About Luca Soprana
Born in Valdagno, Italy on August 20, 1974, Luca Soprana represents the fourth generation of a family steeped in horological tradition. His grandfather Roberto served as his first teacher, with young Luca spending childhood hours observing in the family workshop—not allowed to touch, only to watch and absorb the craft. Despite his family's encouragement to pursue a more conventional path, Soprana studied economics and business at the University of Bologna, where he balanced rigorous coursework with exposure to philosophy and the city's vibrant intellectual culture.
At 26, Soprana relocated to Switzerland to study at WOSTEP, where he trained alongside Kari Voutilainen under Stephen McDonald. In 2002, he became WOSTEP's first Italian instructor. His career trajectory included positions at major Swiss manufactures—Vulcain, Vianney Halter (working on the TRIO and Janvier N°1), and BNB Concept where he headed the prototyping workshop for the Concord Tourbillon Gravity. However, Soprana discovered he wasn't built for corporate employment, describing himself as someone who treated every project as his own enterprise—an approach that proved incompatible with traditional Swiss hierarchies.
This independent spirit led him to establish Atelier SMA (formerly 7h38, named after his first child's birth time) near Neuchâtel's Vaumarcus Castle. His workshop has become the invisible backbone for some of watchmaking's most intriguing pieces over the past decade, executing confidential projects for prestigious brands while maintaining a collaborative philosophy rooted in humility. His publicly acknowledged work includes the Jacob & Co. Astronomia series, the Massena LAB Old School, and most notably, completing Derek Pratt's legacy with the remontoir d'égalité wristwatch. Fluent in Italian, French, and English, Soprana's character combines technical mastery with irony, self-awareness, and empathy—traits that distinguish him in an industry often marked by formality. His unexpected fame in Japan, where he became the subject of a manga series about the Astronomia collaboration, reflects the global reach of his craftsmanship despite his preference for working behind the scenes.
Welcome to Vaumarcus
Luca Soprana has dedicated his career to preserving and advancing the most traditional forms of high horology. From a discreet workshop in Vaumarcus, Switzerland, his team at SMA designs, restores, and builds mechanical movements that power some of the most admired contemporary timepieces, while also creating watches under his own name. This dual role as both “invisible engine” for leading maisons and independent creator defines the spirit of SMA: quiet, deeply technical, and relentlessly focused on substance over noise.
At SMA, every watch begins with the movement and the architecture of timekeeping, not with marketing or surface decoration. The majority of components are manufactured in-house using traditional methods, with wheels, pinions, hands, and even hairsprings shaped, counted, and finished by hand to allow total control over performance and aesthetics. This approach enables SMA to work on highly demanding projects such as remontoir-equipped pieces inspired by Derek Pratt, complex collaborative creations, and the refined simplicity of the Soprana Time Only, all executed to the same uncompromising technical standard.
Our Philosophy
Visually, Soprana’s watches embody a “less is more” philosophy that hides mechanical complexity behind calm, balanced dials and classically proportioned cases. Sector layouts, restrained color palettes, and traditional details such as blued steel hands and carefully engraved movements are chosen to express precision, legibility, and longevity rather than fleeting trends. In everything SMA produces—whether for private clients, partner brands, or Soprana’s own signatures—the goal is the same: to create quietly radical mechanical watches that respect history while pushing craft forward, piece by piece and entirely on human terms.
