to the company’s identity.
