MrWatchMaster Meets…Constantin A. Mureșan

Next we meet Constantin A. Mureșan, founder and watchmaker at CONSTANTIME, an independent watch atelier based in Târgu Mureș, in the heart of Transylvania. His path to watchmaking has not been a conventional one. He is an entrepreneur by background and a chocolatier by craft, and for many years has worked in a world where creativity, precision and attention to detail is essential. 

We hear his fascinating views on business, his grail watch, and his deep connection to Transylvania (below) and how this has influenced the development of his timepieces.

MWM: How is business?CAM: It is progressing much as I expected—a continuous process of working, learning, and building. The greatest challenge is balancing my attention between developing CONSTANTIME as a brand, creating watches for current orders, and exploring new ideas that I hope to bring to life in future models. It is demanding, but it also brings me a great deal of personal satisfaction.

MWM: What are your current business priorities?

CAM: My immediate priority is to complete the current Genesis orders to the highest possible standard, while continuing to build CONSTANTIME’s visibility and credibility internationally. In parallel, I am developing  ideas for future models and strengthening the capabilities of my workshop so that more of the creative and manufacturing process can remain in-house.

I want CONSTANTIME to grow carefully, without losing its artisanal character or the possibility of personalisation. As time allows, I would also like to enter other watchmaking and design competitions. The feedback from both juries and clients is extremely valuable to me: it gives me energy, encourages me to improve, and continually stimulates my imagination.

MWM: Tell us something we don’t know about CONSTANTIME

CAM: Something most people do not know is that the watchmaker behind CONSTANTIME is also a chocolatier. I am someone who needs quiet in order to work and create, but who also needs to be continually challenged. I found that challenge in chocolate-making, a craft that refined my attention to detail and taught me the importance of creating something that genuinely delights the client. I now carry those lessons into every watch I make and every idea I hope to bring to life.

I have also always been technically minded. In 2011, despite having very limited resources, I built my own 3D printer. Around the same time, I also built my own CNC machine. My fascination with automation continues to drive me and is gradually leading me towards modifying watch movements – initially through aesthetic transformations and, eventually, through functional developments as well.

MWM: Which watch do you wear?

CAM: The first CONSTANTIME watch I wore was Genesis. Since then, I have spent time wearing each of the models I have been developing, including some that do not even have names yet. I wore each of them in turn for a while, partly to experience them properly on the wrist, but eventually I returned to Genesis.

In the evenings, I often browse the latest developments in watchmaking on Instagram. Then I look down at my own watch and, like a child, still find myself exclaiming: “Wow!”

I must admit that I remain almost hypnotised by the metallic brilliance of its numerals and hands, and by the deep-blue reflections that move across the dial with every movement of the wrist. At times, I feel a little like Mowgli gazing into Kaa’s eyes in The Jungle Book.

MWM: Which watch would you like to own?

CAM: That question often comes to mind, and my thoughts most frequently turn to Greubel Forsey and its extraordinary complications. I admire the complexity of its movements and the way the manufacture pushes beyond the technical conventions of traditional watchmaking.

Choosing a single model is difficult—I feel rather like a child standing before the window of a sweet shop, fascinated by everything on display. But if I had to choose only one, it would probably be the Greubel Forsey 
Quadruple Tourbillon in red gold (above). For me, it represents mechanical imagination pushed almost to its furthest limits.

MWM: What do you like best about the Watch business?

CAM: To be honest, what I love most is that there are no real limits. My imagination is constantly on high alert because even the smallest decision can open an entirely new creative direction. This keeps me continually motivated. At the same time, the greatest reward comes when a client receives the finished watch—the expression on their face captures, for me, the emotional reality of watchmaking.

I often compare it to music. The same few notes, arranged differently, can become an entirely different composition. In watchmaking, subtle changes in form, proportion, colour, or finishing can similarly give birth to an entirely new story.

MWM: What don’t you like about the Watch business?

CAM: What I find most frustrating is the disparity in technical resources available to different players within the industry. At this stage, I do not yet have access to all the equipment and technical capabilities that would allow me to take CONSTNTIME watches much further. Access to such resources is one of the major factors that distinguishes one player from another in watchmaking.

However, I believe in the saying: “If you really want something, you find a way; if you do not, you find excuses.” I have learned to keep searching for solutions to every problem because complaining does not solve it. Even so, I take great satisfaction in watching Constantime evolve, one carefully earned step at a time.

MWM: What is next on the horizon for you?

CAM: There is an old advertising slogan that I have always liked: “The future sounds good.” For me, that future begins with sharing the joy of Genesis with every person who chooses to wear it. A watch seen on someone’s wrist often awakens a desire in someone else; it creates a new emotion and sometimes brings another person into the story. I feel that as the CONSTANTIME community grows, so too will the ambition and complexity of the models that follow.

I want every piece to preserve CONSTANTIME’s character and to carry, in its own way, something of Transylvania’s identity. I also want to produce as much as possible in my own workshop: to decorate and modify movements—initially aesthetically and, eventually, functionally—and to  give my imagination greater freedom through new dial designs.

I hope to participate in more watchmaking competitions and exhibitions, where CONSTANTIME can be evaluated, discovered, and presented alongside other independent creations. I also look forward to meeting many more watchmakers, collectors, and others who share this passion.

A new series is already taking shape. Terra Knight is inspired by the enduring bond between the land of Transylvania and the modern knight who carries its spirit forward—a meeting point between heritage, strength, and contemporary identity.

Constantin A. Mureșan is a Friend of MrWatchMaster