Carole Hubscher

The First Watch Design to be Inspired by THE CODES OF CARAN D’ACHE

Since 1915, Caran d’Ache has been reflecting life through excellence in writing and drawing and with its chromatic scale of bright colors, now also a feature of Carl F. Bucherer’s Manero collection. In a quid pro quo, the prestigious Lucernebased luxury watchmaker has inspired the design of a new rollerball pen from the famous Genevan writing instruments manufacturer. Carole Hubscher, CEO and President of Caran d’Ache, tells us about the history, knowledge, expertise, and commitments that are part of the family business of which she is the fourth generation, and sings the praises of the creative partnership born of the essence of these two Swiss institutions.

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CAROLE HUBSCHER, OF WHICH PART OF THE FAMILY LEGACY THAT YOU INHERITED ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? AND WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THIS FASCINATING STORY?

Above all, I have inherited my family’s passion. The same passion that drove my father and his father before him, and which is shared by every single one of our artisans and employees. But I am also proud of the strong values – innovation, a quest for excellence, and corporate responsibility – that have forged Caran d’Ache’s international reputation and of which I am today the guarantor. We must also ensure we continue to adapt, just as we have done continually over the last 100 years, to accommodate new distribution channels, digitalization, and new trends in marketing and communication. That’s why we launched our online shop in 2013, and why we have stepped up our social media presence and continued to innovate through meaningful collaborations with famous names such as Paul Smith, Vitra, Nespresso, the Yves Klein Archives, and Kengo Kuma, to name but a few.

WHAT DIFFERENT SKILLS AND TRADES DO YOU DRAW ON IN YOUR GENEVA WORKSHOPS? AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE THESE ARE PASSED ON?

At Caran d’Ache, we are fortunate to have more than 90 trades under the same roof, representing expertise in a vast array of fields and working hand in hand to produce the full extent of our fine arts, writing, and luxury writing products. We work with pencil lead extruders, artisans responsible for developing new colors and weighing pigments, and also master polishers, master lacquerers, and master guilloche engravers. Some of these professions exist in fine watchmaking too, but others are specific to our industry and very rare. To ensure these skills and specialized trades are handed down and preserved for the future, every year we take on a number of apprentices.

WHAT DOES THE “SWISS MADE” CLAIM MEAN THESE DAYS? HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR REPUTATION ABROAD?

The Swiss Made label is much more than a marketing term. For us, it’s a mark of quality of which we are proud. It is synonymous not only with technical expertise and excellence but also with social responsibility. Our consumers trust the Caran d’Ache brand. They come to us for the faultless quality of our products, which are also long-lasting because they are manufactured in Geneva from only the very best materials and ingredients.

CARAN D’ACHE IS A TRADITIONAL COMPANY WITH A LONG HISTORY OF DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS. HOW DO YOU RECONCILE TRADITION AND INNOVATION?

Combining tradition with innovation is one of our favorite challenges! We often come up with new interpretations of our iconic collections such as our 849 pens, decorating them with new and original designs, or our Varius writing instruments, which lend themselves very well to the use of bold and adventurous combinations of materials. We sometimes work with artists and designers who have a close relationship with our company. They help us see an instrument we’ve been making for 100 years in a completely fresh light! But the real challenge is to successfully reinvent ourselves while remaining true to our DNA. We also have to innovate if we are to meet the needs of today’s consumers. We recently launched an online customization configurator that anyone can use to create their own pen engraved with their initials!

THESE ARE VALUES THAT YOU SHARE WITH CARL F. BUCHERER, AREN’T THEY? YOU HAVE A MOTTO: “ALONE WE GO FASTER, TOGETHER WE GO FURTHER.” YOUR COLLABORATION WITH CARL F. BUCHERER IS A VERY GOOD ILLUSTRATION OF THIS. CAN YOU TELL US HOW THIS CAME ABOUT AND HOW, TOGETHER, YOU GO FURTHER?

Caran d’Ache and Carl F. Bucherer have a lot in common. We are both long-standing family-led businesses with an international reputation that are driven by a commitment to excellence. We both produce analog products in this digital era, while demonstrating a major capacity for innovation and creativity. Our collaboration has been a very enriching experience, even though it has felt like a simple, natural thing to do. We shared the same vision: to create an outstanding limited-edition product faithful to the essence of both our brands.

HOW DOES THE MANERO FLYBACK SIGNATURE EXPRESS CARAN D’ACHE’S CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC SENSITIVITY?

We have created a unique pairing of a timepiece and a writing instrument that marks the signature moments of life. The indices on the Manero Flyback Signature watch have adopted the colors of our chromatic circle, thereby celebrating our expertise in colors. This is the first time that our codes have inspired the design of a watch, and we are thrilled with the result!

CARAN D’ACHE IN A WATCH: HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?

The luxury watchmaking industry and its iconography have always been a tremendous inspiration for us, and we love paying tribute to it by reinterpreting its codes. We have done something similar before, in our limited-edition 1010 Timekeeper, 1010 Chrono, and Timegraph pens. It’s an industry that we have much in common with, because like the world of superior writing instruments, luxury watchmaking is a clever combination of ingenuity, tradition, and expertise.

HOW HAS THIS PARTNERSHIP BENEFITED WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR OWN COMPANY?

It is always interesting to learn from an industry different to ours and to pool our experiences in the face of challenges that are often similar. Every partnership is a new adventure!