Europa Star 4/11

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MECHANICAL MARVELS

EUROPE EDITION All Europe - EEC, Central & Eastern Europe, Russia

N° 308 4 /2011 Aug. / Sept.

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THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE

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CH F 1 2 / € 1 0 / U S $ 1 0

1 New movements, new materials and newcomers 1 Grey market report 1 Behind the Scenes: A look at lacquer

E V E R Y R O L E X I S M A D E F O R G R E AT N E S S . T H E R O L E X D E E P S E A W A S D E S I G NED FOR E X TR EME UND ER WATER E X PLOR ATION . A N INTR I C ATE THREE-PIECE C A SE ARCHITECTURE, THE RINGLOCK SYSTEM, ENABLE S IT TO WITHSTAND THE COLOSSAL PRESSURE AT DEPTHS OF UP TO 3,900 ME T R E S . THE R O L E X D EEP S E A I S A L S O EQ U I PPED W I TH A UN I Q UE BR ACELE T, FE ATURING A DOUBLE E X TENSION SYSTEM FOR A PERFEC T F I T OV E R A N Y D I V I N G S U I T.

t he role x deep se a

April 1819. François Constantin takes responsibility for the worldwide business expansion of Vacheron Constantin. During a business trip to Italy, this visionary man coined the phrase which would become the company motto in a letter addressed to the manufacture: « …do better if possible, and that is always possible … ».

True to this motto and to the spirit that forged its history, Vacheron Constantin still remains committed to pushing the boundaries of watchmaking in order to provide its clients with the highest standards of technology, aesthetics and finish.

Quai de l’Ile Day-Date and Power-reserve Case in 18K 5N pink gold, bezel, flanks and crown in titanium Hallmark of Geneva, self-winding mechanical movement Ref. 85050/000R-IO221

6 EDITORIAL europa star

Retro-engineering and re-innovation R Pierre M. Maillard Editor-in-Chief In China, a goal has been officially declared, and it is ‘re-innovation’. To attain this goal, the tools are furnished by ‘retro-engineering’. This ‘re-innovation’ passes by a series of phases that detail the very official PRC medium to long-term plan, 2006 – 2020 of China’s Minister of Science*: “importation, absorption, assimilation, and re-innovation of foreign savoir-faire.” To put it plainly, this is an institutionalized plan to gradually acquire foreign knowhow, not only to copy it as was currently practiced at the beginning of the great Chinese resurgence, but quite simply to also absorb and assimilate it in order to improve upon this knowhow and then to reinvent it.

Using the techniques of retro-engineering, the functioning of such and such an object can be understood in detail. It can then be analyzed in depth, so that a new one with either the same or more advanced, if possible, functionalities can be created. This predatory process may come as the result of industrial espionage, ‘technology poaching’, student networks, or researchers who have been ‘converted to spies’. But, it can also come from perfectly legal means— technology transfers that have been duly approved and that do not violate any patents.

According to a Western diplomat posted in Beijing*, the illegal espionage methods used to obtain information account for only “a small part of the ways information is captured, since nearly eighty per cent of technological savoir-faire is transferred by legal means—solicitations for offers, cooperation, partner-

ships”. In terms of industrial espionage, the Western nations are no saints either.

In the same article*, Jacques Follorou writes that the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure de la France) “has placed at the disposition of large French firms, in a secured location in its headquarters in Paris, confidential commercial documents, including Chinese, that were surreptitiously obtained using satellite technology”.

So, who exactly is spying on whom?

The question has become more complex than ever. Today, globalization and industrial espionage resemble a hall of mirrors where everyone spies on everyone else (under the overall surveillance of the Americans who undoubtedly have the world’s most sophisticated network for ‘capturing’ information).

When reading the article by Jean-Luc Adam, our correspondent in China, in this issue, in which he talks about the very discreet Beijing Watch Factory, we discover—admittedly with some amazement—the double tourbillon, the minute repeater tourbillon, and the orbital tourbillon, which this brand has created. It is a programme of ‘retroengineering’, initiated in 1996 by the Chinese master watchmaker, Xu Yaonan, the designer of the first tourbillon made in continental China. It was introduced in 2003 under the victorious name ‘Hong Jin’, which means ‘red gold’. (In passing, we would like to pay homage to the pioneer, Xiu Tai Yu, who unfortunately had to stop his watch activities due to health concerns, and to whom we owe the first ‘Mystery Tourbillon’, made in Hong Kong ten years earlier, in 1993.)

It would be wrong to unilaterally protest this demonstration of retro-engineering

prowess. History teaches us, and it must never be forgotten, that the watchmakers of Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel practiced retro-engineering, which let them assimilate and then improve upon—thus ‘re-inventing’—the great timekeeping of France and Britain.

Retro-engineering is as old as the hills.

In 260 BC, the Romans, after having seized an enemy ship, copied the standardization processes employed by the Carthaginians in the construction of their warships, and then made a few technical improvements (such as gangplanks). They succeeded in only forty days to construct a flotilla of eighty ships, allowing them to set up the base of their domination of Mediterranean waters.

Also, in regards to what we here could call ‘re-innovation’, we need only to cite the recent example (anonymous to avoid offending anyone) of a young consumer who complained to me that he was incensed that a famous brand had ‘copied’ the model of another famous brand. In reality, it was exactly the opposite and the ‘copy’—much more visible than the ‘original’—that had become the reference. Clearly, one is always the retro-engineer of the other. * Source: Le Monde, ‘L'oeil de Pékin’ (The Eye of Beijing), Jacques Follorou, June 14, 2011.

THE SIMPLICITY OF INNOVATION.

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8 CONTENTS europa star

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THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE

N° 308 4/2011 AUG./SEPT.

6

EDITORIAL Retro-engineering and re-innovation

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COVER STORY The Reverso, unique for 80 years

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NEW MOVEMENTS “We talk about mathematics and physics, but also about vibratory mechanics, tribology…”

Laurent Ferrier, the right watch at the right time Urban Jürgensen: the first detent escapement made for a wristwatch Kari Voutilainen, happy watchmaker, happy man

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NEW MATERIAL When François-Paul Journe goes sporty

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NEWCOMER Revelation’s surprising revelation

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CASE STUDY Louis Erard’s very competitive neo-classic offer

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NEW TREND Tailored time

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WATCHMAKING CAPITAL The resurrection of Besançon

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CONNECTING ICONIC BRANDS TO THEIR CLIENTELE ONLINE

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DIGITAL-LUXURY.COM media partner

MANUFACTURING Ulysse Nardin, the credo of innovation and independence Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier proposes two new basic movements

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BEHIND THE SCENES Japanese art meets Swiss mechanics

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LETTER FROM CHINA The Beijing watch factory

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RETAILER CORNER Ace Jewelers, Amsterdam Shades of grey

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WORLDWATCHWEB® China – A brand new world, but a world in itself, for online luxury

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EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

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LAKIN@LARGE Getting behind with your watches

GRANDE REVERSO ULTRA THIN TRIBUTE TO 1931

by Jaeger-LeCoultre The Reverso is one of the rare true icons of luxury watchmaking. It is the legendary reversible watch invented in the 1930s for polo players who wanted to be able to protect the crystals of their watches, which featured pure, geometric silhouettes inspired by the Art Deco movement. The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 featured on the cover is equipped with a hand-winding movement with a 45-hour power reserve, a black dial, luminescent numerals and hour markers, and is water resistant to 30 metres.

Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre Rue de la Golisse CH-1347 Le Sentier Switzerland Tel: +41 21 845 02 02 Fax: +41 21 845 05 50 www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

Europa Star HBM SA 25 Route des Acacias P.O. Box 1355 CH-1211 Geneva 26 Switzerland Tel +41 (0)22 307 78 37 Fax +41 (0)22 300 37 48 www.europastar.com contact@europastar.com © 2011 EUROPA STAR Audited REMP 2010 The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily Europa Star.

Tambour Voyagez Automatic chronograph with tachymeter function, manufactured in Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking workshops in Switzerland Sold exclusively in Louis Vuitton stores and on louisvuitton.com .

10 COVER STORY europa star

THE REVERSO, UNIQUE FOR 80 YEARS RPierre Maillard

1931

Thomas Edison passed away, the Empire State Building in New York was finally finished (at a cost of $40 million), Al Capone was sentenced to 17 years in prison, Josephine Baker sang J'ai deux amours, Charlie Chaplin presented City Lights, and Marconi, inventor of the radio, provided Radio Vatican with the most powerful short-wave radio in the world.

In British India, which had at the time a little more than 350 million inhabitants, Mahatma Gandhi signed an agreement with the viceroy, Lord Irwin, giving the subcontinent’s poor the right to collect salt themselves. At the same time, also in Bombay, officers in the British army, adept at polo, were wearing a new and completely amazing watch—the Reverso.

As its name indicates, it was a revolutionary and elegant construction that allowed the case of the watch to be swivelled in order to protect the dial from possible shocks and hits

Brevet N° 159982 – René Alfred Chauvot

REVERSO 1931

received during their rigorous games. A small detail quickly became very important—the back of this rotated case offered not only impeccable protection for the watch but it also had a lovely polished surface that allowed for personalization in any number of ways.

The man who presented this Reverso with its Art Déco styling was named César de Trey—a wealthy Swiss businessman who recently became involved in the promotion of fine watches. One year earlier, while travelling in India, one of the English officers gave him his watch that had sadly been broken during a furious polo match. The officer challenged César de Trey to try and find a timekeeper that would be resistant to such shocks and breakage during the game.

Upon his return to Switzerland, de Trey made contact with a watchmaker that he knew well, Jacques-David LeCoultre. The manufacture that LeCoultre directed was one of the most complete and modern in existence, and designed and produced already nearly 200 different chronograph calibres, in addition to being responsible for many technical innovations in the domain of mechanical timekeepers and production. Jacques-David LeCoultre generally

worked with a Parisian brand called Jaeger.

Together, they had already designed, in 1925, the revolutionary Duoplan watch. This timepiece combined extreme miniaturization and technical excellence, thanks to the construction of the movement on two stepped planes, which let the designers keep a large balance in spite of the small size of the piece. Working together, LeCoultre and Jaeger met the requirements of César de Trey with a case capable of swivelling into itself so that only bare metal would be exposed to any potential shocks.

On March 4, 1931, the engineer Alfred Chauvot, to whom they entrusted the realization of the project, submitted a patent for a watch “able to pivot on itself by sliding into its support”.

A legend was born—the Reverso. But in 1931, no one yet knew that these first steps would be the start of a great saga. Rapidly, this watch attracted a lot of attention, which went way beyond that of the polo-playing British officers.

In fact, the Reverso, while it perfectly protects the watch—the reason for its invention—it is also a magnificent object in itself. Its pure and geometric forms embodied the modern spirit of Art Déco, the style movement that would give birth to what we today call ‘design’.

europa star

COVER STORY 11

2011

The Reverso would go on to enjoy extraordinary success, greatly enhanced by the infinite possibilities to personalize the case. Associated with both technology and elegant sophistication, the Reverso is also an ‘emotional’ watch.

The steel or gold back of the timepiece is like a ‘clean slate’, which anyone can engrave or decorate according to his or her own wishes.

Already in the first years of existence, the Reverso was used in this way and, for millions of its loyal fans, it became a truly unique piece.

Eighty years (and 50 dedicated mechanical calibres) later, it would be an understatement to say that the Reverso is alive and as well as ever. Elevated to a cult object, in other words, anchored in history but never stopping to be a contemporary timepiece, it gave birth to a branch of watchmaking with totally unique characteristics. From the original art of reversing itself, it has created more than a thousand uses, marrying all its functions and combining several faces on the same ‘body’. It is associated with the grand mastery of watch complications and with the jewellery arts. It has

TESTIMONIALS At the beginning of the 1930s, King Edward VIII of Britain had his family crest engraved on his Reverso, as did the Prince of Denmark who, in a letter dated 1934, declared that his Reverso “had always given great satisfaction even after being subjected to all the bad weather in southern Morocco”. The famous American aviator, Amelia Earhart, had engraved upon her Reverso the itinerary of her first flight from Mexico to New York, which she made on May 8, 1935. British gentlemen decorated their watches with the coat of arms of the very select British Racing Drivers’ Club. The Reverso watches belonging to the elite Ghurkha Rifles, the personal guards of the Maharajah of Jaipur, as well as those belonging to the Royal Sussex Regiment and the students at Cranwell College of the Royal Air Force, all were decorated with the colours of their units. Young English students also wore their Reverso pieces, engraved with the coats of arms of Eton College, Harrow School, or Saint Andrews University.

Other owners of the famous watch opted for engravings that represented more personal choices, such as a hut on a desert island, the map of a favourite country, or even erotic scenes.

passed between the hands of creative artisans; it has been illuminated with miniature painting; and it has been enhanced with enamel.

Yet, the Reverso has never forgotten its sporty origins and its collection has expanded with robust chronographs driven by high performance movements adaptable to all conditions, even the most extreme. In 2006, in the archives of the brand, a second drawing of the case was found—a square one—that was registered at the same time as the famous rectangular case. Designed in 1931, the square case was never made until the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture launched it under the title of Reverso Squadra, a resolutely sporty name.

Among all the watches that were specifically created for this year’s anniversary, two models offer special testimony to the exceptional forms followed during the Reverso chronicle: the latest timepiece, and the faithful re-edition of the very first timepiece.

12 COVER STORY europa star

REVERSO RÉPÉTITION MINUTES À RIDEAU

Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau All by itself this exceptional timekeeper sums up the fabulous history of the brand as it remarkably condenses the mastery of the watch complication (in this case the minute repeater), refined technical prowess (a totally unique ‘curtain’), and stylistic excellence (timeless elegance in its design). Not only can we pivot this watch and hide one of its dials, but we can also conceal one of the dials by sliding a curtain over it made up of 16 slats in 18-carat white gold, each measuring 2.34 mm in width. And—it is here that the decorative arts join Haute Horlogerie— when the curtain is moved, it directly winds and activates the minute repeater. At the moment when the watch stops the musical countdown of the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on the gongs, the curtain returns to its original pos-

ition and conceals the dial once more. Clearly, behind the beauty and poetry of this mechanism is a high degree of complexity: the set of 16 slats functions as a chain directly acting on the minute repeater mechanism. The sliding of the curtain winds the spring for the repeater and activates the chime, thus transforming a lateral motion into a rotational motion.

To this highly sophisticated model, incorporating both the case design (comprised of 270 component parts) and the micro-mechanical curtain, can be added the high complexity of the watch itself. The new Jaeger-LeCoultre 944 Calibre that equips the Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau is the latest example in a long line of sounding watches created by the brand—in fact, more than 200 different versions have been developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre in its history. This calibre stems from the first

rectangular repeater watch, a Reverso dating to 1994, which was particularly difficult to develop. It is equipped with all the advances, many of them spectacular, during the brand’s experience in this delicate domain.

Whether it is about the design of the gong itself (it has a square cross-section, contrary to the normal round gongs, and is made of a very special alloy; it is produced entirely in one piece from the heel to the finely ending wire), or the dual-axis system of hammers with a special joint on a movable arm that increases the energy delivered, or the centrifugal governor fitted with a flywheel to control the timing of the mechanical operations throughout the striking action, or finally the original system for activating the repeater by opening the curtain, everything comes together to make this Reverso a summary of the brand’s savoir-faire and timekeeping mastery.

The team’s designers, managed by Janek Deleskiewicz, an undeniable expert in all the stylistic evolutions of the Reverso, chose a very contemporary dial for the minute repeater side, one that underscores the high technology of the case, with its undulating lines, that reveals nearly the entire mechanism. The other side of the watch, which also displays hours and minutes, has an open-worked dial whose bridges are decorated with wave motifs while the second side is engraved with geometric motifs, inspired by the famous Doge’s Palace in Venice, one of the chosen cities of the Reverso.

europa star

COVER STORY 13

GRANDE REVERSO ULTRA THIN TRIBUTE TO 1931

Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 Paying direct tribute to the first in a proud lineage of Reverso timekeepers, Jaeger-LeCoultre is also offering a limited series model for its 80th anniversary—the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931. A veritable re-edition of the first and legendary model, it faithfully reproduces the appearance while adopting the new and larger dimensions of the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin.

Created in 888 pieces for the steel version with a black dial, and in only 388 pieces for the rose gold model with a white dial, the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 has a dial on which, like in the original, appears only the term ‘Reverso’, with the initials of Jaeger-LeCoultre discretely engraved on the base of the watch cradle. Hours and minutes run along the famous minute track rimming the dial, giving this model a clearly identifiable Art Déco purity like no other.

New options for personalization Also to celebrate the Reverso’s 80th anniversary, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture is proposing new options for personalizing the timepieces in accordance with the desires of the owner, from a simple engraving of initials or a favourite number or symbol to the reproduction of a more complex motif, and even including enamelling or stone-setting. New character fonts are offered besides the English and Art Déco letters and

even touches of colour can be added. Thanks to a new personalization tool that is available online (http://personalisation.jaeger-lecoultre. com), anyone can easily personalize his own Reverso—or can personalize it for someone else, to whom he would like to offer a timeless and transmissible object, one evoking a splendid history but available for use in the present. O For more information about Jaeger-LeCoultre click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

16 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

“We talk about mathematics and physics, but also about vibratory mechanics, tribology…”

Europa Star wanted to return in more detail to the Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph that was presented this spring at BaselWorld. To do so, we met with Guy Semon, head of R&D at TAG Heuer.

RPierre Maillard

vibrations per hour, or in other words, 5 Hz for the watch and 50 Hz for the chronograph, with a 90-minute working reserve.

Europa Star: Without going into detail on the long history of TAG Heuer and its chronographs [see the sidebar], tell us how the idea—at first glance a little crazy—to create the first mechanical chronograph capable of counting a 1000th of a second came about?

ES: How, then, do you go from a 50 Hz to a 500 Hz chronograph, which has a frequency of 3,600,000 vibrations per hour—definitely a quantum leap?

Guy Semon

Guy Semon: On my arrival three years ago, we launched the production of the chronograph 1887. But we wanted to push the limits further.

Among the existing chronographs, the El Primero was the fastest, with its 36,000 vibrations per hour. We then asked ourselves what we could improve upon. The COSC, which bases its measurements on the second hand, does not certify the chronograph itself but rather the entire watch. Now, when one “connects” a chronograph to a watch, it draws energy and automatically reduces the precision of the watch, notably the coupling, whether this is by an oscillating or vertical pinion.

The chronograph and the watch are therefore accepting cohabitation more or less well. The idea then came to separate the watch and the chronograph in an integrated movement by creating two distinct chains, each possessing its own regulating organ and its own source of energy, thus opening the way to a double certification. The different chains also had the advantage of being able to have the energy adapted to the function thanks to specifically designed barrels.

This approach was used for the first time in the Heuer Carrera Mikrograph chronograph, the first mechanical chronograph wristwatch with an integrated column wheel equipped with a central foudroyante hand and offering a precision of 1/100th of a second. It had two assortments oscillating at 28,800 and 360,000

G.S.: We now are entering, of course, into the domains of mathematics and physics, but also the domains of vibratory mechanics, tribology, etc. All of this becomes very advanced. The “watch” part rotates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and is equipped with the index-assembly of the Monaco V4, with a smaller balance spring and a smaller balance, but with normal pallets and pallets wheel. For the chronograph, the patented launch hub break system

CLASSICAL AUDACITY Every DeWitt is built by a dedicated master horologist and each includes an audacious twist on the classical watchmakers art.

© Montres DeWitt SA 2011. With apologies to Hans Holbein the Younger.

www.dewitt.ch

TWENTY-8-EIGHT REGULATOR A.S.W HORIZONS

Geneva: Les Ambassadeurs, Rue du Rhône 39 - +41 22 318 6235 Zürich: Türler, Bahnofstrasse 28, Paradeplatz - +41 44 221 0608 Paris: Kronometry, 60-62 Rue François 1er - +33 14 225 1541 London: Asprey, 167 New Bond Street - +44 207 493 6767 / Kronometry: 106 New Bond Street - +44 207 499 1434 Beijing: DeWitt Boutique, Legendale Hotel, 90-92 Jinbao Street - +86 10 8522 1358 Shangai: DeWitt Boutique, Lippo Plaza, No.222, Huai Hai Middle Road - +86 21 3331 5063 Hong Kong: DeWitt Boutique, The Elements, Kowloon Station, Hong Kong +852 3153 2668

18 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

TAG HEUER AND CHRONOGRAPHS 1916 Presented by Charles-Auguste Heuer, the first Mikrograph mechanical sports timers were accurate to 1/50th and 1/100th of a second, with frequencies of 180,000 and 360,000 vibrations perr hour, respectively.

1966 Launched by Jack Heuer, thee Microtimer was ng system displaying an the first miniaturized timing accuracy of 1/1000th of a second.

2002 Thee Microtimer was the first Swiss digital wrist chronograph accurate to 1/1000th of a second.

2004 For the Indianapolis 500 race, AG created the first system of timing TAG thatt was accurate to 1/10,000th of a d. second.

T G Heuer Calibre 360 TA 2005 Thee TAG was the first modular mechanical wrist chronograph capable of measuring and displaying 1/100th of a second cillator beating at thanks to its oscillator 360,000 vibrations per hour.

2008 The TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Caliper was the first integratgraph capable of ed mechanical wrist chronograph 10 th of a second measuring and displaying 1/10 thanks to its oscillator beating at 36,000 vibrations alliper scale. per hour coupled with a rotating calliper RAPH 1/100th 2011 The Heuer CARRERA MIKROGRAPH tegrated colSecond Chronograph was the first integrated ph with a umn-wheel mechanical wrist chronograph foudroyante central hand display, providing an accuracy to 1/100 th of a second.

commanded by the column wheel was per-fectly adapted to 50 Hz, but the question then was how to go up to 500 Hz? Traditionally, the balance is there to move the spring back to its initial position but when you reach very high frequencies, the spring must be so rigid that there is practically no need of the balance to make this return. We used a spring with only four coils, about ten times more rigid than a normal spring, which allowed us to forego the balance for the first time in the history of timekeeping. But, it was necessary that the volume of the mass be the smallest possible, and that the central axis be the lightest possible [the inertia is calculated by the weight times the square of the radius].

This axis is therefore made in a particular material, an alloy of aluminium, titanium, and

magnesium. Another important point—the pallets must also be the lightest possible.

Normally, we use jewelled pallets against the friction, pallets that allow for adjustment. But today, we are able to make mono-block pallets. The physical contact is made at only one point. Instead of sliding, the pallets rebound to the pallets wheel. This intermittent liaison of the pallets and the pallets wheel generates, in return, a hyper-velocity impulse.

ES: How is this system activated?

G.S.: Not being able to use the self-activated traditional balance/balance spring couple, we developed a system that we called “LauncherHub-Brake System”, controlled by the column wheel that takes advantage of the rigidity of the balance spring. In the START position, the launcher is activated, following a tangential movement, by a solid contact with the hub of the radial escapement. In the STOP position, the launcher pushes against the hub, which instantaneously stops the movement of the balance spring.

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20 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

IN 1/1000TH OF A SECOND… • Usain Bolt ran 1.2 centimetres while establishing his new 100-metre world record of 9.58 seconds; • a cheetah at top speed travels 3 centimetres; • the Maglev train between Pudong International Airport and Shanghai travels 14 centimetres; • an Airbus 380 between Zurich and Singapore flies 24 centimetres; • a supersonic airplane breaking Mach 1 flies 33 centimetres; • a M16 bullet flies 97 centimetres; • Apollo 10 travelled 10 meters while establishing the fastest-ever speed for a manned spacecraft in 1969; • the Earth rotates 29.8 meters around the Sun; • a fast neutron travels 10 kilometres; • light travels 300 kilometres.

ES: You speak of a “solid/solid contact”?

G.S.: At these speeds, you can imagine the problems of liquid lubrication… We have thus worked on solid lubrication, in other words, working on the states of the surface by using combinations of materials whose coefficient of friction is the smallest possible.

ES: What about another obstacle, that of generated vibrations?

G.S.: Ah yes, everything vibrates in all directions. These vibrations vary according to the materials, which also enter into resonance.

It was necessary to seriously study vibratory

ES: At this speed, the energy used must be enormous. What then is the working reserve of the chronograph?

Flying 1000 is still only a concept watch and that we will continue our research. We have already reached an accuracy that is 125 times greater than the best mechanical chronographs on the market today, and ten times superior to our own Mikrograph at 100th of a second. We do, however, have to ensure accuracy and reliability over the long term. We have 11 patents pending, notably for: the absence of a balance; a high-frequency balance spring developed in collaboration with Atokalpa; the intermittent contact of the pallets and pallets wheel; and the LauncherHub-Brake System. We also have patents pending related to the display of the time.

Despite the fact that the central hand makes ten rotations per second, we can easily read the thousands and hundreds on a scale located on the external part of the dial. A second central hand indicates the minutes and the 1/12ths of a minute on a scale marked with 150 seconds. The number of our demands for a patent gives you a good idea of the complexity of this piece. It is a grand complication of a whole new type, which is closely in line with our history and our legitimacy. O

G.S.: For the moment, we are at 2 minutes and 30 seconds. But don’t forget that the Mikrotimer

For more information about TAG Heuer click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

mechanics. In this way, for example, the central yellow hand of the chronograph, which makes ten rotations per second, must absolutely not enter into frequency resonance with the rest of the movable parts. It is made of titanium.

Everything has been calculated in accordance with the vibratory modes of the different materials and certification is made by a fast camera coupled to an atomic clock.

ARMIN Racing One Week

Manufactory calibre ARM09-MVR

Together with its Formula-1 partner, Marussia Virgin Racing, Armin Strom has developed a collection of exclusive timekeepers, custom-built for motor racing reflecting the Marussia Virgin Racing team colours. Materials used in motor racing

are also used in the movement components – a fusion between the motor industry technology and the art of watch making.

The ARMIN Racing One Week with the ARM09 Manufacture movement is limited to 40 pieces.

arminstrom.com

24 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

Laurent Ferrier, the right watch at the right time RPierre Maillard

A

Any watchmaker worthy of the name must obviously master the ‘hidden springs’ of time, or in other words, the mechanical measurement of time. A question of technique, it is also a question of art and taste, things that can be learned and acquired. But there is one thing that cannot be learned. This is what some people would call ‘luck’, or perhaps it would be more precise to call it ‘intuition’.

Intuition cannot be calculated. It is the art of arriving at the right time, at the right place, with the right proposition.

This is what has happened to Laurent Ferrier.

Hardly had he unveiled his first watch last year, at the age of 60, when a planetary buzz immediately began to spread. From being an unknown, Laurent Ferrier was soon thrown into the watchmaking spotlight, even winning a Grand Prix d'Horlogerie in Geneva for his ‘Galet Classic’ timepiece officially introduced that same year. This had never before been seen.

The great intuition of Laurent Ferrier was to have arrived—after the crazy years of excess in the mechanical and design realm in all categories, years of overstatement marked by the violent crisis that we know—with an obviously lucid proposition: a watch in the shape of a ‘pebble’ with the highest level of purity possible, featuring three hands and Roman numerals (like hundreds of others), but pushing the notion of understatement to the point of even hiding the double spring tourbillon that animates the case back of the timekeeper.

(The placement of the tourbillon at the back also protects the movement from ultraviolet

GALET CLASSIC

radiation that can alter the lubrication and thus hamper the chronometry.) It was seen as the absolute opposite to the flamboyant designs that prevailed at the time. But this characteristic alone would not have been enough if this ‘Galet Classic’ had not been ‘perfect’ in all aspects—technical, aesthetic and chronometric—and if it had not displayed such obvious watchmaking qualities.

To the point of overkill This watch is definitely not the result of some sort of marketing analysis that foresees a return of classicism. Rather, it springs simply from the passion of a man who has accumulated a very great amount of timekeeping savoir-faire (most notably, his many years spent at Patek Philippe) and who, as he himself says, “wants to make

a piece containing all that I have learned in watchmaking.” His ‘marketing plan’ can be summed up then in a few words: “we will make a watch and, afterwards, we will see.”

Well, now we have seen.

And what we have seen is a timepiece whose smallest detail has, as Laurent Ferrier declares, been pushed “beyond good, to the point of overkill,” regardless of whether this detail is aesthetic or technical. Inspired, in the truest sense of the word, by grand classic timekeeping, Laurent Ferrier has thus sought to perfect his piece in all its aspects, starting with the notion that chronometry can be improved, not hindered, by paying attention to the beauty of its execution. From an architectural point of view, the entirely original movement that drives the Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral is

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NEW MOVEMENTS 25

GALET SECRET

spring tourbillon movement, which has a patented mechanism allowing a second dial to be revealed. Concealed under the first dial, it becomes visible when the two sapphire crystals are moved by 240° (either on demand or in a programmed manner). The first piece features a magnificent enamelled night sky by Anita Porchet. Dedicated to decorative watchmaking arts, the Galet Secret collection is composed of only unique models, encompassing such crafts as enamel, miniature painting, stone setting, copperplate engraving, etc.

A high performance micro-rotor Yet, it is the third piece, presented at BaselWorld this year, which fully demonstrates the creativity of Laurent Ferrier and his team (collaborating closely with his son, Christian, a highly skilled watchmaker in his own right, as well as with Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini from La Fabrique du Temps, which Europa Star will discuss more in detail in an upcoming issue).

characterized by its two large single block bridges that provide superior solidity and robustness without, in any way, diminishing their elegance—Ferrier insists that he wants his timepieces to be wearable. This double bridge encloses a tourbillon of remarkable refinement.

The opening allows the wearer to admire not only the rigor of its decorative finishing— hand-chiselled tapered angles, rounded steel parts, perfect polishing—but also to see the beating of the opposing double spring (a Straumann), chosen for its contribution to the piece’s chronometry. Centred, the double spring lets the same amplitude be reached in a vertical and horizontal position: an important chronometric contribution (the delta— coefficient of variation—of all Laurent Ferrier watches is less than 4 seconds, while the COSC has established a delta of 10).

On the upper part of the movement is another detail, perfectly emblematic of Laurent Ferrier’s

approach to watchmaking: a pawl with a long blade for winding the piece (in place of the modern pull spring), as was practiced in earlier times, adjusted to the hand, and which procures exceptionally smooth winding. This is not only felt at the finger tip but also heard…

Under its rigorous allure, the Ferrier Galet is an extremely sensual watch—to look at, to touch, and to wear. There is the delicate refinement and beauty of the lance-shaped hands and the translucent grand-feu enamel dial.

Galet Secret Encouraged by their watch that is immediately recognizable by the most conversant collectors as well as by its peers (Philippe Dufour, the reference in the field, never stops singing its praises), Laurent Ferrier and his team rapidly presented two other realizations. At the beginning of this year, the brand revealed its Galet Secret, a piece equipped with the same double

Laurent and Christian Ferrier

With the Galet Micro-Rotor Entre-Ponts, Laurent Ferrier presents his basic automatic movement—hearing ‘basic movement’ makes us think that future developments are not precluded. The micro-rotor permits the creation of a very flat mechanical movement. On the other hand, it has the disadvantage of having an inferior winding compared to a central rotor. It requires two rotations, or about 300 instead of 150, to wind the barrel for one turn of the ratchet. With this in mind, Laurent Ferrier and his associates reflected on how to globally improve the efficiency of the movement’s energy management downstream, which they saw as the only way to compensate for this winding flaw.

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GALET MICRO-ROTOR ENTRE-PONTS

which is “too noisy and too little in keeping with the art of timekeeping” for Laurent Ferrier—and acts uni-directionally, which is more efficient.

Finally, the micro-oscillating weight is fixed on its axis between two O-rings, following the principle of the silent block. Taken together, these innovations improve the winding power of the micro-oscillating weight by about a third and allow it to have a working reserve of 80 hours.

Protestant purity

Since the Swiss lever escapement, while it is ultra-reliable, loses a lot of energy at the source (between 20 and 40 per cent), the team turned towards the ‘natural escapement’ that had been imagined by Breguet. One of the advantages of this escapement with its double impulses sent directly to the balance is to provide two impulses per oscillation, “a little like a swing that is pushed from two sides,” explains Laurent Ferrier. In his day, however, Breguet did not have the necessary materials, the means to

precisely mill the parts, or the indispensable lubrication to make the escapement function properly. (It is composed of two escape wheels that send impulses directly to the balance.)

Breguet himself had thus abandoned this avenue of research. Today, however, with the opportunity of having the palettes made in silicon and nickel phosphorus, as well as escape wheels in Liga (thus offering superior precision), Ferrier and his team succeeded in optimizing the efficiency of this free escapement and therefore in reducing the torque required to wind the barrel spring, which improved the winding of the movement at the same time.

The energy optimization does not stop there, however. The micro-rotor itself is equipped with an upper bridge and is held between two jewels, which enhances stability and optimizes its winding power. Another particularity is that the winding system uses a pawl—and not a ball bearing

From a design standpoint, this movement with its excellent chronometric qualities is clearly visible and finished in an outstanding manner: bridges decorated with the Côtes de Genève pattern, circular-grained plate, hand-chamfered sides, beveled gear arms, polished screw heads, handcrafted re-entrant angles, hand polishing, etc.

It comes in a case made of solid white gold or subtle red gold, with clean and smooth surfaces like a pebble. It has a ‘ball’ type crown and its dial—inspired by the class watch that Laurent Ferrier made in 1968 at the Watchmaking School in Geneva—comes silvered or in slate grey, vertically satined, with a small seconds at 6 o’clock, and is wonderfully readable, punctuated with long tapered applied hour markers. Its unassuming appearance is thus very refined.

With this timepiece, we can say that Laurent Ferrier represents the best of Geneva timekeeping. It is born, as we know, of a restrained, discreet, and virtuous Protestantism, that translates into watches by simplicity, purity, and technical high quality—everything to fulfill our needs today for a bit of austerity. But the number of pieces produced is not high. In 2011, Laurent Ferrier will deliver some 30 watches, all tourbillons plus the two Galet Secret timekeepers that have been made up to now. In 2012, the young brand expects to create 150 Galet Micro-Rotor timepieces and some 40 tourbillons. O For more information about Laurent Ferrier click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

28 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

Urban Jürgensen: the first detent escapement made for a wristwatch RPierre Maillard

to only one place, and lubrication is also considerably reduced. But the Achilles Heel of the detent escapement, as we stated earlier, is its great sensitivity to shocks.

A

Among all of the so-called ‘free’ escapements, the detent escapement, which appeared during the 18th century, is considered one of the Grails of chronometric precision. Historically, the role of the detent escapement in the search for chronometry is more important even than that played by the tourbillon. Yet, we find it mostly in marine chronometers, where it is mounted on gimbals since one of its major weak points, or more precisely its primary weak point, is its great sensitivity to shocks. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why this historical escapement had been confined to marine chronometers until now.

And now, a new version of the detent escapement has been designed specifically for a wristwatch: the Chronometer UJS08, by Urban Jürgensen & Søhner.

Exceptional chronometry to make smaller...

In comparison to the traditional Swiss lever escapement, the detent escapement has a few notable differences, which allow it to have the best mechanical performance of all the free escapements. Contrary to the lever escapement, the detent escapement does not have a palette-stone lever but a pivoted, equilibrated detent with reduced inertia and, in the specific case of the USJ08, a smaller size. This detent acts solely on the stoppage of the escape wheel, while in the lever escapement, the action of the fork allows the stoppage of the escape wheel as well as transmits the energy of the driving force to the balance.

...and a problem to overcome

Detent plate

Thus, the latter normally receives two impulses per oscillation, while in the detent escapement, the balance only receives one impulse per oscillation. In the same manner, in the lever escapement, the transmission of the impulse to the regulator organ is carried out directly by the escape wheel. These different particularities are easily observable, both from an auditory point of view because the sound of the watch (its tic tac) is quite different, and from a visual point of view because the tic by tic advance of the seconds hand is clearly visible.

More importantly for the timekeeper’s efficiency and chronometry, the friction is reduced

The team working on the Urban Jürgensen project is composed of Jean-François Mojon (owner of Chronode SA, and also author of the Opus X), who designed the movement’s technical project, and Kari Voutilainen, who is in charge of its assembly and finishing. They overcame the problem of shocks, or more precisely they solved it, by designing a limiting plate that would permit—as its name implies— limiting, to the maximum possible, all movement of the detent that would be caused by a shock. (This special plate is part of the worldwide patent for this timepiece.) The very small detent itself was also designed in a very equilibrated way in order to make it less sensitive to shocks. This shock resistance was duly tested as Chronofiable, having been subjected to 20,000 shocks during two weeks.

Designed from scratch, the basic movement of the USJ08, featuring 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations a.

1.

2.

3.

b.

5.

6.

4.

1. Balance 2. Locking palette 3. Detent-spring 4. Detent: reduced inertia 5. Detent balance-spring 6. Escapement wheel

c.

a. Impulsion palette b. Unlocking palette c. Limiting plate

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NEW MOVEMENTS 29

per hour), has two barrels in series that provide a power reserve of 100 hours (indicated by a differential system, also patented), thus giving this escapement an even further advantage. The large variable-inertia balance is equipped with a free balance spring. The profile of the escape wheel teeth has also been optimized in order to reduce the friction even more thanks to a greater rigidity and reduced inertia. Compared to 300 other COSC-certified movements, the USJ08 demonstrates an operational stability that has been improved by 40 per cent. In pure chronometric terms, the performance ranges from +/- 1 second while the average COSC-certified watches range from 0 / + 6 seconds.

The dream team The initiative to adapt the detent escapement to a wristwatch came from the late Peter Baumberger, who, until his death in 2010, presided over the destiny of the historic Urban Jürgensen brand, a pioneer in chronometry and the detent escapement. Wanting to revive the spirit of Jürgensen, Peter Baumberger—whom Kari Voutilainen likes to describe as a man of extremely high standards with an ‘exceptional eye’—launched his ‘crazy’ project a few years ago. He was unfortunately, however, not able to see his work completed. After his passing, the company was taken over by his friend Helmutt Crott, an avid collector and an organ-

izer of auctions. He continued Baumberger’s project, bringing in Kari Voutilainen and Jean-François Mojon, along with some specialists: Roland Tille for dials (former director of Stern dials, acquired by Patek Philippe) and Jean-Pierre Ackmann, a case manufacturer for 40 years.

This world first is thus placed in a case and under a dial exhibiting the highest form of classicism, realized with talent, finesse, and subtlety. And, Kari Voutilainen, of course, brings

the superlative finishing to the movement that it deserves. The first pre-series of 80 pieces has been produced, of which 50 are equipped with a detent escapement (in a gold case, its price ranges from 52,000 to 55,000 CHF). The other 30 have the classic Swiss lever escapement and sell for 22,000 CHF. The difference in price between these two types of escapements is not explained only by the innovative technology, but also by the process of fabrication that is, for the moment, highly artisanal for the detent escapement.

Kari Voutilainen maintains that theoretically he could produce approximately a hundred or so pieces per month. But starting now, Jean-François Mojon is working on a list of strict specifications, including an in-depth reflection on the mounting and assembly, in view of its eventual industrialization. Helmutt Crott also does not preclude the possibility of perhaps making this original escapement available to third parties within a year or so. Discussions are already underway “with large Swiss brands”. This is definitely an adventure to follow closely. O For more information about Urban Jürgensen click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

30 NEW MOVEMENTS europa star

Kari Voutilainen, happy watchmaker, happy man RPierre Maillard

I

In 2009, we described the ateliers of Voutilainen, in Môtiers in the Val de Travers, as a ‘one-man manufacture’. It was a way of saying how the Finnish watchmaker, who became independent in 2002, had achieved such a high degree of ‘verticalization’, if we might qualify such an artisanal structure in this manner.

In 2011, this verticalization was definitely a tangible reality since all the components of the movement and the great majority of the other parts of the new ‘Vingt-8’ watch were manufactured in-house (including the main plate, barrel bridge, balance bridge, barrel, palettes, escape wheel, pillars, pinions, screws, dials and more).

Besides the balance spring (Straumann), the barrel spring (Schwab Feller), and a portion of the jewels, nothing is purchased. Most of the finishing is done in-house as well, including chamfering, polishing and decoration before

passing to the assembly and mounting steps in the same facility. Kari Voutilainen’s declared goal is ‘complete autonomy’. This has forever been his dream, and he is now fully realizing it.

this man, who prefers to spend his days at the bench, working on mechanical devises and decorating certain pieces himself (he loves to make his own Côtes de Genève patterns). To sum it up, he wants to be involved in everything.

The choice of autonomy Three or four years ago, Voutilainen decided to move to the next step and make his own ébauches. Obviously, his decision was made easier by the lack of clarity for the long term in a sector that was undergoing major reorganization. What motivated him above all, however, was the challenge this posed.

The path to absolute autonomy was full of pitfalls, but “isn’t this how we continue to improve?” as this perfectionist from the North likes to say. He purchased all the equipment he required (notably a lathe and CNC milling machines), including an amazing stock of old and robust milling equipment that would allow him to create his own tools. Voutilainen established an integrated mini-manufacture large enough for an intentional production capacity limited to about fifty watches per year. This number may grow a little, but only by an amount that the master watchmaker can easily handle.

“I have no desire to grow too large,” declares

‘Vingt-8’, born out of nothing “Around 2005 or 2006, I began to develop my chronograph. Everything was not done inhouse since I had to order the main plates and the bridges. All the suppliers were under a lot of pressure at that time, delivery dates were very long, and I had to count on three or four months for even the smallest modifications.

Under those conditions, you cannot control the consistency of the quality, the delivery schedules, or the prices. So, I decided to have my own basic movement,” explains Kari Voutilainen.

It was from this determination that the ‘Vingt-8’ was born, a calibre that equips the watch of the same name. This piece is, we might say, ‘pure Voutilainen’. It is a type of watchmaking devoted entirely to having the best chronometry and fervently constructed right down to the least detail, where, as the saying goes, ‘the devil hides’ (or to rephrase it, ‘the time is in the details’).

GENEVA: T +41 22 703 4020 LONDON: T +44 207 602 4422 Enquiries: info@jean-mairetgillman.com

www.jean-mairetgillman.com

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Let’s look at the calibre for a moment, beginning with the escapement. The new escapement created by Kari Voutilainen for his movement belongs to the family of so-called ‘natural’ escapements, as theorized by Breguet around 1800. But there are different ‘details’ that make Voutilainen’s escapement completely original.

At the heart of the Vingt-8 are two escape wheels providing direct impulse to the balance.

This ensemble has a small palette placed between the two wheels that is—important detail—driven like a lever escapement. The synchronization of the two wheels is made possible due to the transmission mobiles. The impulse acts in two directions each time. The advantage of this particular construction is the increased efficiency of the two-directional direct impulse. The disadvantage, however, is that greater inertia is created. In order to minimize this disadvantage, the designer had to improve the overall energy distribution, which is reflected in the small ‘details’. When all is said and done, the watch reaches 65 hours of working reserve.

One of the other disadvantages of the ‘natural’ escapement is its sensitivity to shocks (which means several teeth can be skipped because of one jolt or the watch can ‘gallop’ ahead by doubling its impulses). This risk was eliminated by adapting the principles of the Swiss lever escapement in the form of horns that serve to make the displacement and as a security device.

When a shock occurs, the palettes can move but the wheels cannot escape, since the system lets only one tooth pass at a time. Another detail

relating to precision is that Voutilainen selected a Breguet/ Grossmann balance-spring system.

What does this mean? The exterior of the spring uses a Breguet or Philips (since he theorized it) overcoil so that the spring moves concentrically, because of the absence of pressure against the pivots. The interior of the spring uses the Grossmann curve, permitting the centre of gravity to be moved to the centre, which is impossible with the Breguet curve because of the collet. The result is better chronometry in all positions. (It goes without saying that Kari Voutilainen’s piece will be in the next Chronometry Competition.)

As robust as it is precise Created from scratch, this new movement took more than three years to be fully developed, and now deliveries are starting. With a relatively large thickness of 5.6 mm, since it is made on three levels, it also has a thick main plate. The robust plate is made of nickel silver, as are the bridges, while the wheels are made of rose gold.

Its construction is solid and sturdy so that inside ‘nothing can bend’. It has also been designed from the beginning to have enough space to accommodate future complications. For the time being, Voutilainen does not want to elaborate on these possible additions, other to say that they will be “useful complications”.

Magnificently finished and decorated, it appeared for the first time, with all the stylistic touches typical of Kari Voutilainen’s timekeeping, in a lovely classic gold or platinum case, with a superb dial decorated with very fine guillochage in contrasting textures. Its price: 72,000 CHF in platinum and 81,000 CHF in gold.

“I am independent, the only shareholder of my own company. I have no obligation to come up with anything and I am entirely self-financed. I do not want to make any more watches than I make now, and I sell nearly all of my production directly to my clients, who are mostly collectors. I have only a few points of sale—in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Switzerland, and Finland—and I do not want any more. What I do want is to remain like this and to work well,” insists Kari Voutilainen with total sincerity. He is indeed a happy watchmaker and a happy man! O For more information about Kari Voutilainen click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

Master Series

masterpieces

Treasure the past, embrace the future

TITONI LTD. SchĂźtzengasse 18 | 2540 Grenchen | Switzerland | Phone +41 32 654 57 00 | www.titoni.ch

34 NEW MATERIAL europa star

When François-Paul Journe goes sporty RPierre Maillard

U

Until now, François-Paul Journe has never made a sports watch. “For the pure and simple reason that I don’t do sports,” he explains laughing. His clients are mostly made up of collectors, connoisseurs and simply fans of a type of fine watchmaking that is rather discreet without being puritan—clients who appreciate the mechanical sophistication that still draws from the living sources of classicism. As such, most of these customers are no more taken with the sports world than is Journe himself. If one or more were to decide to do some jogging, they probably would not do so with their Journe on the wrist. Unless…

François-Paul Journe

Unless, a client is so passionate about these immediately recognizable timepieces that he does not want to stop wearing them, even when doing sports. Listening to these comments and complaints, François-Paul Journe took up the challenge and created, for the first time, a sports watch—and soon to be a whole sports collection: The LineSport.

The lightness of aluminium For this sporty exercise, of which he is not really accustomed, François-Paul Journe opted for lightness and robustness. Lightness: “I did not launch into a competition for lightness

and, with its 55 grammes, it is not the lightest timekeeper in the world. But, I did not want to start hollowing out parts to gain a few grammes here or there. What is important is that one hardly feels the watch when it is on the wrist.

To the point that the other day I said to myself, ‘Ah, I no longer feel my watch’ and when I looked at my wrist, in fact, I was not wearing one!” he concludes with a laugh.

François-Paul Journe uses special aeronautical aluminium that is easy to machine while still being very hard and very resistant. The case is made out of this material, as is the integrated bracelet, the plate, and the bridges. In order to eliminate any problems of electro-erosion, the screws and axes are made of titanium.

To better protect his watch against shocks, Journe thoughtfully introduced moulded rubber inserts and protections that extend slightly beyond the surface of the oxidized and vitrified aluminium case. These protections are also

found on the sides of the case, around the thick sapphire crystal, and even between each of the articulated links of the bracelet (which has been very well designed). The result is a very wearable watch, measuring 43-mm in diameter, which is also very comfortable with its movable horns and the possibility of adjusting the bracelet down to the half link.

Even if it is 100 per cent ‘Journian’ and thus immediately recognizable, the dial of this first example of the LineSport, whose code name is CTS (for Centigraphe Sport) is also made in this same aluminium and has sapphire crystal counters. It also has, for the very first time, luminous numerals. ”It is a sports watch, but it remains a Journe,” comments the author.

The engine of this chronograph sports piece is the Calibre 1506, a manual-winding chronograph movement that equips the brand’s Centigraphe Souverain, which as its name indicates, displays the hundredth of a second

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thanks to a central hand that makes one rotation of the dial in one second. This chronographic mechanism has been patented for its specific configuration that allows the chronograph function to be isolated from the movement, thus suppressing all interference between the amplitude of the balance and the starting and stopping of the chronograph.

The system of toggle push-pieces adds an additional touch of sportiness to the new CTS. But still for all, François-Paul Journe does not intend to capitalize on sports watches, a sector that he judges as “way too crowded”. Rather, he wants to focus on the “active leisure” theme, which he will use in promoting his new aluminium timekeeper. Whatever the case, this first FrançoisPaul Journe sports watch, labelled as ‘Number 1’, was sold recently at Christie’s in Hong Kong for the astronomical price of US$ 450,000—ten times its normal price. But it was for a good cause, since the money went to benefit the victims of the recent tsunami disaster in Japan. This good deed augurs well for the future.

Universal Coordinated Time ≠ Greenwich Mean Time François-Paul Journe recently presented another innovation, the Octa UTC. It is based on the international atomic time, the UTC international divisions, for Universal Coordinated Time, which replaced the famous GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) time divisions in 1972, which were based on the earth’s rotation.

These two time zone divisions are similar, but the UTC offers “a modern division of time zones divided between full hours for the majority”.

These time divisions are included on the dial of the Octa UTC in the form of a globe presenting the two hemispheres divided into highly coloured zones. On either side of a ‘0’ representing winter time, two +1/-1 graduations help to position the summer time linked to the geographical location of the wearer, depending on whether it is positioned east or west of the chosen zone. (Seeing it written seems complicated, but in actual usage, the adjustment of the watch is quite simple.)

The FPJ 1300-3 Calibre, an automatic movement with an off-centred oscillating weight (and single-directional winding equipped with a self-blocking system of ball bearings that can take advantage of each movement of the wearer), also displays, besides the 24-hour time zones, a large instantaneously jumping date and a retrograde indicator for the watch’s five-day (120 hours) working reserve.

Another particularity is that Journe describes this movement as being “modular”. Architecturally, it is the 1-mm plate that holds the dial that also supports the exclusive elements for this model. But, this is not to be confused with

NEW MATERIAL 35

an ‘additional plate’. Rather, it involves more precisely a sort of ‘bridge’ that holds the gears on the movement side, while, on the dial side, it supports the elements used in the display of the power reserve and the date springs. Thanks to it, all the ‘modular’ movements that equip the entire Octa collection are compatible and can be mounted in the same case, regardless of their specifications and their complications.

Far from being anecdotal, this capability is precisely what makes the François-Paul Journe brand so timeless. We observed this recently as well, by personally visiting the totality of the Geneva manufacture’s collections. With no concessions to the vagaries of the marketplace or to stylistic one-upmanship—heaven knows how much turbulence has occurred in the market since Journe signed his first wristwatch in 1991, a Tourbillon Souverain that is still in the brand’s collections—François-Paul Journe has not deviated one iota. This is what makes him so prized today. O For more information about F.-P. Journe click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

36 NEWCOMER europa star

Revelation’s surprising revelation RPierre Maillard

I

It is often said that a ‘revelation’ happens suddenly, like a bolt of lightning. Sometimes, however, ‘revelations’ take their own sweet time. This is the case of Revelation, the brand, founded by Anouk Danthe and Olivier Leu. The two met in 1991 at the Art Centre College of Design in La Tour-de-Peilz, on the shores of the Lac Léman, not far from Montreux. At first, the two founders had totally different careers.

Anouk Danthe, passionate for watches right from the start, worked at Jaeger-LeCoultre on the Atmos clocks, at Omega on the Constellations and the DeVilles, and then for a long time at Audemars Piguet. At AP, she was Product Manager during the launch of the Royal Oak Concept, where she worked alongside Giulio Papi. As for Olivier Leu, he worked at Jörg Hysek before creating his own company specializing in design-focused environments ‘surrounding the watch’, such as displays, boutiques, accessories, and so forth.

In 2006, the pair decided to move to the next step and create their own brand. Their initial concept came to fruition after a detailed analysis of the market at the time, which seemed dominated, at least from a media point of view, by many newcomers and independents that were competing with each other in a sort of technical one-upmanship. While their results were certainly spectacular, their new timepieces often had difficulties in reading the time.

Wanting to combine ‘the best of both worlds’, in other words, technical prowess and good readability, Danthe and Leu developed an original concept that would provide the name of the brand: Revelation. Their idea was to combine two possible visions of the same watch: an apparently simple dial that, when manipulated, would reveal the complex movement that drives the piece. To achieve this, they looked at techniques involving polarized filters. The solution was to place one polarized disc on top of another. When combined, the two discs gave the impression of a totally opaque surface. One disc was stationary but the other was able to pivot 90°, so when it rotated and aligned itself with the fixed glass, the light could pass through, thus ‘revealing’ what was hidden below.

The case: a complication in itself Armed with this innovative concept, the couple created their own company at the beginning of 2007. With the aide of a technical bureau, they developed the ‘Revelation System’. The principle involves pivoting a polarizing disc by raising the bezel of the watch using an Archimedes screw.

The screw is coupled to a differential gear, which drives the crystal inside a ring. In this way, the vertical movement of the bezel opening is

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NEWCOMER 37

MAINSPRING - CALCULATED SPECIALLY FOR THE MOVEMENT

PERSONALIZED WHEEL TEETH

BALANCE SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THIS CALIBRE

18-CARAT GOLD COUNTERWEIGHT

BALANCE SPRING DESIGNED SPECIALLY FOR THIS CALIBRE

UNIQUE MILLING OF THE BRIDGES AND BASE PLATE CUSTOM MADE INDEX ASSEMBLY

transformed into a rotational movement. It is not hard to imagine the extreme complexity of the case that they had to construct.

The case is “a complication in itself”, as they say, and is composed of 71 elements, all individually CNC-machined from a kilo and a half of gold, giving a final weight of 154 grammes.

One important point is that the movement itself had to be designed in close coordination with this case. Unlike most, the Revelation case has very special kinetic functions.

The tourbillon manège The movement, in fact, is where the way became more problematical and longer that they would have imagined. Their first supplier (BNB) announced, out of the blue, that it would not produce the basic movement that they needed to develop their complication.

They then had to find a new supplier capable of providing a basic movement with the same exact dimensions required by their complex case. This was entrusted to a technical bureau, but alas, after a year, the results were disappointing: the energy output of the proposed calibre was not enough to correctly drive their

complication—a ‘tourbillon manège’ in which the balance, pallet lever, wheel and escape pinion are mounted on a moving arm, which serves as the tourbillon bridge. This mobile bridge, balanced by a gold counterweight, is sandwiched between two wheels mounted on the central axis. It acts as the fourth wheel and is driven by four barrels connected in series.

Clearly, this is a highly complex achievement.

Starting again at zero, the two creators gathered together a task force composed of outside specialists and consultants who worked together to realize an escapement system, gear trains, barrels, and energy distribution system. And, today, they have reached the end of their long ordeal. Everything has been duly validated and properly tested, and the first 15 movements, integrally supplied, are in the assembly stage. Revelation finally exists.

A watch with a secret The result is quite amazing. At first glance, we have the impression of seeing a watch with a classical appearance, slightly vintage, with a few touches of modernity in the design of the horns (which are nicely integrated into the

strap). The readability is perfect with the bold hour markers standing out as if floating above the intensely black dial. But when you activate the very discreet trigger integrated into the case, the bezel and its glass cover on which the hour markers are attached rises up.

This vertical movement drives, without being obvious, the 90° rotation of the two polarizing discs, thus revealing the previously hidden and remarkable Tourbillon Manège below.

The effect is quite magical and most surprising.

(Note that this polarization is carried out by rotating a cover in the case, but we might well imagine other systems that could produce the same effect, for example, by a rotating bezel or another idea still in Revelation’s playbook.)

For Anouk Danthe and Olivier Leu, this is the beginning of an incredible adventure. But have they already accomplished the most difficult part of the adventure? Today, the couple is facing another challenge, that of distribution.

Their exceptional and rare piece has a price tag of 176,000 CHF in the titanium version and 211,000 CHF in the white gold model.

Aware that they have arrived “after the storm”, as they say, the couple know that they must now win the trust of specialized retailers and well-informed collectors who may have been burned by so many before-crisis ventures. This will not be easy, but this determined duo has faith and firmly believe that their Revelation will be a true revelation. O For more information about Revelation click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

38 CASE STUDY europa star

Louis Erard’s very competitive neo-classic offer RPierre Maillard

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When in 2003 at the head of a group of investors, Alain Spinedi (ex-Sector, ex-Swatch) took over the reins at the Louis Erard brand (founded in 1931), he opted for a rather unique strategy. He wanted to position the brand in a price range of 700 CHF to 2,000 CHF, with an offer of exclusively mechanical timepieces providing Swiss Made quality. To succeed in achieving and maintaining this difficult position, he had to “forgo all additional expenditures”, remove all the “false expenses”, travel economically, and invest in very little, if any, advertising.

Another potential issue at this time was the substantial rise in mechanical watchmaking, with the most innovative, or even the craziest, timepieces receiving the greatest amount of media attention. Louis Erard’s initial strategy was to offer more tempered and definitely

CHRONOGRAPHE DAME OR

Alain Spinedi

more classic watches which would serve to carve out a unique place for the brand in the entry level. Yet, Alain Spinedi quickly realized the danger of this positioning, which would leave the brand at the mercy of the competition, especially the Swatch Group, which, if it wanted, could have easily occupied his terrain.

Sensible move upmarket The first alert came in 2006, a year that saw tensions rise dramatically in terms of the supply of movements. Starting in 2007, Louis Erard, which used approximately 10,000 ETA movements per year, began actively searching for alternatives (mainly with Sellita and Soprod for its complications).

In parallel, the brand refined its strategy. A slight move upmarket became necessary and the Louis Erard offer moved into a higher range, with price tags now between 2,000 CHF and 3,000 CHF. Spinedi then had to justify this change in positioning, while maintaining the same attractiveness. Louis Erard therefore integrated new complications— power reserve, lunar phases, chronographs— into its models and soon earned a special reputation for its regulator type displays.

The brand has always offered a little bit more than the competition for the same price. In this vein, Louis Erard began proposing diamond-set watches, comprised of more stones than its competitors in the same category. The next step was to create a new line of gold watches, still very competitively priced, also seen as another way to establish the image of the brand and to add legitimacy.

Then came the widespread economic crisis of 2008-2009. One of the opposite effects of the sudden slowdown in the market was that less expensive movements became available again. A close observer of the watch market and very attentive to the errors made by his competition as they often moved upmarket too quickly, Spinedi took advantage of the situation to revisit his entry-level collections and revive his least expensive prices. The strategy seemed to pay off, since in 2010, following the crisis, Louis Erard enjoyed a record year with an increase of 14 per cent by volume of its least expensive models, which represented 55 per cent of sales). Watches priced between 2,000 and 3,000 CHF accounted for 35 per cent of sales, while 30 per cent of sales were ladies’ timepieces, mostly diamond-set. Last but not least, 500 gold watches were sold, making up 12 per cent of turnover. His pyramidal strategy was working.

Launch of excellence The launch in 2011 of the Excellence collection is part of the brand’s winning strategy.

After having revived its lower price offer, Louis Erard now intends to strengthen its midrange and high-end pieces, with new models in steel and in gold, ranging from 1,300 CHF to 3,300 CHF for steel (and up to 5,200 CHF for diamond-set steel), and from 5,200 CHF to 11,000 CHF for gold (a heavy men’s chronograph), with a ladies’ diamond-set chronograph costing 9,000 CHF. Contrary to many other brands, which divide and subdivide their offer, the new Excellence collection is available only with a very pure grey dial for all models. There are seven versions in all, available in steel or in gold: a regulator, a regulator with power reserve, a power reserve watch (equipped with exclusive inhouse modules) as well as a three-hand automatic, a men’s chronograph with lunar phases,

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RÉGULATEUR RÉSERVE DE MARCHE

a ladies’ simple chronograph, and a ladies’ diamond-set chronograph.

Viewed in its entirety, the Excellence collection is really quite beautiful. It is composed of a family of timekeepers with a very lovely neo-classic design, good proportions (40-mm round cases for men, 36-mm round cases for women, and a 42-mm case for the men’s chronograph), and a very readable, classic and elegant display.

You get the feeling that the designers (all Louis Erard watches are designed by the Scarinzi brothers in Bienne) wanted to continue and deepen what has become a veritable and easily recognizable style—a style whose codes visually belong to those of Haute Horlogerie without, however, pretending to be part of that category. The Excellence collection thus does not have transparent case backs, which would require hand-decorations of the movement and therefore a rise in price. The reactions of retailers regarding the lack of transparent case backs has been varied, as Alain Spinedi explains: “Our retailers who also sell the very high end say that it is alright to not have them.

Those who sell only mid-range products sometimes regret not having the transparent case backs.” The former have a point of comparison that the latter don’t have.

The art of listening Whatever the case, Alain Spinedi listens carefully to his retailers, since distribution is so important. On this point, his strategy is also well planned and, in some aspects, is really quite interesting. Thus, the Swiss market represents nearly 30 per cent of sales—which very few brands can claim—with 120 points of sale spread throughout the country. “I have always thought,” he explains, “that it was necessary for us to be strong in our own country and that Louis Erard was a Swiss brand for Swiss people.

It is also a question of legitimacy. I am so happy to be able to tell foreign retailers, who ask me the question, that we are very present in our own nation. I think this is important.”

The remainder of the brand’s distribution is divided between Europe—with 25 per cent, mainly in Italy, Belgium, Holland, and recently Spain and Portugal—Eastern Europe with 15 per cent, the Middle East with 10 per cent, and the rest in various Asian nations. Even though Louis Erard is still absent from many markets, namely China and the United States (without mentioning South America and even important markets in Europe such as France and Germany), the brand is making important inroads. To reach these markets, Spinedi does not have a miracle formula but, in his opinion, the brand offers some major advantages: the uniqueness of his exclusively mechanical neoclassic offer; the excellent price-quality ratio; an image that strengthens the brand’s identity year after year; and its independence from the large groups. “As an independent brand selling some 10,000 pieces per year, everything is a question of direct relationships, from person to person.

This is what makes the difference. This is what builds trust, a trust that comes because we consistently demonstrate that we have a clear strategy, that we do not waver from it, and that our future is well thought out. Retailers who, as in Hong Kong for example, earlier carried 100 brands and are today reduced to selling only ten, understand this point only too well. Our offer is totally complementary to that of the large groups and they know it. Having a ‘simple’ brand that the consumer can rapidly understand—a brand that shows respect for the client by offering him more than the others for the same price—offers an obvious competitive advantage.” More reasons for Alain Spinedi to accumulate even more miles in economy class, as is correct for a sober brand such as Louis Erard. O For more information about Louis Erard click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

G U E S S W AT C H E S . C O M A R T D I R : PA U L M A R C I A N O

PH: YU TSAI

GUESS?©2011

42 NEW TREND europa star

Tailored time

Not content with limited editions or unique pieces, an increasing number of watch collectors are now commissioning their very own timepieces, but is this trend a boon or bane for the watch industry?

RSophie Furley The trend for exclusivity It doesn’t matter what a collector collects: watches, cars, paintings, first editions or marbles - the most favoured objects will always be those that are the rarest and most exclusive. In a world that appears to be growing forever smaller, there is a certain gratification in knowing that only one, or seven, or even 99 people in the whole world are walking around wearing the exact same watch.

The ladies watch brand DeLaneau has recognised this particular consumer fancy and has created a ‘Pairs’ collection with limited series

ATAME COLIBRI by DeLaneau

of two timepieces. There is even the opportunity to connect to the person who purchases the twin timepiece, creating a bond between two women and their similar tastes.

The concept of limited editions has become a huge success story and it is rare to find a company today that doesn’t offer some of its collections as a limited series. As this passion for uniqueness has become prolific throughout the watch industry, a few watch brands have seen the opportunity to become even more exclusive with one-of-a-kind timepieces, where the probability of crossing someone with the same timepiece is reduced to zero.

Jean Dunand, is one such brand whose USP is to create unique 1/1 timepieces that combine

state-of-the-art mechanisms with a variety of different Art Deco inspired crafts such as enamelling, lacquer, guilloché, engraving, gemsetting and more.

The bespoke piece For some aficionados who have extensive collections, or watch lovers who have a dream watch in mind, the ultimate in exclusivity is a custom-made timepiece.

Bespoke watchmaking is not something new, as long as there have been watch collectors, there have been bespoke watches. Famous commissions include the Breguet pocket watch ordered for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1783 by an admiring Officer of the Queen’s Guard,

TOURBILLON ORBITAL DANCING KOI by Jean Dunand

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MAKIE WILD HORSES by Speake-Marin

and the more recent Patek Philippe Graves Complication, which was commissioned by Henry Graves Jr in 1930 and fetched an astounding US$11 million at auction in 1999.

With modern day production methods, a bespoke piece doesn’t necessarily need a mortgage to finance either, and an increasing number of collectors are taking the plunge.

Although caution should be taken as the production of a dream watch can be fraught with hazards for both the client and the watchmaker.

Risky business One of the problems with making a custom timepiece is that the finished result may not match what the client had in mind. “Imagine a client asks for a dragon holding a globe,” explains Peter Speake-Marin, “there are a zillion potential ways it could turn out. So far none of my clients have ever been disappointed with the outcome, but the possibilities for disappointment are always there,” he shares.

With drawings and computer renditions, these risks can be reduced, but they can never be totally eliminated.

Another problem that can occur is that what seems like a simple project at the start can turn out to be far more complicated in practice.

Christophe Claret shares one of his experiences: “We had a request for a DualTow with SuperLumiNova numbers on the belts, which we accepted without a surcharge. But the realization of this piece became a real challenge as SuperLumiNova breaks easily and isn’t compatible with a supple belt. It took us close to a year to develop an elastic SuperLumiNova that could be applied onto the numerals on the belt. In addition, a solution had to be found to harden the belt to be able to engrave on it.

We ended up freezing it,” he details. “Special orders may appear simple at first but can turn out to be very complicated to produce in reality,” he warns.

Other concerns worth mentioning are that the watchmaker should think carefully about the projects he or she accepts, making sure that they are in line with the brand’s philosophy. Creating a watch that goes against the brand’s values can be detrimental to the brand and result in a bad experience for the brand and the client.

Patience is a virtue One of the biggest misunderstandings between clients and manufacturers is how long things take. In the business of fabricating time, patience is key, and the client who wants to

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DUALTOW by Christophe Claret

embark on a watchmaking adventure needs to be prepared to wait. However, as with many things, the journey can often be just as fun as arriving at the destination, and many companies welcome their bespoke clients into their worlds, communicating regularly on the progress of the piece and inviting the client into the decision making process, resulting in a greater experience than the purchase of a simple watch.

It’s not about the money Creating bespoke watches is not always a profitable business and most brands don’t advertise this part of their business, even if they do accept the odd challenge here and there. “Special orders are obviously technically interesting but not generally financially interesting,” notes Claret, “They create an important surcharge that we can’t claim back from our retail partners, that’s why we try to avoid them where possible. However, when necessary, we take on the challenge positively,” he adds.

There are advantages though, as the exposure that these special orders bring to a brand can increase the visibility of its savoir-faire. “I enjoy these mini collaborations although, for the most part, the work involved is disproportionate to

44 NEW TREND europa star

tributor, I know that my retail clients are happy with limited editions created exclusively for their stores,” explains John Simonian, President of Richard Mille, the Americas.

“Their customers travel the world, and can purchase a watch that isn’t limited in any way at boutiques on five continents. But a limited edition will bring that customer to their front door. We are able to guarantee business to our clients, and this has absolutely no price. During the last economic crisis, this policy saved our distribution and business,” he says. As for unique pieces, “When a client has an idea in mind for a custom order, I’ll absolutely work to make it happen for them. We’ll create a piece unique whenever we can!” he concludes.

DB25l by De Bethune

the return,” says Speake-Marin. “There is diversity in my work thanks to these mini collaborations which have resulted in a far greater presence than perhaps the reality,” he admits.

The retailer view The work of the retailer is to always keep his or her clients happy and if a client wants to order something unique then the retailer should always do his utmost to help the client. “I never try to steer my clients away from something they are passionate about. If there is something they want, I’ll always try to have it

Where to go made for them,” says Greg Simonian, President of Westime, which has three boutiques in Southern California. “A client of mine just ordered a De Bethune DB25l with a flamed blue steel dial and gold stars across the dial.

For his version, the gold stars will be arranged in a pattern that accurately reflects the way the night sky looked on the day and time of his birth.”

The distributor view Creating exclusivity for individual retailers can also be a great recipe for success. “As a dis-

For the client interested in a bespoke piece, it isn’t always obvious where to start looking. A retailer would be the first port of call or a prospective client could approach one of the independent watchmakers directly, such as Peter Speake-Marine, Roger Smith, Thomas Prescher, Andreas Strehler, The McGonigle Brothers, Bremont, Jean Dunand, Hautlence etc., who have small enough structures and flexibility to create individual timepieces. Most of the larger brands are also willing to discuss the creation of a bespoke timepiece for a client on a case by case basis.

PHILOSOPHIA by Vacheron Constantin

VACHERON CONSTANTIN – WATCHMAKING DREAMS Historically, many of Vacheron Constantin’s most complex and complicated timepieces have been the fruits of commissions by final clients. It is something the brand has always done and which it continues to offer. In order to better serve these special clients, the Swiss watchmaker has created a special department called the Atelier Cabinotiers, which provides a unique service in contemporary Haute Horlogerie whereby clients can meet and discuss directly with the watchmakers.

“We have several ‘levels’ of bespoke timepieces. Some clients are asking us for a particular dial on an existing model, or another colour of gold, or another type of personalization. Then, we have clients that are asking for a unique creation, which would include an existing movement, explains Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s Head of Product Development.

“And, finally, we have clients for who ‘only the sky is the limit’, and that are ready to wait several years to see the final result of their dreams!”

With 40 projects in different stages of development and production, bespoke time is obviously a growing niche.

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QUAI DE L’ÎLE Collection by Vacheron Constantin

REVERSO by Jaeger-LeCoultre

Levels of customization Acquiring a personalized timepiece, however, doesn’t necessarily have to involve a six-digit investment. The majority of brands are happy to accommodate small changes – an engraving, a different coloured strap, polished or brushed case, another variety of hands – for an additional fee and a little patience on the side of the client.

Customization has become an integral part of the car business, for example, with the choice of engines, paintwork, interior features etc, and now it is starting to occur in the watch industry too. The Richemont Group is leading the charge with Vacheron Constantin’s Quai de L’Ile collection where the client can build his model using touch screen devices in the brand’s boutiques that allow the configuration of one of 700 different possible creations.

And Jaeger-LeCoultre has just launched its online service for personalizing a Reverso (http://personalisation.jaeger-lecoultre.com) which enables future clients to add a ‘virtual’ initial, crest, lucky number, map, picture or portrait (by uploading photographs onto the site) to the back of the Reverso’s rotating case and see how it looks online before purchasing.

Jaeger-LeCoultre personalisation

The decorative options include engraving, gemsetting and enamelling to make each timepiece as unique as the person who wears it.

These kind of customization systems can cut down the costs of special orders dramatically thanks to efficient computer-aided systems that reduce the time consuming toing and froing between the client, the retailer and the manufacturer.

Exclusivity One thing that is clear is that exclusivity sells and companies are going the extra mile to provide additional services to their clientele.

“If you had the choice, would you buy a piece that 5,000 or 10,000 people had, or would you pay a little more for something unique?” asks Speake-Marin. A good question indeed.

For retailers, being ready for bespoke requests could be an ideal way to create a very special relationship with a client as you study the options together. Start by talking to the brands that you carry so you know what kind of customization is possible and reasonable. Like this you will be in a position to talk knowledgeably to your customers and hopefully accompany them on the great adventure of designing their own watch. O

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The resurrection of Besançon

Museum of Time

RKeith W. Strandberg

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Watchmaking?

Ask anyone and they will most probably think of Switzerland, the watchmakers in Geneva and the Jura. Some might also mention Glashütte, Germany, including A. Lange & Söhne, Mühle Glashütte, Tutima and Glashütte Original in that group. France would be low on the list, but the city of Besançon, France is out to change that perception.

Besançon is the historical centre of watchmaking in France. A vibrant city with incredible energy, Besançon is poised to regain its title with the launch of several watchmaking concerns, support companies and the return to prominence of the Besançon Observatory.

The history Besançon is only about an hour from Geneva, right over the Swiss/French border, so by virtue of its proximity and its access to the French market, Besançon became the centre for watchmaking in France.

Situated on a bend in the Doubs river, Besançon is a beautiful old city of about 220,000 people.

The city has won the title of France's ‘greenest city’ and the Citadel that overlooks the centre of the city is an amazing historical site.

France’s most famous watch brand, LIP watches, was founded in 1867 in Besançon. The company made about 10 million watches until they

L. Leroy: A leading French name resurfaces

closed their doors in the 70s, and signs of LIP in Besançon are visible throughout the city (The LIP trademark is now owned by the Manufacture Générale Horlogère). In the excellent watch and clock museum in Besançon, there are a number of references to LIP watches and some great old advertising placards from LIP. Many Swiss companies had offices in France.

Zenith, in fact, had a manufacturing concern in Besançon, making entire watches, including several movements, to avoid customs quotas and duties. The French production for Zenith had ‘Fabrication Française’ printed on the dial.

Currently, several large companies have service centres and some manufacturing operations in Besançon. Timex has a big facility, as does Breitling. Also, the workshops of Muller Design/Development and Alain Silberstein are based in Besançon.

As for watchmaking, however, three companies have come to the forefront recently, raising the profile of Besançon: L. Leroy, Dodane and M. Benjamin; and the Observatory of Besançon has started certifying watches again.

L. Leroy is a famous mark from France, at one time one of the leading watchmakers in the world. Established in Paris in 1785, the founder, (Basle)-Charles Le Roy, was named Master Watchmaker, allowing him to open his company and workshop. Success followed: Le Roy was named ‘Watchmaker to Her Imperial and Royal Highness, Madame the Mother of the Emperor (Napoleon)’, Watchmaker to the Queen of England, as well as the Emperor of Brazil and Queen Isabelle II of Spain.

The famous Leroy 01 (on exhibit in the Besançon Museum of Time) was the most complicated watch in the world for almost 100 years and had been finished in the Besançon workshops of L. Leroy (the company had moved to Besançon to be closer to the heart of Swiss watchmaking in 1892).

LEROY 01

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CAPITAL 49

LES GRANDES HEURES SCIENTIFIQUES by L. Leroy

The company continued to flourish and had a wealth of prestigious clients – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alfred Noble, Antoine de St. Exupéry, Charles Lindbergh, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Frédéric Chopin, Marcel Proust and more.

In 2004, Miguel Rodriguez, founder and owner of Festina-Lotus SA, bought the L. Leroy brand and put it back in Besançon. Now, running the brand is Guillaume Tripet along with master watchmaker Bruno Laville.

“L. Leroy's mission is to position itself as a ‘flagship’ of the renewal of the French watchmaking activities in the world of luxury,” Tripet explains. “France, the country of ultimate luxury, no longer has watch brands able to compete with the Swiss maisons. Those who could do so, produce most of their parts or their entire watches in Switzerland.

“To be fully consistent with our history and to restore L. Leroy's visibility that the company would not have if we had chosen Switzerland for our rebirth, we decided on Besançon,” he continues. “Moreover, the very high level of know-how of the watchmakers here in Besançon allows us to claim a quality workforce that we probably would not find in other French cities.

Finally, our collaboration with the Observatory and its certification skills were among the decisive aspects of our choice. For us, Besançon is the ‘heart and soul of French watchmak-

ing’ and L. Leroy must become the face of Besançon again.”

If Tripet has his way, one day soon Besançon will be the vibrant centre of French watch production and again gain worldwide recognition. “For many French people, Besançon is still the city of watchmaking excellence and it will be again,” Tripet concludes.

Reviving Dodane The Dodane manufacture was founded in 1857 and rapidly became known in the world of watchmaking for its research ethos and its involvement in aviation. The Dodane family is native to the Val de Morteau, and they were the pioneers who cut the first villages out of the forest near the Swiss border.

Alphonse Dodane, with his father-in-law François-Xavier Joubert, created a watchmaking facility and ébauche workshop in the heart of the Doubs gorges, on the edge of the Swiss border, in order to make use of the hydraulic power from the river. The first Dodane watches were manufactured at that time in a factory employing 120 workers.

After that, the son of Alphonse Dodane, Raymond Dodane, moved the factory to Morteau (in France’s Haut Doubs region).

Raymond Dodane diversified the company by manufacturing chronometric instruments for

aviation. In 1917, Dodane developed a reverse chronograph to improve the targeting of bombers. This development cemented the Dodane company with aviation.

In 1929, the third generation of the Dodane family settled in Besançon, and Dodane carried on the traditions of complicated watch fabrication. The company became one of the longeststanding authorized suppliers to NATO. In 1983, Laurent and Michel succeeded their father Raymond in directing the company and produced up to 100,000 watches, distributed on all five continents. The House of Dodane was the only French company to have been certified for the fabrication of altimetric chronographs permitting parachutists to do night jumps with delayed openings. The company also created the 1/100th of a second timer for the control of the ejection seats used by Aerospatiale. Dodane also supplied many civil airlines, both in France and abroad, as well as to the Aéropostale, the French national department of education, and post and telecommunications offices.

The company folded, but the dream lived on in Laurent and his son Cedric Dodane and the Dodane family continued to supply onboard chronographs to the military, so their company quickly resurfaced as a NATO authorized supplier. Building on their family expertise, the

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TYPE 21 by Dodane

company subsequently launched a wristwatch based on the legendary Dodane chronograph: the Type 21.

“When we relaunched, we started all over again with total financial independence,” says Cedric Dodane. “Our resources were very restricted but we had the firm intention to not let go of five generations of watchmaking heritage. Our main objective is to put the customer at the heart of our job. We wish to propose products with a good price/quality ratio, and with personalized and exclusive service always by being tuned in to the expectations of the clients. It is what differentiates us to the other watch actors who often forget that it is their customers who are important.

“Our watches are adjusted carefully in order to be able to be certified as a ‘chronometer’ by the National Observatory of Time Measurement in Besançon, using ISO standard 3159,” Dodane continues. “The Time and Frequency Scientific Research Department continually

ensures chronometric testing on mechanical watches, and the Type 21 has been able to benefit from this prestigious service, just like the original watch in the 1950’s. The uniqueness of this ISO 3159 test is that it applies only to a fully assembled watch and not to uncased movements (COSC certifies uncased movements).”

Dodane is committed to supplying the military, which was its exclusive niche in years gone by, but also plans to branch out sales to the general public as well, a sort of French Panerai, if you will. “We take advantage of our watchmaking know-how by conceiving and by selling onboard chronographs and wristwatches which answer the requirements of the professionals and the public,” Dodane says. “The pilots require a high level of reliability, performance and quality. The instruments must be able to support extreme conditions of acceleration and temperature variations while preserving functioning and precision.”

Currently, Dodane produces about 1,000 military watches a year, with additional civilian limited editions.

“The main objective of the company is to protect the watchmaking know-how of the Dodane family,” Dodane adds. “So, our motivation is more than strong and our dedication is total.

We work as a family: my father, my brother, my wife and I, as well as two master watchmakers.”

M. Benjamin Watchmaker Benjamin Muller came by his interest in watchmaking honestly – he got it from his father, Jean Muller, who launched the Bugatti brand in the 1980s. In 1999, Benjamin joined his father’s company, which has worked with such brands as Girard-Perregaux, Dior, Louis Vuitton, De Beers, Richard Mille, Montblanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chopard, Leviev, Guy Ellia, DeLaneau, TAG Heuer and more. Last year, Benjamin decided to launch his own brand, M. Benjamin, with the Spyder collection. Using a very unique skeleton design, one that is instantly recognizable and doesn’t resemble anything on the market, M. Benjamin has a good chance of really succeeding.

Benjamin Muller

“I started one year ago, after working ten years for my father’s company,” says Muller.

“I work with Concepto to realize my movement designs, then a network of suppliers in Switzerland and in France to finish the watches.

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SPYDER Collection by Benjamin Muller

The future

For me, the watch embodies the spirit of luxury sports cars with the engines on view – like Ferrari and Lamborghini. My movements are all in a line and everything is out there to see.”

Muller still lives in Besançon and it’s important to him that his company use the city as a base.

“In the future, my watches will also receive the certification of the Observatory of Besançon,” he says. “I think it will be possible to bring Besançon back to the forefront of the watchmaking industry – it’s already happening.”

The Besançon Observatory The last piece of the puzzle is the Observatory of Besançon, which is once again certifying watches as chronometers. The Observatory was established in 1887 and has been involved in chronometric certifications from the start, as it was created for the local and national watch industry.

The certification of watches is just a very small part of the Observatory’s work. “Here, the main activity is time and frequency measurement, at the nanosecond level,” says Dr. Francois Meyer, Time and Frequency Team, the Observatory of Besançon. “Though the Observatory stopped watch certification for a period of time, the know-how to certify chronometers has not disappeared. We can measure to one billionth of a second, so we can easily do one second.

“Manufactures are coming back to the fundamentals, like precision, so chronometric certification is becoming more in demand,” he continues. “We hope that Leroy will lead companies back here to control their watches.” (Editor’s note: Laurent Ferrier certifies his watches here.)

The Observatory currently certifies about 100 watches a year, but has capacity to do up to 1,000 watches a year. Watches that are certified at Besançon receive the legendary mark of the Viper. “The Viper mark was started in 1897, but I don’t know why they use a snake,” Dr. Meyer says. “There are legends about a snake woman here, maybe this is related to the mark. I would be very curious if anyone has knowledge about this.” Europa Star readers, please help!

Dr. François Meyer

“Besançon, the capital of the French watchmaking actually enjoyed its heyday until the 70's and even at this time, large companies such as Kelton Timex numbered more than 3,000 employees within its plant in Besançon,” details Didier Sikkink, Deputy Director, the Mayor of Besançon’s Cabinet. “Then various economic problems led to this industry to decline sharply and later to almost disappear in the early 90s. The local know-how enabled several brands to remain on-site with their after-sales services such as Breitling, Tissot, Audemars Piguet, Festina and gradually a new network of watchmakers arose, no longer based on large productions, but based on a knowhow of the watchmakers here. More recently Festina has heavily invested in building its French distribution subsidiary, Breitling has grown in scope and Leroy has established its luxury watchmaking in Besançon. Aware of its assets and taking into consideration this dynamic willing, the city of Besançon has decided to support this movement and to involve itself within an approach that gives value to our territory within this niche market in which Besançon could excel in the past.

“Leroy is now settled in Besançon and Breitling has recently announced the creation of a new site dedicated to customer service and to train its dealer network,” he continues. “Further contacts are being explored with major brands.

We rely heavily on our Observatory which delivers the stamp of the Besançon Viper. We will host the 2013 chronometric competition in partnership and agreement with the town of Le Locle, Switzerland. It is quite clear for the entire watch industry that Besançon remains an area of knowledge for high level watchmaking and our approach is fairly welcome which is essential for the future.”

Besançon is working hard to recapture the legacy it had in watchmaking and if Dodane and L. Leroy are any indication of how things will be, Besançon has a real opportunity to once again become the centre of French watchmaking and rival the Swiss. O

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MANUFACTURING 53

Ulysse Nardin, the credo of innovation and independence Following the death of Rolf Schnyder, its president and CEO, the Ulysse Nardin manufacture is continuing along the path of independence and innovation. Planned for this year is an increase in the production of the new UN-118 calibre equipped with an escapement in DIAMonSIL.

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RMichel Jeannot / BIPH

The story is now well known—when the late Rolf Schnyder purchased the company in 1983, it was only a shadow of its former being—Ulysse Nardin was basically a name and two watchmakers. It was not much, but enough to make Schnyder believe in it, and to make him certain of the future of innovative mechanical timekeeping. Yet, he knew that he could not do it alone. Fortunately, he met Ludwig Oechslin, a multi-talented inventor, who is today the conservator of the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) in La Chauxde-Fonds. Out of this meeting was born a friendship, and of this friendship was born a legendary collection—the Trilogy of Time set.

The Astrolabium Galileo Galilei, the Planetarium Copernicus, and the Tellurium Johannes Kepler made a lasting impression, and Ulysse Nardin had returned to the circle of great names in Swiss timekeeping. Other models signed Ludwig Oechslin would join this collection: the GMT ± Perpetual, Sonata, Moonstruck, and of course, Freak, which in Rolf Schnyder’s opinion is emblematic of the Ulysse Nardin spirit.

Rolf Schnyder

So, with a few advances, innovations, and impressive watches, Ulysse Nardin succeeded in inciting a new passion and appreciation with many collectors. The brand’s refusal to give in to the current fads and its consistency did the rest. Today, Ulysse Nardin is one of the rare enterprises in the haute horlogerie sector to remain independent. But then, last April, the passing of Rolf Schnyder sent shock waves through the brand.

Innovation, between the obvious and the necessary Working in the United States and having joined the company in 1999, Patrick P. Hoffmann was rapidly named CEO, as Rolf Schnyder had planned. He and a close management team are following Schnyder’s work. In addition to Hoffman, five individuals make up the brand’s current management team: Susanne Hurni in communication; Pierre Gygax as COO; Patrice Carrel as CFO; and Lucas Humair in production.

All have been with the company for at least twelve years, thus affording real continuity.

“One of the marks of the Ulysse Nardin manufacture is its capacity for innovation,” insists

The Ulysse Nardin manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Patrick P. Hoffmann. “This is largely known, and continuity rhymes with evolution. We are continuing to evolve the company and have recently taken the decision to start some new R&D processes, with results not expected before 2015. For us, innovation is as much the obvious as it is a necessity. The key to independence resides in profitability. You must be profitable to be able to invest in R&D and in the global development of the brand. Ulysse Nardin is a healthy company that has never had to turn to the banks to ensure its development. This must continue.”

The future of the brand seems well anchored in its independence. Chai Schnyder, Rolf’s widow and the new president of the company, made it clear to the workforce that she intends to follow her husband’s path, namely that of independence, which means an increasingly greater autonomy in terms of movements. “All those who participated in the growth of the brand over the last ten years are naturally very enthusiastic to continue on the same foundation,” states Pierre Gygax, adding, “This proclamation of independence is very positive for everyone.

It is also a true compliment.”

Patrick P. Hoffmann, the new CEO of Ulysse Nardin.

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Ulysse Nardin produces today some 25,000 watches per year for an estimated turnover of CHF 200 million. The enterprise is spread out between its headquarters in Le Locle (140 people), which houses administration, assembly, after-sales service, and the atelier for grand complications, and its factory in La Chaux-deFonds (150 more people) which oversees all the movement activity including in-house calibres as well as a variety of external subcontractors. Subcontracted elements are mostly completed by Ulysse Nardin developments.

Some 90 other people are employed by the brand’s branches around the world.

An integrated manufacture For anyone who has not followed the brand’s development, a visit is recommended. The manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds covers 3000 square meters and is constantly expanding.

Here all the production steps are carried out, from design to finished product. The construction office has six constructors and five designers who create all the Ulysse Nardin calibres, which are divided into two large families—27 mm and 31 mm. Here, also all the movements Perpetual, Moonstruck, Sonata, Freak, and the latest Calibre UN-118 are created. The laboratory is very well equipped for realizing prototypes, testing, simulating, and correcting growing pains in the calibres as well as for quality control (water resistance, shock resistance, etc.) for all the components of the watch.

The La Chaux-de-Fonds factory is also an indispensable bureau for methodology and equipment as well as for quality—indepen-

The watch ateliers in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The latest in the line, the Freak Diavolo and its escapement combining pieces in LIGA and silicon.

dent of the quality control operations—that verifies both internal production and components that come from outside. Plates and bridges are machined using the latest generation of CNC equipment while another area is reserved for cutting, milling, rolling, etc. The ébauches produced in the mechanical atelier are then decorated in-house (Côtes de Genève, spiral forms, diamond chamfering, circular graining, sunburst patterns, etc.), while polishing, thermal treatments, and electroplating are conducted externally. Despite its ability to produce most of the components—including the escapements coming from the joint venture with Sigatec, which are assembled and adjusted in La Chaux-de-Fonds—Ulysse Nardin prefers to also maintain outside sources of supply.

Since the first steps in managing the manufacture, i.e. the integration of the technical bureau in 1997, then the arrival of the first CNC in 1999—at the time Ulysse Nardin produced 4000 watches per year—the investment (not communicated, but estimated at several tens of millions of Swiss francs) has been constant.

In parallel, the company has shown uncommon curiosity and a vision since it has always been at the top—or among the top—when it comes to R&D on new materials, especially silicon. It was Ulysse Nardin that first approached the CSEM in Neuchâtel in 2000 for the purpose of producing a silicon escapement, the Dual Direct, for its new Freak model (based on an idea from Michel Vermot, pro-

fessor at the engineering school in Le Locle).

The first pieces saw the light of day on September 5, 2000. Two months later, the CSEM asked Ludwig Oechslin what other components of the escapement could be made in silicon. Oechslin dared to propose the balance spring. The first springs, according to the designs at the MIH, were realized by the CSEM in March of 2002. This marked the beginning of a new era in watchmaking.

From 2001 to 2004, Ulysse Nardin produced the Freak 01 with the Dual Direct silicon.

Starting in 2005, Freak watches were equipped with a second-generation escapement called the Dual Ulysse that functioned without lubrication. In 2007, came the InnoVision, a mechanical “concept” watch not requiring lubrication that incorporated ten major innovations.

Some were found the following year in the Sonata Silicon model that had both the escapement and the balance spring in silicon. In 2010, the Freak Diavolo came onto the scene, combining MPS ball bearings, LIGA pieces from Mimotec, and silicon parts from Sigatec.

The diamond silicon alliance At the same time, Ulysse Nardin was interested (since 2002) in the virtues of diamond technologyand launched a fabrication test of its Dual Direct escapement. Although the test was not conclusive, it provided a wealth of information. Research was continued and large investments were made right up to the launch of the Freak “Diamond Heart” in 2005. Given the cost, the “all diamond” was not seen as

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practical for “ordinary” production. This is the reason that, in 2004, Ulysse Nardin entrusted it to GFD, a start-up working in the development and growth of the diamond on silicon components, from which was born the unique Diamond Coated Silicon technology. This process was very promising—the 2007 Freak DIAMonSIL is an example—but it was not easily transposable to large scale production.

A few more years of development were necessary to reach satisfactory results, such as those presented in Sion in November 2010. Ulysse Nardin thus chose to acquire the GFD technology and industrialize it at Sigatec, on a large installation dedicated to the specific needs of watch components. This technology was also offered to other watch brands, contrary to what is observed in many other laboratories.

Far from resting on its laurels, Ulysse Nardin has taken the lead at Sion, Le Locle, and La Chaux-de-Fonds. There was no lack of work or projects, beginning with the increase in production of the in-house Calibre UN-118, a good movement that had been subjected to more than 4000 hours in the laboratory. This calibre is the keystone of the brand’s development and guarantees its independence.

Integrating an escapement made of DIAMonSIL (Ulysse Nardin patent), the new Calibre UN118 is an automatic mechanical movement, Cross-section of an element in diamond coated silicon.

The new calibre UN-118, the keystone of Ulysse Nardin’s development.

COSC-certified, displaying hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, and date at 6 o'clock with backward and forward date corrector. With 248 components, it has a working reserve of 60 hours and beats at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vib/h). The importance of this calibre is even greater for Ulysse Nardin since it is the first of a family of movements that will be developed and equipped with a DIAMonSIL escapement coupled with a patented oscillator comprising an inertial balance wheel made of silicon 1.1.1. Clearly, in the future, this technology will be the signature of Ulysse Nardin and its in-house movements.

In the short term, Ulysse Nardin wants to concentrate on increasing production of the Calibre UN-118 to reach 10,000 to 15,000 over the mid-term. To do so, an additional assembly chain will be installed in the months to come. At the commands will be 12 to 14 operators to ensure the process, from the main plate to the finished movement, including checking, engraving, and numbering it.

Prestige without snobbism

Escape wheels in diamond coated silicon.

Make no mistake, moving to this type of production is not evident since it involves a much stricter process during all the fabrication steps. All companies that have passed from the status of artisanal watch production to industrial manufacturing perfectly understand the difficulties. “The fact of producing ‘industrially’ is certainly another matter,” sums up

Lucas Humair, technical director of the manufacture. All the components must be perfect and not require any retouches.”

When he presented the Calibre UN-118 at BaselWorld last March, Rolf Schnyder stated, “In developing the movement technologies in-house, Ulysse Nardin could control its own quality. For a long time, the brand has actively invested in innovations that advance watchmaking. It wishes to create mechanical timekeepers that will inspire future generations.”

Rolf Schnyder’s wish may very well be answered.

The brand has many projects in view, some of which show the hand of Ludwig Oechslin.

Ulysse Nardin unceasingly continues its research —as do many of its competitors—on the strategic elements of the mechanical movement, whether they are the balance spring, escapement, or barrel spring. “All the research is centred on the reliability and lifespan of the mechanical watch,” explains Pierre Gygax. The brand has development projects involving all its lines, namely, the new Calibre UN-118, the perpetual calendar, Sonata, Moonstruck, and Freak.

Those who know the company understand that it is driven by a particular spirit, a spirit that Hoffmann intends to preserve at all cost.

“With Rolf Schnyder, Ulysse Nardin showed that it is possible to sell prestige watches without snobbism, to be rigorous without taking itself too seriously. If we succeed in maintaining this state of mind for the brand, we will already have made good progress.” O

56 MANUFACTURING europa star

Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier proposes two new basic movements RPierre Maillard

V

“VMF has passed through some difficult moments during the economic crisis and during the restructuring. In order to preserve and maintain our production tool, we have reorganized our structure. The passage from an artisanal manufacture to an industrial manufacture required new strategic orientations. Thus, we have repositioned our offer to meet the needs of the marketplace by revisiting our key processes and our business plan,” explains Florian Serex, General Manager of Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier.

Employment is again up, five months earlier than expected, and VMF today has 160 employees. An optimist, Florian Serex adds, “we are ready for a growth of 100 per cent over the next five years.”

Verticalized ensemble Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier—which belongs to the Sandoz Family Foundation and which has grown at the sides of Parmigiani for which it is the main manufacturing group of various companies—seriously suffered during the watch recession that followed the economic downturn of the years 2008-2009. After having recruited 60 new workers in 2008, Vaucher had to lay off 14 people in March of 2009, then reduced hours to 70 per cent, before again reducing staff in April of 2010, passing from 210 to 160 today.

Since then, not only has the wind begun to change direction (returning much more slowly to fill up the sails of the ateliers and the annex branches than those of the brands, whose stocks were expecting only that), but, as Florian

Calibre 5300

Serex explains, the crisis—as painful as it was—also made the brand seriously revisit its strategy. It has been all about keeping a large company operating, one that is now nearly totally verticalized (at the sides of VMF, there are its sister companies, namely Atokalpa for movements and Elwin for primary component parts such as oscillators, assortments, and cutting, as well as Les Artisans Boîtiers/Quadrance & Habillage which make cases and dials). Up to now, Vaucher Manufacture has been criticized for its weak presence on external markets (it is there mainly with Hermès, which holds 25 per cent of VMF), its relatively inadequate offer, and its prices that have been considered too high.

The new strategy put into place by Florian Serex largely takes into account these criticisms. Thus, VMF now proposes a greatly reorganized offer, composed of six mechanical calibres, including

two new ‘basic’ calibres whose industrialization has been optimized and which can therefore be proposed at more ‘affordable’ prices. This is news that will certainly attract watch brands.

The 5300, a micro-rotor The first among these new calibres is a basic movement, the Calibre 5300, featuring hours, minutes, small seconds, and date. It is also extra-thin (2.6 mm for an encasing diameter of 30 mm), with automatic winding by microrotor that provides 42 hours of working reserve. The choice of a micro-rotor, besides the fact that it allows for the thin movement, also has the advantage of offering larger bridge surfaces, always visible, that permit elaborate personalization in terms of decoration. This is one of the axes on which VMF is basing its policies: offer movements that are easily personalized, including the shape of the bridges and rotor.

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Weight transformed into advantage?

Armed with this new offer largely available to watch brands, VMF expects to be able to increase production from the current level of 12,000 movements per year to 25,000 movements annually within three or four years. To succeed, all will depend on what happens with its direct competitors. Among these, we think especially of Frédéric Piguet, which produces some 70,000 movements per year, and Sowind, attached to Girard-Perregaux, which can also open more to the competition.

Calibre 3000

With lovely finishing (circular-graining, Côtes de Genève pattern, ceramic ball bearings, chamfering, curved pivots, etc.) and positioned to equip watches selling for around 8,000 CHF, the Calibre 5300 is intended to be produced in quantities of 50 to 200 pieces per series. Its average price will be around 1,190 CHF for a series of 500 pieces. There is also the possibility of adding an extra plate that can transform it into a perpetual calendar measuring less than 4 mm in thickness (so, watch fans, take note!).

the manufacture’s prestigious automatic movement designed to receive additional internal modules (perpetual calendar or annual date, lunar phases) or additional external modules (chronograph, GMT, etc.). This new calibre will be available in a series ranging from 500 to 5000 pieces per year. The price will be 890 CHF.

There is an important difference, however, reminds Florian Serex. VMF is part of an ensemble that is not only nearly totally verticalized but that also produces its own oscillators and its own escapements. The long and slow creation of this industrial ensemble—although a struggle up to now—may very well transform itself into a great advantage in the tense years to come—on condition, of course, that the VMF offer meets the needs of watchmakers.

Stay tuned. O For more information about Vaucher M. Fleurier click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

The 3000, an automatic double barrel The second new movement is the Calibre 3000, an automatic proposed in 10½”’ or in 11½”’, with two barrels in series, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), for a working reserve of 50 hours. The VMF 3000 is the industrialized version of the earlier VMF 4000,

Additional internal modules: perpetual calendar, annual retrograde calendar

CHOPARD

58 BEHIND THE SCENES europa star

Japanese art meets Swiss mechanics Japanese maki-e lacquer brings a touch of the East to Swiss watchmaking with techniques that are even older than the measurement of time.

RSophie Furley

J Japanese lacquer dates back to Japan’s Jomon period, 5,000 BC, and like many of the Swiss watch arts (enamel, guilloché and engraving), it came very close to extinction. Today only a handful of dedicated craftsmen are keeping this ancient tradition alive, with a little help from the Swiss watch industry.

Brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chopard, Peter-Speake-Marin, Jean Dunand and Angular Momentum have become captivated by this magical Asian art and are working together with lacquer artists to create dials that are miniature works of art.

Raw materials Lacquerware is extremely popular in Asia and was initially developed to protect everyday objects from deteriorating. Lacquer can be found on everything from bowls to tea caddies and even furniture, but there are numerous techniques, from simple varnishes to the application of lac (a resin made from the secretions of insects) and true lacquer, which comes from the sap of the Rhus verniciiflua lacquer tree, better known as the urushi tree.

Collecting this true lacquer demands both

expertise and patience as the sap can only be harvested from trees that are over 10 years old. Five to 10 parallel horizontal gashes are cut into the trunk of the tree to collect the thick, grey-coloured, caustic and toxic sap.

Each tree can be tapped several times a year, but will only produce about half a cup of sap and then often needs to be left for a number of years before becoming productive again.

The quality of the sap can vary greatly depending on the age of the tree, the type of soil, the climate and season. The finest sap is collected in July and August and is collected separately and reserved for the final layers of lacquer decoration. Once the lacquer has been collected, it is filtered through a cloth to remove any impurities and then stored in a wooden barrel for three to five years.

The application process Lacquer can be applied to a number of materials, such as metal, wood, leather, textiles, ceramic and bamboo. For watch dials, the base of the dials are usually in gold or mother-ofpearl. The surfaces need to be meticulously cleaned and prepared before the lacquerwork can begin. The lacquer is applied layer by layer, with each layer needing to be left to dry before the next layer is added. There are sometimes as many as one hundred layers (measuring 0.8mm to 1mm in thickness each).

When lacquer hardens, it is not drying in the conventional sense; instead it is actually curing

through a chemical reaction that takes place in moist air. Raw lacquer contains an enzyme called laccase, which, in the right atmospheric conditions, acts as a catalyst for its oxidization and results in a permanent hardening of the lacquer.

Artistic possibilities The lacquer used in watchmaking is generally maki-e lacquer. The word maki-e literally means ‘sprinkled picture’ and is recognisable by the application of metal powders, usually gold, platinum, silver or tin onto the lacquer while it is still wet using a makizutsu (a sprinkling canister) or a kebo (paintbrush). There are many different maki-e techniques, but the three principal types are: togidashi, takamaki-e and hari maki-e. Togidashi maki-e lacquer is distinguished by a last and final coat of lacquer that is applied over the top of the metal powder and then burnished slightly so that the metallic sprinkles can be faintly seen below.

Takamaki-e means raised maki-e and is a technique that builds a design by using lacquer mixed with charcoal or clay dust to give volume and accentuate the contours of the design. Hari maki-e, or ‘flat’ maki-e, as it is often called, is the simplest form of lacquerwork and the design is added to the lacquer afterwards. Other variations also exist which include eggshells, gold leaf, abalone or mother-of-pearl, opening the doors to incredible design possibilities.

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VACHERON CONSTANTIN

called hirame, which consists of spreading hirame powder onto the dial, before the lacquer is applied. This technique is followed by a polishing process called momidashi that uses oil stones to help capture the light.

A third technique, kakiwari , reveals the details of the plants’ veins creating stunning artistic results.

“Both collections have received a fantastic welcome and we are looking forward to the last set – in 2012 – which will close the series; we have just finished the first samples, and the 2012 set appears to be very promising,” shares Selmoni.

Chopard’s L.U.C XP Urushi

Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Arts Since its foundation in 1755, Vacheron Constantin’s timepieces have built bridges between countries and cultures. François Constantin, was one of the first to physically travel around the world extending the manufacture’s expertise to other continents. Today the Swiss manufacture is not only extending bridges to consumers but also to artistic partners, with an association with the famous Zohiko maki-e lacquer workshop in Kyoto, Japan.

“The association with Zohiko made a perfect match with Vacheron Constantin’s values and heritage, in particular when we consider that both companies have a total of 606 years of experience in ultimate craftsmanship and technical know-how,” shares the brand’s Head of Product Development, Christian Selmoni.

The first maki-e lacquer collection, ‘La Symbolique des Laques’, was launched in 2010 and celebrated the theme of long life with the Japanese symbol ‘The three friends of winter’. These three friends – pine, bamboo and plum – are the three trees that flourish in winter despite the cold and the snow, showing resilience and strength. They are depicted on three different dials together with different winter birds.

The second maki-e collection is dedicated to the world of water with turtles, frogs, carp, lotus, hydrangeas and waterfalls. This new series of dials offers a more decorative and almost threedimensional collection that showcases the diversity of Zohiko’s art. The dials have a darker aspect to them thanks to a different technique CHOPARD

In 2009 Chopard created a selection of urushi lacquer timepieces for its Japanese market, and this year sees the presentation of a collection of nine different maki-e lacquer designs within a thin and elegant 39.50 mm gold case.

Technically supervised by maki-e lacquer master Kiichiro Masumura (who was recently named ‘Living National Treasure’ by the Japanese government), the dials are then designed, painted

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SPEAKE-MARIN

and adorned with gold dust by the Yamada Heiando Company, the official supplier to the Emperor of Japan.

The different dials represent the five basic elements of the universe according to ancient Asian philosophy: Wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

The dials include dragons, phoenixes, tigers, peacocks, fish and mythical creatures, such as the qilin and the genbu, using techniques that bring the dials to life with colour and intensity.

Peter Speake-Marin takes lacquer to artistic extremes Peter Speake-Marin is as passionate about mechanics as he is about the arts that surround his movements, and maki-e lacquer is just one of many artistic forms that he has recently been celebrating. The timepieces photographed here are proof themselves that his extraordinary maki-e lacquer dials are far from simple layerings of lacquer, but rather three dimensional sculptures. Each masterpiece includes a combination of materials such as black lacquer, red lacquer, ash, motherof-pearl, tin, silver, gold leaf and platinum.

Speake-Marin entrusts his dials to the expert JEAN DUNAND

Muchu Yamazaki, who can take up to six months to produce one single dial.

Jean Dunand’s Chinese lacquer The beauty of Jean Dunand’s Orbital Tourbillons is that each and every one of these unique timepiece brings together different artisans and their crafts, whether it is enamel, engrav-

ing, gem setting, lacquer work and more. So many different artistic skills have graced the dials of this one-minute tourbillon, whose revolutionary technology rotates the dial and its tourbillon every 60 seconds, creating masterpieces in motion.

The Tourbillon Orbital Chinese Lacquer turning dial features red, grey, indigo and black lacquer and has been created in celebration of the artist Jean Dunand’s lacquer work that was to mark the 1920s.

Bold geometric figures and solid colours are achieved using the champlevé technique whereby cells are hollowed out of the gold dial to create the basis for the design, The next step is to fill these cells with 10 layers of lacquer. Each layer must be perfectly dry before it is buffed and polished, ready for the next layer.

Jean Dunand’s founders Thierry Oulevay and Christophe Claret worked together with one of the very few Western workshops capable of executing such painstaking work. It took two whole years of research to find ways to apply the lacquer to such a small surface, with additional challenges of sharp 90 degree angles, zigzagging rhomboids and the circumference of the round window displaying the orbital.

The result speaks for itself.

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VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

niques from him,” he explains. “The dial of the classic Urushi Dress Watch was made using a technique called Shibata Zeshin, named after the great 19th century lacquer master of the same name, while other timepieces are a mix of crafts and not traditional Japanese techniques,” Pauli notes.

Van Cleef & Arpels’s Midnight journey Van Cleef & Arpels never fails to surprise and innovate with its Cadrans Extraordinaires (or ‘Extraordinary Dial’ Collection, in English).

The French brand has a pool of artisans the world over dedicated to transforming Van Cleef & Arpels’s designs to life. The Midnight Extraordinary Japanese Lacquer collection called on the expert hands of master Japanese lacquer artist Hakose San for this small collection of traditional Japanese landscapes that adorn the 42mm white gold Midnight case.

Angular Momentum’s workshop of wonders Angular Momentum is one of only a very few independent workshops that make all its watch cases and dials in-house. The brand is best known for its development of miniature painting on the back of a watch sapphire crystal, an invention that is unique to Angular Momentum and called Verre Eglomisé.

The company’s founder, Martin Pauli, prides himself on using old, traditional and new decorative techniques to create bespoke timepieces for his clients (for more on the world of custom made timepieces see our article on

the subject in this issue). He is also proficient in the arts of Plique à Jour and Champlevé enamelling and lacquerwork.

“I have been studying Japanese arts and crafts for almost 25 years,” shares Pauli. “A friend of mine, who works at the Tokyo National Museum, is an expert in lacquer and its restoration, and I have learned many interesting techANGULAR MOMENTUM

Lacquer is proving to be a fascinating new material for watchmakers to experiment with, as more and more companies join forces with artisans on the other side of the globe. However, like with all métiers d’arts, it is not always easy to understand the dramatic increase in price of a lacquer timepiece. The complexity of each dial, the rarity of the craftsmen who still know the recipe and the sheer number of hours that each dial takes to produce all play a role in the final price. But once the consumer can truly understand what goes behind the dial, his comprehension of this 7,000 year old craft can only bring a new dimension to his love of watchmaking and appreciation for time itself. O

62 LETTER FROM CHINA europa star

The Beijing watch factory In the remote neighbourhood of Changping in Beijing, time stands still; strollers have not given way to taxi lanes and the shadow of Mao still looms heavy. Behind his statue, as if under its protection, lies the Beijing Watch Factory. It is here that some of the most beautiful watches in the country are created.

RJean-Luc Adam Rediscovered skills

I

If Swiss watches have reached an unequalled level of perfection, it is a little bit because of China. In 1599, the Italian Jesuit, Matteo Ricci, landed in Beijing to spread the gospel in the nation. In order to obtain an important interview with the emperor, Wanli, he showered him with gifts from Europe, but only a clock attracted his attention. Very quickly, timekeeping pieces became articles of negotiation, and every Jesuit, diplomat, and head of state would not see the emperor without bringing a new model…

Swiss watchmakers boosted by China In the end, China, with its deep-seated cultures, resisted the evangelizing efforts, but the passion for timekeepers would grow in the Forbidden City. European production enjoyed such a success that it gained a large following.

In 1680, the emperor Kangxi opened several watchmaking workshops. The decoration of these pieces was entrusted to Chinese master

artisans who used jade, ivory, lacquer, wood and metal to create a fabulous collection of imperial clocks in the Forbidden City.

Then came the two opium wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, led by the British and the French, which would destroy the relations of Beijing with the West. Only Switzerland, “which had never declared war against the Chinese,” remained on good terms with the government, which increased its imports from Switzerland, while banning those from France and Britain.

Starting in 1820, the Geneva watchmaker, Vacheron Constantin, provided the Court with exceptional pieces, including the famous ‘Magician’. Bovet Fleurier and Omega in turn delivered high quality movements. In 1960, before the Cultural Revolution, products from 500 Swiss brands were being imported into the nation. Today, China has become the world’s largest market for haut de gamme watches.

Timekeeping in China is thus an old story, without even mentioning that the country invented the first mechanical clock in 1020…

Surprisingly, we find a little of this culture in the Beijing Watch Factory, notably in the artisanal skills such as enamel painting on dials.

In the following interview with Mr. Hong Miao, its managing director, we discover this brand—nearly unknown to the public but highly appreciated by watch collectors and aficionados.

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Europa Star: How did the Beijing Watch Factory come to be?

Hong Miao: The ‘BWFA’ was launched by the government in 1958, making it one of the oldest Chinese brands. It has always produced its watches in their entirety in its own manufacturing facility—movements, hands, dials, bracelets, etc. We even have our own division to treat the raw materials. Earlier, it was not a prestige brand, but simply and purely a planned production.

ES: Was BWFA the idea of Mao Zedong?

HM: No, it was the initiative of Peng Zhen, the municipal secretary of the Beijing communist party who later became president of the People’s National Assembly.

ES: In those troubled times, where did the factory find a qualified labour force?

HM: It was not easy because Beijing had not had a watch atelier for a long time. But we recruited some watchmakers from the south, and the universities of Tsinghua [editor’s note: the prestigious technical university in Beijing] and Tianjin provided us with the first group of technicians.

ES: Is the company still run by the State?

HM: No, since 2004, the Beijing Watch Factory has been a private company, but we have not stopped production for even a single day. The great majority of workers accepted to work in the new structure and I, myself, have worked here for the last 25 years, before as director, and now as general manager. You see, nothing so revolutionary (smiles).

ES: In the 1970s, like the Swiss brands, the ‘Beijing’ suffered with the arrival of the quartz movement, notably from the Japanese, is that correct?

HM: Everyone wanted quartz watches because of their precision, so we also starting making them.With our success at a maximum, we produced more than 100,000 quartz movements per month! In spite of this volume, we never stopped making mechanical watches.

ES: In 1995, the mechanical watch regained its prestige and then you make a tourbillon, the most complex watch movement, which compensates for the effects of gravity on its operation to increase precision…

HM: Frankly, at that time, we were not aware of the prestige that a tourbillon could bring to the brand. It was the ‘semi-official’ initiative of Xu Yaonan, the great master watchmaker, who was literally obsessed with its development. In 1996, the first prototype came out, the year before his retirement. In 2001, we decided to

make a tourbillon watch, and Xu came back to help us. In 2003, we finally launched the ‘Hong Jin’ (red gold) model equipped with the calibre TB01. It was the first Chinese tourbillon watch.

ES: The calibre TB01 is a ‘flying carrousel tourbillon’, in other words, a rather classic tourbillon. But since then, the development has intensified…

HM: Yes, that’s right. Since then, we have developed a double tourbillon (TB02), an eight-day tourbillon (TB03), a minute-repeater tourbillon (MRB1), and, in 2007, a passionate orbital tourbillon (TB04).

ES: Yet, Sea-Gull (cf. Europa Star No. 311) also produces a flying tourbillon and a double tourbillon. Technically, what is the difference?

HM: Yes, all of our tourbillons adopted the technology called ‘free balance spring’ thus assuring greater precision. In addition, thanks to the high quality of our springs, our calibres obtain a power reserve of 64 hours, the best

64 LETTER FROM CHINA europa star

performance in the country. Lastly, contrary to our competitors, we do not sell—not today and not tomorrow—our tourbillons to the outside world. They are integrated into all the haut de gamme Beijing timekeepers. The average price of a gold tourbillon watch is 100,000 yuans (14,000 Swiss francs) and we sold 300 of them in 2010, including a ‘Playing Dragon and Phoenix’ model that sold for a million yuan.

ES: What about your mechanical watches?

HM: We sold about 10,000 in 2010. On the other hand, our production capacity is about 700,000 movements. Here, we supply little known domestic brands and a few foreign brands. I cannot tell you more.

ES: Are there any new products in the pipeline?

HM: Yes, there is a new double-escapement mechanical watch coming out. I am wearing its prototype on my wrist. Its power reserve will be a record for a ‘Chinese Made’ watch— 120 hours! It will be released during the second half of the year.

ES: Contrary to your ambitious competitors, BWFA seems to be immersed in its own universe. The ‘Beijing’ brand itself hardly seems suitable for global expansion…

HM: I share your viewpoint. Our ambitions are limited to the Chinese market in the midrange and the high-end, with watches that are culturally Chinese.

ES: Ebohr is making an attempt with CodeX ( see Europa Star No. 3/2010), a ‘Swiss Made’

brand. Fiyta has acquired Emile Chouriet and Sea-Gull is involved with a Swiss movement manufacturer to try and attain the standard of ETA. What about you?

HM: Well, look at the result of our three rivals. Up to now, none of them has been successful overseas. Of course, we have thought about expanding in this way, and even participated in BaselWorld in 2006 and 2008. But, in the end, our market is here.

ES: In my opinion, the most Chinese of your watches are the ones with the enamelled dials. They are so delicate and detailed, and are reminiscent of certain Vacheron Constantin collections.

HM: The artisans who do the enamel painting, polishing, and lacquering have worked for many years in our factory and have thus accumulated much experience. It is also an art that existed in Beijing for some time already and we have revived it. Sometimes, the contours are outlined with gold wire. Yes, the designs are

very harmonious and the themes are very Chinese. But the client can choose it, as well as the dedication on the back, visible through the sapphire crystal. Each piece is therefore unique.

ES: What is your opinion about the Swiss watch industry?

HM: I have visited many Swiss watchmakers and their technology remains relatively confidential… But I greatly appreciate the longterm vision of the Swiss enterprises in favour of just wanting short-term gain. Their workers have real competence and everything is accomplished in an air of tranquillity.

ES: This calm is also felt here…

HM: Those who rush will die sooner… In Chinese, we still say “Yin Chi Mao Lian,” which means “we use today the resources of tomorrow.” Our goal is thus not to become the largest producer, nor the richest. We only want to make the best Chinese watches with a reasonable profit. O

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66 RETAILER PROFILE europa star

Ace Jewelers, Amsterdam RKeith W. Strandberg

We are always looking for the next hot thing, technology-wise. I believe that these new technologies will help with sales and conversion of customers.

A

Alon Ben Joseph

ES: Why the emphasis on technology?

ABJ: I love technology, I love IT and I love watches too. When I was studying at University, I had an Internet company with some friends.

As a kid, I was responsible for the Ace Jewellery website as early as 1998. I knew that we had to grow. We didn’t want to push more points of sale, as we wanted to stay a family business and we are very Amsterdam-focused, so the only way to grow was to sell on the Internet. At that time, in 2007, there wasn’t one single

brand that would allow us to sell on the Internet. We decided to do all the background work, get it all ready, and then we launched our e-commerce site in 2008.

Talking vaguely in the air doesn’t work with the Swiss, so we had to do it and then show them. I talked with the management of the brands and told them that we were moving ahead and they could join us. We gave them options: they could be on our site with a ‘buy’ button; or with images and prices, but no buy button; or with images and no prices and no ‘buy’ button. I wanted to make it work and I was willing to facilitate.

As we are an authorized dealer for our brands, we are partners. My aim is not short term, we are here for the long term, and I want a strategic partnership with the brands we carry. In 2008, officially no one approved for sales on the Internet. In 2009, 80 per cent approved.

In 2011, 100 per cent are on line. The EU antitrust law says that brands cannot stop brick and mortar authorized retailers from selling on line, which helped me a lot.

Ace Jewelers, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was founded in 1975. The owners, the Ben Joseph family, run three stores.

The founder, father David Ben Joseph is in charge of Ace & Spyer Jewelers, while son Amir Ben Joseph runs Ace Trends and second son Alon Ben Joseph runs Ace & Dik Jewelers and is the force behind their very successful e-Boutique, AceJewelers.com.

Alon Ben Joseph is the definition of an ‘early adopter’, having embraced the web very early on and pushed every technical innovation to benefit the family business.

I caught up with Alon at his store in Amsterdam.

ES: Why all the different names? Ace & Spyer, Ace Trends, Ace and Dik? ABJ: We are not a chain, and that’s why we use different names for each of our three stores. These stores are complementary, not competitive. In 1998, we took over the oldest jewellery store in Amsterdam, Spyer, so we made it Ace & Spyer. We took over the established Dik store as well and kept that name, out of respect. You get a different experience in each store.

ES: How’s business?

ABJ: I think the market is coming back. Business is very good for us. The first five months of 2011, we have had double digit growth.

Amsterdam is a big tourist market, and we had a big influx of Asian customers. E-commerce has really become a big part of our business and of our growth.

ES: What do your stores need to do better?

ABJ: We need to have more brands. There are some brands on my wish list, because we need to evolve our offerings to serve our customers.

If our success is a multibrand environment, we have to build up our brands. Ace needs to

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FACTS AND FIGURES: When opened: 1975 Stores: four (including Internet) – Ace Trend, Ace & Dik (highest end), Ace & Spyer, www.acejewelers.com Price range (low to high): 49 Euros (Ace Trend) to 120,000 Euros (Ace & Dik) Average sale: 4,500 Euros Number of employees: 24 Brands carried (across all 3 stores and Internet): Adidas, Armani, Baume & Mercier, Breitling, Breitling for Bentley, Burberry, Casio, Citizen, D&G Time, Diesel, DKNY, Fossil, Frédérique Constant, Gc, Gucci, Guess, Hamilton, Ice Watch, Itay Noy, IWC, Longines, Michael Kors, Montblanc, Omega, Oris, Parrera, Philippe Starck with Fossil, Rado, Seiko, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Tommy Hilfiger, TW Steel.

the store. You talk 80 per cent about things other than watches and jewellery. We want our customers to feel the store is theirs, so we have to constantly evolve. An example is that the Dutch don’t like ties, so at Ace & Spyer, we don’t wear ties anymore, because it ma de people feel uncomfortable. In the past, people wouldn’t bring babies to the jeweller, but today, they don’t have a lot of time. so they bring their children, and now we have a place to put strollers, we have things for children to play with and things for them to drink.

ES: How does the future look?

ABJ: I am very optimistic about the future. I studied economics. I know there will always be ups and downs, but watches and jewellery will always be there. The game is not changing, just the rules. We are having fun and we love what we do.

grow and evolve with our customers, but we are limited because of selective distribution.

We always try to keep a balance between commercial and innovative, new brands. Last year, we added Itay Noy to our collection, an Israeli watchmaker who was trained in Holland. This year, we added Parrera.

ES: What do you do to make your customers’ experience memorable?

ABJ: In addition to the easy things, like serving people with a drink when they come in, which we do (the Dutch love coffee), we focus on fulfilling the wishes of the customers. You have to know about much more than what you sell in

ES: Will your company expand beyond Amsterdam?

ABJ: We don’t have any plans right now, but we never say never. We will grow internationally with ecommerce. I need a bigger customer base.

Yesterday, I had a guy who emailed me, a Dutch guy who lives in Switzerland and has a bank account in Luxembourg and who contacted me from Moscow about a problem he had with a watch in Thailand. You tell me, where is he? He doesn’t care that we are in Amsterdam, he only cares that we can supply the service he needs. It is survival of the fittest right now.

ES: What do you think about brand boutiques?

ABJ: I understand the emotions that retailers have about brand boutiques. I always say that it

is the consumer who decides, and I guess consumers want monobrand boutiques. Retailers don’t want to buy a brand’s whole collection, so brands open boutiques to showcase their entire range – the rule in retail is that if you don’t stock it, you can’t sell it.

I believe in independent retailers, I believe in the watch industry. If all the luxury streets are monobrand, they will be boring, so customers will still need multibrand stores.

I see the brand boutiques as competition, but every disadvantage has an advantage. Brand boutiques do create market and brand awareness. Let the monobrand boutiques do the work for you and then you close the deal. The brands have the power and they will decide. I am warning my fellow retailers that this is just the beginning – soon all of the brands will sell on line through their own websites. This is a bigger worry, but I foresee the same spill effect for our website, scooping up customers who get lost in the brand world.

Our goal is to interact with our customers, to pull them into our store, but if they don’t have time or the distance is a problem, they can buy any way they want. I tell our people to facilitate, not dictate.

ES: Do you have a favourite watch?

ABJ: Yes, the watch that I am wearing, the IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar in pink gold. As a kid, I was always in love with the Portuguese and I just bought it this year. I love the perpetual calendar, it’s fascinating. My next dream watch is the Minute Repeater.

ES: What do you like most about what you do?

ABJ: Diamonds and watches are my passion and I grew up with them, but I love working with people, that’s why I am in retail. My office is in one of the stores, I am hands-on and I am there. I love the interaction with people. Our business is a blessed one, because we are always working with people during joyful occasions.

When I am dealing with customers, I spend 80 per cent of my time talking about family and life, 20 per cent talking about the product. O

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Shades of grey RKeith W. Strandberg

G

Grey market. Secondary market. Parallel market.

Black market.

It can be pretty confusing. What do these mean and what is the difference? And what is the impact to the watch industry in general, to brands, to retailers, to final customers?

There are many different definitions of these terms. The secondary (often also called the parallel market, but sometimes parallel also refers to the black market) is when a brand sells discontinued or older products into distribution methods other than authorized retailers (discounters, outlets, etc.) – this is done above board, without any attempt to hide where the watches are coming from. The grey market is

The black market is illegal trading in goods to avoid customs duties, taxes and more.

Counterfeit watches are traded on the black market, as they are by definition illegal, while branded watches are traded legally on the primary, secondary or grey markets.

These alternative markets are hard to define and quantify, as no one really wants to talk about watchmaking’s ‘market behind the market’. In fact, all the watch industry sources interviewed for this story requested that their names not be used. No one wants to get on the wrong side of what everyone considers a huge problem.

The issue The issue is an elemental one – watch manufacturers, distributors and retailers all, at the end of the day, have to make money. That means that they have to sell watches.

If a certain model of a watch doesn’t sell in one distribution channel, no one can expect a brand, a distributor or a retailer to just take a

If a certain model of a watch doesn’t sell in one distribution channel, no one can expect a brand, a distributor or a retailer to just take a loss. when watches end up in other markets without the acknowledged authorization (from brands, retailers or independent distributors).

“The primary market is when you buy from authorized retailers,” explains Maurice Goldberger, owner of Chiron, Inc., a company that finds alternative distribution channels for discontinued goods. “The secondary market is not novelties, but goods that have been discontinued, and it depends here on what channel you are buying it from as to whether the brand backs it or not. In the States, I demand a letter from the brand authorizing my customers to sell the merchandise. There are some retailers, like Costco, who don’t care whether they are authorized.”

loss. A solution has to be found, and that often means that a watch ends up in an alternate distribution channel at a significant discount.

Here’s a concrete example: Brand X has a new model, the Alpha watch, that the management is sure will be a hit, so 10,000 units are produced at 1,000 CHF each, wholesale.

At BaselWorld, distributors and retailers are unimpressed with the Alpha and orders only amount to 3,000 pieces, leaving Brand X with 7,000 pieces in stock. In order to recoup its money, Brand X has no choice but to discount the 7,000 Alphas, selling them into alternative channels at 500 CHF wholesale.

Now, there are watches in retailers’ shops priced at keystone, or 2,000 CHF, while a boat-

load of Alphas are in the market at significantly less, let’s say 750 CHF, which is lower than the wholesale price the retailers paid.

How can retailers move the product they have, when savvy customers know how much the Alpha costs in other distribution channels.

Retailers can discount the Alpha, but they cannot even come close to the market price set by the brand discounting, as they would be selling at a loss, which they sometimes do to recuperate some money.

The Alpha is a model that dies, but its legacy lives on as retailers resent the brand for letting the model get into alternative, competing distribution channels. The brand resents the retailers for not fully supporting the Alpha.

Consumers question the value of the brand in general, when they see the Alpha in authorized retailers at 2,000 CHF and on-line or at an unauthorized retailer at 750 CHF. If this happens too often, the brand loses all credibility throughout its distribution channel and it could be the beginning of the end.

Now, let’s look at another situation, without the negative impact.

Let’s say Brand Y introduces the Beta watch.

For the first year, Brand Y only sells the Beta into its authorized distribution. The Beta does reasonably well, but after a year, there is still stock held by the brand and its retailers.

Brand Y decides to discontinue the Beta, gives its retail distribution a certain amount of time to liquidate what they have, and then proceeds to sell its remaining stock into an alternative channel at a discount. Brand Y is protecting its brand equity by not confusing the consumer and is protecting its retailers for a period of time, giving them time to sell the Beta. Then, it cuts its losses and sells to an alternate channel.

Retailers may still complain about Scenario B, saying that it’s not really fair. Brand Y did all it could to see that the retailers succeeded, giving them every chance to sell the Beta. When

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it was clear that the Beta would not sell through completely, Brand Y cut its losses and went to the alternative channels.

This second scenario is similar to what is the accepted practice in fashion – aged goods and last year’s styles are often discounted and no one gives it a second thought. Consumers know they are buying clothing that is not in the current collection and they don’t question the brand’s image or quality. Now, watches are designed to be more timeless than clothing with a lifecycle that is typically quite a bit longer, but companies could approach secondary distribution like clothing.

Why do it?

With so many negatives resulting from selling into unauthorized channels, why does a brand do it? On the one hand, they talk about protecting their brand equity, yet at the same time they are damaging that image by selling current watches at heavily discounted prices.

Why does the grey market exist?

Money. Simple as that. Companies have to show a profit to their shareholders, investors or owners, so they will do almost anything to make sales. Brands are not alone in this, as retailers have to pay their bills, pay their employees and show a profit as well.

If it’s a choice between showing a profit or taking a loss, the decision for the majority of companies is an easy one – take the money and run.

Where the watches come from: This is where things get a little dicey, because the watches can end up in unauthorized channels in a number of ways.

Brands: brands can put watches into the secondary and grey markets themselves, either as close-outs of aged goods that their retail distribution cannot sell, or sometimes current watches can be sold into alternative

distribution because someone made a mistake, forecasting more than the market was willing to absorb.

“This is the reality of the business, the volume brands produce with the biggest margin they can, then when they introduce the new prod-

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often means selling to other, unauthorized retailers, to secondary market distributors or directly to ‘off the beaten track’ retail chains.

One brand representative remembers seeing pawn shops in Macau buying watches directly from a high-end brand at pennies on the retail

Why does the grey market exist?

Money. Simple as that. Companies have to show a profit to their shareholders, investors or owners, so they will do almost anything to make sales. uct, they put the former inventory in the parallel world,” says one small Swiss brand manager.

“For brands, it’s really difficult to manage when you have the same item in the same market with two different prices. The service in an authorized retailer is not enough to justify the difference in price.”

“The web is becoming huge when it comes to watches and the biggest problem is price,” says one medium-sized Swiss brand president. “People almost don’t pay list price anymore – they know what they want and they find the best price. It is starting to get out of control and it can put your brand into jeopardy. Everyone is trying to get control of this, but it’s really difficult.”

Distribution: Distributors put watches into alternate channels, with or without the brand’s knowledge. Sometimes a brand knows it has to ‘dump’ (the acknowledged term for selling products at a significant discount to get rid of them) product, so it will ask a distributor to take care of the problem for them. Other times, a distributor has to make its numbers and sells watches any way it can.

Retailers: retailers who can’t sell their inventory and can’t get the brand/distributor to stock balance or take product back will sometimes move product any way they can, and that

price. The watches were in brand new packaging and from the current collection, as well.

“There are a couple of different factors and a couple of different ways the product gets into the grey market,” says one North American brand president who preferred not to be named. “You can have a manufacturer that, for whatever reason, decides to sell directly into the secondary market, to somebody in a country that does not have any authorized distribution for the brand. If it starts that way, those watches will be traded between the manufacturer and the purchasing agent and the end consumer or unauthorized retailers.

This is usually at a really steep discount, because the manufacturer has the greatest gap between the selling price and the public price. If that product ends up being sold directly to the end consumer it could be 50 per cent below retail.

“Product can also get to the secondary market from a distributor or a subsidiary, who sells directly to an unauthorized retailer,” he continues. “Watches can also get into the secondary market from retailers who can’t move it. It all depends on how the product has travelled to determine who is responsible.

If a manufacturer has produced product and decides to sell it directly into the grey market, it’s their fault. If a distributor is forced to buy back old goods and replace it with new goods,

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it’s the retailer’s responsibility. The retailer has transferred the problem back to the manufacturer, and I think retailers should take responsibility for what they buy.”

Transshipping: Transshipping is when watches that are sold into one market, say the United States, end up in another country, like China.

This often happens when demand isn’t present in the first market but is in the second market. Fluctuating currency rates and varying prices from market to market can make transshipping attractive and lucrative.

Watches are the perfect product for transshipping – they are small and easy to handle.

Unlike cars, which are large and difficult to conceal, watches can get into a country illegally in a number of ways.

“Retailers are doing it, brands are doing it, all via the back door as well as distributors,” admits one mid-size Swiss brand president.

tinues. “They have to survive and pay the bills, so they start discounting, selling it at rock bottom prices. So they sell it to anyone – other retailers, distributors. The market is always where the highest demand is – like China. It’s always switching. It used to go to America, but now it’s going to China.”

Who is to blame?

Legal or illegal?

Selling watches into the secondary or grey market is not illegal. Some brands have had success prosecuting unauthorized retailers that did not get the watches directly from the brands or the brands’ representatives. Omega won a landmark case in the US Supreme Court targeting Costco’s sales of grey market watches.

This is from Omega’s press release, dated December 14, 2010: “In a split decision, the United States Supreme Court has upheld an appeals court ruling that found Costco Wholesale Corporation had viol-

One brand representative remembers seeing pawn shops in Macau buying watches directly from a high-end brand at pennies on the retail price. The watches were in brand new packaging and from the current collection, as well.

“Some brands want to be at the high-end and if they don’t sell, they open the back door themselves. It’s like a double edged sword – you have to make your budget, but you can harm the brand name. The brands that have it under control are Patek Philippe, Rolex and some of the Richemont brands. There are some brands that don’t care, they just want to sell product. The watches become a commodity. If a brand is hard to get and you pay almost full price, customers have more respect for the brand.

“When the crisis hit the US market, retailers had stock and no one was buying it,” he con-

the decision as it provides a legal mechanism to help control the spread of grey market trading. According to an analysis conducted by Deloitte LLP for Bloomberg in 2009, the (overall, not just watches) grey market costs manufacturers as much as US$63 billion per year.”

ated U. S. copyright law when it sold Omega Seamaster wristwatches well below retail price without Omega’s permission.

“The practice employed by discounters and off-price retailers of buying imported luxury watches and other products from middlemen and selling them at lower prices is referred to as grey market trading.

“Omega argued successfully that it could use the copyrighted logo on its watches to block their sale. For Omega, the decision was a victory as it upholds their right to control the distribution, price and resale of its products.

“The Swatch Group and Omega commend

First and foremost, it starts with the brand.

Everyone makes mistakes, so the brands have to at least get the benefit of the doubt.

However, when a brand doesn’t believe in its products, how can it expect anyone else to believe in them either?

Brands should be quite cautious about forcing product on their retailers. If a retailer doesn’t want to buy a watch, thinking it won’t sell, it doesn’t help if a brand requires the purchase of base collections in order for the retailer to get special pieces.

Distributors and retailers are not blameless, however, because often they give up on a product too easily, going for the easy sell instead of investing time and energy into determining whether a watch can be a success.

No one is entirely at fault here, nor is anyone entirely blameless.

“Selling to unauthorized channels can literally destroy a brand from the inside out,” says the North American brand president. “You need to have a viable marketplace in order for secondary or grey market to exist. Once that exists, when you offer that same product for less money, people will buy it. When you offer enough of that product at a reduced price, the consumer starts to think your brand is not of value. The savvy shopper will no longer pay retail for the product, which will impact the level of distribution. Once the consumer knows he can buy the product at wholesale, you cut off the possibility for the retailer to have any kind of margin that makes sense.

The retailer was the one who established the

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product at the highest margin, so now that the retailer is no longer in the equation, it’s a race to the bottom.”

One of the reasons so many brands are verticalizing their businesses and opening brand bou-

Swiss brand president. The brands hope that since the margin is lower, retailers will have less room to discount, in their stores or when selling to alternative markets. Brands mystery shop their retailers and try to get 25 per cent

Retailers have to be reasonable about their expectations – they can’t demand that brands take back everything that doesn’t sell, without knowing that it might end up at an unauthorized competitor. tiques is so they can control the distribution of their product as well. Louis Vuitton, for example, has no grey market problem, because they only sell through their own stores. There is no one to put their watches into the grey market.

What can be done?

Communication and true partnership is the only way that brands, distributors and retailers can get a handle on the grey market problem.

“Retailers need to be partners in the sense that they accept responsibility for the things that don’t work,” says the North American brand president. “Retailers should, when they can’t sell the product anymore, run a sample sale. This way, they clean up their aged inventory themselves, or they can move it into their vintage department. Most of the watch companies don’t want their goods back. If you are a watch company, your only customer is the retailer. If a retailer wants you to take something back that is two years old, it’s unlikely you will be able to find a home for the product. Retailers need to do their best to share part of this challenge.”

Brands are lowering margins in order to discourage discounting and transshipping. “The margins used to be 50%, keystone, but now it’s more often in the 30s,” says the mid-size

discount, then if they get it, they send a warning letter, telling the retailer this size discount is not allowed. With a second warning, they cut the margin. If it happens a third time, they take away the brand.

“On the one side, retailers complain about grey markets, but on the other side, they are causing it by selling watches into the grey market,” he continues. “They all try to have the same income or more than last year. Brands are at fault because they force retailers to buy a certain amount of merchandise. Brands tell you how much you have to order and if you don’t take it, you will lose the brand.”

Brands have to speak honestly with their retailers, not requiring them to take product they don’t want, but at the same time asking for their help with certain models. Retailers have to be reasonable about their expectations – they can’t demand that brands take back everything that doesn’t sell, without knowing that it might end up at an unauthorized competitor and cause additional problems for them down the line.

Right now, the secondary and grey markets aren’t talked about, but bringing them into the light for honest and open discussion might just change those shades of grey into white and the problem could be much smaller. O

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ONE ON ONE WITH MAURICE GOLDBERGER, THE AUTHORIZED LIQUIDATOR Maurice Goldberger owns Chiron Inc., which specializes in liquidating old stock in non-competing channels. Here’s what he had to say: “In the excess inventory business, there are problems for everyone. The brand, the owner of the name, always is concerned where the goods will be sold, what channel. From the retailers point of view, they have two issues, are these goods counterfeit and, if they are not counterfeit, are these goods backed by the brand? If you buy a Louis Vuitton bag on the corner in Wall Street and a seam tears, you take it back and the brand says, ‘this isn’t mine.’ When you buy a Rolex watch from Costco, Rolex won’t warranty the watch, but Costco will offer their own warranty. This is grey market.

“It’s logical and normal that a brand needs to sell the products they can’t move. Often they sell into the secondary market in a way that will protect their brand.

The brand has to protect its exclusivity by selling into a secondary market where the goods are not normally represented.

“Sometimes brands push product into their retail distributorship, more than the retailers can sell, then these retailers sell into the grey market – some outside the country, etc. when people are desperate for cash, that’s what happens.

“What can retailers do? Retailers can grow up. I had a case in Europe, where I bought two million Swiss francs of watches. It was sold in four countries in Europe. One of the distributors in one of the countries complained about the sales in the country, but they didn’t do their part to sell the watches.

“Smart retailers should support the brands’ efforts to move the goods that they can’t sell. They might want the brands to keep all the goods they have ever made and protect their market, but it will hurt the manufacture in the end. Remember, the watches that are on the secondary market are not the current range, so it should not cannibalize the sales. The brands have to survive. In an ideal world, all the watches sell out or they take all the unsold goods back, dismantle them and eat the goods. That doesn’t happen. Everyone has discount stores and there is a place for the current range and for last year’s range. The best defence for a regular retailer is to make sure that when the customer comes in the door, he knows that he is in an authorized retailer that is selling the current range.

“The retailer needs to understand that the consumer coming into his store wants to be served in the best sense of the word. They are not looking for bargains, they are looking for the current goods. The value for the primary retailer is service. That’s why people go to a five star hotel versus a three star hotel. The internet will never take that away.”

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China – A brand new world, but a world in itself, for online luxury RIn collaboration with Pablo Mauron, Search & Display Business Unit Manager, Digital Luxury Group The Chinese market has passed from the status of becoming a promising market to now being one of the common and indispensable components in the development strategies of most international watch brands. According to the study ‘China’s Digital Generations 2.0’ by the Boston Consulting Group, advertising spending in the digital domain in China should increase from 8 per cent in 2008 to 20 per cent by 2012.

Today, the Internet is the favoured method of reaching the Chinese consumer and of thus developing the reputation and image of a brand or a product as well as effectively supporting sales.

According to the ‘2011 Luxury Consumer Report’ published by the McKinsey Institute, the consumer of luxury products in China is generally young:

T

those dedicated to the luxury and fashion segments, to social networks reserved for affluent people, China now has a variety of websites that offer quality for watch brands. www.iwatch365.net is a chat room devoted exclusively to the universe of luxury watches. It has 240,000 unique visitors and 2.6 million page views per month.* Many brands are already present on the site, in both editorial and advertising formats. *Source: Google Adplanner – DLG 2011

45 per cent of consumers of luxury products in China are less than 35 years of age, versus 28 per cent in Europe.

Hence, the growing influence of the Internet on their ideas is clear. Again, according to the McKinsey Institute’s report, after direct in-store experience (44 per cent), the Internet—more specifically online advertising—represents the point of contact that has the most influence (21 per cent) for the buying process in the luxury products sector in China.

The goal then consists of working in two strategic areas of the Internet in China: online advertising and search engines. Many questions remain, however, as to the ways to effectively position a brand or product in the Chinese online sector.

Online advertising – or how to generate qualified searches.

Despite the gigantic numbers of people who visit Chinese websites, and in spite of the considerable increase in purchasing power over the last few years, the size of the clientele for luxury products is still very small in comparison to the hundreds of millions of Chinese who surf the web.

More than ever, the quality of the targeted audience is very important if one wants to guarantee the return on investment of an online advertising campaign. From financial sites, including

www.p1.cn is a social network operating on an by-invitationonly basis and reserved for the affluent class in China. It claims to have 800,000 members.

europa star.com

Baidu – or how to capture searches Currently, few brands manage, in an optimal manner, their rankings on Baidu, which has a market share of around 80 per cent of searches in China. In fact, approximately 70 per cent of luxury watch brands are not able to have themselves placed in the top rankings for searches that are directly linked to their own brand.

And, to this problem can be added all the advertising placed by their competitors, sites offering counterfeit watches, and ‘grey market’ sellers, which position themselves using sponsored links in the searches for brands.

WORLDWATCHWEB 73

As of now, Baidu has more than 500,000 qualified monthly searches for Longines, the most popular watch brand in China, according to the 2011 World Watch Report of the Digital Luxury Group. With these types of numbers, having visibility on Chinese search engines is an important strategy.

Baidu thus proposes an effective alternative to the lack of visibility in the search engines. Its solution involves paying Baidu to display a large ‘brand zone’ containing elements of text, links, and banners that are totally customized by the brands.

This solution offers the double advantage of capturing searches for the brand as well as securing its own legitimate space by pushing competitors down to lower placements on the search pages.

Don’t stop at attracting visitors While visibility on the Internet in China is key to developing a reputation, attracting visitors is not the only challenge that brands are facing.

Additionally, China suffers from very low Internet download speeds and the government actively censures foreign websites.

These two elements represent a considerable risk when efforts to generate a desire for a brand or a product are conducted on a website that is potentially inaccessible.

Some websites of watch brands have download speeds of up to eight times slower for a Chinese visitor than for an occidental visitor. This means that the probability of losing a visitor is very high if he or she has to wait 40 seconds to see the site. As a result, the perception of the brand may be seriously damaged.

Finding a solution to these concerns and obtaining governmental authorization should thus be considered as indispensable for any online campaign if a brand wants to ensure their impact in the Chinese market. O

Read this article in Chinese on Europa Star’s www.watches-for-china.com

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In English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French 5 Websites, 5 iPad Apps, 5 continents – for the World’s Watch & Jewellery Markets Stay tuned by clicking on the Europa Star global WorldWatchWeb network - any time! www.europastar.com www.watches-for-china.com www.horalatina.com / www.europastar.es www.europastarwatch.ru www.CIJintl.com (fine jewellery) ALL EUROPA STAR IPAD VERSIONS ARE UNIQUE SITE APPLICATIONS WHICH ALLOW: • An incomparable content of over 10,000 articles available on watches, watch brands, manu facturing, markets, retailers, watch tech and archives back to the year 2000.

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Intelligent Dristribution Editorial & Advertisers’index A, B A. Lange & Söhne 48 Adidas 67 Alain Silberstein 48, 80 Alpina 80 Andreas Strehler 44 Angular Momentum 58, 61 Antopi 51 Armani 67 Armin Strom 21 Audemars Piguet 36, 52 Baume & Mercier 67 Beijing Watch Company 6, 62-64 Breguet 42 Breitling 48, 52, 67 Bremont 44 Burberry 67 C, D Casio 67 Chanel COVER IV Chiron Inc 68, 71 Chopard 50, 58, 59 Christophe Claret 43 CIJ 65 Citizen 45, 67 Codex 64 Cousins Global 78 De Beers 50 De Bethune 44 D&G Time 67

DeLaneau 42, 50 DeWitt 17 Diesel 67 Digital Luxury Group 72-73 Dior 50 DKNY 67 Dodane 48, 49 50, 52 E, F Ebohr 64 Emile Chourriet 39 Festina 52 Fiyta 64 Fossil 67 François-Paul Journe 34-35 Frédéric Piguet 57 Frédérique Constant 67 G, H Gc 67 Girard-Perregaux 50, 57 Glashütte Original 48 Gucci 67 Guess Watches 41, 67 Guy Ellia 50 Hamilton 67 Hautlence 44 Hermès 56 I, J Ice-Watch 67

Itay Noy 67 IWC 67 Jaeger-LeCoultre COVER I, 1013, 36, 46 Jean Dunand 42, 44, 58, 60 Jean-François Mojon 29 Jean-Mairet & Gillman 31 Jörg Hysek 36 K, L Kari Voutilainen 29, 30, 32 Laurent Ferrier 24-26, 52 Leviev 50 LIP 48 L. Leroy 48, 49, 52 Longines 67 Louis Erard 38, 40 Louis Vuitton 9, 50 M Marvin 80 M. Benjamin 48, 50, 52 The McGonigle Brothers 44 Michael Kors 67 Montblanc 50, 67 Mühle Glashütte 48 O, P Observatory of Besançon 48, 48, 52 Omega 36, 67, 70 Oris 67

Parrera 67 Panerai 7, 80 Patek Philippe 2-3, 43, 70 Pequignet 27 Peter Speake-Marin 43, 44, 58, 60 Philippe Dufour 25 Philippe Stark 67 Poljot 80 Promotion SpA 47 R, S Rado 67 Raymond Weil 14-15 Revelation 36-37 Richard Mille 44, 50 Richemont 70 Roger Smith 44 Rolex COVER II-1, 70 Seagull 63, 64 Seiko 67 Shenzhen 79 Sowind 57 Svend Andersen 80 Swatch Group 38 T, U TAG Heuer 16, 18, 20, 50, 67 Thomas Prescher 44 Timex 48 Tissot 19, 52, 67 Titoni 33

!!ANNONCE SHENZEN!!

Editorial & Advertisers’ index Tommy Hilfiger 67 Tudor 22-23 Tutima 48 TW Steel 67 Ulysse Nardin 53-55 Urban Jürgensen 28-29 V, W Van Cleef & Arpels 50, 58, 61

Vacheron Constantin 4-5, 44, 46, 58, 59 Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier 5658 The Watch Avenue 76 X, Z Xiu Tai Yu 6 Zenith 48

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80 LAKIN@LARGE europa star

Getting behind with your watches A few days ago I was on the beach lounging comfortably on a chaise longue ogling a bevy of nubile nymphets as they played in the waves, when my reverie was interrupted by a rather rotund gentleman wearing what appeared to be a thong but on closer inspection were swimming trunks that disappeared into the various folds of his nether region. “Do you have the time?”

I nearly said, ‘Of course I’ve got the bloody time, that’s why I’m on the beach eyeing up the talent’, but instead I fumbled around in my beach bag for a few moments before grumpily emptying everything out on my chaise in search of my watch. I eventually found it stuck inside one of my shoes. It was 12.45. “Thank you, that’s what I thought,” he said as he re-checked a bulky, black digital contraption on his wrist.

Looking more like a Geiger counter than a timepiece I asked if it was difficult to read. “No not at all, it’s just that when I push a button I don’t know if it’s telling me the time, the temperature or how far I am from home,” he explained with a smile. He then waddled off to join a charming young lady with more physical attributes than her parents had bequeathed her and I watched in bemused awe as his plump cheeks wobbled in unison with her pert bikini-clad and ‘siliconed’ derriere as they slowly disappeared into the midday heat haze.

Once out of view, my immediate thought was why was that man wearing a watch that was difficult to decipher. Had clever advertising influenced him or was it one of this summer’s cool and trendy ‘must be seen in’ brands? Then quite suddenly, I had a vision: a watch with a large dial decorated with buttocks, either wobbly male or ‘siliconised’ depending on your affiliation. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Time would be indicated by the cleavage in the cheeks separating into hour and minute hands and the watch would be called ‘The Beach Bum’. A full–page advertisement in Europa Star would blazon the headline: ‘Get to the top with a bottom’. If the watch sported bottoms that could sashay in synchronization with the seconds, I could see Svend Andersen making a mint with that model.

Encouraged by this horological masterpiece, I began to imagine other weird and wonderful timepieces and their accompanying pun – such as a ‘Chess’ watch carrying the sales slogan: ‘No need to pawn your house for this watch.’ Ouch, sorry.

My next inspiration was a timepiece for Sumo Wrestling. The dial would have two massive Japanese rikishi on the dial with the tassels of the belts becoming hands. I thought the song title ‘I’ve got a crush on you,’

was too simplistic but ‘Getting to grips with time’ had a nice ring about it. Alain Silberstein could do a great job on a watch of that calibre.

Then that popular item from down under, the boomerang, came to mind. A dial decorated with Aborigine motifs would be the base and a pulsating boomerang would indicate the time – it would probably have to be a Regulator. The slogan would, of course, read ‘The watch you can’t throw away!’ Perhaps Marvin or Alpina could produce that one.

I’m already running out of space and there are dozens more. However, I’ll finish with a fishing watch whereby the hour hand is a fisherman holding a rod and the minute hand is the line which characteristically rotates 360 degrees to rejoin the fisherman’s rod at 12 o’clock. I toyed with the idea of using a loan shark concept for the ad, but finally decided on an Italian connection: ‘The Codfather’.

Panerai could produce that and perhaps Poljot could make a Russian version called ‘Tsardines’.

All of which reminds me of a story about a fisherman who went out in his boat, anchored it in the middle of a lake and within minutes caught the largest trout he’d ever seen. Minutes later he caught an even larger one. As he cast his line again his mobile phone rang and a doctor told him his wife had been admitted to the hospital in a bad way. What to do? His desire to catch an even larger trout won over and he decided to fish a little longer. After three more massive catches he reluctantly went back to shore and drove quickly to the hospital. In the emergency room a grim-faced doctor seeing him still in his fishing gear says, “Your wife is in intensive care and you’ve been fishing? I hope you’re ashamed of yourself.” The fisherman began to sob when the doctor continued, “Well your fishing days are over now. She will require constant care both day and night and you’re going to have to do everything for her. Everything!” The fisherman sobbed uncontrollably, “I’m so sorry, I hadn’t realized how serious the situation was.”

The doctor suddenly grinned and nudging the fisherman with his elbow said, “Just joking, old man, she’s gone. Catch anything?”

Well, you’ve got to laugh haven’t you?

D. Malcolm Lakin Roving Editor

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