On the west coast of Fyn, one of Denmark’s largest islands, sea views are the norm — unlike in Switzerland, where “it’s just mountains and lakes everywhere,” said Hannelore Lass, a watchmaker and engraver, who moved here from Switzerland with her family in 2018.

While Ms. Lass; her husband, Christian, a watchmaker who grew up in Copenhagen; and their two young sons may have left the Swiss landscape behind, watchmaking has followed them: Life on this 1,200-square-mile island of about 500,000 residents has allowed them to live and to build their independent watch brand, Christian Lass, in what they describe as an affordable and spacious environment.

It also has put their considerable watchmaking expertise to the test, far from the comforting, familiar hum of the Swiss industry, where Ms. Lass was an engraver at the workshop of Olivier Vaucher, an engraving specialist, for eight years, and Mr. Lass was the master watchmaker at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva for almost a decade.

The couple met in 2006 while working for the independent watchmaker Vianney Halter, where Ms. Lass was an in-house engraver and Mr. Lass, a watchmaker. He holds a watchmaking degree from Den Danske Urmagerskole in Copenhagen, which included an apprenticeship at the Danish atelier Soren Andersen, where he maintained some of the Danish royal family’s timepieces.

“In my opinion, it was a good thing they left Switzerland to develop their talent,” Mr. Halter wrote in an email. “You don’t have to be in Switzerland to make watches, especially now that we are all connected. Being far from Switzerland can even be an advantage, with quiet surroundings while working at the bench.”

Operational Changes

In 2020 the Lasses released their brand’s first and, so far, only model, the 30CP. But the quick sellout of the 50-piece limited edition required some operational changes: A year ago, they moved their workshop out of the family home and into a factory that had been producing equipment for laser machines.