I am the norm

"To me, the beauty of our watches is the result of perfectly balanced design, where no one single element dominates. Attention is paid to each and every detail. We deploy extremely precise production techniques, applied in combination with high-quality materials, without making any concessions. The norm, that's me."

Wybe van der Gang

I am the norm

"To me, the beauty of our watches is the result of perfectly balanced design, where no one single element dominates. Attention is paid to each and every detail. We deploy extremely precise production techniques, applied in combination with high-quality materials, without making any concessions. The norm, that's me."

Wybe van der Gang

After almost 30 years and precision mechanics, Wybe van der Gang (1964) knows exactly where his strengths lie. Yes indeed, precision. An eye for detail, from the first right through to the last. Everything must be in balance; only then will it be right.

Van der Gang was born in Dokkum. Down-to-earth and averse to frills. That has not changed in all those years and it shows in the designs of his watches. Always searching for the perfect combination of functional technique and simplicity in design. His love for precision technique was nourished during his education at the intermediate technical school for mechanical engineering and the precision engineer school in the city of Leiden.
In 1990, Wybe decided to start his own company: Exakt Fijnmechanika. In two cottages in Dokkum, he started to develop and manufacture minuscule products for the aerospace, clockwork, medical and laboratory technology industries.

As a result of the high quality of his precision products, the company became an international player rather quickly. Van der Gang was rewarded with ever more assignments, and the company grew steadily. As a result, he decided to move to a listed building just outside the city centre of Dokkum. In this almost sacred environment, Van der Gang, driven by perfection, pursued his ever-expanding dream: using his knowledge of product manufacturing for the medical and aerospace industries to make watches. The ultimate achievement.

Two years after he produced his first, tentative design, he sold his first watch. Handmade and numbered. Van der Gang had determined beforehand that he would make no more than 250 copies of this model. Wybe was confident. There is always a market for something really beautiful, and he was proven right. His limited run of 250 copies sold out years ago and he refuses to reopen the line, even though the demand for these watches remains to this day.

With this success, he made a name for himself and he knew that his beautiful adventure was ready to grow. Van der Gang became the only true Dutch craft producer of watches. Here in Dokkum, he makes watches as he envisages time ticking away - a unity of extreme high quality, functionality, precision technique and simplicity in design.

The final five percent

Van der Gang is perfectly aware that this is what allows him to stand out - the final 5%, which often takes just as long as the first 95. However, the energy that is put into that last bit determines whether something is good, or really good.

The final five percent

Van der Gang is perfectly aware that this is what allows him to stand out - the final 5%, which often takes just as long as the first 95. However, the energy that is put into that last bit determines whether something is good, or really good.