THE WATCHES MAGAZINE #44 Spring edition

Swiss International Magazine Spring 2016 #044 Interviews Carole Forestier-Kasapi - Christine Hutter - Alain Marhic - Christian Selmoni - Guest Sabine Rochat

English Edition

Tissot

Mu ltip ly time

Audemars Piguet - Baume & Mercier - Boucheron - Breguet - Breitling - Cartier - Chanel - Greubel Forsey - H. Moser & Cie - Harry Winston - Hysek - IWC - MB&F - Michael Kors Montblanc - Omega - Oris - Panerai - Piaget - Poiray - Richard Mille - Roger Dubuis - Rolex - seven Friday - TAG Heuer - Vacheron Constantin - Van Cleef & Arpels - Zenith suisse: 10 francs FRANCE MéTRO: 7 EuROs - BEL/LuX/POLAND: 8 EuROs - uK: £8 - A/D/GR//PORT.CONT: 8,40 EuROs - CAN: 11,95 $CAN - usA: 14,99 $us

CALIBER RM 033

C ove r wat Ch

04

TissoT T-Touch Expert solar NBA special Edition

By Sharmila Bertin

Y

ou’d be wrong to think that the king of slam dunk is a big orange ball that bounces away on the maple hardwood court; instead it’s a racy watch with an athletic core that encapsulates the partnership between Le Locle watchmaker Tissot and North American basketball giant, the NBA. Its 45mm solid titanium case is coated in rose gold PVD, houses a quartz movement and is brought to life by the light filtering through the dial. The digital display at the bottom of the black carbon dial features the different

functions (20 in total) that you can preselect by pressing the touchscreen glass. Back-lighting, double time zone, complete perpetual calendar, altimeter, chronograph (with additional and split times), compass, dual alarm and more. The T-Touch Expert Solar NBA Special Edition is an undeniably versatile piece of kit both on the court and in the city at your fingertips.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

THE CHARMING BIRD Mechanical singing bird automaton movement.

JAQUET DROZ BOUTIQUES GENEVA - PARIS - MOSCOW - TOKYO - HONG KONG - MACAU - SHANGHAI - BEIJING Discover our ofямБcial point of sales on www.jaquet-droz.com

INSTRUMENT COLLECTION

TIME PYRAMID

Hand-crafted in Switzerland Calibre A&S1615: manufacture movement / skeletonized / rhodium treated nickel-silver with Haute Horlogerie finishing: manually chamfered bridges with polished edges, Côtes de Genève, circular satin-finished wheels, blued screws / hand-wound / power reserve over 90 h. Functions: watch indications on three levels resulting in a powerful 3D effect / seconds dial on the bottom / hours and minutes on a sapphire crystal dial in the middle level / double power reserve indication via graduated dots printed under the top sapphire crystal. Case: 18-carat red gold / diameter 44.6 mm. www.arnoldandson.com

Inspired by John and John Roger Arnold’s regulators and British skeleton clocks such as this one with a chain driven fusée, England, 1830-1845

E DIT OR IAL

The art of adaptability

© Mickael Gautier

T

he arrival of spring marks the end of the first trimester.

It’s the perfect time to have a quick look at the trends that have popped up since January and will carry on making their mark on watchmaking throughout 2016.

Based on watches unveiled at the SIHH (Salon International de Haute Horlogerie), we’ve managed to pinpoint three different areas which several brands are focusing on: watches for women, lower priced “basic” models and interchangeable straps for a fun, fashionable and functional feature.

Lots of figures in the industry told us 2016 would be “the year of the woman” at the end of 2015. Beyond the blurb, this announcement has been done to the letter with varying degrees of success. Some have really focused on the fairer sex and created a universe just for women (or how they perceive women) to go with their products. Others have designed new watch collections to win over a new audience or simply increased the number of women’s designs to balance out any uneven or inexistent equality. It doesn’t matter whether or not you like the product, the change in dynamic is strong enough for you to notice and appreciate it.

The second observation, which already cropped up at Baselworld in 2015 but seems to be continuing into 2016, is repositioning in terms of pricing. With the current economic climate as it is, some watch brands have dropped the price of their products or designed less costly pieces that look and work as well as you’d expect to (re)conquer certain markets and audiences. What you could almost call a “lightbulb moment” will not only result in increased sales but will bring watchmakers new clients, mainly young people who tend to want a product to be good quality, modern and affordable.

A third trend we’ve spotted relates to watch straps. Often (wrongly) considered an accessory despite the strap being the

main thing that makes a watch comfortable on the wrist, it is shyly taking centre stage. Material, technicality, interactivity, interchangeability: the strap is adapting to suit modern times.

More and more watch brands provide an additional strap when you buy a watch, tools so you can change it yourself and systems on the case to remove and fit it in a flash in a wide range of colours and materials (leather, rubber, metal, fabric).

To sum up, when it comes to product value or design, the first quarter of 2016 sees the world of watchmaking quietly adapting to transitioning clients.

Sharmila Bertin Editor-in-Chief

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

07

Gu e st À chacune de ses éditions, The Watches Magazine invite une personnalité à partager sa vision du temps.

Le temps…

Sabine Rochat

Designer horloger

08

D

’abord inconnu, inexistant, impalpable.

L’insouciance du moment présent dans l’innocence de l’enfance.

Il est sans être.

Au fil des années, il devient objet, animé de sa vie propre. Il faut alors apprendre à dompter les chiffres, hiéroglyphes indispensables à la lecture de l’heure. L’heure… toujours anecdotique, mais qui petit à petit rythme nos journées.

Le temps commence alors à prendre son sens, à s’étendre sur le quotidien, à prendre ses aises.

Avec lui vient l’intérêt de l’apprivoiser; d’en faire un allié que l’on garde proche de nous pour ne pas qu’il nous dépasse.

Pour adoucir son emprise, on lui construit des palais. Afin qu’il soit accessible à tout un chacun, on l’habille de mille feux, de parures et de robes de toutes sortes; et pour ne pas qu’il se lasse, on lui invente des mouvements fabuleux, pour qu’en leurs cœurs, il puisse se loger et battre à l’unisson.

Mais il n’est pas temps de s’arrêter… pas encore.

Certains garde-temps s’habillent alors de poésie; nous laissent le choix du moment. Ils s’étirent, élastiques, à l’infini de l’imagination. Nous proposent de laisser tomber les aiguilles d’un affichage classique et nous font rêver de personnages ou d'animaux animés sortis d’une autre dimension. Parfois

la lecture du temps est modifiée; les heures deviennent alors malléables. Présentes, mais plus au premier plan.

Oser ne plus écouter le temps… de temps en temps.

Cependant même si on parvient à s’en éloigner, le temps passe, inexorablement. On prend conscience alors qu’essayer de le retenir ne sert à rien.

Lâcher prise. À ce moment du parcours, on se rend compte qu’à force d’avoir voulu maîtriser le temps, on a oublié de le prendre. Il faut alors donner du temps au temps, l’espace d’une respiration.

Regarder devant soi, ouvrir les yeux sur toute l’immensité et la diversité de ce monde. Apprendre les autres. Apprendre des autres. Ressentir toutes les sensations oubliées de l’enfance et se les réapproprier.

Revenir à notre nature première, à nos cinq sens.

Faire la paix avec ce temps qui a rempli nos journées d’un rythme effréné. Lui permettre de graver nos souvenirs de son empreinte immatérielle, vivre enfin sans penser à lui, heure après heure, et retourner à l’insouciance des premières années, désormais marquée des valeurs et des expériences d’une vie.

L’horlogerie reste alors, témoin de ce temps où on ne le prenait pas. Et parée de ses plus beaux rouages, elle nous accompagne, sereine, dans ce temps où les heures s’égrènent en le prenant…

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

BOUTIQUES GENÈVE • PARIS • LONDON • BERLIN • NEW YORK MIAMI • BEVERLY HILLS • LAS VEGAS MOSCOW • DUBAI • TOKYO • HONG KONG SINGAPORE • SAINT-TROPEZ • CANNES COURCHEVEL • GSTAAD • ZERMATT • ZÜRICH

hublot.com

Classic Fusion Aeromoon King Gold.

King Gold case, an exclusive red gold alloy developed by Hublot. Dial in sapphire revealing the movement, displaying moon phases, calendar, day and month.

INSIDE

32 Cover Story Tissot

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7 8 16 18 20 24

Editorial Guest Sabine Rochat We love Starlight We love Design Trends The Eye of Jewelry

28 Swiss Made 32 Cover Story Tissot 42 Vacheron Constantin Interview Christian Selmoni 48 Richard Mille 52 Cartier

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

54 Piaget 56 Montblanc 60 Zenith 62 Vox Femina 64 Moritz Grossmann Interview Christine Hutter

INSIDE

68 Interview Carole Forestier-Kasapi

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66 Marketing 68 Cartier Interview Carole Forestier-Kasapi 71 March LA.B Interview Alain Marhic 74 Oris/Panerai

75 H. Moser & Cie Baume & Mercier 76 Greubel Forsey/IWC 77 TAG Heuer/Omega 78 Van Cleef & Arpels/ Roger Dubuis

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

79 Boucheron/ Harry Winston 80 A. Lange & Sรถhne/ Bvlgari

Piaget Altiplano 1205P

piaget.com

IMPR E SSU M

Swiss International Magazine Spring 2016 #044 Interviews Carole Forestier-Kasapi - Christine Hutter - Alain Marhic - Christian Selmoni - Guest Sabine Rochat

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WATCHES www.watches-news.com English Edition

Tissot

M ul t i pl y t i m e

Audemars Piguet - Baume & Mercier - Boucheron - Breguet - Breitling - Cartier - Chanel - Greubel Forsey - H. Moser & Cie - Harry Winston - Hysek - IWC - MB&F - Michael Kors Montblanc - Omega - Oris - Panerai - Piaget - Poiray - Richard Mille - Roger Dubuis - Rolex - seven Friday - TAG Heuer - Vacheron Constantin - Van Cleef & Arpels - Zenith suisse: 10 francs FRANCE MéTRO: 7 EuROs - BEL/LuX/POLAND: 8 EuROs - uK: £8 - A/D/GR//PORT.CONT: 8,40 EuROs - CAN: 11,95 $CAN - usA: 14,99 $us

Rédaction/Edition ACE Publishing SA Direction/Management Alain Carrier acarrier@ace-publishing.com Rédactrice en chef/Editor-in-Chief Sharmila Bertin sbertin@ace-publishing.com Designer graphique/Graphic designer Christelle Lillo clillo@ace-publishing.com Contributeurs/Contributors Cécile Bernardini - Tiffany Cartier-Millon Dan Diaconu - Fabrice Eschmann - Mickael Gautier Olivier Müller - Eléonor Picciotto - Sabine Rochat Publicité/Advertising ACE Publishing SA Alain Carrier acarrier@ace-publishing.com Yannick Ortolan yortolan@ace-publishing.com T +41 22 752 60 12

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Traduction/Translation Atenao www.atenao.com Impression/Printing Brailly Distribution Marchés principaux/Major markets Suisse, France, Allemagne, Royaume-Uni, États-Unis Autres pays/Other countries Abu Dhabi, Andorre, Australie, Autriche, Belgique, Brésil, Canada, Dubaï, Grèce, Hong Kong, Koweït, Maroc, Pologne, Portugal, Russie, Singapour, Taïwan, Thaïlande, Turquie, Ukraine

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Kiosques/Kiosks Suisse: Naville SA & Valora AG - France: MLP - Export: Export Press Abonnement/Subscription Dynapress Marketing SA Avenue Vibert 38 - CH-1227 Carouge/Genève T +41 22 308 08 08 - abonnements@dynapresse.ch Édité 4 fois par an/Published 4 times a year Mars-March/Juin-June/Septembre-September/Décembre-December En 4 langues/In 4 languages Français-French/Anglais-English/Allemand-German/Chinois simplifié-Chinese ISSN: Français1664-8048/Anglais1664-820X/Allemand1664-8056 ACE Publishing SA Principal actionnaire/Major shareholder Alain Carrier Route de Thonon 152A - CH-1222 Vésenaz/Genève T +41 22 752 60 12 - F +41 22 752 60 14 N° TVA CHE-112.276.791 TVA - REF 618 137 La reproduction des articles parus dans THE WATCHES MAGAZINE est interdite sous toutes ses formes, sauf autorisation écrite de l’éditeur.

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THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

PRECISION AND EFFICIENCY

by the motorist of time

10

±

SECONDS/YEAR CALIBRE 11½´´´ - ETA E64.111 Ø 25.60 MM - H 1.95 MM TEMPERATURE REGULATION

SALES QUARTZLINE SCHMELZISTRASSE 16, CH-2540 GRENCHEN WWW.ETA.CH, SALES-QUARTZ@ETA.CH TEL: +41 (0)32 655 77 77

EXCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGY

W E LOVE Star Light

16

Breguet

Classique Phase de Lune Dame 9088

By Sharmila Bertin

T

here’s a Chinese proverb that says, “The multitude of stars supports the moon.” The stars have been plucked from the sky for the Classique Phase de Lune Dame 9088 and set on its pristine dial by the Vallée de Joux watchmaker.

Little stars glitter from the minute track around the Grand Feu enamel dial on Breguet’s brand new piece. The moon shines bright at 6 o’ clock in a display topped by a small seconds. Two openwork and delicately reworked Breguet hands gleam in blue steel in the centre to track the hours and minutes along Breguetstyle Arabic numerals. The time functions and moon phase are brought to life by the self-winding 537L calibre which provides a 45-hour power reserve. The movement nestles inside the 30mm white gold bevelled case whose bezel and lugs are paved with 66 brilliant-cut diamonds.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER EL PRIMERO

www.zenith-watches.com

I Chronomaster 1969

WE LOVE DE sign

18

MB&F

Sherman

By Sharmila Bertin

A

swallow does not a summer make and we’ve fallen for a table clock. At the same time, one look at Sherman is all it takes to fall under his spell! This cheerful little robot made in MB&F on tracks (hence the name inspired by American WWII tanks) displays the hours and minutes on its chest. Sherman’s beating heart is a manual wind calibre made

by L'Épée which provides an 8-day power reserve and is wound by key. Its articulated arms have hands to hold small items and its black rubber tracks work if you give his back a gentle push. His head is a mineral glass dome protecting the movement’s regulator.

Like any object of desire, Sherman is a limited edition: 200 in palladium-plating, 200 in gold and 50 in gold and diamond.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

VULCAIN, THE WATCHMAKER I TRUST.

vulcain-watches.com

Very limited editon: 50s PRESIDENTS’ WATCH “VULCAIN FOR HEINER LAUTERBACH” available exclusively in 99 pieces. Two-tone case 18K pink gold and 316L steel. Mother of pearl dial with pink indexes. Watch diameter: 42 mm.

Vulcain Cricket manufacture calibre V-10 with alarm function. Mechanical hand-wound.

Power reserve: 42 hours

Manufacture des Montres Vulcain S.A. - Chemin des Tourelles 4 - 2400 Le Locle - Switzerland - Tel +41 (0)32 930 80 10 - info@vulcain-watches.ch

T R E NDS

20

H. Moser & Cie

An ode to simplicity: back to basics?

By Dan Diaconu W hat makes them so appealing? So good looking? So simple? Is it because they give our wrists a slice of a famous star or make us sporty like a professional diver? We only had eyes for them in 2015.

What are they? Watches whose movement powers two or three hands with or without the date.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

>

Eterna Calibre 3916A

eterna.com

SU P ER KO N T I K I C HRO N O GR AP H SPECIAL EDITION

T R E NDS

22 Hermès Vintage diving watches such as the Oris Sixty-Five and Tudor Heritage Black Bay, stylish and reliable timepieces like the Zenith Elite 6150 or the modern and minimalist Hermès Slim took over the podiums at the international fairs and literally eclipsed the usual suspects, watches with additional complications and brash limited editions. What sets them apart? Timeless design, soft colours, medium case size, simple timekeeping and reasonable prices paired with Swiss Made quality.

The current "retro cool" trend oozes sweet nostalgia and gives us something we can count on. We’ve overdosed on unusable chronographs, unreadable perpetual calendars and elitist tourbillons...you can have too much of a good thing! Are we looking for a new iconic watch like the almost 100 year old (in 2017) Tank by Cartier, the 40-something Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet or Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso that has just celebrated its 85th

birthday? Definitely! However, the ode to simplicity is more than a passing trend and seems to be lauded by some watch brands.

Among them, H. Moser & Cie kicked 2016 off with an update on its Endeavour Perpetual Calendar. What’s its USP? The manual wind calibre fuels the low-key perpetual calendar on a dial stripped of logos and indices. "The most important things for us is telling the time and the watch’s practicality. Some people try to complicate things; we try to simplify them. We want all our watches to be as close as possible to a three-hand piece no matter the complication. Actually, we don’t talk about complications but rather ingenious solutions". The brand’s young CEO, Edouard Meylan, believes in showcasing the brand’s expertise and, by the same token, reminding us that "it is simple elegance that charms us", as Ovid wrote…2016 years ago.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

The e ye of Je we lry

Harry Winston

24

Be the soul of discretion!

By Eléonor Picciotto

S

ecret watches used to be for ladies to discreetly tell the time by lifting a small cover on what looked like a bracelet; but that was in the past. Nowadays, women no longer really need to tell the time. Their smartphones or surroundings can tell them what time it is.

Nadine de Rothschild said that according to etiquette, "A woman should never wear a watch, unless it’s diamond, with a long evening gown." Watchmakers have managed to uphold etiquette and overcome the challenge but with a twist… probably just to defy the Baroness’ words.

The secret watch was designed centuries ago to tell the time on the sly and be the soul of discretion. However, that’s not what the brands are after given the colours, carats and gemsetting on certain often unique pieces which grab attention and hold it with their enchanting beauty!

Cartier Cartier is undoubtedly a master in the area. The brand has too many secret watches to count. The latest SIHH unveiled several models including the Montre Heure Cachée in a white

gold case. A silver dial with a diamond marker at 12 and a quartz movement hides beneath one of three aquamarines paved with a total of 18.13 facetted carats and two triangular diamonds. This unique piece is adorned by 1160 diamonds and surrounded by two rows of black lacquer paved with 88 baguette-cut aquamarines.

Audemars Piguet The latest diamond watch by Audemars Piguet has been designed to reflect 21st century fine jewellery. Dazzling armour creates a cutting-edge look despite the classic gemsetting technique. The crazy cuff has an equally crazy name.

A blend of watchmaking, jewellery, gem-setting and design which oozes strength, power and beauty. It’s clear to see why 1500 hours of work has gone into the Diamond Fury, a glittering cuff available in two versions: fully paved with 4841 diamonds (26 carats) or an onyx and diamond one with 3500 diamonds (18 carats and 56 onyx parts).

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

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Cartier

Audemars Piguet

26 Van Cleef & Arpels Even if Van Cleef & Arpels wanted to, they couldn’t reproduce the Bracelet Montre Rubis Secret which showcases the brand’s expertise. You may be surprised to learn that the brand spent years collecting 115 oval-cut rubies from Mozambique close to 151.25 carats. It’s certainly a unique piece with a quartz movement hiding beneath a dial where the first challenge was to adorn the bracelet with different sized gems then accurately fit them individually and create a hinge so the jewels don’t bang into each other. The brand has managed to conceal a watch inside a bracelet several times but never this way before. Press a ruby on the side and a slide slips forth to reveal a watch dial. An amazing edgy and very geometric contrast embedded in the bracelet’s perfect curves.

Chanel

Van Cleef & Arpels

Chanel An exercise in style for Chanel whose quilted design is going into a full fine jewellery collection. The brand’s signature plump little square is instantly recognisable as the theme throughout the Signature collection. The Signature Morganite secret watch is designed as white gold mesh adorned with diamond domed squares whose 43.66 carat pastel pink gems gleam on the wrist. The gem is rarely used by the brand but creates the volume required and can be cut into the sugar cube shape reminiscent of quilting. Its transparency provides a glimpse of a dial which, once unveiled, reveals a whitewash of diamonds with two white gold hands telling Chanel time.

"Elegance is in the cut" she said.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

Darwel

EmbracE timE Our story, our brand, our passion. carole & Pierre Dubois

carole and Pierre Dubois. a love story that gives a unique beat to their lives and their watch creations.

Pictured here, two his and hers world-exclusive royal retro models with their six dancing retrograde seconds hands.

PiErrE DErOchE - LE rEvErs 1 - 1345 LE LiEu - switzErLanD - t. +41 21 841 11 69 - www.PiErrEDErOchE.cOm

SwiSS Made

The new Swiss Made in 10 questions

By Olivier Müller

28

Sw i ss Made i s c ele br at i n g it s 45 t h an n ivers ar y.

A lthoug h the leg i slat ion won’t c ome i nt o forc e u nt i l Januar y 1 s t 2017, T he Wat ches Ma ga z i ne i s a sk i n g 10 q ues t ion s to f i nd out more ab out a f a s c i nat i n g desig nat ion that i s v it a l t o the w at ch ma k i n g i ndu s t r y.

>

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

1. How long has Swiss Made been around?

Since 1971. Federal authorities brought in a decree controlling the use of the word "Swiss" on watches. This founding act is what we now call the "Swiss Made Designation". It is still in force today.

2. Why was it founded?

To protect Swiss watches against fakes. The twist here is that these fakes came from Asia where the watch industry was heavily supported…by Switzerland itself during a liberal boom in the early 60s! The main aim was to help Hong Kong to make components to Swiss quality standards. That’s how Asia started to learn the art of Swiss watchmaking…and how some unscrupulous industrialists got their hands on this precious expertise. Knowledge transfer was partly transformed into a powerful forgery device that the FH (Swiss Watchmaking Federation) does all it can to contain.

30

3. What does Swiss Made entail nowadays?

Three things: a Swiss watch has a Swiss movement, is assembled in Switzerland and its final checks are conducted in Switzerland by the manufacturer.

The devil is in the detail so the legislator was careful to define a "Swiss movement" as assembled and checked in Switzerland and 50% of which is made in Switzerland.

4. What is involved in the new Swiss Made that will come into force on January 1 st?

It states that 60%, rather than 50%, of industrial products, including watches, are made in Switzerland. At least 60% of the movement must also be made in Switzerland. That’s why it’s called a "reinforcement of Swiss Made".

5. Why change Swiss Made?

Because "Swiss" sells: its added value is up to 20% of a product’s retail price according to a study by Saint-Gall University. Switzerland is more than a country; it’s a brand that, as such, must be protected. Swiss Made has been registered as a collective trademark by the FH since 2006 in America and Hong Kong. Taking all sectors into account, the Federal Council puts the added value of the "Swiss brand" at 5.8 billion Swiss Francs per year.

prosperity and must be protected from any infringement.

Image aside, there’s more to say about the economic impact.

Swiss labour costs are high. Requiring a movement to be 60% made in Switzerland will make them more expensive.

The industry that is currently in crisis has fought so hard for the Swiss Made designation to be reinforced that it may well see it happen at the worst possible time, in a year when it would rather seek to reduce costs and make more affordable pieces. The only brands that can absorb this extra cost are those who can compensate it with large production volumes.

It’s the idea of economies of scale open mainly to the Swatch Group, Richemont and LVMH. Small brands which played a dangerous game with Swiss Made and very aggressive bottom prices are under threat.

8. What do Switzerland’s partners think?

Everyone’s thinking the same thing: using this new law for protectionist purposes under the defensive cover of "Swiss Made". The European Union, led by France, are very watchful of it but Switzerland, controlled mainly by bilateralism, has more room for manoeuvre than EU member states.

9. Were there alternatives to the new 60% Swiss Made?

Yes, a few. There was talk of a Swiss Made with two names and two speeds, one highly demanding for premium watches and the other less so for high volume watches. Although connoisseurs could have made the distinction, it would have caused confusion for export. Switzerland exports 95% of the watches it makes so the idea was dropped. However, as it stands, some labels are nothing more than "Swiss Made" designations that have already been reinforced. The Geneva Seal and Fleurier Quality Foundation Certification are two examples.

How will it affect the end client?

Entry-level watches will probably be more expensive. They’re the ones that played with the 50% Swiss Made movements.

At 60%, applied to the total finished product, these brands will have to get supplies in Switzerland so that means paying more for components than in China for example. Top brands won’t be affected as they already exceed the 60% Swiss Made requirement by definition.

6. What came out of the Decree in 1971?

Mainly loopholes. For example, if a movement manufacturer uses very low cost Asian components, the number of those made in Switzerland will automatically go up. This dicey mixture enables movements made mainly of Chinese parts to get the Swiss Made stamp.

7. What are the pros and cons of the new 60% Swiss Made?

Its supporters promise better protection of the "Swiss Made" shield. That’s probably right. The Swiss image is vital to its

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

WATCH THE NEW

CONCEPT

STORE ACHETER, VENDRE, ÉCHANGER, DISCUTER, REGARDER, ÉCOUTER, MANGER, BOIRE, LIRE, RÉPARER : LA MAISON DE L’HORLOGERIE DEVIENT LE PREMIER CONCEPT STORE HORLOGER DE SUISSE. UN CONCEPT UNIQUE DANS LEQUEL LE TERME « MAISON » PREND TOUT SON SENS.

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By Sharmila Bertin

I

f Tissot excels in one area, it’s in inexhaustible creativity.

The Le Locle brand puts all its expertise into designing new collections and padding out existing ones throughout the year and particularly at Baselworld to delight fans. Men, women, young and old will find an affordable watch in the wide range that’s good looking, technical or both to suit them.

Heritage: back in time The Heritage collection breathes new life into vintage timepieces with contemporary values and a fresh take on a 1936 model. This new piece has the same shape as the first wristwatches with its wide yet streamlined loops which a brown strap with beige stitching wraps around. Its manual wind mechanical calibre can be seen through the transparent back of the 45mm steel case with the hours and minutes in the heart of the dial. The seconds count down in a counter at 6 o’ clock. The shimmering dial with a grey core bears an hour rim with Breguet black Arabic numerals and a minute track with a 24-hour indicator. The openwork black “pomme” hands are also inspired by the past in tribute to Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823).

A second model has joined the Heritage collection. The

rectangular shape of its rose or yellow gold case harks back to the Roaring Twenties when the economy and culture flourished in the post-War years. The Prestigious watch is fuelled by a quartz movement and features the hours and minutes in the centre of the dial with the seconds counter at 6. There are two dials: a classic silver or black one with an engine-turned core and a feminine mother-of-pearl one with a central minute track and diamond markers beneath dauphineshape hands.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

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Bella Ora: good times for ladies Self-winding or quartz, with or without diamonds, motherof-pearl or colourful dial, round or oval, steel or gold PVD coating: Tissot has so much choice that it’s almost impossible to settle for just one watch. Just look at the two Bella Ora and Bella Ora Piccola collections each with their own powers of seduction.

The oval watch collections have been given Italian names: “Bella Ora” (beautiful time) and “Bella Ora Piccola” (small beautiful time). Bella Ora has a 31.4x28mm steel case that can be coated in rose gold PVD. Bella Ora Piccola has a quartz movement with hours, minutes and a small seconds counter (6 o’ clock) on the dial. The former is a charming collection of four dials from shimmering white and grey-tinged grained white to black or white mother-of-pearl. There’s no hour rim but a single marker at 12 in the form of a gold or silver Roman numeral or a mother-of-pearl or blue dot.

Bella Ora Piccola has slightly larger case sizes at 38.6x33.3mm

to be precise. The steel or yellow gold PVD-coated case also has a quartz movement and provides the same time functions and layout as the Bella Ora’s dial. However, the look is totally different and a feast for the eyes. Whether it be white, blue, black or white mother-of-pearl, the dial is rimmed by Roman numerals and a minute track with leaf-shape hands.

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34 T-Race Automatic MotoGP TM 2016

Le Locle: bring time to life The Le Locle collection pays tribute to the town which Tissot has called home since 1853 with self-winding mechanical watches.

Le Locle Automatic Lady is designed for everyday wear and has everything a modern woman could wish for. Its markers (hours, minutes, seconds in the centre and date display at 3) can be seen at a glance with its leaf-shape hands, streamlined indices and Roman numerals. Its rose or yellow gold PVDcoated steel case is the perfect 39.3mm which is increasingly popular among women. Its white or black mother-of-pearl dial brings a touch of glamour to the wrist.

Le Locle Régulateur’s unique display is inspired by watches that were once used in workshops to check the accuracy of pocket watches. The star on the silver or black engine-turned dial is the minute hand in the centre whilst the hours appear in a sub-dial at 12 and the seconds at 6. The date appears at 9 o’ clock on the 39.3mm rose or yellow gold PVD-coated steel case.

T-Race: master time Tissot has been the official timekeeper of the MotoGP TM World Championship since 2001 with 19 races per season. The longterm partnership saw the first Tissot MotoGP TM watch launch in 2003 followed by the T-Race a year later and now the limited edition T-Race Automatic MotoGP TM 2016.

3333 of the self-winding chronograph in a motorcycle helmet display case are available in the colours shared by the Le Locle watchmaker and championship: black for tarmac and red for speed. The watch is also inspired by its shapes (black PVD bezel reminiscent of a tyre) and technical materials such as carbon on the dial. The macho dial has a black chapter ring engraved with a tachymeter scale around three counters: seconds at 9, chronograph minutes and hours at 12 and 6 respectively. Luminescent hands track the hours and minutes in the centre.

All the functions are brought to life by a self-winding calibre in the 47.25mm steel case which you can gaze at through the transparent back.

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Bella Ora

Heritage Prestigious

Le Locle Automatic Lady

Le Locle Régulateur

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36 Bridgeport

Chronometrically perfect

By Sharmila Bertin

C

hronometry isn’t just an art; it’s the science of accurate time measurement. Lots of people still confuse “chronometer” and “chronograph”. The COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) defines the former as a “high precision watch capable of displaying the seconds whose movement has been tested for several days in different positions and at different degrees by a neutral independent organisation”* (designation defined by the ISO 3159 standard).

The latter measures how long an event lasts.

The International Chronometry Competition is held every two years in Le Locle with the COSC, Besançon Observatory and Arc Advanced Engineering College among others. The competition relaunched in 2009 but existed in another form in 19th century Switzerland from 1848 although the first checks and chronometric observations began in the 18th century.

It was suspended in 1968, abolished in 1976 then revived 7

years ago to showcase contemporary watchmaking expertise.

The International Chronometry Competition now involves tests based on very strict universal standards (ISO 3159) which see “packed and marketable” watches** compete. A record 46 pieces registered for the 2015 competition. Tests last four months and put the watches through shocks and magnetic fields among others. These trials compare the performance and reliability of timepieces that are signed up to the competition by watch brands overseen by a panel of scientists, legal experts and specialists.

At the ceremony marking the end of the competition on October 22nd, Tissot was the main winner for the class of 2015. The victorious Le Locle brand won a total of four awards in two categories. Its Chemin des Tourelles model (named after the Le Locle street which Tissot called home in 1907) powered by the self-winding C01.211 calibre (hours and minutes in the

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T-Complication

centre, small seconds at 9, chronograph counters at 12 and 6, chronograph seconds in the centre) won first prize in the “Chronograph” category. The standard of tests conducted on the watches was so high at this event that there was no second or third “Chronograph” prize.

The company also wiped the floor in the “Classic” category with a T-Complication model (hours and minutes in the centre, small seconds at 6) and its A86.501 calibre alongside two pieces from the Bridgeport collection (second and third prize). The latter are powered by the C07.621 and C07.111 calibres respectively (which provide an amazing 80-hour power reserve).

The date is set for the next International Chronometry Competition...in 2017!

* www.cosc.ch ** www.concours-chronometrie.ch

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Chemin des Tourelles

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Sporty soul

By Sharmila Bertin

T

issot may be the world’s biggest watch manufacturer and distributor but the brand is all about versatility covering all areas from the basic classic model to the most technical sporty piece as we’ve seen in the last few pages. Nevertheless, its kingdom stretches beyond its watch collections. Driven by the thrill of the chase, Tissot has a major presence in different fields and is as comfortable on a gym court as it is on a tarmac mountain road.

Tissot’s love for sport has taken the Le Locle brand to two completely different worlds which only have the race against the clock and pushing limits in common: basketball and cycling. These two popular and widely broadcast sports bring millions of spectators together to cheer from the stands or sit in front of the big or small screen. They provide Tissot with the perfect way to showcase their products and enable it to unleash its technical and technological expertise on the world.

Basketball Tissot sealed its first partnership with the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) in 2007 and laid the foundations for a long and intense relationship with the most popular televised sport in China. Other famous partnerships followed in the next few years with the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) in 2008 and, more recently, the NBA (National Basketball Association) in 2015. The contract with the CBA was also renewed last year.

The contract between the watch brand and the NBA signed on October 5th 2015 is a milestone. It made Tissot the official watch and timekeeper for the world’s biggest basketball league which also includes the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) and NBA D-league (minor league).

The partnership makes the Le Locle watchmaker part of several events hosted by the US league: NBA Global >

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Quickster Chicago Bulls Special Edition

Quickster New York Knicks Special Edition

Games, NBA All-Star Game, Draft NBA and Samsung NBA Summer League. It also means that it receives international royalties for chronometers, watches, clocks and any watchrelated accessories.

Tissot is going for a slam dunk at games from the 2016-2017 season with basketball’s very own timekeeping system: this 24-second counter is based on the famous shot clock to speed up the pace of the game in the league’s 29 courts.

Tissot has also joined forces with five US teams: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs (where French player and brand ambassador since 2010 Tony Parker plays). The collaboration has produced five versions of the Quickster model each in the team’s colours.

These watches complete the special Tissot collection devoted to the NBA which currently features a T-Touch Expert Solar

(on the cover of this issue), a PRC 200 and a PRC 100.

Cycling Tissot stands out for its accurate and reliable timekeeping in different sports such as basketball, as we’ve just seen, ice hockey, football, rugby, fencing, motor sports (cars and motorbikes) and cycling. The latter is sponsored by the watchmaker with several partnerships including the UCI (International Cycling Union) signed in 1995 and a 5-year contract with the ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) beginning in early 2016.

Professional cycling, particularly on the road, involves covering a specific distance as quickly as possible and includes races in stages. It involves several types of trials in which the standard of timekeeping and point scoring is vital:

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Tour De France Special Edition

mountain stage, hilly stage, flat stage and timed stage.

Tissot’s involvement with the UCI (an organisation founded in 1900 to promote cycling worldwide) covers various cycling competitions, the aforementioned contest and track cycling, mountain biking, BMX riding (extreme sports).

The partnership with the ASO (an organisation hosting international sporting events) enables Tissot to attend top events such as the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, ParisNice, Paris-Tours and Vuelta a EspaĂąa to name but a few. The watchmaker sponsored the Tour de France from 1988 to 1992 and is back for the 2016 event starting on July 2nd. Tissot is behind the countdown to the competition on the www.letour. fr website. The brand has designed a special edition of its PRC 200 to mark the occasion; the dial and strap bear the colours of the Tour de France logo: black for the tarmac which cyclists ride on and yellow, a symbol of speed, reminiscent of the famous yellow jersey worn by the race leader and an icon of this popular race.

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Int e r vIew

42

The Talented Mr. Selmoni

By Sharmila Bertin

C

hristian Selmoni, Artistic Director at Vacheron Constantin, epitomises the brand which he has been part of for 25 years. The elegant, sophisticated and undestated gentleman wears Yves Saint Laurentstyle glasses to conceal his curious and watchful gaze over the world of watch design and everyone who lives there.

Personally speaking, the meeting in his office was a unique opportunity for a sometimes very personal conversation about the life of a man who exudes talent...and charm!

What is your background? How did you come to be in the watchmaking world?

To answer your question, I should tell you that I was born in the Vallée de Joux which, as you know, is a

hotbed for watchmaking or at least complicated watchmaking. Almost everyone in my family worked in watchmaking and I was fortunate that my grandfather and brother were both “old-fashioned” watchmakers.

Historically speaking, watchmakers (including my grandfather) were very widely cultured. They were passionate about mathematics, astronomy and so much more. We all lived in a large house, I was on the first floor and my grandparents had the ground floor. My grandfather worked from home and specialised in skeleton watches. I often went to watch him when I was little to see all his tools. I actually still have one of his watchmaker’s cabinets. My grandfather would tell me everything, what he was doing, his tools etc. So when I joined Vacheron Constantin

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several years later and was told about a tourbillon in 1991, it instantly reminded me of my grandfather. He talked to me about tourbillons, you could hear his respect for them and I can remember it perfectly. It’s him who really introduced me to it without me realising it was my calling at the time.

Didn’t you want to keep the family legacy alive?

I went to secondary school in the Vallée de Joux and when I finished studying it was 1975: the middle of the quartz crisis. My entire generation, my friends and I, couldn’t imagine working in watchmaking. We all did different things. I went to Lausanne, “the city” as they say, for a business apprenticeship then a procurement masters before working in finance. >

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When and how did you change paths from finance to watchmaking?

In 1988 I was working with a friend whose husband was the Technical Director at Vacheron Constantin who asked if I wanted to work for the brand and…since I’m from the Vallée de Joux, I was at “home”...You know how it is (smiles). You could easily change jobs and find another the next day in the late 80s in Switzerland. There was work for everyone. It grabbed my attention immediately.

I started as Head of Sales Administration for Vacheron Constantin to oversee coordination between production and sales. I spent 2 years in the position.

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Then?

Then I was appointed Head of Procurement which brought me closer to the product. I started visiting suppliers and experienced their amazing human potential. Most were from the Jura and Vallée de Joux. I’d go and see them for ongoing orders and built a personal relationship based on trust with them.

This experience enabled me to be part of the product team handling development and support with suppliers as the design department didn’t exist. We used an external design studio. I worked in products from 1994 to 2000 and became Head of Production.

Tell us about how your relationship with the product started The more time went on, the more I started to have a good understanding of the product. I founded Vacheron Constantin’s product department in 2001. We started from scratch and stopped working with external designers who were replaced by the trained designer Vincent Kauffmann, Design Director.

We worked on Vacheron Constantin’s 250th anniversary (2005) between 2001 and 2004. It was massive! Those three years are undoubtedly when I learnt the most about watchmaking in terms of design and concepts. Three of us were working “in our corner” and we had amazing times.

But you didn’t stop there did you?

I was made Product Marketing Director between 2005 and 2010.

I was in charge of design and still head of product development. I also created the product development structure. Marketing and design, meaning ideas, was my department; shaping and conceptualising ideas was my department too; designing and developing products was also my department; my department marketed the products as well! We created beautiful products such as the Excellence Platine collection, a highly sophisticated concept true to Vacheron values despite being difficult to achieve with a very understated and monochrome design…like a “zen garden”. We developed the Métiers d'Art collection during the same period.

How did you become Artistic Director?

I was working like that until 2010.

We’d already significantly grown in the Noughties and Vacheron Constantin worked on a similar model to now.

Basically, I was a manager with “creative aspects” and I wanted to build on that.

I went on leave to go on an express world tour in 17 days by plane which enabled me to think about the future and I realised that at 51 years old, I wanted to focus on design. After talking to Juan Carlos Torres [editor’s note: CEO of Vacheron Constantin since 2005], we incorporated the product marketing team into the production and technique department. I kept design and gained the Métiers d'Art. I was pretty happy!

I was also asked to oversee design and development in the bespoke watch department.

Have you had any artistic training?

No but I’ve always enjoyed the artistic side and if I think back to when I was between 5 and 7 years old…My parents weren’t rich but they loved art. They had books about art history, from prehistoric to contemporary times, in twenty volumes. I still have them now, they’re here in my office. I’ve been flicking through them since I was 7. For example, when I had an art essay for school, I always got excellent grades because I knew these books like the

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back of my hand, especially the classics.

What’s your role now?

My role since 2010 has been to create a breeding ground for design which the brand can use and is true to the vision we have for our watches. However, in my heart, anything that’s conceptual has to “work” meaning that if I have an idea, I’m going to flesh it out, “assemble” it in my head with all its different elements such as PR and deliver a successful usable concept. Otherwise it won’t work.

Essentially, I love my job. I should actually have started here! The work I do now is more or less my dream job.

Genetically, watchmaking made sense for me since I’ve been surrounded by it since I was a boy.

Compared to Vacheron Constantin’s history, the Artistic Department is very young. Why create this department?

Historically, the brand didn’t really have a design studio. It just had case and dial makers who had their own design department. For example, for dials they researched Roman hour numerals, backs etc. which is what we do now.

They designed dials then they took out their books and went to visit brands to present them to them. That’s how it went with most brands until the 90s.

Gradually, with the return of mechanical watchmaking, brands began to have their own internal design studio.

How do you work?

Between my colleague Vincent Kauffmann and me, we have 50 years of experience at the brand as we started together 25 years ago. We’ve been a creative duo, a bit of an “old couple”, since 2001. We’ve worked together a lot.

It was a bit complicated and puzzling for others because we didn’t need to talk to understand each other. Now we work together less as my role has changed but we still manage to inspire each other.

What’s good about duos is that there’s always someone to surprise the other and fuel them to go further. I’ve always been fascinated and passionate about what I do and, despite the years, I never tire of it.

What about your team?

The rest of the team are younger. We have a design director, design coordinator, four designers – all women – two seniors and two working on designing unique pieces, a digital designer specialising in 3D, a junior designer and often an intern to give young people the chance to see how our department works. Everyone comes from a different background.

What are your goals in terms of ladies’ watches?

Vacheron Constantin has been making complicated watches for women since 1810. Between 1900 and around 1930, the brand made more watches for women than for men before that reversed in the 40s and 50s. With the mechanical revival, the brand focused on watches and complications for men as that’s what the market wanted. Since 2012, we’ve focused more on ladies, especially in the Métiers d'Art collections and working on existing ranges such as Patrimony.

Currently, the ratio is around 80% for men and 20% for women and we hope to increase the ladies’ share as we have an amazing legacy of women’s watches. We also have to explore areas where there’s still potential for growth.

creative process for the Métiers d'Art? The collection is unlike any other.

Personally, I’m very curious and I’m interested in lots of very different things.

Our team is constantly on the lookout and has lots of ideas in their minds especially on the exciting theme of art and culture which enables us to seek inspiration in other sectors. You have to be curious, soak up everything that’s happening around you and observe.

In the Métiers d'Art, classical subjects have already been heavily used and what’s great is being able to get out and explore the contemporary and abstract.

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Now you’ve mentioned it, what is your

© Mickael Gautier

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R ic haRd Mille

© airbus

48

High-flying exercise

By Dan Diaconu

"

One must be absolutely modern"*.

This aphorism encapsulates Richard Mille’s designs. "Watchmaking has never been a world shut off from the outside. It’s the result of mathematics, art, philosophy and technology coming together and it gives something back to these areas. For example, mechanical innovations in watchmaking have influenced sectors such as industry and transport. The discovery of special alloys in metalwork had a huge effect on it as it improved its ability to be accurate. What we do is exactly the same: we take watchmaking out of its "precious box"[…] We welcome ideas from other sectors with open arms and even invite them to be part of watch design," says Richard Mille.

The past has no place at the brand founded in 2001. It draws inspiration from elsewhere. Where? Aeronautics for example. The RM 039 and RM 3901 watches with a calculation scale for experienced pilots already showed the Swiss brand’s interest in this area.

Richard Mille had another flight plan for the new RM 50-02 ACJ unveiled at SIHH 2016. A luxury watch is to watchmaking what a private jet is to commercial airlines. Luxury, exclusivity, comfort and technology are the building blocks in both. So why not create a partnership with Airbus Corporate Jets, a major brand in bespoke business aviation?

This collaboration doesn’t boil down to just putting the partner brand logo on the back of the watch or on the dial as

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we see all too often. Airbus Corporate Jets has put its aeronautic haute couture expertise into making the case out of hitech material used in jet turbine blades whose titanium-aluminium alloy makes it strong yet light. Although Richard Mille’s signature barrel shape forms the basis of the case, the finery on the white ceramic bezel is reminiscent of an ACJ320 jet, the elite version of the famous Airbus A320.

Exceptional on the inside, exceptional on the outside! A skeleton flyback chronograph tourbillon movement brings the watch to life. It measures long, short and intermediary time.

A new generation of components for the flyback mechanism means almost 50% less energy is used for the >

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RM 50-02 ACJ

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function as there’s less friction in the movement. The calibre also has a dual indicator for improved chronograph usage. It provides information about the mainspring’s tension to avoid it being too tight or slack. All these innovations are involved in the comfortable 70-hour power reserve displayed on a digital scale at 11 o’ clock. The tourbillon improves the movement’s accuracy and showcases Richard Mille’s talent.

"From our point of view, a watch nowadays is defined by two key elements: on the one hand, the best of fine watchmaking culture with respect for tradition and centuries of Swiss expertise; on the other hand, we live in the 21st century which means every innovation and new material is within our reach. The combination of these two extremes underlies our vision of what a watch should be today: uncompromising and unpretentious," says the brand’s CEO. The RM 50-02 ACJ embodies this state of mind. Just 30 pieces will soar off the brand’s runway with luxury watchmaking as the final destination.

* Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), French poet

© Dan Diaconu

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MEET US AT BASELWORLD 2016 MARCH 17-24

M901 Case: all stainless steel Plating: IP plating Case back: see-through back with 6 screws Glass: sapphire crystal on both sides Movement: new round module with mechanical musical movement with 17 notes and the automatic movement ETA 2671.

Decoration with “Côtes de Genève” Crowns: one crown at 3 O’Clock to wind the musical movement up and one crown at 9 O’Clock to set the time Pusher: one pusher to “stop and go” the melody Dial: made with 3 levels and “Côtes de Genève” decoration Date: calendar at 6 O’Clock on the small time zone Hands: hour, minute and second hands in blue color Strap: genuine alligator leather strap with butterfly buckle Limited edition: 99 pieces Size: Ø 47,00 mm Thickness: 14,80 mm Melody available: Beethoven (Für Elise)

Boegli Watch S.A. Rue Centrale 47 CH-2740 Moutier | Mob.+41 79 830 24 18 | www.boegliwatch.ch | vipa@boegliwatch.ch

C art ie r

Sheer magic

52

By Fabrice Eschmann

D

iscussing the secrets behind a mysterious movement is like revealing a magic trick. Cartier’s first mystery clock was actually inspired by the ones designed by the iconic illusionist and father of modern magic, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805-1871). This piece, Model A, was made in 1912 by watchmaker and Cartier’s exclusive supplier, Maurice Couet. It used Houdin’s original idea of fitting the hands onto two glass discs with a serrated metal edge. The discs were fuelled by the movement (usually in the clock’s base) and turned with the hours or minutes taking the hands with them.

A century has passed and nothing’s changed. Almost nothing.

Just that the clock has become a wristwatch. As we’re sure you’ve guessed, this small detail has a big impact.

But this isn’t Cartier’s first time: in recent years the brand has unveiled the Heure Mystérieuse and Double Tourbillon Mystérieux models. The third of its kind, the Astromystérieux, has the same principles as the first two but takes things one step further: this time it isn’t the display alone nor the tourbillon that’s mysterious but instead it’s the movement.

Four organs (not two like a tourbillon) are embedded in a spinning cage that seems to float in the air: barrel, gear train, escapement and balance spring. This central cage completes a 60 minute rotation and matches its axis up to the hands’ axis. That means the fixed wheel, connected to the barrel and

driven by the tourbillon’s movement, is placed in the centre and supports the entire construction.

It works by sheer magic. Four sapphire discs are layered on top of each other. The top one acts as the cage’s lower bridge and is linked to the second disc that powers the hour hand.

The third is part of a patented barrel winding system which also has a floating pinion that only comes to life when the crown is turned. Last but not least, the fourth fixed disc at the bottom of the movement enables the crown, once pulled out, to come loose and set the time.

The limited edition Rotonde de Cartier Astromystérieux (100 available) and its manual wind 9462 MC calibre comes in a 43.5mm 950 palladium case.

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Rotonde de Cartier AstromystĂŠrieux

Piage t

Quartz rebooted!

By Fabrice Eschmann

54

A

s if the weight of the 1970s crisis has been lifted off their shoulders, Swiss watchmakers are suddenly unleashing their imagination on quartz movements.

The most recent example is Piaget’s Emperador Coussin XL 700P with a generator-regulated mechanical movement.

Quartz movements were invented in 1967 at the Centre Electronique Horloger in Neuchâtel and first sold

by Japanese company Seiko in 1969.

The movements use quartz’s electrophysical properties to split time. By applying pressure to a thin quartz strip, its atomic structure (organised into geometric crystals) is distorted and begins to vibrate on a regular basis – over 32,000 times a second. When you add a battery-powered circuit to maintain the vibrations, it also sends electrical impulses to power the seconds hand.

Piaget has taken things further: there’s no battery to power the system. The brand’s 700P calibre is based on

a classic mechanical movement: a barrel, wound by an off-centre minirotor, fuels a perfectly conventional wheel train. The designers did replace the traditional balance spring with a miniature generator to control the constant force. As the generator turns, it creates an electrical current to power a quartz. But that isn’t what brings the hands to life: it acts as a counter and comparator to control the generator’s rotation speed. This is what performs as a balance wheel as it spins at exactly 5.33 rotations/second (almost 4Hz): the rotor is therefore in direct contact with the wheel and turns often enough to display the time. If it happened to speed up, the quartz resonator would warn a processor which would activate a brake system.

"It’s a very reliable system", says Eric Klein, Movement Strategy Director at Piaget. "It isn’t affected by magnetic fields and is highly shock-resistant. On top of that, its chronometer performance is at 1 second per day". Updated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of

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Piaget’s first quartz movement, the famous ultra-thin 7P unveiled in 1976, the limited edition (188 available) Emperador Coussin XL 700P is the fruit of two years of R&D and a dozen patents.

The idea behind this sort of hybrid engine is nothing new. As Eric Klein himself says, it is based on an original concept by Jean-Claude Berney that was patented in 1972. The engineer was employed by Ebauches SA at the time and was trying to get rid of batteries as they were cumbersome and had a limited life span. However, he never managed to make his invention reliable.

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Piaget Emperador Coussin XL 700P

Mont b lanc

56 Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Edition

Sitting on Top of The World*

By Sharmila Bertin

T

he story of Montblanc is among the most fascinating, especially if you’re a fountain pen enthusiast like me. It began in 1906, 110 years ago, when an engineer, banker and specialist stationery salesman from Hamburg and Berlin set sail to the USA. After the trio’s American adventure, a fountain pen with a built-in ink well was born and revolutionised writing.

Four years on and the company was named Montblanc in tribute to the three founders’ demanding quality standards and the highest peak in Europe at 4810m.

Cross oceans, climb mont Blanc Without the ferry boom in the early 20th century following innovations such as the steam engine and steel hulls, transatlantic boat journeys wouldn’t exist, Hamburg wouldn’t have become a major port city and our three German entrepreneurs wouldn’t have been able to visit the US. The 4810 collection, launched in 2006 but with fresh technical and design features in 2016, is like a multiple celebration. It honours not only the memory of the Hamburg brand’s founders but also the golden age of ferries, 110 years of German engineering and Europe’s summit.

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Make a birthday wish, celebrate life The exclusive limited edition timepieces have been launched to celebrate the 110th anniversary including one available in three versions. The selfwinding trio (two wristwatches and one pocket watch) embody Montblanc’s technical skills thanks mainly to Minerva’s experience.

In terms of design, the 4810 collection has a new dial which now bears the German brand’s logo on most models, has Roman numerals on its hour rim and a more streamlined case and lugs.

See the world You could sum up the Montblanc 4810

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Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Edition as “wearing the world on your wrist”.

The top of the dial bears a miniature painting of a continent beneath openwork hour and minute hands.

There are three versions of this 42mm white gold model for a different part of the globe: North America (36 pieces), Europe (36 pieces) and Asia (38 pieces).

The famous ExoTourbillon and its red seconds hand beat at the bottom of the dial surrounded by a Côtes de Genève pattern. The tourbillon and time functions are brought to life by the MB 29.24 calibre which provides a 50-hour power reserve.

Master time The flyback chronograph with a blue seconds hand and gold minute hand enables you to time, stop, reset and restart the watch using the pushers on the case side. Add to that a second time zone and you’ve got a must-have and exclusive piece of kit with only 1110 available: Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition. The engraving on its silver dial is reminiscent of the Hamburg brand’s white star, the shape formed by mont Blanc and its six valleys from above. The almost floral waves are edged by gold Roman numerals and hour markers as well as

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a highly accurate minute track. A group of rose gold luminescent hands in the centre track the hours and minutes whilst a blue skeleton hand displays the second time zone. The seconds counter appears at 6 o’ clock next to the date display.

Go globetrotting Montblanc has put passion into its first pocket watch, the limited edition Montblanc 4810 Orbis Terrarum Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition (110 available) designed for globetrotters. Its steel 53mm Lépine-style case has a ferry engraved on the back; it houses the >

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Montblanc 4810 Orbis Terrarum Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition

MB 29.20 calibre which provides a 42hour power reserve and brings to life the “simple” and world time functions with 24 hour time zones and a day/night indicator. The dial is layer upon layer of rotating sapphire discs which display the map of continents as seen from the North Pole in the centre, then day moving into night and vice versa plus a ring with the names of 24 cities to match different time zones. Home time is easy to set using a pusher between 5 and 6 to position the chosen city at 6 o’ clock opposite the red hand.

*Folk blues song written in 1930 and covered by artists such as Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and Bob Dylan

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atelier-zuppinger.ch

Crown Royal headgear or watch winder?

Discover the world of Fine Watchmaking at www.hautehorlogerie.org

Crown | The winding crown is a knurled or fluted button of various shapes, held between the thumb and forefinger and used to wind the watch. Some crowns incorporate a mobile pushbutton for operating a chronograph mechanism or to release the cover of a hunter case.

THE FOUNDATION’S PARTNERS | A. LANGE & SÖHNE | AUDEMARS PIGUET | BAUME & MERCIER | BOVET 1822 | BULGARI | CARTIER | CHANEL | CHOPARD CHRISTOPHE CLARET | DE BETHUNE | GIRARD-PERREGAUX | GREUBEL FORSEY | HERMÈS | IWC | JAEGER-LECOULTRE | LOUIS VUITTON | MB&F | MONTBLANC OFFICINE PANERAI | PARMIGIANI FLEURIER | PIAGET | RALPH LAUREN | RICHARD MILLE | ROGER DUBUIS | TAG HEUER | VACHERON CONSTANTIN | VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

Z e nit h

Elite wristwear

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By Sharmila Bertin

"

B eing in the elite isn’t dependent on role but on character, man’s spiritual value". You’d be forgiven for thinking French engineer and politician Raoul Dautry (18801951) was talking about watchmaking! An elite isn’t always the small select group of socially and financially well-off members you’d imagine but instead is a symbol of intrinsic intellectual wealth. When it comes to Zenith watches, Elite is a collection that embodies legendary mechanical value paired with simple and innate beauty.

The heart of an athlete The Elite is first and foremost a super-slim mechanical selfwinding calibre (3.92mm thick) popular for its performance.

The Le Locle brand designed it in 1991, unveiled it in 1994 and updated it in 2015. Its power reserve has doubled from 50 to 100 hours; its diameter has increased; its seconds, originally in a counter at 9, are centralised like the hours and minutes.

track in the heart of the slightly domed dial.

The 42mm steel version was unveiled in 2015 and the Elite 6150 now comes in rose gold.

A dynamic duo When two icons come together, they can’t help but create magic! This self-winding chronograph comes in a rose gold or steel case the same size as the Elite 6150 with rectangular pushers and is brought to life by the El Primero 4069 calibre which provides a 50-hour power reserve. The same hands and hour rim appear on the silver dial. The chronograph appears in the centre pushing the seconds into a counter at 9 o’ clock whilst the minute counter lies at 3 all with blue hands.

The perfect looks The star-logoed brand doesn’t do frills. It goes to the crux of the matter. Time and time alone appears on the silver dial.

Gold or rhodium-plated spear-shape hour and minute hands glide over hollowed markers interspersed by a slim minute

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Vox Fe mina

Baume & Mercier

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Mission "Trends 2016"

By Cécile Bernardini

W

omen’s watchmaking is exploding, just when the market is imploding. It’s a delicate situation in which each launch is weighed up with never-before-seen attention to detail.

Mission: interrogate watchmaking professionals to get the 2016 trends for the women’s market. So far, so good.

The complicated part is going to be untangling the marketing from the dreamy reality. Each brand is preaching to its parish and its vision is worryingly similar to products launched in Geneva or Basel!

However, Daniel Riedo, CEO of

Jaeger-LeCoultre, highlights a shared sentiment: “Women are looking for truly feminine watches and not men’s watches with a feminine twist.” The more pessimistic among us would say that a saturated men’s watch market is forcing brands to venture into women’s watches. Others would say that demand from women is on the rise… Whatever came first, the chicken or the egg, the result is the same: women’s watches are on the up.

Dream and technique Generally speaking, these women increasingly like to “see what’s under the hood.” But unlike men, women still

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need to be part of the brand’s spirit.

“That’s what we see on a daily basis in our shops,” says Timothée Malachard, Marketing Director at Richard Mille, a technical brand that wasn’t originally designed for women.

However, despite the increasing demand for good mechanics, a woman’s watch should still inspire dreams and soul. For example, Chaumet has been working on this aspect with a pop-up museum paired with its Paris shop.

Their clients buy into the design, legacy and prestige of the Vendôme.

Parallel universes The typical 2016 client could be hard

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Van Cleef & Arpels

to spot. There are those who buy a timepiece for what it is and those who buy it for its brand. The latter is buying into a universe first and foremost: jewellery (Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels), sporty (TAG Heuer, Breitling), classic (Baume & Mercier, Frédérique Constant). Hence the importance of storytelling for these brands.

So there will be two parallel universes.

Traditional watchmaking brands in the first and fashion brands in the second e.g. Michael Kors and Chanel. They will probably both try to infiltrate the other to steal their clients but they will always risk losing their true identity.

Breitling

Poiray

Sure values How does this duality go into a product?

Jean-Jacques Weber, watch retailer for over 30 years at Templus, says, "Speculation will make brands stay calm and draw on their iconic pieces".

Why? Because it’s faster and safer to capitalise on existing bases which have already proved themselves than it is to build an entire universe that would take around a decade.

The diamond watch with a feminine size and identity will take centre stage alongside iconic pieces. There probably won’t be much excitement this year but at least the first real foundations for women’s watches will be laid.

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Michael Kors

Int e r vIew

Christine Hutter, the Amazon of Glashütte

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By Tiffany Cartier-Millon

A

fter graduating with a Bachelor degree, Christine Hutter got a taste for mechanical devices.

She delved into rare 19th and 20th century pieces in master watchmaker Wihelm Glöggler’s Munich workshops.

Although the market was dominated by quartz at the time, the "mechanical renaissance" was already underway.

Christine Hutter’s journey took her to Wempe, Maurice Lacroix then A. Lange & Söhne in Glashütte…The desire to launch her own business was clear. Whilst she bought the rights to Moritz Grossmann with help from her family, her role as General Manager at Schindler SA enabled her to sharpen her vision with collectors and enthusiasts.

Grossmann Uhren GmbH was founded in Glashütte in 2008. Her concept is fuelled by her drive to make pieces

worthy of bearing the name Grossmann which had been dormant for 120 years.

Why revive such an old brand?

Creating a brand requires the genius of an engineer. I’m not one. I’m a watchmaker but I’m no manufacturer.

Aside from technical manufacturing, my idea was to bring a team of specialists together (industry creatives and consultants) who feel at home and contribute to the world of watchmaking.

Team spirit is part of Moritz Grossmann’s legacy. The watchmaker’s name is too important not to appear on the dial. Aside from reviving the brand’s technical expertise, the real challenge is bringing it into the present and giving it a new dimension.

Are there tangible sources of inspira-

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tion in the brand’s legacy e.g. plans or patents?

In 1866, Moritz Grossmann wrote an essay entitled “Manufacturing a simple but mechanically perfect watch ”. That’s our credo, for manufacturing and designing the movement as well as the dial and case. The whole thing should strike the perfect balance between function and beauty. We don’t want to copy existing plans for our projects but instead translate or interpret a philosophy into products. We adapt the principles to the demands of a piece today. For example, the index adjuster, an age-old function unique to Grossmann whose build we’ve updated to suit a modern wristwatch. Our tourbillon also has unusual technical solutions.

The legacy had no patents but we now

gold, just like the case on our first piece.

have two for the functions (stop seconds mechanism on the Benu tourbillon with a thin and flexible human hair brush and the dual minute display) and two more for the design (our in-house balance wheel and tourbillon cage). Two patents protect the manual wind system with pusher and the balance wheel system.

What sets your brand apart?

Grossmann has always focused on making simple pieces with impeccable mechanisms: we are committed to that.

-Long-term value: our calibres are made coherently so a good watchmaker can easily repair them.

-Function: sensible and useful functions.

-Craftsmanship: each component has its place and we aim for the highest standard of added value and finish.

-Balance: the classic design of a timekeeping device is what makes it stylish.

Moritz Grossmann’s philosophy was to

take nothing at face value. The same spirit of ingenuity runs through our vision today and enables us to move into the 21st century.

Our alternative solutions include: -The new balance wheel pairing its outer rim’s rotational kinetic energy with the spring for better accuracy.

-The micrometer with lead nut enabling the index tail to be adjusted accurately in both directions.

-The manual wind with pusher avoiding hands being inadvertently moved when putting the crown back in place.

Why Egyptian mythology?

That’s actually a coincidence. There were lots of ideas but they often went back to the legend of the Phoenix. The story of the Egyptian Bennu bird (Benu in German) seemed more subtle and fitting. It is devoured by fire every night and leaves an egg so it can be reborn the following morning. Its feathers are rose

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How do you see your first few years?

What are your best and worst memories?

I think it’s best not to know what the future holds! Unfortunately there are no instructions for launching a watch brand. Despite the highs and lows, we’ve made good progress and our investors share our long-term vision.

I don’t have best or worst memories, just unforgettable ones. For example, the day our first movement took its first breath and started working; a crucial stage in development. The opening of the factory in 2013. At that exact moment, we showed that we were going to see things through. It changed how people saw us.

How does being a woman make a difference?

Half of the watchmaking labour force in Glashütte are women, undoubtedly because of the socialist era. Obviously, there is a difference. There aren’t many female CEOs and even fewer independent watch brand founders.

Slowly but surely, the ratio is improving and it will surely affect what type of watch women wear.

Personally, I see success as independent of gender. I’m a team player and the success of a leader isn’t always due to sole decisions. The success of a brand is down to the whole team.

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Mar ke t ing

66

SevenFriday: that Friday feeling

By Tiffany Cartier-Millon

S

evenFriday, who want “every day to be a Friday,” is defying the laws of classic watchmaking with no ad campaigns, "Swiss Made" approvals or complications.

And it’s working for them.

Former watch distributor Daniel Nieder thought the industry was a bit straight-laced when it came to designing and selling pieces, considering certain margins that were disconnected from the reality of production costs and public expectations.

The opportunist decided to create a recognisable and affordable range of watches.

Despite the dials saying "Zurich", SevenFriday watches pair European design flair with efficient Japanese self-winding Miyota movements. The components come from all over the place and the cases are assembled in Hong Kong.

The design is the brand’s real added value with fresh takes on industrial codes and conspicuous mechanisms. The case finish is particularly detailed. Polishes and satin finishes

showcase a purposefully oversize 47mm case. The dial plays on depth as it’s sliced into several levels. Despite this tangle of well-polished details, the piece has no complications. It’s the double "Kiss-Cool" effect: the first P series and more recent V series catch the eye and draw attention to the wrist then they surprise you with their simplicity and price point around 1000 Swiss Francs. The brand isn’t pretending to make timekeeping devices but rather an affordable alternative for “mechanical” design fans.

Add to that its innovative sales concepts (a lounge in Abu Dhabi, a restaurant in Jakarta), heavy presence on social networks and word-of-mouth and you’ve got a recipe for success. SevenFriday thought they’d sell a thousand watches in 2013 but sold ten times as many. In 2014, production rose to 27,000 units and almost 40,000 in 2015!

Daniel Nieder says, "The better business is going, the harder you have to work. The challenge is to constantly improve

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service, presentation and quality. More and more people are involved and people’s expectations are growing".

This sort of progress requires speed and versatility. As it happens, production capacity has expanded without too much trouble thanks to its fast Asian suppliers. The brand employs ten people in Zurich and four in Hong Kong devoted to quality.

They also work with their Swiss partner Studio Divine on the design.

The brand’s success also proves the power of social networks…

Visionary SevenFriday were there before everyone else. The brand now has hundreds of thousands of followers, especially on Facebook and Instagram. The founder says: "We were no specialists but the best way to learn is to do it".

SevenFriday has lots of tricks up its sleeve to stop its growth overtaking it. There’s now a chip in each watch to provide NFC technology (near field communication). It authenticates pieces to combat the many fakes, automate logistical stock tracking for retailers and get a direct communication channel with end clients who sign up. They’ve got an eye on every link in the chain. Smart isn’t it?

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Int e r vIew

Carole Forestier-Kasapi: "The virtual lab is the next revolution in watchmaking" 68

By Fabrice Eschmann

A

s Head of Movement Design at Cartier, Carole ForestierKasapi is one of few women to work at the top of watchmaking. The male-dominated microcosm may have been ready to pull the rug from under her feet at the start of her career but it now rolls out the red carpet for her: she won the “Best Watchmaker Prize” at the 2012 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) and is renowned for her talent in designing unusual movements. The Watches Magazine met her at the SIHH. What inspired you to work in watchmaking?

I come from a family of watchmakers: my dad, mum, brother…I’ve always been surrounded by it! You could say that I played with watches in my cot.

Where was home?

Paris. My parents restored old watches.

I spent my time in the family workshop.

But I wasn’t so interested in restoration.

I was more curious about how things worked. I was 7 or 8 at the time.

It sounds like a fairytale…

Yes it’s a bit of a cliché but it’s true!

Where did you study?

My parents sent me to Switzerland to Chaux-de-Fonds. It’s not easy moving to another country on your own at 15.

But my father wanted me to start from scratch. So I took a watchmaking CFC course…

To return to Paris?

No! I’ve barely been back. I started working at an independent design firm but all I was doing was delivering file-based projects. It was frustrating.

I wanted a real watch company so I went to Renaud & Papi. The company didn’t belong to Audemars Piguet at the time. I became a developer, head of the technical department. I spent more time with Giulio Papi than with my husband…

How long did you stay for?

After a short time at Ulysse Nardin, I joined Richemont in 1999. The group was still called Vendôme. I was hired

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to handle different brands. When the decision was made to structure the brands vertically, I chose Cartier.

You’re now behind the brand’s main mechanical developments. Where does your drive and talent for design come from?

I need to do things with my hands.

I wasn’t lying when I told you I’m extremely curious about things! The last thing I dismantled was my hoover.

I really wanted to know how the mechanism works to rewind the cable.

My husband thought I’d lost it. It’s just being curious!

Do you have total freedom at Cartier?

There are several areas: first there are the brand’s basic movements for which I have to follow a brief that I’m given. We strive for durability, chronometry, the most important thing is to have calibres which “come out well” as we say. For example, the 1904 MC has been around for 40 years!

How about complications?

>

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70 I have total freedom, I suggest what I want! That doesn’t mean I always get the go ahead. But I have massive leeway. Especially since Cartier excels in other flourishing sectors such as fine jewellery and crafts. When these sectors are brought together, the possibilities are endless.

Your technical solutions are always highly innovative, such as the Rotonde Astrocalendaire in 2014 and this year’s Astromystérieux (see page 52). What goes on behind the scenes? Are the designs always a success?

Of course not! We don’t always find the solution the first time round!

There’s doubt, we go back over our tracks. However, nowadays most of the development can be done by simulation.

I believe the fully virtual lab is the next revolution in watchmaking. We could soon be able to do away with prototypes which are used for testing decisions made virtually in reality.

If this new approach makes sense, there’s no point fighting it. Look at the car industry: cars were fitted with carburettors that needed changing every 10 or 20,000km until the 70s.

Now they all have an injection system.

It’s like a watch being guaranteed for 30 years! Watchmaking needs to progress in that direction.

Fine watches too?

It has everything to gain! And it doesn’t clash: a silicon escapement paired with a hand-engraved dial is still a luxury product. It even makes new things possible and evolves the product. If it benefits the client, watchmaking needs to turn the corner.

Don’t these future-forward procedures go against the tradition and expertise that brands strive to showcase?

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Int e r vIew

Alain Marhic, the dandy made in France

By Sharmila Bertin

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T

he sun was shining when we headed to the Palais Royal’s grounds in the heart of Paris to meet Alain Marhic. The founder of French brand March LA.B met us in his new boutique, a beautifully decorated emerald green setting oozing the style and simplicity his watches are famous for.

What did you work as before launching March LA.B? Originally I was a sailing instructor.

I had an entrepreneurial spirit when I was young and that led me to open a sailing club in Brittany followed by a

second one when I was 25. I was soon headhunted by Quicksilver to manage a shop in Nantes, the second in Europe, when the brand had only just established itself on the continent. They soon asked me to move to the South West, in Biarritz, which I obviously agreed to right away! ( laughs). I went from the shop to the headquarters where I moved up the ladder: sales then sales director then team leader. I moonlighted as head of products.

What did being head of products involve?

To start off with I dealt with wetsuits

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which are very technical and complicated to make. I began travelling all over the world, mainly in China and America. Then we started a sunglasses department from scratch with Quicksilver. The brand already had a strong presence, unlike what came next with March LA.B. In terms of sunglasses, I had to learn everything about product development from the techniques involved in the lenses to the shades before building the sales networks and opening the first doors.

It was a real success. We managed to make twenty million in turnover from nothing. >

But you didn’t stop there did you?

Actually, I was given another department to handle: watches. That’s how I came to learn about “the watch” and watchmaking. I had a bit of an idea but I had to learn to make sporty watches, surf watches, ocean watches, plastic watches, digital watches and inexpensive watches made in China where I spent a lot of time, both for watches and sunglasses. That meant I learnt a lot about development, production and sourcing.

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What is it that made you want to focus on watchmaking so much that you created your own watch brand?

I started going to Switzerland and Baselworld for Quicksilver. Once, twice, three, four times…every time I left the fair saying to myself, “it’s amazing, in the watch world, there are incredible pieces of luxury watches as well as traditional and sporty watches…but there’s nothing affordable between the two.” I saw it as a gap in the watch market. Fashion brands were trying to do something but their products were very expensive. In my opinion, what was missing was a stylish product that was more affordable and fashionable. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Tell us about when you met Jérôme

Mage, creative director and co-founder of March LA.B One day Quicksilver tasked me with finding a designer for a project. I spotted products, sunglasses, in a store that I liked and I wanted to meet the designer who lived in Los Angeles, a city I visited regularly because that’s where Quicksilver’s HQ is. That’s how I met Jérôme.

How did your first collaboration go?

I asked Jérôme to collaborate on this Quicksilver project, a range of watches.

We wanted to design an instantly recognisable statement product as everything I’d done before had been pretty mainstream and this time I wanted something that really rocked.

But during the time it took to develop the product (18-24 months), the brand had changed and had become even more mass market. That meant our product was too off the wall and it didn’t work out. But I realised that my hopes and dreams had changed, that I wanted to found a brand with Jérôme making real products. I drew up a business plan, left Quicksilver in 2009 after 12 amazing years and moved to Los Angeles.

How did March LA.B come to be?

A third partner and long-term friend, Joseph Chatel, helped me fund the

project which I’d been working on alone for 18 months at home. I was doing return trips to Switzerland to build the brand that we launched on the market in late 2010 with Swiss Made products. Our assembler and case-maker was based in Bienne and our movements were made

by ETA. The watches looked great and clients liked them…but they were at the wrong price point, in the worst market segment at 2000-3000 EUR which is highly competitive and you’re doing battle with the big boys.

So you had to go back to the drawing board...

We soon realised it wasn’t right and asked ourselves the right questions. We reviewed the price point and production, put a Japanese movement [editor’s note: Miyota ] into our watches, assembled them in France and stayed true to the same image, product and signature style. We got recognition for filling a gap in the watch market and bringing a style that is now recognisable as March LA.B’s style. That was no mean feat but now we had to sell the product. We found our clients by dropping our prices.

Why did you set up your headquarters in Paris?

I started out working in Biarritz but...it was a dream. Biarritz is a great city to live in but not to work in watchmaking.

I wanted to set up an HQ and shop in Paris. The shop [Editor’s note: 50 rue Charlot, 3rd arrondissement] was meant to be a lab, somewhere to meet our clients, but it soon turned into a source of profit. We realised something was happening here: we were a small littleknown brand, we had pretty “sexy” prices and our products were selling well.

Was being in direct contact with your clients essential for you?

When you build a brand, what’s strange is that you never meet the end client. I felt that with Quicksilver when I started out in the shop before joining HQ. At the HQ, you make products for a client that you imagine without really knowing them. You don’t learn enough from feedback from reps who tell you “clients

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like this or want that”. Everyone’s nice and cosy in the offices, nobody’s on the road or in the field, nobody really knows who they’re working for…when it comes down to it, you get lost because you picture a client in a certain way but they’re actually changing.

So you never lose sight of your clients with the March LA.B boutique A small team (five in total) gives us direct contact with the client and a clear vision of our ideas. If you spend two hours emailing, packaging orders and tidying stock every day, it’s because there’s a client. Everything you do is to sell a watch to a client. The client can tell you the watch is too expensive, no good or that they love it and love what you do in a shop. It did me the world of good opening a boutique and being there on a regular basis to meet clients.

It means clients can get to know us better and we can get to know them better. As a creative, it gives me a boost.

What I like best nowadays is seeing people with shiny eyes who want to buy a watch because they think it looks great and they’re proud to wear it.

Why did you want to open a second shop in Paris?

When I left our shop on Rue Charlot one Saturday night and rode through Paris on my scooter, I realised just how many people there were in the city streets and how we had to bring ourselves to the attention of people who don’t know us yet. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the funds for PR and ad campaigns but I hope that will come soon. For now, we have to find another way around it.

We had to open a boutique in a more touristy and less “Parisian” area so that’s why we came to the Palais Royal grounds.

How is March LA.B doing at the moment?

March LA.B has really taken off despite it still being a slightly “niche” brand because of its 70s style products. Our universe is very simple and genuine and that’s what makes our brand stand out. What you see here all around you is what we have in our hearts. It’s not a

marketing smokescreen. Our style isn’t marketed. We design watches we want to wear. The furniture in our shops is the same type of furniture I have at home.

Our brand universe encapsulates what we love, sophisticated and understated 60s and 70s products, our own sense of design. It’s easy because it’s genuine and natural. We didn’t have to create a universe or a great story to go with our products, we just had to delve into ourselves.

How would you define March LA.B’s style?

As I said, we’re an unusual brand and we create our own pitch. It’s absolutely not formatted and that’s exactly what makes it interesting. We played on the spirit of Los Angeles and Biarritz. Biarritz is a glamorous city packed with history and we’re proud to be French. Los Angeles is the coolest city in the world even if it takes time to realise it. People who live there have a seriously laidback lifestyle and that really inspired us. So we put French style into a subtle modern take on Californian cool to create a product whose design is all about understatement.

What is your central theme in terms of design?

When we founded March LA.B, Jérôme and I made a pact to only make products that we’d want to wear. Otherwise we make a consensus and go in a different direction to do something because it’s working at the moment and we end up losing sight of things. So we have to be uncompromising and tyrannical with ourselves. Tyrannical isn’t a nice word but we wanted to be tyrannical with our sense of perfection, our work and the central theme of our brand. We must always be on point and confident when we say "March LA.B, that’s how it is" and hope that clients come on board. Gradually, they are doing.

Jérôme and I love our products and want to make many more beautiful pieces.

Our goal is to design pieces that inspire emotion. Because emotion is the root of all things. It’s amazing to see all these people wearing our watches with pride now. © Mickael Gautier

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wat c hE S nEwS

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PANERAI

ORIS

Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio (PAM 00662)

Carl Brashear Limited Edition

By Sharmila Bertin

"

By Sharmila Bertin

It's not a sin to get knocked down, it's a sin to stay down".

The words of Afro-American navy diver Carl Brashear (1931-2006) are engraved on the back of the Oris model bearing his name: Carl Brashear Limited Edition. Inspired by 1950s diving suits, the 42mm case, rotating bezel with a minute track and screwdown crown are coated in bronze.

It’s water-resistant to depths of 100m and its self-winding movement fuels the time and date functions. The domed blue dial features rose gold hour markers dotting the honey-hued minute track beneath gold baton-shape hour, minute and seconds hands. Everything’s coated in Super-LumiNova® so the time glows in the dark. The white-on-black date display lies at 6 o’ clock.

T

he Switzerland-based Italian brand Panerai is expanding its vintage collection with the limited edition Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio (1000 available).

Its milk chocolate dial is super smooth and so different to the pitch black on most Panerai watches. It has the same hue as vintage dials which were discoloured from black to brown by radium-based powder, used to make them luminescent.

The design of the two central hour and minute hands is reminiscent of the brand’s first pieces. They glide over an hour rim featuring curvy Arabic numerals and markers all rimmed by Super-LumiNova® and shielded by Plexiglas®.

The timepiece comes with an extra glass. The time functions are fuelled by the manual wind P.3000 calibre which provides a 72-hour power reserve.

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BAUME & MERCIER

H. MOSER & CIE

Capeland Shelby® Cobra 1963

Swiss Alp Watch

By Sharmila Bertin

W

By Sharmila Bertin

ith the smartwatch invasion upon us, there are those who have hidden their heads in the sand, those who have hopped on the technological bandwagon to design hybrid models at breakneck speed to turn an easy profit, and there are those who have rolled up their sleeves, stayed true to their roots and taken a stand for traditional mechanical watchmaking. Turning the trend on its head, Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, has unveiled a timepiece whose design is inspired by a smartwatch but its 100% Swiss core has a mechanical heart: Swiss Alp Watch.

The special edition (50 available) has a white gold case (38.2x44mm) enclosing a manual wind HMC324 calibre which provides a 4-day power reserve (96 hours). The movement brings to life key time functions: the hours and minutes adorn the centre of the signature smoky dial as leaf-shape hands glide over the applied indices and the seconds appear in a counter at 6.

H

ow can you put the racy spirit of a legendary car like the Cobra CSX2128 into a watch dial? Baume & Mercier, partner to Shelby® since 2015, set itself this very challenge: the Capeland Shelby® Cobra 1963 in tribute to the 12 Hours of Sebring race in 1963. The limited edition (1963 available, of course!) dial bears the racing car’s colours: sunburst satin-finish black with two horizontal strips at the base of the dial all shot through with yellow (chronograph seconds hand tip, minute and hour counter hands, tachymeter scale on chapter ring). Two luminescent hands in the centre glide over Breguet Arabic hour numerals and a minute track.

The seconds tick down in a counter at 9 and the date stands at 4.30. The self-winding calibre in the 44mm steel case fuels the watch’s functions.

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IWC

GREUBEL FORSEY

Big Pilot's Watch

Signature 1

By Dan Diaconu

T

By Sharmila Bertin

he tourbillon is the watch muse for Greubel Forsey.

Every single one of the timepieces made by the brand has had one, two or even four of this high precision mechanism. This year though, the duo are mixing things up.

The Signature collection is taking the brand up a notch. The idea is that a guest watchmaker designs a timepiece. They may have free reign in their technical decisions but the piece must adhere to precise specifications regarding the quality of the technique and design that Greubel Forsey is known for. Didier Cretin, behind the Double Tourbillon Technique in 2009, is the first watchmaker to set out on the adventure. The longterm collaborator brings us the Signature 1 with a manual wind movement inside the smallest case to be made by the brand at 41.4mm. There’s no complication, just an off-centre hour and minute display, subtle small seconds and balance wheel. Less is more.

O

ver 75 years ago in 1940, IWC unveiled its large 52 T.S.C calibre observer’s watch (Tirette Seconde Centrale) designed for the military. The design and sheer size of the piece inspired the Schaffhausen brand to produce two versions of the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch. The pair come in a 55 or 48mm sandblasted titanium case fuelled by a manual wind movement: the XXL model has a 98300 calibre and the supercharged 59215 calibre provides a 192hour power reserve on the “small” version. The black dial on this limited edition (1000 available) features markers (minute track, Arabic hour numerals, triangular marker at 12) in beige Super-LumiNova®. Unlike its big brother, it also features the date and power reserve indicator in addition to the hours and minutes in the centre tracked by blue propeller-shaped hands and the small seconds at 6.

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OMEGA

TAG HEUER

Speedmaster Moonphase Master Chronometer

Monaco Chronograph Calibre 11

By Sharmila Bertin

H

By Sharmila Bertin

euer unveiled a chronograph with an unusual square watertight case in 1969 named Monaco in tribute to the Grand Prix. The iconic Monaco chronograph has since become a signature in TAG Heuer’s product range, comes in a variety of designs (mainly in terms of functions and dial colour), and is back on a high with a new twist on the original model. Its 39x39mm steel case houses the 11 calibre, a self-winding movement providing a 40-hour power reserve, time, date and chronograph functions. The petrol blue dial features the signature edgy luminescent hands whilst the minute track glows red and white. The vibrant hue appears on both hands and the central seconds hand whilst the small seconds (at 3), chronograph minutes counter (at 9) and date display (at 6) are adorned in black and white.

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he METAS certification by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, founded in 2015 and approved after a battery of thorough tests, is gradually being rolled out to the Omega watch collections. This time it’s the Speedmaster collection’s turn with the Speedmaster Moonphase Master Chronometer. The 44.25mm steel case features a blue ceramic bezel and tachymeter. The self-winding 9904 calibre fuels a 60-hour power reserve, time functions, chronograph, calendar and moon phase. The hours and minutes lie in the centre of the brushed and sunburst blue dial whilst the small seconds and date with hand lie at 9. The chronograph hours and minutes appear in a counter at 3 and a stunning moon phase takes over the bottom of the dial with its 0-29.5 day scale.

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78

ROGER DUBUIS

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

Blossom Velvet Pink

Complications Poétiques Lady ArpelsTM Ronde des Papillons TM

By Sharmila Bertin

B

By Sharmila Bertin

utterflies with bright wings dance among the clouds in an aerial ballet beneath the kindly gaze of a swallow, the symbol of good luck and happiness. The butterfly embodies reincarnation and immortality. Van Cleef & Arpels is continuing to write its love letter with the Lady ArpelsTM Ronde des Papillons. Shimmering pearl grey clouds float on different levels in a hand-painted blue mother-of-pearl sky.

They conceal three multicolour butterflies in rosy white, light orange and red and yellow which, one by one, burst from the clouds to track the minutes. The retrograde hours are depicted by the flight of a white gold engraved swallow painted in black, blue and white. Press the pusher at 8 o’ clock on the white gold 38mm case and, brought to life by the self-winding movement which also provides a 42-hour power reserve, the butterflies flutter from the clouds to dance in the sparkling sky.

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fter focusing on masculine, or rather, very masculine collections, Genevan brand Roger Dubuis has finally turned its attention to ladies! 2016 is set to be an allwoman year with a girl power message fuelled by the Velvet collection and namely the limited edition Blossom Velvet Pink (88 available). Six glittering flowers bloom on the motherof-pearl dial whose diamond cores are surrounded by pink Grand Feu enamel petals and red and purple leaves. Slim rose gold filaments bring them together to form a delicate floral web. The centre of the dial features a barrel shape paved in 48 diamonds with two gold dauphine-shape hour and minute hands. The self-winding 821 calibre brings the time functions and 48-hour power reserve to life whilst 86 diamonds sparkle on the 36mm rose gold case’s bezel and lugs.

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HARRY WINSTON

BOUCHERON

Premier Moon Phase 36mm

Epure Tourbillon Ama

By Sharmila Bertin

B

By Sharmila Bertin

oucheron's Epure d'Art collection features rich examples of creativity, allowing the brand to express itself artistically and demonstrate its artisan prowess on watch dials, exalting nature – flora and fauna – through depictions of ivy leaves or beetles, to name just a couple. Epure Tourbillon Ama pays homage to the goldfish, the fan tail variety with its fancy long, quadruple caudal fin. Its body, sculpted in white gold and set with round and baguette diamonds, seems to glide between blue-hued mother-of-pearl waves and the bubbles formed by different sized diamonds. In the middle of these little sculpted waves, worked at different heights, are the silver hour and minute hands, while a tourbillon at 6 o'clock marks the seconds. The manual wind mechanism is concealed in the diamond-set 43mm white gold case.

I

n dazzling white reminiscent of winter’s softer side, the latest rose gold watch by Harry Winston from The Premier CollectionTM glitters with 105 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling approximately 2.58 carats. The Premier Moon Phase’s 36mm case has a closed back housing the HW5201 calibre, a quartz movement that brings to life the hours, minutes, date display and moon phase. The slightly openwork moon phase lies in the heart of the shimmering translucent dial and its blue mother-of-pearl disc is elevated by a golden moon and 18 diamonds. Two spear-shape hour and minute hands burst from the heart of the opalescent dial and glide around 12 diamond hour markers and minute track gleaming with gold beads. A bevelled rose gold display at the bottom of the dial showcases the black-on-white date at 6.

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BVLGARI

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

Serpenti Incanti

Saxonia Moon Phase

By Dan Diaconu

T

By Sharmila Bertin

here’s been a moon phase on the Saxonia watch by A. Lange & Söhne since 1994. This year, the German brand is adding a big date to the collection’s starry display. It’s a first! As the Saxony watchmaker’s 16th movement to feature the moon phase, the self-winding L086.5 calibre takes centre stage for its precision and finish. Once it’s been set properly, the display will only differ from the actual position of the Moon by one day every 122.6 years if the watch works non-stop thus providing a 99.998% accurate reproduction of the lunar cycles.

A comfortable 70-hour power reserve allows the wearer to gaze at the disc as it rotates its 852 stars and the gold hands gliding over the solid silver dial. The performance takes place in a 40mm white or rose gold case. The watch also has a stop seconds mechanism for accurate time-setting.

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symbol of physical strength and intelligence, the snake wraps its body around the wrist to showcase Bvlgari’s flair for watch and jewellery design. The Serpenti Incanti – enchanted snake – coils around a dial glittering with 116 brilliant-cut diamonds on a 30mm gem-set white or rose gold case. The quartz movement brings to life two blue spearshape hands that track the hours and minutes on the dial. The rose gold model has baguette-cut magenta rubellites to soothe the diamonds glare around the dial and on the serpent’s head.

The white gold model dazzles with pure diamonds: 112 stones capture the light on this piece. Both watches have chocolate or blue satin straps with a gem-set gold pin buckle. Two models with diamond straps finish the collection.

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THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016

MARCH 17 – 24, 2016 BASEL – SWITZERLAND

THE

Baselworld is universally recognized as the premier

U N M ISSA BL E

jewellery industry. What makes it unmissable is the

T R E N DSET T I NG

brands choose Baselworld as the venue to unveil their

event and trendsetting show for the global watch and

SHOW

fact that 1,500 of the world’s best and most reputed latest innovations and creations thereby attracting some 150,000 attendees from every corner of the earth. Only in Baselworld will you find all the key players representing every sector from watchmakers to jewellers, from diamonds, pearls and gemstones dealers through to all the relevant suppliers.

BUSI N ESS A N D M E DI A E F F E CTS R E V E R BE R AT E A ROU N D T H E GLOBE

W H ER E EMOT IONS A R E E VOK E D A N D DR E A MS COM E A L I V E

Baselworld becomes the focal point of the whole world for eight days a year, as this is where the tone for an entire industry is determined, and trends defined. Within the 141,000 m 2 hallowed halls of Baselworld and amidst the fabulous pavilions of the most innovative and successful global brands, wonders are just waiting to be discovered.

Beyond the amazement and excitement lies a bountiful world of business opportunities. The most influential brand CEOs, retailers and press representatives unite under one roof to create this singular setting. More than 4,300 journalists attending and disseminating real time show news to every corner of the planet, help propagate these trends around the world.

As the one and only show where the watch and jewellery industry first presents its innovations and new collections to the market, Baselworld is and remains the most unique annual event.

Don’t miss this window of opportunity to witness the spectacular collection of luxury goods, brands and lifestyle. We invite you to dive into this wonderland and be a part of the most important trendsetting show in the world.

baselworld.com

BASELWORLD.COM

The one unmissable trendsetting show for the entire watch and jewellery industry, where all key players unite to unveil their latest creations and innovations.

Be a part of this premier event and experience passion, precision and perfection in action.

MARCH 17 – 24, 2016

Breguet, the innovator.

Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077

The Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 perpetuates the creative heritage of Breguet by interpreting it in a contemporary and innovative way. It is comprised of two entirely independent gear trains. The first, set to a frequency of 5 Hz to enhance precision measurement, is devoted to the chronograph, while the second, operating at 3 Hz, is dedicated to the hours and minutes. History is still being written...

B A L H A R B O U R B E I J I N G C A N N E S C H E N G D U D U B A I E K AT E R I N B U R G G E N E VA G S TA A D H O N G K O N G K U A L A L U M P U R L A S V E G A S L O N D O N L O S A N G E L E S M A C A O M I L A N M O S C O W N E W Y O R K N I N G B O PA R I S S E O U L S H A N G H A I S I N G A P O R E TA I P E I T O K Y O V I E N N A Z U R I C H – W W W. B R E G U E T. C O M