Europa Star Europe 4.12 Aug./September

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MECHANICAL WONDERS

EUROPE EDITION All Europe Central & Eastern Europe, Russia

N° 314 4 /2012 Aug. / Sept.

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THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE

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CH F 1 2 / € 1 0 / U S $ 1 2

Alternative solutions and innovations

The price of a tourbillon • US Market Focus

In 1839 Vacheron Constantin created several machines, among them the famous pantograph, a mechanical device which meant that for the first time in history principal watchmaking components could be reproduced with total precision, raising the quality of its timepieces once again.

This invention carried the brand into the future and would revolutionise Swiss watchmaking.

Faithful to the history for which it is renowned, Vacheron Constantin undertakes to maintain, repair and restore all watches it has produced since its foundation: a sign of excellence and confidence which still today gives the manufacture its reputation.

Patrimony Contemporaine Perpetual Calendar Hallmark of Geneva, pink-gold case, ultra-slim mechanical movement with automatic winding, calibre 1120 QP, moon phases.

Reference: 43175/000R -9687

6 EDITORIAL europa star

The watchmaking seismograph R Pierre M. Maillard Editor-in-Chief These days, a strange ambiance reigns in the Swiss watch industry. Following its spectacular and rapid recovery after the 2009 post-crisis dive, it again spurted upwards. Export figures shot through the roof and brands are investing heavily in their production capabilities. Everywhere we are seeing new buildings under construction and extension projects, while others are redeploying and restructuring. At the same time, groups and large brands have been frenetically buying up subcontractors. In this sector it’s still hunting season, even if the prey is becoming more and more scarce.

But behind these voracious appetites and major manoeuvring, we can feel the weight of muted fear… no, perhaps this is too strong, let’s say it is more like a palpable anxiety. There seems to be a small pause now in growth and already the bean counters are beginning to panic. What if China really is slowing down? What if Europe is unable to lift itself out of its crisis?

What if the euro explodes? And, what if protectionism once again becomes the norm?

These questions, you might well say, don’t just relate to the watch market, which is a small drop of water in the global economic ocean. Yet, the watch industry is particular because it is as sensitive as a seismograph to general economic tremors. This is even more so since paradoxically, this art and industry of time clearly does not have much memory and often acts only with a view of the short term. China is opening up, let’s fill up the drawers as quickly as possible, cram as many products into

this country-continent as we can, saturate the windows, occupy even the smallest space… It has been said, however (and our correspondent in Shanghai confirms this), that many of the proud flagship stores, where you can still smell the fresh paint on the walls, are deserted most of the time.

Are the staggering export figures for China (up 79 per cent between May 2010 and May 2012) nothing more than the sell-in, or at least in large part the sell-in? Doubt is beginning to creep in and is now contributing to this “strange ambiance” that we are speaking about.

A seismograph of seismographs, the suppliers and various related branches of the watch industry all say that people are once again being very cautious about ordering, some even delaying by several months. Another clue is that, besides a few stars in the spotlights, the independents are finding it more difficult than ever. Faced with the great power of the large groups, they tinker with their destiny the best they

can; they slide their feet into any door that cracks open; they try to carefully thread their way through the mesh of the nets that are closing dangerously around them; they repeat like a sacred mantra that the pressure of the groups will open new opportunities for them.

Yet, in this midst of this strange ambiance, innovations continue to flourish and alternatives are reaching maturity, as we show on the pages of this special issue dedicated to mechanical watches. Watchmaking is indeed as sensitive as a seismograph—it rises, falls, and rises again faster than the others. It moves back and forth to the rhythm of the world. Its history corresponds to ours.

MIKROTOURBILLON central hand component

by TAG Heuer

8 CONTENTS europa star

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THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE

N° 314 4/2012 AUG./SEPT.

CONNECTING ICONIC

6

EDITORIAL The watchmaking seismograph

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COVER STORY Jaeger-LeCoultre – The Duomètre Sphérotourbillon

18 22

INTERVIEWS Ulysse Nardin, an exemplary transition Louis Vuitton, a voyage to watchmaking credibility

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CONCEPTS How TAG Heuer is slowly distancing itself from Huygens

33 34 36 40 43 45

MECHANICAL ALTERNATIVES Introduction – alternative solutions Optimo, a new alternative source for assortments Technotime: double barrels, tourbillons and balance springs Citizen acquires Manufacture La Joux-Perret Centagora, a new type of watchmaking “coach” The universal additional plate from AJS

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PRICE LADDER The price of a tourbillon

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CERTIFICATION Putting the seal on quality

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GALLERY Mechanical marvels

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CASE STUDY Louis Erard – Quartz goes to the aid of the mechanical watch

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USA MARKET FOCUS Market focus Distributor profile: One-on-one with Maurice Goldberger

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WORLDWATCHWEB® The online demand for luxury watches in the United States

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LETTER FROM CHINA “We call Eterna ‘Sleeping Beauty’”

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EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

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LAKIN@LARGE The art of subliminal advertising

BRANDS TO THEIR CLIENTELE ONLINE

DIGITAL-LUXURY.COM WORLDWATCHREPORT.COM media partner

WEB EXCLUSIVE Concept watch: Cartier IDTWO

DUOMÈTRE À SPHÉROTOURBILLON

by Jaeger-LeCoultre 18-carat pink gold, 42mm timepiece equipped with the manually-wound JaegerLeCoultre Calibre 382 with 50hour power reserve. Inclined tourbillon carriage in grade 5 titanium revolving around two axes. Displays hours, minutes, small seconds, date, 24-hour reference time and separate power reserves for the time display and the movement.

Sapphire crystals front and back. Hand-sewn crocodile leather strap.

Jaeger-LeCoultre SA La Golisse 8 CH 1347 Le Sentier Switzerland Tel.: +41 21 845 02 02 Fax: +41 21 845 05 50 www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

Europa Star HBM SA 25 Route des Acacias P.O. Box 1355 CH-1211 Geneva 26 Switzerland Tel +41 (0)22 307 78 37 Fax +41 (0)22 300 37 48 www.europastar.com contact@europastar.com © 2012 EUROPA STAR Audited REMP 2011 The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily Europa Star.

Tambour In Black automatic chronograph LV 277 Manufactured in Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland Sold exclusively in Louis Vuitton stores and on louisvuitton.com.

12 COVER STORY europa star

The Duomètre Sphérotourbillon, the ultimate watch and an inaugural timepiece RPierre Maillard

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The last few years have seen a great increase in the research conducted on a variety of watchmaking topics, from the introduction of new regulation and escapement systems, to obtaining high frequencies, to combining several tourbillons together. Yet, among all these attempts, there is one that is quite different and particularly promising—the Dual-Wing concept. This revolutionary idea, born in 2007 at Jaeger-LeCoultre, proposes a completely original dual mechanical structure, one so unusual that Jérôme Lambert, CEO of JaegerLeCoultre, talks of a “real revolution and not a simple evolution, which adds a whole new chapter to the history of timekeeping”.

Beyond the very notable chronometric and functional improvements as well as the exclusive innovations that the Dual-Wing system

affords, it also permits the traditional complications to be revisited, in depth, by offering a new and unique stylistic expression that is immediately recognisable while still displaying grand watchmaking classicism.

So what exactly is the Dual-Wing, this concept that opens new technical and design avenues, such as those seen in the Duomètre collection?

One watch, two brains Metaphorically speaking, the Dual-Wing can be summed up in four words: one watch, two brains. In other words, two different mechanisms co-exist inside one and the same movement. They share the same regulating organ, but each has its own energy source. The main advantage of this new type of two-headed structure is that the energy consumption required by the complication does not impact the constant energy supply required for the precision and accuracy of the regulating organ.

This revolutionary co-existence can take on various architectural structures depending on the functionality of the piece.

This new radical design found its first application in the Duomètre à Chronographe watch that was introduced in 2007. In this unusual timepiece, the chronograph function shares one and the same regulation with the timekeeping function. But, in addition, each of these two functions has its own independent source of energy and its own dedicated gear train. As a result, the operation, starting or stopping of the chronograph do not interfere in any way with the time measurement and do not affect the chronometry of the hours, minutes, or seconds. This same independent dual-energy source also allows the chronograph complication to measure the jumping seconds to one sixth of a second.

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COVER STORY 13

Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 381, the dual concept of the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 382 offers a dedicated energy reserve to the regulating organ. This allows it to continue to function when the time is set at the stroke of the hour, and is carried out by a flyback return with instantaneous re-start.

The fact, however, that this concept applies here to a tourbillon regulator makes the Duomètre Sphérotourbillon watch de facto the only tourbillon timepiece in the world that is adjustable to the second. For a tourbillon, this is really saying a lot…

Spectacular multi-axis tourbillon

DUOMÈTRE À CHRONOGRAPHE

The second application of the Dual-Wing concept, although interpreted quite differently, is seen in the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire watch, introduced in 2009. In this piece, one of the two independent energy sources is directly dedicated to the regulating organ itself, while the other is used to display the functions of hours, minutes, seconds, date and moon phases for both hemispheres. Their synchronisation is assured by the mechanism of the jumping seconds hand that moves in jumps of one sixth of a second. In passing, we can say then that it is the only watch in the

DUOMÈTRE À QUANTIÈME LUNAIRE

world that can be corrected to a sixth of a second—and this without having to stop the beating of the regulating organ.

World’s first tourbillon adjustable to the second Presented this year, the new Duomètre Sphérotourbillon is based on another and totally original interpretation of the DualWing concept, which allows the Manufacture to introduce an original complication that can provide the highest level of precision. As in the case of the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire,

As its name implies, the Duomètre à Sphérotourbillon watch is governed by a spectacular multi-axis tourbillon. The first axis around which the tourbillon rotates is concentric with its carriage. The second vertical axis is inclined at a 20° angle in relation to the carriage axis.

The combination of these two axes drives the tourbillon through a movement comparable to that of a spinning top, which, while whirling around a vertical axis, simultaneously performs an inclined rotation. This double rotation is performed at different speeds: the rotation around the first axis takes 15 seconds, and that around the other axis 30 seconds.

These two movements are spectacularly combined to result in a complete 30-second rotation, which, thanks to this spinning-top

14 COVER STORY europa star

motion, compensates for the effects of gravity in various positions (contrary to the traditional tourbillon, which compensates only in the vertical position).At the heart of this three-dimensional device beats a balance-spring that is no longer flat, like traditional balance-springs, but instead cylindrical like those found in 18th century marine chronometers.

Above and beyond the stunning visual effect of this flying tourbillon mounted on a ballbearing mechanism, it represents a major breakthrough in terms of precision, following

on from that already achieved by the previous gyrotourbillon presented by the Manufacture in 2004.

Performance and elegance reconciled Moreover, the Duomètre Sphérotourbillon is not merely both accurate and spectacular.

After the years of excesses and extravagance seen in the watch industry, this model reconciles extreme performance with elegance thanks to its extremely classical, traditional horological

identity codes, the exquisite subtleness of its decoration, its modest size (14.1 mm thick including its cambered sapphire crystal, and 42 mm in diameter), its clever ergonomic design, and its instantly recognisable style.

There is indeed nothing random about this particular style. Dedicated to ensuring optimal readability, it is a direct expression of the dual movement driving it. At 3 o’clock, a crystalline grained dial with gold appliques shows the local hour and minutes (or “Travel Time”), as well as the date by means of an indicator mov-

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COVER STORY 15

Essentially, the line of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s grand Duomètre complications seeks to combine a strong visual appearance with a high-level performance in a classic-looking timepiece, one with a small size that evokes the most rigorous of traditional watchmaking codes. The goal is to offer connoisseurs the “ultimate watch”, so to speak, a watch that offers performance unlike any other, a watch that is easily wearable, a watch that is immediately recognisable, and one that is imbued with grand classicism.While its design is directly related to its technology, it offers a high level of readability and incomparable watchmaking purity. Endowed with absolute stylistic elegance, it remains nonetheless of the highest quality and discretion.

So, what’s next?

ing around its circumference. The small seconds display with flyback function appears at 6 o’clock, while a 24-hour dial at 12 o’clock indicates a second reference (or “Hometime”) time zone. Two power-reserve indications for the two barrels (45 hours) are discreetly shown at 1 and 5 o’clock. In addition to this zone dedicated to indications, the other dial zone is entirely devoted to the kinetic show performed by the sphérotourbillon, which majestically regulates the steady rate of the watch. All these features are accommodated within an extremely restrained and timelessly classic case in 18-carat pink gold or platinum (the latter in a 75-piece limited edition). Its use is stunningly simple: a single crown serves to wind the two barrels—clockwise for the functions and counter-clockwise for the tourbillon. When pulled out by one notch, it serves to adjust local time and the date, and by two notches

to set the reference time. A pusher at 2 o’clock resets the flyback small seconds hand.

An inaugural timepiece The Duomètre Sphérotourbillon watch is not only the latest milestone in the long tradition of inventions by the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre, but it is also the inaugural piece in a new generation of grand complications. Representing the latest expression of the Dual-Wing concept, it demonstrates that the construction of movements and complications can be radically different. Contrary to what we often hear—that everything has been done in mechanical watchmaking, so we should just be content to improve on the legacies of the past—it is now perfectly conceivable to dramatically reconsider the operation of the mechanical movement in order to obtain new performances and propose new grand complications with unique operations.

When asked about the future of the Duomètre collection and the possible future extensions of the Dual-Wing watch concept, the management at Jaeger-LeCoultre clearly did not want to divulge any information on the state of the brand’s research. Yet, we are told, it is only necessary to consider the existing traditional complications and functions, large or small—perpetual calendar, annual calendar, minute repeater, date, etc.—in order to see the immense potential of this technology.

The path that Jaeger-LeCoultre intends to follow over the years to come with the Duomètre family is to not only make the traditional functions and complications better in terms of precision and reliability, but also to give them a truly unique and more exclusive character— different, even amazing—as is evidenced in their haute horlogerie styling.

Last but not least, faithful to its policy of strictly measured and controlled prices, JaegerLeCoultre proposes the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire at around €28,000. The Duomètre à Chronographe sells for about €35,000 while the Duomètre Sphérotourbillon in pink gold carries a price tag of around €200,000. O For more information about Jaeger-LeCoultre click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

18 INTERVIEW europa star

Ulysse Nardin, an exemplary transition RPierre Maillard PATRIK HOFFMANN, FROM FINANCE TO WATCHMAKING

H

How can one follow the charismatic Rolf Schnyder, emblematic head of Ulysse Nardin, who passed away suddenly in April 2011?

How can one follow this visionary who had purchased the family enterprise in 1983, when no one had faith in the future of the mechanical watch, and who succeeded in taking the company to the pinnacle of Swiss watch brands?

These are some of the main questions that we at Europa Star had in mind when we went to meet Patrik Hoffmann, designated as CEO only two weeks after the death of Rolf Schnyder.

Europa Star: One year has gone by since the passing of Rolf Schnyder and we have the impression that Ulysse Nardin, whose image was so intimately linked to the personality of its owner, continues quite naturally to follow along its path. How has this forced transition been handled?

Patrik Hoffmann: There has obviously been a very strong personal image of the Ulysse

THE CALIBRE 118 Ulysse Nardin says it is “very proud” of its new in-house basic calibre, the Calibre 118. Designed from the beginning to be industrialised and produced in tens of thousands of units, it integrates many advances realised over the last few years by Ulysse Nardin, among them the patented DIAMonSIL escapement made of silicon covered in diamond and a patented inertia balance wheel with a silicon balance spring. With its robust architecture, this automatic movement has 60 hours of power reserve. For its launch, it will equip the Marine Chronometer Manufacture, which has a good-sized small seconds indicator, a date at 6 o’clock, and a “quick setting” system that allows the watch to be corrected in both directions. Its lovely and very classic design is especially showcased in the limited edition of rose gold (350 pieces), that features a dial of the purest enamel.

After his studies in finance, followed by marketing and business management in the United States, Patrik Hoffmann worked for the Oris brand from 1982 to 1994. From 1995 to 1999, he lived in Malaysia where he worked for the distributor Swiss Prestige. There, he met Rolf Schnyder who sent him to Florida in 1999 to set up Ulysse Nardin’s distribution in the United States through a subsidiary. Armed with this experience, Patrik Hoffmann then opened the Hong Kong market followed by the very important Russian market where he set up a branch office in 2004, which was a decisive step in the great success of the brand in this market. Since 2008, Rolf Schnyder wanted him to return to Switzerland but Patrik Hoffmann continued, until his nomination as CEO, to share his time between the USA and the company’s headquarters in Le Locle, where he now resides full time.

Nardin brand, crystallised around the man who had made it so successful. But Rolf had prepared everything in advance. Upon his death, everything was in place to make this transition the smoothest possible for an enterprise that employs more than 400 people. Rolf was not alone in running the company—far from it. The strength of Ulysse Nardin comes from a very close-knit management team, which already was in place around Rolf, and composed of Pierre Gygax, the so-called “Mr. Silicon”, who is now COO, Susanne Hurni, director of all communication, Lucas Humair, the head of operations in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Patrice Carrel, director of finance and logistics, and myself, named as CEO. There has been, therefore, no interruption in any domain, and we function a little

like the Swiss Federal Council, in an intelligent manner and in an excellent climate.

ES: In this collegial configuration, what then is your role as CEO? PH: My role is to have the most complete view possible of the company, the entire view. On a financial level, the brand is perfectly healthy: we belong to a family trust set up by Rolf Schnyder and thus owe nothing at all to the banks. All investments are done in-house. On the essential level of products and movements, the direction that was determined many years ago was, and remains, very clear. One of the last things that Rolf did, before his passing, was to present the entirely new in-house Calibre 118 at BaselWorld 2011. This was a major step for Ulysse Nardin.

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We had been working on it for ten years but the decision to actually construct it was taken four years ago because we needed our own basic “tractor” and it arrived at the right time.

ES: Will this Calibre 118 equip all of your watches?

PH: We produce around 25,000 watches per year. This year, 3,000 of the Calibre 118 models will be available, and next year, 8,000 to 10,000 will come on line. Our goal is to have about 80 per cent of our watches equipped with our own calibre within the next five years.

Yet, over the last twelve months, we have also taken other important steps.

ES: Such as?

PH: Still in the realm of movements, we purchased the Chronograph Movement 137 from Ebel, which will be introduced under the name of Calibre 150. In 1996, we launched a perpetual calendar whose base had been developed jointly with La Nouvelle Lémania and with Ebel, which then made a chronograph out of it.

By buying the rights, plans, and existing component parts of this calibre from Ebel, and hiring five people from its team, we thus created a synergy between these two movements issued from the same base, and therefore we now have a perpetual calendar chronograph.

The second important step was our acquisition of a share of “ochs und junior”, a company belonging to Ludwig Oechslin, which operates somewhat like a think tank. It will develop products based on our calibres, and we will have access to their innovations. But, as you know, Ludwig Oechslin is still at the head of the Musée International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds and is thus bound by certain limitations. At the end of his term, however, in 2014, he will work exclusively for Ulysse Nardin.

INTERVIEW 19

And finally, something, very important for us, is the acquisition of Donzé Cadrans, a specialist in high-end dials and enamel, which is one of our fundamental specialties.

ES: In this regard, contrary to other comparable brands, Ulysse Nardin does not have an iconic model, one that is immediately identifiable. Of course, there is the Freak, but that is a very particular watch, and there is also the enamel work…

THE FREAK

20 INTERVIEW europa star

HMS CAESAR CLASSICO CLOISONNÉ

PH: Yes, you are right. We have quite a large collection, which is both a blessing and a problem. It is a blessing because many of our clients own several Ulysse Nardin watches. In the United States, for example, we have noticed that more than 50 per cent of buyers already own one of our timepieces. But, it is also a problem because this makes production and marketing obviously more difficult.

Currently, we are significantly reducing the number of our references. Sometimes to cut old models is as important as to create new ones. In terms of design, we are also making

changes to our existing models. We are giving them a new, stronger, and more contemporary look, which is being well received. From now on, the client will purchase our watches, not only for their functions and mechanical excellence, but also for their “look.”

ES: From the point of view of distribution, what is your strategy? We know that times are becoming more difficult for the independents...

PH: We are very lucky in that we are perfectly balanced and can walk on all fours, if I might use this expression. Overall, our distribution is over four main areas that have a similar market share, or about 25 per cent each: the Americas, managed by a subsidiary; Russia and the neighbouring countries, managed by another subsidiary that employs 30 people; Asia, with a branch in Hong Kong and an office in Shanghai; and Europe, which is run

GENGHIS KHAN

by an office in Germany, and the Middle East, that we manage directly from Le Locle.

In all, this represents some 500 retailers, with whom we share very strong and trusting relationships with long-term perspectives. And, yes, we also have a network of 16 Ulysse Nardin boutiques, but we give priority to our retailer network. Because of the control policies by the large groups, new opportunities are also opening for the independents…

ES: And the Swiss market?

PH: It is true that we have somewhat ignored this market, but soon a surprise will be coming. In Europe, too, we are going to be doing new things, although, for the moment, I cannot say more about them… O For more information about Ulysse Nardin click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

22 INTERVIEW europa star

Louis Vuitton, a voyage to watchmaking credibility RLouis Vuitton’s Hamdi Chatti talks

recently met him to discuss the last ten years of Louis Vuitton watches.

with Pierre Maillard

Hamdi Chatti

Europa Star: One right after the other, Louis Vuitton has announced the acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps, an advanced constructor of movements, followed by that of Léman Cadrans, a high-end dial maker, and then the purchase and transformation of a large facility in the suburbs of Geneva. Is the Louis Vuitton watch division determined to become a real manufacture?

they travelled from one chateau to another, thus letting them always know the time. During that era, this was an important sign of power.

Perhaps, it is still the case?

Hamdi Chatti, director of the watches and jewellery division at Louis Vuitton, particularly appreciates this historic reference as it evokes the travel nature of the brand. Europa Star

Hamdi Chatti: I am not sure that the term is exactly right. I prefer to call it an artisanal manufacturer. Essentially, what we are aiming for is creative independence. Our plan is to unite, under one roof, between 2013 and 2014, the three main poles of our watch activity: the Ateliers Horlogers Louis Vuitton, which employs 50 people in La Chaux-de-Fonds; La Fabrique

I

It has been ten years now that the luxury leather goods brand, Louis Vuitton, has been active in the world of watchmaking. With its famous leather luggage, the brand’s name conjures up images of voyages and travel, and it is in this vein that its emblematic watch should bear the name of “Tambour”. Although the name might appear to be strange at first, it is not really. In the 15th century, “Tambour” was the name given to the very first portable clocks whose form evoked the shape of this percussion instrument. These first travel clocks were created to accompany various sovereigns as

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du Temps, the movement development unit; and Léman Cadrans. Up to now, we have directly mastered the beginning and the end of the process of watch manufacturing, in other words, on one side, we do the design, development, and prototyping while, on the other side, are the jewelling, regulation, encasing, and quality control. Bringing these alreadyacquired competencies under one roof will let us gradually master the métiers in between that we are still missing.

ES: Is this a question of watchmaking credibility?

HC: We want to become a real player in the high-end watch segment, and acquire not only full credibility, but also stake out a very precise territory in this domain. Our strategy forcibly involves obtaining creative independence, which will lead to the total development of exclusive movements, plus an industrial credibility that we will obtain by the gradual industrialisation of our own production. Once we are well installed in Geneva, our highest level products can bear the prestigious Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Hallmark). [See Paul O’Neil’s article on certification in this issue] ES: In this process of integration, will you also be including cases?

HC: We want to begin by making all the prototypes of our cases ourselves. And, tomorrow, undoubtedly, we will decide to make all our gold cases directly in-house. For the moment, however, most of our efforts are targeted towards the development of our own exclusive movements.

ES: In this sense, the acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps is a strong signal. Its two founders, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, are among the best and most creative movement constructors in the Swiss watch industry…

HC: We are not unknown to each other since, already starting in 2009, we worked with them to develop our very innovative Spin Time movement, with its time display made of rotating cubes. In the beginning, the goal was to make only a very limited series of very high-

INTERVIEW 23

end timepieces. Since it functioned not only perfectly well from a technical point of view, but was also a great commercial success, we wondered if we could further develop and industrialise the entire process in order to produce much larger quantities. This idea is in perfect tune with our theme of travel… This has nothing to do with an advertising coup or pure marketing. The travel theme gives us the development structure for our movements over the long term. It is the backbone, you might say.

24 INTERVIEW europa star

ES: But it seems that customers who go to Louis Vuitton stores do not go there mainly to buy a watch…

ES: Yet, such a movement is still quite limited in quantity when compared to your overall production...

HC: We have two types of products, according to their movements. Below € 4,000, our three-hand watches are fitted with and will continue to use ETA movements. For products between € 7,000 and €10,000, we intend to produce our own in-house calibres in Geneva.

To this end, we are now working on developing our own chronograph movement with world time. Still with the travel theme in mind, of course.

ES: Louis Vuitton has one essential particularity. It is, to our knowledge, the only watch brand that distributes its watches exclusively

in its own boutiques. Will you be able to continue to follow this policy?

HC: It is a rather unique model, yes, but one that can work for us. Louis Vuitton currently has some 400 exclusive same-name stores in nearly 60 countries world wide, and we are opening between 10 and 15 every year. This means 10,000 sales people could be selling our watches. Louis Vuitton has been, for example, present in China since 1992, and each year, that market grows some 60 per cent. You can only purchase a Louis Vuitton watch in one of our stores. And, while, unfortunately, you may find counterfeits here or there, as happens for all the big brands, this distribution method allows us to completely avoid the grey market.

HC: For the most part, our customers are women, and men, who like the Louis Vuitton brand, in all its various forms of expression. If, in the beginning of our watch adventure, the purchase of a Louis Vuitton watch happens because of love at first sight—love of a form, style, or name—the watchmaking credibility that we are building step by step, and that we have demonstrated with products such as the Tambour Spin Time GMT, for example, should appeal to a specific clientele, to those in search of the quality, creativity, and intrinsic watchmaking values of our timekeepers. Our primary salespeople—our retailers if you prefer—are our first-line representatives. We have thus planned to open a true training centre at the heart of our facility in Geneva dedicated to the sales of Louis Vuitton watches and jewellery. Here, our team will learn firsthand about the design and production of a watch in order to be able to relay our message as closely as possible to the customer.

On another level, we also want to demonstrate to the watch community that, even if our model is different from other brands, we are a fully active player in the high-end watch sector, that we have acquired the necessary credibility, and importantly, that we are in this for the long haul. O For more information about Louis Vuitton click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

1st Prize in the Classic Category

tissot Le Locle Automatic Chronometer

chosen by Tony Parker – Professional Basketball Player Classic watch with an automatic COSC certified movement, stainless steel case 316L, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and water resistance up to a pressure of 3 bar (30 m / 100 ft).

in TOUCH with your time Get in touch at www.tissot.ch

26 CONCEPTS europa star

How TAG Heuer is slowly distancing itself from Huygens RPierre Maillard

T

The Mikrotourbillon S presented this autumn

by TAG Heuer is the culmination of a long study that goes back nearly ten years. Just to remind you, TAG Heuer purchased the rights to the V4 “concept-watch” from Jean-François Ruchonnet in 2003. The problem at that time, however, was that the development of this new type of watch, which used transmission belts in place of the traditional gear trains, required a level of technical knowledge and competence that was outside of the realm of watchmaking.

Quite determined to succeed, at any cost, in developing and commercialising this product that came before its time, TAG Heuer called in consultants from other sectors, such as automobile, aeronautics, and avant-garde techniques. It was within this framework that Guy Semon, physicist, mathematician, engineer, and university professor, who had previously worked at the French National Defence department, came to meet the teams at TAG Heuer in 2004.

In 2007, TAG Heuer asked Guy Semon to join the company in order to create a research and development department worthy of the name.

Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of TAG Heuer, was following a very innovative vision regarding research for his brand. Rather than follow the path of classical watchmaking, TAG Heuer had from the outset earned its reputation in the field of technical watchmaking, focused entirely on performance and precision. The whole idea was to distinguish the brand by introducing high technology into products that would nonetheless remain accessible.

MONACO V4

Back to basics Guy Semon became the man of the hour.Armed with his scientific experience—which, in the beginning, had nothing to do with watchmaking—this engineer had to start thinking about the basics of timekeeping. (Today, Semon muses that he is 50 per cent engineer and 50 per cent watchmaker.)

His first observation was that even though there was a standard defining a chronometer (the ISO 3159 standard, which is found in the COSC), there was no standard to define the criteria of what a chronograph should or should not be in terms of precision. But—and here is the rub—the activation using a clutch of an integrated (or additional, it does not matter) chronograph in a watch that is classified as a chronometer requires an additional energy supply that affects the watch’s timekeeping.

Thus, when its chronograph is activated, the watch is no longer a chronometer.

Decoupling the two functions Semon decided then to disconnect the two functions and assemble them in parallel. On one side would be the time function, which has its own source of energy (the barrel), its own transmission system (the gear trains), and its own regulation. On the other side

would be the chronograph function, with its own energy source, its own transmission system and its own regulation. From then on, in the absence of a clutch linking the two functions, the operation of the chronograph would not interfere at all with the operation of the watch. This opened the possibility, for the first time, of certifying the chronograph function.

Even more importantly, decoupling the two functions allows the precise calibration of the energy needed for each function and thus permits a rise in frequency to regulate the chronograph function at 5 Hz (which makes it possible to display 1/10th of a second), 50 Hz (making it possible to display 1/100th of a second), or even at 500 Hz (with the possibility of counting to 1/1000th of a second).

“To appreciate 1/100th of a second, you must know the 1,000th” The first practical exercise—and commercial one, since the piece in question was launched in the market in the summer of 2011—was the Mikrograph. Twelve patents were filed for this first dual-chain watch, in which coexist two different barrels and two regulators, one at 4 Hz for the time function, and one at 50 Hz for the chronograph function at 1/100th of a second, readable on the largest scale, namely

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28 CONCEPTS europa star

the one around the circumference of the dial.

But, as Guy Semon quickly adds, “to be able to appreciate the 1/100th of a second, you must be able to count the 1/1000th.” As on a metric ruler, to appreciate the centimetre, you must be able to count the millimetre.

The second dual watch is thus the Mikrotimer, introduced soon after, that houses a 4-Hz hour, minute, and second regulator, and a 500-Hz chronograph function capable of measuring 1/1000th of a second.

Here, we can appreciate another phenomenon that logically leads to the next innovation. The higher the frequency, the more the need for a shorter and shorter balance spring that is also more and more rigid. And, at the same time, the diameter of the balance decreases. This diameter, in fact, decreases to the point of becoming totally useless, until it finally disappears altogether.

It is here that a small technical point becomes important. A balance is an energy reservoir that stocks energy coming from the pallet fork, whose function is to help the balance spring return, since a normal balance spring does not have any inertia. Already in the 50Hz Mikrograph, the necessity to help the balance spring return to its position was well understood. The solution thus was to add a

launch hub brake system to the column wheel that, acting a little like a whip, gives the balance an impulsion greater than its speed in order to rhythmically re-launch it. The 500-Hz Mikrotimer no longer has a balance at all. The pallet fork is in direct contact with an ultrathin plate fixed to a column, whose end supports a balance spring. At the base of the column, the launch hub brake system acts directly on the hub.

But, as in the example above, to appreciate the 1/1000th of a second, you must then be able to count the 1/10,000th of a second, which means increasing the frequency to 5,000 Hz. But here we reach an insurmountable barrier, since physically a balance spring, as defined

by Huygens in 1675, cannot go beyond 600 Hz. Higher than this, it is no longer isochronous, but rather “goes nuts and vibrates all over the place,” as Semon colourfully explains.

The physical barrier of 600 Hz pushed Guy Semon to think about developing a new type of mechanical regulator that could exceed the limits of the traditional balance spring. He remembered the vibratory theory of d’Alembert.

Theorised in the 18th century by this famous encyclopaedist, this physical vibratory prop-

Back in the present, however, we find a new model based on the dual principle, but applied this time to a tourbillon, or rather to two tourbillons.A few years ago, Jean-Christophe Babin proclaimed, “TAG Heuer will never make tourbillons”. He was certainly not wrong to look for success in other aspects of mechanical timekeeping, as we have seen, but the introduction

MIKROGRAPH

MIKROTIMER

MIKROGIRDER

Going past the physical barrier

erty has hitherto been applied essentially only to musical instruments. Everyone knows that when you strike a guitar string, it vibrates at a certain calculable pitch, which is called the note. Taking the example of the harp, Semon got the idea of making a metallic blade vibrate at a certain frequency, in this case 1,000Hz. His principle of the regulator was, in fact, quite simple: driven by the escape wheel, the pallet fork excites a metallic blade (a “girder”).

This blade is connected, via a second coupling blade, to a vibratory blade with a regulating screw at the end. The screw allows it to be stabilised to the desired vibration speed, with the blade serving as a regulator.

This innovation gave birth to the Mikrogirder, which was presented this year. Guy Semon’s dream is to adapt this new type of oscillator to the Mikrotimer, but this is still a long way off.

The Mikrotourbillon S

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of the Mikrotourbillon S—while contradicting his statement—was done for the right reasons, namely pushing chronometry even further. A tourbillon is slow (generally it operates at 2.5 Hz or at 4 Hz), and is intended to measure the time of day rather than short intervals.

And yet, the Mikrotourbillon S that has just arrived on the market is endowed with a dual architecture. On the one hand, there is a traditional tourbillon adjusted to 4 Hz (in other words, one revolution per minute) that fulfils the criteria of the COSC and displays hours, minutes, and seconds, regulated for 48 hours of power reserve. Its barrel is wound automatically.

On the other hand, there is a 50-Hz tourbillon— capable of indicating 1/100th of a second—that, along with its 12 revolutions per minute, regulates a chronograph that has a power reserve

of ten minutes at this speed. This smaller tourbillon has no carriage, but is equipped with a launch system, similar to what we saw above for the Mikrograph and the Mikrotimer.

One of Semon’s proudest achievements is to have made these two tourbillons totally inhouse (with the exception of the balance spring and the surface treatments), in the brand’s own R&D unit, which today employs 50 people.

Pulling the brand upmarket “Strategically, my role with these very innovative products such as the Mikrotourbillon S, selling for between CHF 190,000 and 220,000 depending on the model, is to place them at the top of the TAG Heuer product pyramid in order to pull the entire brand towards the

high-end,” he continues. “TAG Heuer’s average price is around €2,500, and today we are the biggest producer of mechanical chronographs. We must ensure our growth by developing our range. This is essential because, with our volumes, we must each year renew our clientele and find new markets.”

As part of the brand’s strategy, the certification of chronographs plays an essential role.

The Observatory in Besançon has developed for TAG Heuer an irreproachable protocol that lays down the ground rules for the certification of a chronograph. This is a standard for mechanical measurement in the form of an instrument capable of measuring to 10-6 second (or one microsecond), thus allowing the calibration of various traditional measurement instruments that would be obsolete at such levels of accuracy. In a similar vein, a very special camera, purchased in the United States, lets TAG Heuer capture up to 70,000 images per second. “This is a way to discover things that we don’t expect,” smiles Semon.

The chronograph certification is therefore on the way. It remains to be seen, however, if it will become a veritable shared standard. We must also note that the power reserve, which has its own physical limits, is intimately linked to the frequency. It is 100 minutes for 5 Hz displaying 1/10th of a second, 10 minutes for 50 Hz displaying 1/100th of a second and just one minute for 500 Hz displaying 1/1000th of a second. With an understanding of this reality, will the consumer—aside from real watch aficionados—care about this new certification? Only time will tell. O For more information about TAG Heuer click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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MECHANICAL ALTERNATIVES 33

Alternative solutions

A

Then, in fairly quick succession, several announcements were made that would change things. New sources of supply gradually came online that offered alternatives that were of interest to all mechanical watchmakers, not just the high-end. Thus, Concepto, which had been secretly working to get its own production of balance springs up and running, publicly announced that it would sell 50,000 kits this year, then increase that number to 200,000 in 2013, arriving at 400,000 within two to three years. Another new, yet more modest, player, Technotime, declared that, as of now, it could produce between 30,000 and 40,000 complete assortments per year.

In the same article, we also quoted Henry-John Belmont, consultant and former head of Jaeger-LeCoultre, who explained that “It is certainly not the individual brands that will succeed alone in providing the investments necessary for the production of 1 or 1.5 million movements. The fabrication of 250,000 basic ETA 7750-type calibres requires an outlay of the order of 100 million francs and 200 to 250 employees.” Since then, things have been moving even faster, and what is most critical today is the area of assortments—balance spring, balance, paletts, and escape wheel.

It is not only, however, in this domain that alternatives are rapidly gaining ground. Europa Star also visited La Joux-Perret, which produces 50,000 movements and modules per year. We also discuss the company’s recent purchase by the Japanese group, Citizen, an acquisition that provoked a certain amount of concern in the Swiss watch community.

Almost two years ago, Europa Star published a long three-part investigation entitled, “The Swiss watch planet in movement.”* In this article, we detailed the various independent alternatives that had been developing—and that continue to develop today—following the announcement by the Swatch Group that it would gradually discontinue selling mechanical movements and assortments.

For a long time, Nivarox-FAR, a company of the Swatch Group, reigned as the absolute master in this strategic sector. Then, other players, still marginal, joined the dance, namely Precision Engineering (which is part of the same group as Moser & Cie.) and Atokalpa (Vaucher Manufacture). Yet, the quantities of assortments available at these two suppliers are confidential and their prices fairly high. They are, therefore, de facto only available to the high-end watch segment.

Alternative solutions are also flourishing on other levels, such as the process of industrialisation, where several new types of company are working, among them “coach” Centagora, which is presented in this issue. In terms of innovation, too, we talk about the universal additional plate made by AJS, a novel idea that opens new perspectives for mechanical watchmaking in the mid-range sector. Nicolas Hayek was probably right when he said that the Swatch Group’s decision to stop selling products to third parties would eventually open a new phase in watchmaking industrialisation. We are already there! O * See Europa Star 04/2010, 05/2010 and 06/2010 or search our website

34 ALTERNATIVES europa star

Optimo, a new alternative source for assortments

T

The young Valérien Jaquet is hungry, very hungry indeed. Undoubtedly, his hunger has something to do with the problems of his father, Jean-Pierre Jaquet, who is still embroiled in a legal battle that forced him to sell his flourishing enterprise in 2003. (The company has since been renamed La Joux-Perret and was recently acquired by Citizen. See our article in this issue.) Little by little, since 2006, and the foundation of Concepto, the son seems to be reconstructing, step by step, all that his father lost. He is even going farther than did the elder Jaquet, since, with his new company Optimo, Valérien Jaquet now claims to offer “a genuine new alternative in the industrial production of watch assortments”.

In the greatest secrecy Created in the greatest secrecy following long deliberations started already 15 years ago by his father, then taken over by his son three or four years ago, Optimo has announced that it

Valérien Jaquet

will be able to produce over time—in other words, between now and 2015—300,000 to 400,000 complete assortments—sprung-balance, paletts, escape-wheel. For the moment, Optimo intends to produce 50,000 this year and 200,000 starting in 2013.

Employing some fifteen people working behind opaque windows and a secure door, the laboratories occupy a vast corner of the building that houses various companies belonging to the Concepto group (see sidebar). Here, Optimo masters the entire process for the mass production of assortments, from casting the alloy used for the balance spring right up to truing the escape-wheel. Four patents are pending, covering the composition of the alloy, the bal-

ancing and adjustment of a three-nosed collet (compared to the traditional four-nosed collet), the specific thermal treatment of the terminal curve of the balance spring and a new form of packaging with the pallet fork and escapewheel placed in the same case.

The work has been conducted with the highest level of secrecy. Some machines were deliberately ordered with the wrong parameters, for a non-existent part, which the collaborators at Optimo then adjusted, again in secret, in their workshop.

New alloy For the balance spring, a new alloy, Optimox, was thus produced. Its exact composition is, of course, secret but, according to Valérien Jaquet, “it has been created according to production criteria that we have developed in parallel”. The batches of alloy are small, between three and four kilos. They are stretched into bars measuring 14mm to 16mm in diameter, which are subsequently reduced to 1mm in diameter before being drawn down to 7/100ths.

All these operations, as well as the following, are carried out in-house. After the drawing operation comes the rolling that changes the metal’s cross-section from round to rectangular, © COPYRIGHT CONCEPTO HOLDING 2012

RPierre Maillard

35

© COPYRIGHT CONCEPTO HOLDING 2012

europa star ALTERNATIVES

to the nearest tenth of a micron. The winding operation then allows for the strands to be cut and placed in the drum, four balance springs at a time. Following this are various thermal operations, the shaping of the balance spring after removal from the drum, and the cut-out for accepting the small laser-soldered collet.

Attached to the collet, the balance spring’s superfluous external coils are then cut and flattened. Each balance spring is then classified into one of 20 classes according to its exact cut, which allows it to be matched to a balance of the same class.

In parallel, the roller is formed on a CNC automatic lathe and fitted with jewels. (“The only component produced outside the laboratory,” says Valérien Jaquet.) As for the production of the balance, the process is also a closelyguarded secret. We are told, however, that it is “modern”, which does not necessarily mean that it is made of silicon. Another jealously kept secret is the way the guard pin is fixed to the pallet fork, which has been cut out by progressive stamping.

The steps in the assembly of the balance and the roller, the balancing of the mounted bal-

THE CONCEPTO GALAXY Created in 2006, CONCEPTO has 80 employees divided into different units. Under the main Concepto umbrella is ARTISIA, the watchmaking department, which is subdivided into two main ateliers: high volume and high end. This watch department obtains component parts from the DECOPARTS unit, which is responsible for profile turning, cutting, and burnishing. Without going into detail, the Concepto group thus covers a great many operations in-house: creating the right thickness, machining, treatment of raw materials; mechanical, fitting, tooling, electro-erosion; cutting, wheels and pinions; decoration, engraving, colouring, watchmaking, movement winding, finishing, adjusting.

Concepto produces six large families of movements: the calibres of the 1000 family, made up of additional plates on the calibres 2890; the 2000 family, a 13 ¼''' that is the first in-house calibre and available in manual-winding, automatic, simple chronograph, and column-wheel chronograph models; the calibre 3000 that, on a 2000 base, allows exclusive developments for each client; the calibre 4000 that will be introduced in the second half of the year and be available as an automatic chronograph featuring a double barrel, 120-hour working reserve, and a thickness of less than 6 mm; the calibre 7000, a high-end calibre on a Venus 1940 base, retooled in-house, that exists in a simple vintage chronograph version or in a vintage flyback chronograph version and can be equipped with a tourbillon on the dial side or on the back; and finally the 8000 family made up exclusively of tourbillons, in manual or automatic versions, with sapphire bridges and plates, or in manual or automatic chronograph models.

Concepto’s clients notably include Bulgari, de Grisogono, Jacob, Rodolphe Cattin, Louis Moinet, Graf and Ellicott, among others.

ance and its classification (its frequency is tested to determine the exact inertia), followed by the assembly of the balance spring and the mounted balance before a final check according to COSC standards, are also conducted in the same secure location.

A nine million Swiss franc investment “The coming months that will see an increase in our production are crucial for us,” insists Valérien Jaquet, who confides that they have invested nearly CHF 9 million in this adventure. The sum comes both “from the family and from two different banks,” he adds. Five brands are already interested in the Optimo assortments, for which two types of configuration have been selected and tooled first— the most important quantitatively speaking, “like some ETA-compatible configurations”.

Optimo also serves as an alternative from the standpoint of prices, which are “in the norm”, that is to say between CHF 40 and CHF 80 depending on the assortment.

If the demand proves to be high enough in the years to come, an increase in production to 400,000 assortments would be feasible, “because the production processes that we have developed are designed for mass production. But we would need to hire and train 50 people,” explains Valérien Jaquet. So this is still a long way off.

For now, these new assortments will soon gradually equip the 30,000 to 40,000 in-house movements produced annually by Concepto (for its 40 brand clients), which were until today fitted with Nivarox-FAR assortments. O For more information about Concepto click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

36 ALTERNATIVES europa star

Technotime: double barrels, tourbillons, and balance springs RPierre Maillard

T

“Technotime is still a small player but a very determined one. We are getting stronger and are increasing our volume. Step by step, we are building our credibility,” affirms the trio of Laurent Alaimo, the brand’s CEO, François Dreyer, director and member of the board of directors, and Sébastien Gigon, sales director.

The spotlight recently turned towards Technotime, when, to everyone’s surprise, the brand won third place in the 2011 International Chronometry Competition in the Tourbillon category, behind the two heavyweights, Greubel Forsey and Chopard Manufacture.

This award could not have come at a better time for the team that had developed its own calibre, the TT791.50, which features a 60second tourbillon and double barrel, and was developed with more limited means than its competitors. Plus, with an added element of pride, this calibre was equipped with a balance spring that was produced entirely “inhouse”. Technotime has thus now entered the very restricted club of balance spring makers.

To better understand where the brand is now, let’s take a step back in time.

From the ashes of France Ebauches Technotime came out of the woods during BaselWorld in 2004. The era seemed propitious. Consolidations and verticalisations were the norm. China was getting stronger. The Swatch Group began tightening the screws.

New opportunities thus started to appear for suppliers and other movement makers. “Yet, to actually pass to the execution stage was another thing,” explain the three men. Armed with a great deal of enthusiasm, Technotime entered the battle that year with a globally integrated model: to design, fabricate component parts and balance springs, and finally to assemble them.

Yet, the global economic crisis would put the brakes on the company’s integrated model.

Technotime was, in fact, born from the ashes of France Ebauches. But the French company, which had mastered all the watch metiers, except surface treatment and decoration, including fabrication of the balance spring, was growing old. “The French structural rigidities, the lack of flexibility, the inability to adapt, and the prohibitive costs would not allow us to fully re-launch France Ebauches,” add the TOURBILLON TT791

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37

TT718

trio. The primary stakeholder, the Chinese Chung Nam group, agreed that Technotime should change its tactics, which meant giving up its total integration model while falling back on its core metier: on one hand, the realisation of proprietary calibres and, on the other hand, the in-house production of balance springs. As for the remainder—production of component parts, decoration, finishing, and assembly—that would be carried out in close collaboration with a firmly established network of partners.

Double barrel calibre In terms of movements, the spearhead of Technotime is a very interesting calibre 13¼''' (or 30 mm in diameter), which answers to the name of Movement TT 718 in its manualwinding form and TT 738 in its automatic version. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz), its double barrel provides for the long power reserve of 120 hours or five days. It was designed to be a veritable tractor that

TT651

TOURBILLON TECHNOTIME DEVELOPED FOR TOURNAIRE

would permit the development of small simple complications—integrated or modular—such as, for example, a patented big date with a second time zone for hours and minutes, as well as a large disc indicator for day and night.

In its basic version, this calibre also includes either an instantaneous date in a window or a retrograde date at 1:30. It also offers the possibility of leaving the balance visible. All of these movements are certified by the COSC. The second family of Technotime movements —while awaiting a big date chronograph movement, currently in the functional prototype stage of development—is the TT 791.

This family of 4-Hz tourbillon movements

includes the TT 791.50 that won third place in the Concours de Chronométrie. With the tourbillon placed at 9 o’clock, these models are available in many versions, and can add a power reserve indicator, a retrograde date, and a small seconds indicator on the axis of the tourbillon, depending on the design specifications and the display of Technotime’s brand partners.

The interest of the double barrel, which supplies energy to the tourbillon, resides not only in offering a power reserve of 120 hours— with an optimal range of 80 hours—but also in creating superior regulation and thus excellent chronometry. In addition, its ability to adapt to specific client requests, to offer various types of execution—classic or more modern as well as skeletonising—confers upon the movement an amazing versatility. Spectacular proof is the remarkable and very sculptural tourbillon developed for French brand Tournaire (see the illustration above).

Today, Technotime’s tourbillon atelier produces between 70 and 100 tourbillons per year. As for the other models mentioned above, we must say that they are also adaptable on bases of ETA 2892 and Sellita SW 300. More than 150,000 of these modules with a large date have already been delivered by Technotime.

38 ALTERNATIVES europa star

1. Drawing 2. Rolling 3. Winding 4. Fixing 5. Pinning up 6. Classification 7-8. Assembly

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Mastering the balance spring The production of balance springs is Technotime’s second largest activity. With total mastery of the technology and its processes, from A to Z, the company has declared a production capacity of “nude balance springs” ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 per month. By “nude balance spring”, it means all the industrialised operations before the spring is pinned to the collet, in other words, drawing, rolling, cutting, winding, pressing, fixing, and separation of the flattened balance springs.

Technotime follows two different “recipes” for its alloys: Nispan C, a material developed by the Japanese that is nearly identical to Elinvar, but with a greater sensitivity to thermal coefficients; and a second alloy developed in conjunction with a French university, which is lighter and less sensitive, and seems to have potentially superior chronometric performances.

Categorised into twenty different classes, this nude balance spring is then cut at the centre, followed by preassembling and laser-solder-

ing in an argon gas atmosphere to the collet (realised using the Liga process), before the final external cutting. The balance spring is then reclassified before being assembled to its balance that belongs to the same class. The final steps involve balancing, centring, and quality control.

All of these operations involve many manual interventions and while the price of the nude balance spring varies between CHF 3 and CHF 5, a complete assortment is priced between CHF 35 and CHF 80. “Clearly, when compared

to Nivarox – FAR,” explains Michael Boulnois, the young manager of the balance spring workshop, “our offer is still small, with 30,000 to 40,000 complete assortments produced per year. But, we have, on the other hand, the advantage of being flexible and the ability to adapt the balance spring exactly to our client’s product, and not the other way around.” This is, without a doubt, one of the keys to the future success of the assortments proposed by Technotime—and also one of the reasons that make this alternative supply so vital for the development of independent brands. O For more information about Technotime click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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40 INTERVIEW europa star

Citizen acquires Manufacture La Joux-Perret RPierre Maillard

suited to mass production. After ten years of continual growth, we asked ourselves what was the best way to ensure the long-term survival of our enterprise. Becoming part of a group seemed to be the best solution to guarantee this longevity. Moreover, some original investors wanted to cash in their investment.

Under these conditions, we started the classic process of finding a suitor, passing by the advice of our bank.

W

While everyone was obsessively looking towards China, and even the smallest Chinese investment in Swiss timekeeping was scrutinised down to the last detail, there was a bit of news, announced just before BaselWorld, that took the Swiss watch community totally by surprise: the Japanese group Citizen had acquired Manufacture La Joux-Perret! Or, to be more precise, it purchased the holding company Prothor, which, besides the La JouxPerret manufacturer of movements and modules, encompasses the component parts maker, Prototec, and the high-end watch brand,Arnold & Son. The transaction was reportedly in the neighbourhood of CHF 65 million, with the Prothor group earning about CHF 40 million in turnover, employing some 150 people.

You only need to leaf through the Manufacture La Joux-Perret client catalogue of complete movements and additional modules to understand just how important this sale is. There, you will find, in no particular order, names such as Baume & Mercier, Raymond Weil, Louis Vuitton, Concord, Corum, Hublot, Montblanc, Eberhard & Co., Panerai, Graham, Franck Muller, Paul Picot, Girard-Perregaux, Carl F. Bucherer, and Jaquet Droz, among many others.

To learn a little more about the reasons behind this “transfer”, Europa Star talked with Frédéric Wenger, former majority stockholder in Prothor and currently general director of Manufacture La Joux-Perret.

ES: Were there many potential candidates?

Frédéric Wenger

Europa Star: Why was La Joux-Perret sold, especially since its order books seem to be so well filled?

Frédéric Wenger: It is another step in an adventure that goes back to 2001 when, along with other investors, I bought the movement maker Jaquet. As everyone knows, JeanPierre Jaquet, who had been active in the company’s operations, suffered many personal legal problems starting in 2003. We cut off all relations with him, and took everything in hand ourselves. We developed the company and, in 2007, moved it to new facilities, better

Movement TE8

FW: Yes, of course. We had offers from several interested parties and groups. I obviously cannot say who they are, since this would violate the confidentiality agreements.At the end of our search, however, Citizen’s proposition seemed the most interesting, not only from a financial point of view, but also because Citizen’s activities closely corresponded to what we were looking for.

ES: What do you mean exactly?

FW: Citizen is also industrial, and not a product of mere marketing. The Japanese company has the long-term industrial vision that we

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INTERVIEW 41

Movement HMS1

were seeking. It is a group worth some CHF 3 billion, and is the world’s fourth largest watch company, with around a five per cent share of the global market. This will allow us to actively develop our company and strengthen its position in the domain of the mechanical watch.

ES: Mikio Unno, the president of Citizen Watch, officially declared that “the primary goal of this transaction is to strengthen Manufacture La Joux-Perret as an independent producer of mechanical movements and component parts,” but that Citizen “will also utilise mechanical movements produced by Manufacture La Joux-Perret for Swiss Made collections of our own brands and those under licence, and will thus differentiate them from other haut de gamme products.” It seems, then, that Citizen has a two-fold interest in this endeavour.

FW: Citizen wants to be a major player in the global watch market in the long run, and realises that, to achieve this, it must move into the haut de gamme sector.We are opening the door for them. I also want to strongly emphasise that our decision to accept Citizen’s offer was because it allows us to strengthen our independence and remain fully open to all other brands, which was not necessarily the case with some of the other prospective suitors. We want to become a central Swiss player in the domain of the mechanical movement and component parts. We will expand our range of products for the high-end and be a reliable partner for the long term, working closely not only with our traditional suppliers but also with our longstanding partners.

Citizen’s acquisition thus preserves our independence, and even strengthens it.

THE PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT We were quite impressed with our visit to Manufacture La Joux-Perret and Prototec in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

From the technical bureau and its 14 constructors (whose average age is less than 30 years, it seems) to the ateliers for assembly and encasing, we were able to follow the entire chain for the production of movements and their component parts: cutting of the raw material on impressive presses, production of brass, bridges, and plates carried out by a series of CNC commands, equipment for transferring, stamping, correcting, traditional or CNC profile-turning, wire erosion, washing, grinding, polishing, sand-blasting, rolling, decoration, engraving, chamfering, etc.

A question of independence and reactivity, the manufacture creates all its own tools in-house, including those used in cutting, in the large mechanical workshop. Of the 150 employees, twelve work only in quality control. Add to this a methods office, a logistical centre, and a design bureau and you have an idea of the production capacity of the enterprise, a capacity that is closely linked to the complexity of demand.

42 INTERVIEW europa star

ES: What is, today, the precise strength of Manufacture La Joux-Perret in terms of offer and production?

FW: What characterises us, perhaps, is our flexibility. We currently produce some 50,000 movements and modules per year, which range from relatively simple transformations based on the 2892, 7750, or compatible calibres (for example making a 7750 into a tricompax), to much more complex constructions such as a flyback chronograph. Between these two ends, you will find many possibilities: power reserve, big date, etc. This highly reactive flexibility owes much to the advanced reliability of our proven sub-sets that allow us to design many different configurations. Having this great modularity opens many opportunities for collaboration with brands that do not limit themselves to simple “customisations”, but want to create products that are authentically and integrally dedicated to the brand in question in terms of casing, display, functions, and mechanical architecture. For this reason, we have designers working in-house alongside our 14 developers and prototypers, who work closely with the client. In the mid- and high-end range, we are developing larger ranges of in-house movements. We are also developing movements that are specific to a particular brand. Among others, we have an ultra-flat calibre as well as two ranges of tourbillons, with superlative traditional watch-

TB88 by Arnold & Son

making finishings (hand-chamfering, polishing, etc.), or more contemporary pieces such as the Flying Tourbillon T-Bridge for Corum. At this time, we have many major and new products in the pipeline.

ES: In addition to Manufacture La Joux-Perret, the high-end watchmaker, Arnold & Son, came with this acquisition. What does Citizen plan to do with this brand?

FW: The goal is to promote its historical origins as the British Breguet. This is a prestigious and haut de gamme brand that is very classic, but that is advanced in terms of its mechanical nature and its display. It is also a way to showcase our savoir-faire since all the Arnold & Son movements, from classic to tourbillons to tourbillon chronographs, are made in-house. For Citizen, this is a good way to enter into the Swiss haute de gamme segment and into the Swiss Made arena. By investing in this brand, which has many advantages and offers interesting opportunities, Citizen is also looking to confirm its place in global watchmaking. No major watch group can today afford not to be

in the highest category of the market. [Europa Star will return soon to Arnold & Son.] ES: We have seen other “grafts” that have not worked out. Do you run the risk of having a culture shock between different practices and mentalities?

FW: Quite frankly, I do not think so. Citizen has an industrial and pragmatic approach, as we ourselves have. I am remaining at the head of the enterprise, and all our other employers are staying on as well. We also are maintaining our subcontractors and partners. I feel that there is a mutual respect in this relationship and that we come together perfectly well, not only because we both have a vision based on the long term, but because we are of the same metier, with the same values of precision, reliability, and quality control. We each bring a particular know-how to the table, and in return can ensure our development and our independence. It is a fair deal! O For more information about La Joux-Perret click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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EXPERTISE 43

Centagora, a new type of watchmaking “coach” RPierre Maillard

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When Harry Winston unveiled its new Opus 12 at last spring’s BaselWorld, the spotlight was on the name Centagora. This time, it was not, as usual, an already famous master watchmaker who was credited with the brand’s amazing “Copernican” creation, but rather a team hitherto unknown outside the circle of watch industry insiders.

Centagora was born in 2008, but took its current form in 2010. In the beginning, it was composed of four associates: Christophe Lüthi, micro-technical engineer; Emmanuel Bouchet, master watchmaker originally from France and in charge of complications, watchmaking methodology, and the laboratory for large Swiss brands; Nicolas Dürrenberger, mechanical engineer and watch repairer; and Thierry Jacques, computer scientist, management consultant and director of finance at Centagora.

Today, the team, having expanded with the addition of a senior design engineer and a project manager, is like a watchmaking “coach”.

While this type of entity is rather common in other industries, it remains fairly unusual in the world of watches. What Centagora proposes is a palette of services that makes it a new type of multi-disciplinary agency, one that can provide design and development, consulting and coaching, technical analysis,

Left to right: Cédric Zaugg (Project leader), Emmanuel Bouchet (Manager responsible for watchmaking expertise), Nicolas Dürrenberger (R&D manager), Thierry Jacques (Financial director), Debora Calame (Secretarial assistant), Hervé Willemin (Senior design engineer) and Christophe Lüthi (Director).

training, outsourcing, and co-innovation, as well as assembly and encasing for small special series or particularly complex timepieces.

As you can see, Centagora covers a wide range of skills, so let’s take a little closer look.

An “ideas box” Centagora is an “ideas box”. Because of its range of skills that include watchmaking, engineering, methodology and industrialisation, this “box” brings forth innovative ideas and solutions, such as the Opus 12 and its new type of orbital dial. The solutions may be generated spontaneously and proposed to various brands, or they may result from a given brand’s particular request. In both cases, a designer is closely tied to the creative process, a process that does not stop there, but continues in-house with feasibility studies, construction—carried out step by step or side by side, we should say, with the support of the watch-

makers—and finally to the supervision of the fabrication of the component parts for the prototypes that are assembled, modified, and then validated.

Up to this point, the service is relatively classic, but then Centagora goes even further— the validation of the equipment that will be used for mass production. In passing from the prototype stage to the production in series, the technologies necessarily change, and this has a direct effect on the product. Thus, following the validation of the zero series, continuous studies are carried out on the entire production process and quality control for all the pieces and their components, as well as for the assembly process that follows. “We are always thinking about the process of industrialisation,” explains Christophe Lüthi, the director of Centagora, “our product philosophy is all about that. Today, a good product is a product that can be easily assembled.”

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Industrial support, outsourcing, training At this stage of the industrialisation process, for medium-sized or large production runs, the Centagora team provides essential consulting and coaching services. In this area, the core of its activity is to advise the brands and manufactures on their industrial development.

Two recent examples come to mind: assistance to TAG Heuer in the development of its 1881 chronograph movement and its production process; and helping Châtelain optimise its organisational processes, management flow, production lines, and organisation of the workshops, as well as improving in-house communication for these processes. In addition, we should mention the employee training and management coaching.

Centagora also conducts technological audits in order to precisely understand the true level of know-how in an enterprise, and especially how this knowledge is shared to make sure that it is, in fact, transmitted throughout the enterprise. Often, it is this transmission of knowledge that leads to innovation.

In a complementary manner, Centagora provides outsourcing services to watch companies for individual projects that involve design, technical analysis, project management, and the temporary management of departments or workshops. For the brands, this outsourcing provides strategic assistance, allowing them

to “rent” specific skills and to thus “benefit from an outside view which can sometimes facilitate innovation or the re-engineering of their processes,” explains Lüthi.

These outsourcing services often go hand in hand with training programs, which are generally of two types. Strictly watchmaking training deals with specific products, assembly, and encasing, while other training involves quality management, production methodologies, and the resolution of problems.

Technical analysis Another of Centagora’s multidisciplinary approaches is technical analysis. As an example, “a brand arrives with a calibre that on paper should work perfectly well, but there is a problem. Either the efficiency is not high enough or it does not work at all,” says Emmanuel Bouchet, manager of “watchmaking expertise”.

Equipped to be able to handle traditional timekeeping measurements such as operation, amplitude, chronometry, or more specific ones such as torque, force, lift angles, etc., Centagora can also validate the component parts and assortments, and conduct specific tests for wear and tear, shock resistance, and water resistance, among others. The company also produces a written audit of the product, together with recommendations for improvements or modifications—and this at any point from the initial design of the piece to

the final assembly in series. “We have also acquired a very good level of expertise in the development of the regulating organ,” adds Emmanuel Bouchet with a smile.

Assembly and encasing Another sector of activity is the assembly, adjustment and encasing of a timepiece. “We are specialists in the assembly of small special series, whether they are made up of complicated or very complicated products or they pose a particular challenge. Our strength is our great flexibility,” we are told. In full development, this activity will expand by the end of 2012 with the addition of five more people.

Co-innovation While the competencies of Centagora are many and varied, they still do not cover the entire range of horological problems.The young enterprise is thus setting up a specific network that will allow it to share skills and even to share certain resources. All of these activities involve watchmaking, of course, but they also touch on the realm of industrial equipment and the analysis of production flow, which may be of interest to non-watch domains, as well. Thus, expertise gained in watchmaking may end up helping innovate in other areas. O For more information about Centagora click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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INNOVATION 45

The universal additional plate from AJS A revolution for mid-range mechanical watches?

RPierre Maillard

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The old adage has it that after sleeping on a problem, you can often come up with the solution. This seems to be the case for the young watch constructor Anthony Saunier of AJS Production (located in Porrentruy, in the Swiss Jura). One fine morning, he woke up in a good mood. During his rather fitful sleep, he had dreamed up a mechanical innovation that could very well upset the apple cart of watch displays—and, at the same time, turn the pyramid of mechanical products upside down. So, what was it?

Total modularity for the display Just imagine for a moment a “universal additional plate”—that is its name—drilled with a large series of holes permitting the placement of “all that you could want, wherever you want” on the dial: GMT, Big Date, Day of the week, Regulator, Moon Phase, Day and Night indicator…

Ordinarily, these indications are positioned in rigorously predetermined spots, but with this totally modular plate, they can be placed by sectors of 30 degrees anywhere you want over the entire surface of the dial. You can thus design four different GMT indications, for example, on the same dial, for those who insist on having four time zones available to them.

The great advantage of this additional plate (measuring 2.2 mm in thickness and 30 mm in

diameter) is that it can be mounted on standard, three-hand, ETA, or ETA-clone mechanical movements. At the centre of the movement, on the principal axis, are three levels of gears: hours, minutes, and seconds. Using different gearing systems (or coded gears as in the case of the Big Date), you can thus offset the desired indications and position them in any angular sector of the dial. Depending on their size, they will occupy a smaller or bigger space in that sector. Thus a GMT will take up a 90º segment, a Day of the week will consume 60º, a Regulator will take up 30º to 60º of the space, while a Large Date will occupy 30º of the space.

As another example, you can also place indications side by side, such as a GMT (90º), Moon Phase (90º), Day of the week (60º), Seconds Regulator (30º), Big Date (30º), and a Day and Night indicator (60º), thus giving six complications over the 360º circle. We also must men-

tion that all can be rotated and positioned to the hundredth of a degree, which opens all sorts of creative opportunities.

A revolution for the mechanical mid-range?

For AJS Production, the main interest in this patented innovation is that it allows for the production of an assortment of pieces that are ready to be assembled according to a client’s wishes. Brands can therefore make very specific displays, very recognisable, without having to pay expensive development costs. This universal additional and modular plate thus prefigures the arrival on the marketplace of small complications that are both original and competitively priced. This should give a boost to the mid-range mechanical sector and return some of its lustre. O For more information about AJS click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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The price of a tourbillon RKeith W. Strandberg

T Turning. Spinning. Rotating. Revolving.

All these words describe the tourbillon, the complication that has long been considered watchmaking’s highest accomplishment.

Anyone who looks at a tourbillon will be drawn in and fascinated by the cage of the timepiece, which typically holds the escapement wheel, the escapement and the regulatory organ, the balance. All these small, complex parts are moving, turning and spinning, constantly. Watch lovers have been known to lose themselves while admiring a tourbillon, with good reason.

Invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented in Paris in 1801, the tourbillon was created not for aesthetic reasons, but instead to solve the problems associated with the effects of position of a pocket watch on the accuracy and the precision of a timepiece —as too often, a pocket watch was placed in one position for long periods of time (on a desk, on the night table, in a pocket, etc.).

Breguet’s invention solved the positional effects by having the cage of the tourbillon rotate. With wristwatches, the problem of positioning is not so critical, as the timepieces move with the wrists of their owners.

However, tourbillons have proven to be the most precise mechanical watches, as a JaegerLeCoultre tourbillon won the first International Chronometry Competition organised by the watchmaking museum in Le Locle, and another tourbillon from Jaeger took second place.

The ultimate complication The tourbillon is highly prized as the ultimate complication. The reason for this is that the creation and assembly of a fine tourbillon is extremely difficult and only the best manufactures can produce this complication.

The intrigue of the tourbillon is its constant movement—the tourbillon cage spins all the

FRANCK MULLER AETERNITAS MEGA 4, IN PLATINUM

time, captivating the wearer and anyone else who looks at the timepiece. As a result of this beauty and complexity, the tourbillon has become the ultimate timepiece, the creation of which earns a company a place of respect in the watchmaking pantheon.

Due to the proliferation of tourbillons recently, the bloom is a little off the rose, as familiarity

CHF 2,600,000

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too often breeds contempt. In the past, only a few watchmaking brands offered a tourbillon in their range. Now, to the delight of watch lovers everywhere, more and more brands offer tourbillons, and at prices that make them more accessible.

Despite the increasing numbers of tourbillons on the market, it’s important to remember that the production of a tourbillon is an incredible achievement that takes amazing skill.

The tourbillon cage, the heart of the tourbillon, if you will, is an incredible feat of engineering.

The tourbillon mechanism itself can have 50 or more parts, all weighing as little as possible (e.g. the entire tourbillon cage of the Vintage 1945 Tourbillon with three Gold Bridges from Girard-Perregaux, comprised of 70 different components, weighs just 0.3 grams).

Not just any watchmaker can assemble a tourbillon, either. Only a master watchmaker at the peak of his craft can handle the intricacies of

GREUBEL FORSEY GMT TOURBILLON

creating and regulating such a complication.

Regular line watches are typically assembled by teams of watchmakers, each doing a specific job in a line of steps that make up the watch.

For tourbillons, one master watchmaker, specialising in the complication, assembles the entire watch, from start to finish, painstakingly placing each part in place, often hand finishing, bevelling, decorating and adjusting, then regulating the final timepiece. This process takes an incredible amount of time and ensures the uniqueness of each tourbillon, making every timepiece, because of the nuances of finishing and adjusting each watch, a one-of-a-kind piece of watchmaking art.

As the tourbillon has become more available, many watchmakers have taken this complication to another level by combining it with other complications. Franck Muller, Jean Dunand, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet and others make watches that include

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a tourbillon but also other useful complications like Perpetual Calendars, Minute Repeaters, Chronographs, GMTs and more. Franck Muller has made one of the most complicated timepieces ever with the Aeternitas Mega, which combines a tourbillon with just about every other complication known to watchmaking.

Jean Dunand has made the entire dial of its Tourbillon Orbital rotate, not just the cage, so the dial is constantly changing throughout the day and night. Roger Dubuis has brought out the double tourbillon, while Greubel-Forsey inclines theirs.

Small watchmaking houses, often called "boutique brands", are working to push the tourbillon to even greater heights. Thomas Prescher makes his tourbillons entirely by hand, as does Roland Murphy from RGM. Richard Mille has specialised in making the lightest possible tourbillons, and demonstrated the ability to make them rugged as well by putting

PATEK PHILIPPE 10 DAY TOURBILLON REF. 5101

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them on the wrists of Rafael Nadal and US Masters-winning golfer Bubba Watson.

The reason for being Since the tourbillon was invented by AbrahamLouis Breguet to counteract the effects of gravity on a pocket watch, does it still have validity today, when people are wearing wristwatches?

tions may allow a very high level of precision, for ‘simple’, traditional escapements without tourbillon devices... Besides that, our tourbillon movements remain obviously among the most precise movements of the whole range of Vacheron Constantin calibres.

“Due to the complexity of its design, and notably the rotating cage, the tourbillon represents a challenge for a master watchmaker,

“... the tourbillon represents a challenge for a master watchmaker ...”

“For many, the chronometry/precision aspects come at first when you start to think about the tourbillon device, in its historical context of a pocket watch,” explains Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin. “In recent times, however, manufacturing techniques and innova-

DEWITT TWENTY-8-EIGHT TOURBILLON T8.TA.001

when considering the assembling operations, as well as the time adjustment of course,” he concludes.

In fact, the tourbillon has enabled movement makers to go to a new level of precision.

“The precision of our tourbillons is far greater

than that required for COSC certification, especially since Zenith combines the advantages of the tourbillon with the exceptional chronometric qualities of the high-frequency El Primero movement, thereby gaining ever greater precision,” says Yves Corthesy, director of the movement department, Zenith. “The difficulty in a tourbillon lies not in its principle, but in the finesse and precision required to craft it. Based on high-quality components, a considerable proportion of its qualities will stem from the dexterity of the watchmaker assembling the mechanism. It therefore takes skill and knowledge not only to produce the necessary parts, but also to be able to set them in motion together: a combination of skill and knowledge that is well established and consistently cultivated within the Manufacture Zenith. The brand’s first pocket-watch tourbillon was produced in 1920.”

Unlike standard movements, the best tourbil-

CHRISTOPHE CLARET X-TREM-1, IN WHITE-GOLD AND BLACK PVD TITANIUM CASE

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lons are finished to a very high standard, to make sure that the many components work together flawlessly.

“The tourbillons that we make are of the very highest quality,” says Christophe Claret. “For example, the cage and the bridge are bevelled and flat polished. We also pay particular attention to the regulation of the escapement to obtain excellent chronometry and ensure COSC certificate qualification.”

All this attention to detail is in service of precision, while at the same time acknowledging that making a tourbillon is a watchmaking tour de force.

“The tourbillon movement developed by Breguet was an historical benchmark in the quest for precision in timekeeping,” says Jerôme De Witt. “Today at DeWitt, our objective is to perpetuate this goal of manufacturing the most precise mechanical watches possible. Our first in-house movement was a

tourbillon, the calibre DW8028, and confirmed the depth of our know-how and autonomy as a manufacturer. Since our first tourbillon in 2010, we followed in 2011 with a unique

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ment,” De Witt continues. “It is considered to be one of the most challenging movements to make. A little plate bearing the signature of our master watchmaker is placed on the bar-

“It takes so much care to accomplish a tourbillon that works well.” automatic tourbillon, calibre DW8014, yet again an example of our dedication to precision in watchmaking.

The manufacturing challenge Tourbillons are challenging to manufacture, as the tolerances are so tight.

“In the 211 years since Breguet introduced the tourbillon movement in 1801, it is estimated that only 250 watchmakers have mastered the art of making a tourbillon move-

VACHERON CONSTANTIN PATRIMONY TOURBILLON 14 DAYS

rel-bridge as a witness to the pride and affection put into the creation of each DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight tourbillon.”

Sure, there are tourbillons on the lower end that don’t keep good time, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

“It takes so much care to accomplish a tourbillon that works well,” says Roland Murphy, RGM Watch Company (PA, USA). “Timekeeping should be one of the priorities when making a tourbillon.”

GIRARD-PERREGAUX VINTAGE 1945 TOURBILLON

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Finishing is a priority with tourbillons, as the tourbillon cage is usually on display for all to see.

“The finishing is extremely important, especially for Franck Muller tourbillon watches, where the tourbillon is visible on the dial of the watch,” says Pierre-Michel Golay, Director of Research & Development, Franck Muller. “The quality of the polishing of all the parts, including the bridges

Roger Dubuis focuses on finishing to a great degree, as they are the only manufacture applying the Geneva Hallmark criteria on every tourbillon they make. “The precision in terms of manufacturing needs to be a lot more accurate for tourbillon components than for simple movements,” says Gregory Brutin, Associate Director Movement Development for Roger

“Making tourbillons once was the royal art of watchmaking ...” and the balance wheel has to be perfect. The tourbillon frame has to be as light as possible and the centre of gravity has to be exactly on the rotation axis. To achieve that we have to use light metals, such as titanium or aluminium alloys. The machines used and assembly also has to be perfect to reach the required accuracy.”

THOMAS PRESCHER FLYING DOUBLE AXIS TOURBILLON

Dubuis. “As for the assembling and the regulation, it’s a longer process than for a simple movement and it requires a lot of experience and precision for the watchmaker.”

Modern manufacturing methods have made it possible to mass produce tourbillon components, but the highest quality tourbillons rely

on hand craftsmanship and traditional high watchmaking.

“Making tourbillons once was the royal art of watchmaking, because no series were done and so everything had to be created by hand,” explains Thomas Prescher. “Today we have production methods which allow us to produce spare parts in extreme high precision and acceptable quality. So it is already possible to have extremely cheap tourbillons from the Far East for about $250. So it is again up to the client to decide if he wants a real handmade masterpiece made in a traditional way with perfect finish which should be at least $100,000 or if he decides for a more industrial product from $250 up.”

Taking the tourbillon to the next level Today, the tourbillon is alive and well, offered by some of the most traditional brands, like

RGM PENNSYLVANIA TOURBILLON, STAINLESS STEEL

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Girard-Perregaux, Vacheron Constantin, Zenith and Bovet, but at the same time it has been turned on its head by new companies like Franck Muller, Greubel Forsey, DeWitt and Richard Mille, looking to take the tourbillon to another level.

The additional complications and use of new designs and materials make the tourbillon even more difficult to create and even more valuable and sought-after.

Regardless of what is done today to the tourbillon, the power of this “beating heart”, the revolving wonder of watchmaking, to fascinate will never diminish.

“The tourbillon has become more common over the last few years as it is one of the simplest complications to realise in haute horlogerie,” says Claret. “Simple to realise, but still very difficult to realise to a very high standard, which is why excellent tourbillons are much rarer. Nevertheless, I think that the

ZENITH EL PRIMERO TOURBILLON IN STEEL

tourbillon will always have its place when it is executed properly and complemented by other interesting and innovative complications.”

Combining aesthetics with watchmaking artisty, the tourbillon is an amazing complication.

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tourbillon is an essential complication for watch collectors.

“We think that there is plenty of room for new tourbillon movements—the tourbillon can be seen as an example of extreme, sophis-

“The Tourbillon is an essential complication for watch collectors.”

“The tourbillon is an impressive-looking watchmaking movement, and its rotating cage makes it truly spectacular,” says Vacheron’s Selmoni.

“At Vacheron Constantin, only a few tourbillons are manufactured every year, due to the complexity of their construction and their hand-made finishing. By doing so, we want to maintain the exclusivity of the tourbillon, and of course maintain as well the reputation of our tourbillons at a very high level. The

ticated miniaturisation, and the current technical improvements and innovations allow new developments in this field—just to mention one example,” he adds.

Thankfully, tourbillons are here to stay.

“For some customers, the tourbillon is just aesthetic and technical, but for collectors and watchmakers, the tourbillon is a brilliant engineering feat,” says Roger Dubuis’s Brutin. O

DAVID VAN HEIM TOURBILLON T1, STAINLESS STEEL, CHINESE MOVEMENT

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Putting the seal on quality RPaul O’Neil

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What is the best way to judge or to affirm the quality of a timepiece? The term “Swiss Made” hardly seems sufficient, since it merely establishes that at least 50 per cent of the value of the components in the movement is of Swiss origin and that the movement was assembled and inspected in Switzerland. But what about the rest of the watch?

Within a few years of the first criteria being determined for the “Swiss Made” label on a watch in 1880, the foundations for the Poinçon de Genève (the Geneva Hallmark) were laid on 6 November 1886, when the Grand Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva set up a facultative control centre for watches at the request of the Geneva Watchmaking Society.

Placing the official seal of the State of Geneva on watch movements and issuing certificates of origin had two main objectives. Firstly, it was

to guarantee the quality and origin of the piece in question. Secondly, and more importantly, it was to protect against competition (and potential abuse of the name Geneva) from watchmakers in the surrounding area. This explains why, above and beyond all the quality criteria, a brand seeking the Geneva Hallmark must be established in the canton of Geneva and must also have its assembly and testing workshops in the canton. As the watchmaking industry expanded, the Hallmark came to differentiate the quality of Geneva-made watches from those of the competition—not just from neighbouring France but also from watchmakers in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux and Jura regions.

Geneva quality The first watch to bear the Hallmark of Geneva was produced by C. Dégallier on 30 November 1887 and the first company to be registered for the label was B. Haas Le Jeune in 1888. To date, over 1.25 million watches have received the Hallmark, an average of 10,000 per year.

In addition to the “early adopters”, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe, the brands of Antoine Preziuso, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Cédric Johner, Chopard, Daniel Roth, Gérald

Genta, Roger Dubuis (the only brand to certify 100 per cent of its production with the Geneva Hallmark) and Svend Andersen have all produced Geneva Hallmark movements.

The award of the Geneva Hallmark was based on a number of stringent criteria concerning the decoration of the finished movement.

These criteria have been revised, notably in 1891, 1931, 1955 and more recently in 2008, in line with developments in the industry.

Furthermore, for a watch to earn the Geneva Hallmark, all the components used in casingup, in other words the parts connecting the movement with the watch case and dial, such as clamps, pivoting levers and pushpiece extensions, must be finished in accordance with the criteria that govern movement components.

Timelab A new law adopted by the Grand Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva in 2009 brought to an end the 123-year period during which the Geneva Watchmaking School had overseen the application of the Geneva Hallmark. The law brought into being a foun-

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dation of Geneva’s Watchmaking and Microtechnology Laboratory. This new entity, called Timelab, announced sweeping changes to the management of the Geneva Hallmark last year, which was the 125th anniversary of the Hallmark. [See below for the new criteria.]

The changes bring more detail into the strict criteria for the movement and change the way the application of the Hallmark is managed.

As a representative of Timelab explained to Europa Star, “Previously, brands used to discuss among themselves whether a compo-

nent could be submitted for certification, even though they were competitors. It was then up to an expert at the Geneva Watchmaking School, who devoted just one hour per month to the Geneva Hallmark, to decide whether the component was good enough or not. This will now be replaced by a more structured homologation process by component.”

For the first time in the Hallmark’s history, new criteria have been introduced to cover the functions of the watch-head once the movement has been cased up. This means that

The basic principles of the criteria that must be met in order to be awarded the Geneva Hallmark concern the sophistication of a movement’s decoration. But some elements of the decoration and finishing serve to improve the quality of the movement as a whole.

• Steel parts All steel parts must have polished chamfers, straight-grained sides and smoothed down or levelled faces. Screw heads must be polished or circular grained with chamfered edges and slots. This helps to reduce friction and aims to prevent minute metal filings being lost in the movement, which could compromise its durability.

• Jewelling All movements must have jewel bearings on the going train and escapement with polished holes. On the bridge side the jewels must be semi-brilliant with polished sinks. The jewel finishing allows better lubrication (the oil spreads more easily), which extends the life of the components.

• Balance spring The balance spring must be pinned up with a grooved plate with a stud having a rounded collar and cap.

• Going train The wheels of the going train must be chamfered above and below (bridge side only for wheels less than 0.15mm thick) and have polished sinks (one sink only for wheels less than 0.15mm thick). The pivot-shanks and faces of the pinion must be polished. This helps to reduce friction and aims to prevent minute metal filings being lost in the movement, thus ensuring greater durability.

• Escapement The escape-wheel must not exceed a thickness of 0.16mm (0.13mm if the movement is less than 18mm in diameter) and the locking faces of its teeth must be polished. The angle described by the lever must be limited by fixed banking walls, not pins or studs.

that the timepiece must be water resistant to a pressure of three bar (and a negative pressure of 0.5 bar), accurate to within one minute over seven days—which is within the tolerances required for chronometer certification— and have a power reserve equal to or above that indicated by the manufacturer.

According to Timelab, “Under the previous rules, at least in theory, a movement bearing the Geneva Hallmark could be magnificently decorated but did not necessarily need to work!

To combat this, we have added basic function-

NON-GENEVA HALLMARK

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ality tests. We did not want to go into too much detail because we want the end customer to understand the tests and even be able to replicate them. So the test is completely different to the COSC tests, even though the precision requirements are very similar. We have developed new machines for the test, which we have sent to the brands.”

France (“La Vipère”) and Glashütte, Germany.

These certifications are all based on the ISO 3159 standard.

A group of brands (Bovet Fleurier SA, Chopard Manufacture SA, Parmigiani Fleurier SA, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier SA) adhere to the Qualité Fleurier certification criteria. In

Under the new regulations for the Geneva Hallmark, it is the responsibility of the “applicant” (in other words the watch company) to ensure that the necessary requirements are met. The three inspectors from Timelab will carry out regular audits of all applicants, at frequencies of between once per week and once per month depending on the volume of movements produced. Furthermore, additional spot checks are possible at any time and the manufacturer is obliged to keep a record of all test results for at least ten years.

Certifying precision The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) [see our article in the October/ November 2011 issue for more information on the COSC] is the Swiss national agency for chronometer certification, with offices in Biel-Bienne, Le Locle and Geneva. Similar chronometer certifications are also offered in Besançon,

CALIBRE 4400 by Vacheron Constantin

CERTIFICATION 55

addition to aesthetic criteria that are similar to those of the Geneva Hallmark but concerned more with the decoration of the movement (polished sinks, bevelled and polished shaped parts, polished “functional” zones on steel parts, polished and bevelled screw heads) the Qualité Fleurier criteria impose COSC certification and a “Fleuritest”, which involves a

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24-hour test on the watch in its final form on a special machine that simulates wear during extremely active and calmer phases. The precision of the watch must be within the range of 0 and +5 seconds per day after the 24 hours in order to be awarded the certification "FQF, La Haute Horlogerie certifiée", which translates as “certified high-end watchmaking”. In June this year, the FQF introduced a new criterion that requires the watch-head to be “100 per cent manufactured in Switzerland.”

Patek Philippe, which used to produce pieces bearing the Geneva Hallmark, has also created its own quality label, the Patek Philippe Seal, whose criteria regarding decoration are also aligned with those of the Geneva Hallmark but whose criteria for movement accuracy impose the strictest limits in the entire industry: a delta of only five seconds per day (between -3 and +2 seconds) for movements 20mm in diameter or above, which corresponds to 99.994 per cent accuracy.

A standard for the future The new Geneva Hallmark criteria entered into force on 1 June 2012. The previous criteria will, however, remain valid in parallel until 1 June 2013, in order to allow manufacturers time to adapt to the changes.

With these new criteria, the guardians of Geneva’s watchmaking traditions have taken a decisive step to bring the requirements for the Geneva Hallmark up to date. It is now the only all-encompassing quality certification (in

CALIBRE RD620 by Roger Dubuis

that it covers both the decoration and the accuracy of a movement as well as the functions and water resistance of the finished timepiece) available to all manufacturers within a particular geographic area of Switzerland.

And the changes seem to have been welcomed by Geneva’s watchmakers according to Timelab, who received enquiries from “new” brands looking to certify their production even before the new criteria had been announced.

But all this comes at a price: while a “conven-

tional” high-end watch can take up to 500 hours to produce, a Geneva Hallmark version can take up to 700 hours.With the new criteria, this 40 per cent supplement could even climb to 50 per cent. It is therefore up to the brands, with the support of Timelab, to ensure that the person who will ultimately bear the cost of this increase—the customer—fully understands the value of the Geneva Hallmark and its importance in safeguarding the know-how and traditions of watchmaking in Geneva. O

THE LOST HALLMARK The Poinçon du Jura was set up by Jura-based movement manufacturer E-light in 2009 as a response to the Geneva Hallmark’s geographical limitations. It had a similar grounding, in that all the components for a movement (which had to be 100 per cent Swiss Made) had to come from the so-called arc jurassien region and the movement had to be produced by an independent company without any affiliation to any of the major watchmaking groups.

The registered trademark of the Poinçon Jura was therefore a more proprietary quality seal that severely restricted the number of companies who were able to comply with its requirements, many of which were geo-political rather than related to the aesthetics of the movement or its performance.

Sadly, the only movement to feature the Poinçon du Jura was the third iteration of defunct brand Wyler Genève’s tourbillon and with the bankruptcy of Wyler Genève as the main customer of E-Light in 2009, the same fate later befell the supplier itself, which threw in the towel—and with it the Poinçon du Jura—towards the end of 2010.

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ADVENTIC by Eterna The Adventic’s 44mm diameter case is available in brushed and polished stainless steel or brushed and polished 4N rose gold (the latter version is a limited edition of 50 pieces). As the classic white or black dials proclaim, it is powered by Eterna’s proprietary calibre 3843, a self-winding movement that uses the brand’s Spherodrive system, offers a power reserve of 72 hours and displays the hours, minutes, small seconds at 9 o’clock and GMT at 6 o’clock with inset date window. The Adventic is fitted with a black or brown alligator leather strap with folding clasp in steel or gold.

RM022 CARBON by Richard Mille Only five of this limited edition of the RM 022 tourbillon “Aerodyne” Dual Time Zone will be produced. It has a lightweight case made from carbon nanotubes. Inside the 50mm x 40mm case the movement uses a carbon nanofibre baseplate and a new alloy called orthorhombic titanium alumnide. Its motor is the Calibre RM022 manual winding tourbillon movement with a power reserve indicator (70 hours) between 11 and 12 o’clock and a torque indicator that shows the mainspring’s internal tension.

ROYAL COLLECTION by Ernest Borel With its two-tone steel and gold 40.5mm case and bracelet and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock with a traditional railway-track style scale and a discreet Roman numeral at 12 o’clock, the latest model in Ernest Borel’s Royal collection exudes an historical elegance. It is powered by a calibre 2895 self-winding movement with a circular-grained oscillating weight and blued screws that are visible through the transparent sapphire crystal case back.

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ROYAL OAK EXTRA THIN 39MM by Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet claims that the design of this new reference comes as close as possible to the original model, which celebrates its 40th birthday this year. Inside the 39mm diameter stainless-steel case is the in-house self-winding calibre 2121, which has a minimum power reserve of around 40 hours. The blue dial bears the familiar “petite tapisserie” pattern with white-gold applied hour markers and luminescent Royal Oak hands. The look of this classic three-hander is completed by the Royal Oak tapered stainless-steel bracelet.

MILLE MIGLIA CHRONO GMT by Chopard Available as a limited edition of 2,012 pieces in stainless steel or 250 pieces in red gold, Chopard’s 2012 edition of the Mille Miglia watch is a 42.4mm diameter COSC-certified selfwinding chronometer with chrongraph and GMT functions. It features the Mille Miglia arrow logo on the crown and case back and a black dial with sapphire crystal. The strap in natural black rubber has the tyre-tread design of a 1960s Dunlop racing tyre.

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Quartz goes to the aid of the mechanical watch Between a rock and a hard place

RPierre Maillard

fact, a side-effect—access to mechanical movements once again became a little easier.

Spinedi acted quickly and was thus able to again offer mechanical watches in the lower end of the mid-range, at about CHF 800. The following year, 2010, would be his most profitable one yet. Louis Erard had emerged from the crisis relatively unscathed and the brand was stronger than ever. Now, with clear skies ahead, Alain Spinedi has been able to establish the brand in several price segments, ranging from CHF 600 to CHF 5,000.

But in 2011, the horizon again clouded over.

The Swiss franc rose to nearly unsupportable levels and the Swiss competition commission (COMCO) ruled in favour of the Swatch Group, allowing them to drastically decrease their deliveries of movements to third parties. Louis Erard’s supplier of choice, Sellita, was unable to make up the shortfall caused by the reduction in ETA deliveries immediately. The brand therefore joined eight other companies in objecting to the COMCO ruling. Alas, their opposition was quickly brushed aside.

Alain Spinedi was now between a rock and a hard place, even though 2011 was, in the end, a good year for the brand. It sold 16,000 watches and for the first time passed the symbolic threshold of CHF 10 million. Convinced that ETA would never make a U-turn (he worked for the Swatch Group for 13 years and thus knows it very well from the inside) and also certain that the value of the euro would not rise so quickly, Spinedi knew that he had to find a new strategy.

ROMANCE 30mm

ROMANCE 33mm

(photo: Fernando Correia de Oliveira)

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In 2009, during the full “subprime crisis”, which saw sales of the struggling Swiss watch industry fall some 25 per cent, Alain Spinedi, owner of Louis Erard, heard Jean-Claude Biver talking on the radio. The very media-savvy boss of Hublot was describing the brands that were at risk of disappearing during the financial storm, namely those that were “young, employing less than 20 people, and active in the mid-range”. This was “exactly the case of Louis Erard” thought Alain Spinedi. The astute entrepreneur had launched his brand in 2004 based on two “sacred” credos: only mechanical watches, under CHF 2,000. And, at the time, he employed less than 20 people, although today there are 28.

Since 2007, Spinedi’s business has been in the black but he also was affected by ETA’s decision to decrease delivery of its movements.

Starting in 2008, Spinedi was thus forced to give up one of his credos, that of keeping his sales price under CHF 2,000. Unable to grow in quantity, he was thus forced to grow in value. Prices climbed to CHF 3,000 for pieces with small useful complications, and the brand also introduced a ladies’ line. It even offered gold models selling at CHF 11,500. He had found his niche, Spinedi thought, which he defined as being “haute horlogerie at the right price”.

But, in the autumn of 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers rang the bell to signal the end of “playtime”. This time, things really did get worse. Still for all, Alain Spinedi would challenge the prophecies of Jean-Claude Biver.

The crisis that affected watchmaking had, in

Alain Spinedi

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ROMANCE 33mm

If he did nothing, he was condemned to soft growth that would not allow him to make the necessary investments in marketing, and his distribution would suffer. If he completely abandoned his positioning and moved upmarket, he would be taking an even bigger risk.

He would be forced to invest heavily in marketing while rethinking his distribution, not knowing if such a new image of Louis Erard would be accepted in the marketplace.

The only solution left was to find something between these two extremes—he would go back to his original positioning while at the same time ensuring growth by increasing volume. The strategy, however, meant renouncing his other basic credo—that of only selling mechanical watches, which he truly believed was sacred. Louis Erard would have to start using quartz and open its brand more widely to the market for ladies’ watches.

Identify a neglected niche Although he believed that his product pyramid, ranging from CHF 800 to CHF 3,000, was relatively well balanced, Spinedi felt it necessary to also offer products below CHF 800, with an entry level price of around CHF 450.And, in this niche, he had to succeed without offering what had made Louis Erard successful in the first place—classically designed mechanical watches

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ROMANCE 36mm CHRONOGRAPH

with small complications. But, he would conserve the watches’ fundamental parameters as well the specific character of each collection.

While the development of the brand’s mechanical collections remains essential for Spinedi, the introduction of a ladies’ line of quartz watches allows him to also grow production volume. He realised that, in this area, there is a niche that had been greatly neglected. In the price range of CHF 245 to CHF 450, there are many fashion brands that offer trendy watches for women. Between CHF 450 and CHF 850, however, which is the entry-level price for his mid-range competitors’ feminine collections (namely Maurice Lacroix, Frédérique Constant, and Longines), Spinedi saw a lot of open space and opportunity. This niche had been rather neglected, and he intended to fill it.

The debut of a Romance The spearhead of this new strategy is the Romance collection. Produced in quantity and exclusively feminine, equipped with quartz movements, the prices start at CHF 480 on a leather strap and rise to CHF 610 on a metal bracelet. Available in three sizes, 30 mm, 33 mm, and a 36-mm chronograph, prices gradually climb to CHF 2,750 for a chronograph, on a metal bracelet, set with Top Wesselton diamonds.

In stainless steel or rose gold PVD, with a dial in mother-of-pearl or finely guilloché, mounted on a leather strap or metal bracelet, the Romance collection retains the pure style of Louis Erard. Classic and slightly spirited, whose appearance is very much in tune with the art of timekeeping, the line seems to have been quickly adopted by the brand’s retailers, which comprise a distribution network of around 750 points of sale to which Alain Spinedi intends to remain closely aligned.

Romance will therefore not be distributed in department stores but should contribute, in terms of volume, to improving the profitability of its partners. Spinedi expects to increase the total 2011 level of production of 16,000 timepieces to 21,000 in 2012, with the hopes of reaching a turnover of CHF 12 million. This totally self-financed operation also involves new investments in marketing and advertising, as well as a new stand at BaselWorld in 2013. Up to now, BaselWorld has cost the brand CHF 200,000 per year but this will triple to CHF 600,000 in 2013, when the brand will be in Hall 1. “Just because of BaselWorld, I have to make an additional million in sales,” muses Alain Spinedi, “but this is a risk I must take.” Could his “quartz operation” also appeal to men, we ask. Nothing could be less certain, comes the reply. This is especially true since, little by little, more mechanical movements will become available.

Will the use of quartz thus be simply a temporary strategy for a brand that has always affirmed its proud slogan “Swiss Mechanical Watches” or will this co-habitation ultimately result in marriage? We must not forget that the prices of quartz watches are much lower than those of mechanical timepieces, often with more attractive margins—on condition, of course, that that there is sufficient volume. O For more information about Louis Erard click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

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No rainbows, but a glimpse of the sun RKeith W. Strandberg

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Ever since the global recession, the United States has been, in varying degrees, written off by the watch industry. For most watch brands, China has become the biggest market and the USA has become more or less an afterthought, and not without reason.

In fact, the US has been a tough place to do business for quite some time, what with the housing market problems, stock market woes, unemployment and now the 2012 presidential election. Storm clouds have been hovering over the US market in general, and disposable income purchases (like watches) in particular, but, according to retailers and brands active in the US, the sun might finally be peeking through.

The market Exports from Switzerland to the US continue to rise, up 18.4 per cent in 2011, according to the

FH, with a value of almost two billion Swiss francs. The growth seems to be continuing, as exports grew by just over 10 per cent in May of 2012, the last month figures were available.

The US market is a huge one, and one that is largely untapped for luxury watches. Sure, fine watches sell in the bigger cities and entry level watches do well throughout the country, but there is a vast, unexploited populace that buys one or two watches over the course of their lifetimes. Reaching these people is important, and could be a windfall for many brands, but for the time being watch companies are focusing on maximizing their existing markets, leaving expansion for the future.

In the bigger cities, watches seem to be picking up at each end of the retailing continuum – entry level (up to $1,000) and high end (over $10,000) are seeing strong sales, while the mid-range has been struggling.

this segment of the market was vacated before the crisis, as brands sought to raise their average price points.

“Business in the USA is like an hourglass, with sales at the top end and the lower end strong, with the middle being a challenge,” says Rudy Chavez, president, Baume & Mercier NA. “The opportunity for us is here, to firmly establish Baume & Mercier as the leader in the classic $2,000 - $5,000 range. We offer a strong value proposition, beautifully designed men’s and ladies’ pieces, with an authentic watchmaking heritage. In addition, we have our connection to life’s special moments.

“It’s quite often that I meet people who have stories about their watches, as a milestone in their lives,” he continues. “This gives us a special relationship. Celebrations always happen.

They survive ups and downs in economies and they are what make watches special.”

There are brands in the market that are doing quite well in this mid-range, however – brands like Hamilton, Baume & Mercier, Victorinox Swiss Army and others, for example. In truth,

René Stutz, President of Victorinox Swiss Army NA, confirms that the market is not doing too poorly. “The timepiece business for Victorinox Swiss Army is growing with independent fine

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LINEA by Baume & Mercier

CHRONO CLASSIC by Victorinox Swiss Army

jewellers and better regional chain jewellers in the US. The strength is in the product collections between $495 to $995 US retail and new automatic timepieces introduced the fourth quarter of 2011 are continuing to sell well this spring/summer. Retailers are cautiously optimistic about the second half of 2012, but they are resistant to build inventories for additional growth.”

Zenith president Jean-Frédéric Dufour is optimistic about the US market, despite the challenges. “The overall business in the US has remained good so far and even shows indications of growth which gave us the confirmation that it is a strong and well established market,” he says. “Thanks to that, we can consolidate this zone of the world which is of course of first importance for Zenith.

“Zenith is still building its image in this huge market and we need to continue to reinforce our presence in order to make consumers more familiar with our collections,” Dufour continues. “The US territory is an impressive market in terms of possibilities and we need to get closer and closer to the watch aficionados in every region. We are therefore monitoring our network very carefully not only in terms of

MARKET FOCUS USA 61

quantity but also in terms of the quality of our representatives.”

Views from the brands Almost everyone Europa Star talked to was upbeat and positive about the US market as a whole, and their business in particular. There is some caution however, as the country braces for the upcoming presidential election, pitting current president Barack Obama against Republican challenger Mitt Romney (the election takes place in November, 2012).

“Business in the US overall for retailers is steady at the higher end of the watch category,” says Larry Pettinelli, president, Patek Philippe NA. “Everybody has their eyes towards the upcoming election, and some below-average economic indicators have given retailers cause for concern. Fairly low GDP rates around the 2 per cent mark are keeping the recovery modest. Everyone seems to be in agreement that this is going to be a long, slow, but hopefully steady recovery.

“Many businesses are frustrated at their inability to plan due to the unusually slow recovery,” he adds. “However, we are confident that short of any unforeseen economic crises, the US economy will continue to grow. For our

brand, we are very fortunate to be at the higher end of the retail business, which tends to be steadier. Long term, we feel very positive about our prospects. We have significant opportunities to raise brand awareness here in the US.We will focus on educating the younger clientele about the intricacies of Swiss watches, and Patek Philippe in particular, enabling them to understand the underlying value of our brand.”

Patrik Hoffmann, president, Ulysse Nardin, acknowledges that business is not easy in the US. “Our numbers are about the same as last year, but last year we had enormous growth,” he says. “We are back where we were in 2007 and 2008. It is a push, it’s not easy. I am convinced that the export numbers into the US don’t agree with the sell-out, brands are building inventory. I see it less positive than the numbers reflect. We never push in, but the big groups have to show numbers. I feel that the US is quite safe, it is doing well. If the crisis comes, out of Europe, the US will go down as well.

The US on its own is in quite good shape.”

Stacie Orloff, president of Bell & Ross NA, is also a bit cautious. “Business is not fantastic, but it’s not horrible either,” she says. “It could

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expect an average of 1.2 turns in US retailers but we have had an average of 3.2 turns, which is great. We think it is because of the value for price point. To get a five time zone reversible timepiece, the Kalahari, for $3200, is pretty spectacular.”

VINTAGE COLLECTION by Bell & Ross

WW1 HEURE SAUTANTE by Bell & Ross

be, and should be, better. Last year, the US came out and spent some money, then realized the economy was still bad and pulled back. There weren’t any signs – one minute we were flying high and the next we were flat. We are still really confident. We have good partners, we have a great collection.

“There is caution out there again and the brands that have a great collection, a solid marketing plan and strong partners will move again,” she adds. “We have some challenging times ahead, but we are up to it. Retailers should look for brands that will partner with you, have solid financial backing and are good people. This way, they can reduce their dependence on the big boys.”

For Korloff Paris, it was important to have something different from other brands when they entered the US market. “We started in watches 20 years ago.We have over 50 monobrand boutiques now, and we are in 12 independent retailers in the US,” details Christopher Meek, general manager, Americas, Korloff Paris.

“We were surprised – what we heard was to

Evan Yurman, the designer of David Yurman Timepieces, is pleased with how the timepiece business is doing in the US. ”Our women’s watch, the Classic Ladies, is really selling well, especially in steel and diamonds,” he points out.

“Business is great for watches. The jewellery business this past quarter didn’t do so well, but we are doing all right, in spite of a down economy. Watches are about 8 per cent of our total business. I’d like them to be 20-30 per cent, and it could easily go up to 40 per cent.”

Michael Goldstein, president, Perrelet NA, echoes that uniqueness in the US market is a must, especially for a small brand. “We have had good results in big cities,” he says. “In Las Vegas, for example, because of the limited editions, we are doing very well.We are selling limited edition Turbines regularly, and we have a total of over 40 doors in the US now. Because the Turbine has become an iconic design, stores want us now. It doesn’t cannibalize what they are already carrying, and many stores want to work with independent brands.”

Ernst Benz has taken uniqueness to a higher level, making it possible for customers to customize just about any timepiece in their line.

“In the US market, we have been opening a number of new independent jewellers who understand who we are,” Leonid Khankin,

KALAHARI by Korloff Paris

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TURBINE TOXIC by Perrelet

president, Ernst Benz, says. “We can adjust any watch for any customer – if they want to change the hands, we’ll do it, for a retailer or an end consumer. We make our idea but we will adjust it to any way a customer wants it.

We should do anything the customer wants.

It’s possible for us to do bespoke quite easily.

We are even able to put names on the dial –

so customers can have their own personalized watch with their name on the dial!

“What’s working for us is that our retailers understand and tell their customers about our craftsmanship and our heritage,” Khankin continues. “We are profitable for them, we are unique in the market and we offer a real margin.”

BALL ENGINEER MASTER II GCT

MARKET FOCUS USA 63

CHRONOSCOPE by Ernst Benz

Milus USA just introduced a new limited edition Snow Star watch to commemorate Milus’s history with the military in the US. “The goal is to give the Snow Star Heritage kit the right platform,” says Doron Basha, president, Milus NA. “Business is all right, but it’s not easy – we are holding our own. This is a very targeted campaign, so I need retailers to find the committed customer.”

For Ball Watch NA’s president Jeff Hess, business is going very strongly. “Business for us is stunning,” he says. “We had our first down month in five years in March, and that was because of Basel, with us out of the office for so long. We had our best April ever. People collect our brand and we have a great price point. There are people who have five, six, seven Ball watches. I know one collector who has 35. We have people who buy one of every model we bring out.

“We are doing this big project with the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, and in September, we are doing a huge launch with BMW – Ball for BMW,” he continues.

“We are only doing BMW with our top 25-30 retailers in the US. They really have to be our partners.”

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A positive outlook from the retailers Scott Bolozky is the owner of Clarkson Jewelers in St. Louis, MO, a Patek and Rolex dealer. For Bolozky, business has been good. “Watches are strong for us,” he says. “We had a bit of a slowdown in December – we had been up 15 per cent every month until then, then it went down to single digits. It has now picked up again.

“Rolexes are selling best, and Patek is doing well,” he continues. “We sell the complicated Patek pieces very well, better than the standard models. The 24 is also very good for us too. I am anticipating no slowdown.”

SPACE INVADERS by Romain Jerome

Romain Jerome put the US market to the side over the last two years, but the brand is paying more attention now, according to Manuel Emch, president, Romain Jerome. “We are slowly building the US market,” he says. “The US economy is coming back. We’ve had some good sell-through. We have six retailers now and we are adding more. We would like to have about 10.

“The country is so big, but the market is relatively small, so word of mouth is very important,” he adds. “We don’t want to be overdistributed. We need to be very responsive and to offer great service. That’s why we work with independents, because they have to educate the end consumer. Now we are refocusing on the US. The miracle of the US market is its resilience.”

A brand new limited-edition Romain Jerome watch made out of metal from the Statue of Liberty debuted this year—a very cool idea that Emch expects to do very well in the US and all across the world.

uptrending,” Ziff says. “Overall, things are moving in the right direction. For Ferragamo, we have huge name recognition and we are in a great price range, from $800 - $2000. It’s all about value. We are trying to position part of our collection towards young people, as a way of educating them about watches.”

In the US, according to Paul Ziff, president, Salvatore Ferragamo Watches, customers want luxury, but they don’t want to waste money, meaning value for money. ”Business is ok, it’s

THE VEGAS SHOWS June is the month for the watch and jewellery shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. There were two shows going on at the same time, for the second year on opposite ends of the Strip.

At the Wynn Hotel were the Couture and Couture Time shows, while at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center (and hotel, as well as THE Hotel), were the JCK Shows, including Swiss Watch by JCK. Until two years ago, the shows were more or less together, with Couture at the Wynn and JCK at the Sands Exhibition Center and Swiss Watch in the Venetian. Now, however, the shows are separated by the entire length of the Las Vegas Strip, which is challenging to retailers who want to visit all the shows.

This year, Couture Time had more watch brands than ever before, 66, and increasingly, brands are re-evaluating where they belong in Vegas. Some brands, like Breitling, are not in any show, content to exhibit on their own in one of the many luxury hotels in Vegas.

This year’s Vegas shows opened to sizzling temperatures, going up to 100 degrees and more (40+ C), but the mood in general, despite the heat, was upbeat, with brands, retailers and distributors excited about the promise of the coming watch year.

Russel Kaplan is the co-owner of Tapper’s, a family-owned multi-brand retailer in San Francisco, CA. “Business keeps getting a little bit better, but it hasn’t gotten to the point where I am saluting the flag, but it is better,” he says. “Omega and Glashütte Original have been selling well. Zenith has been on a very good upswing – it’s accessible and very upscale. There is really something to talk about. We like to talk about these brands. We Award ceremony photos by: (c) Sandro de Carvalho of Sandro Art & Photography

STEAMPUNK CHRONOGRAPH by Romain Jerome

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“It hasn’t been a particularly hard sell, as the retailers have all wanted the brand,” he continues. “What’s exciting is the cities outside NY and LA, like in Alabama or Texas, are doing very well with the brand. Bremont is hitting a niche. You have the big, big brands, but people also want to have brands that are less marketing driven, but more accessible and manufacturing driven. They don’t want the watch that is on everyone’s wrist.”

RENAISSANCE by Salvatore Ferragamo

1898 by Salvatore Ferragamo

are doing well with Ball and Bremont because there is really something there.”

Manager, Bremont. “We have tripled our number of retailers and they are really starting to get it.They see the authenticity.We have opened 26 independents in North America, with the bulk in the USA. They seem to like what Nick and Giles English are doing and they see how genuine they are and the company is. They can trust us.

For relatively new brands like Bremont, the US is a challenge but also a land filled with opportunity. “The USA is very exciting for Bremont,” confirms Michael Pearson, North American Sales

Hess is also a retailer, having two stores in Florida, one in Tampa, FL and one in St. Petersburg, FL (Old Northeast Jewelers). “As a retailer, when the downturn hit, I went into the most expensive mall in our area and opened a store, and the first year we did $1.6 million, and the next year we did $2.2 million,” he says. “We are doing very well.”

The overall outlook in the US is favourable, but there are hurdles to get over, with a struggling recovery and the pending elections.

There are rays of sunshine breaking through the doom and gloom, but the situation is still a bit precarious. O

VEGAS PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS REVOLUTION SHELBY BLACK

by David Yurman

There were several new products introduced at the Vegas shows. Normally, these shows are an opportunity for brands to show their Basel or SIHH product to their retailers on US soil for the first time, but every so often a new product is debuted at these shows.

This year, here are the highlights launched in Las Vegas: To introduce its newest collection, the Revolution, David Yurman had an event at a local racetrack where retailers and journalists had the opportunity to drive Shelby Cobras. The Revolution is a new platform for Yurman, offering a tonne of interesting options for limited editions. During the show, Evan Yurman, the son of David and the designer of the watch line, showed off the new Shelby Cobra limited edition, developed in partnership with Carroll Shelby (who recently passed away – in fact, Yurman left the Couture show to attend the memorial service).

Ball Watch debuted the special Grand Central Terminal timepiece for the first time on US soil.With a strong railroad history, it makes enormous sense for Ball to partner with the Grand Central Terminal in New York City to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The limited edition watch (999 pieces) for this event is the Engineer Master II GCT, a 44mm dual time zone piece with the GCT logo on the dial and the famous Tiffany clock from inside the terminal engraved on the caseback.

And finally, Perrelet introduced the new Turbine Toxic, a decidedly darker version of their hugely successful Turbine collection. On the dial is a skull adorned with diamonds (two sizes are available – 50 mm and 41mm), subtly hidden by the openworked turbine on the dial side. Spin the turbine and see the dial, or keep it hidden. It’s your choice.

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One-on-One with Maurice Goldberger RKeith W. Strandberg

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The last time you heard about Maurice Goldberger, Europa Star was grilling him on the secondary, parallel and grey markets. Now, Goldberger, the president of Chiron, Inc., has entered the regular distribution game.

This might seem a little strange, as Goldberg specialised in close-outs, but for him, it makes perfect sense.

“We do a very good job in close-outs, which is also controlling distribution,” explains Goldberger. “A number of our suppliers have over the years asked if we could do their full line distribution. Two years ago, we weren’t ready, but today we are.”

When Goldberger talks about “controlled distribution”, even with close-outs, he focuses on making sure that no one is selling the same goods to the same market at the same time.

“When we do close-outs, if we buy 10 references from a brand, we don’t give 10 references to one customer, we give two references to five customers, giving each of those customers exclusivity for those references. That way they aren’t tempted to reduce prices and they aren’t competing amongst themselves.”

In addition, Goldberg has come up with a system that makes sure that everyone can sell

won’t make his full margin, but he still makes something, and the REAL advantage is faster turnover and service to the end customer. And, at the end of the day, we are not in the watch business, we are in the service business.”

Who is the customer?

Goldberger, who distributes Chronoswiss (North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Duty Free), CX Swiss Military (North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Israel, Australia and Duty Free) and S.T. Dupont (Western Hemisphere and Duty Free), has a unique take on who is his customer.

“In a multi-brand shop, the clerk behind the counter is the customer of the brand, whether they know it or not,” he explains. “When consumers walk into a multi brand shop, they aren’t going to buy something, they want to be

our Intranet, find out where it is and get it, having it there the next day. Now we have a bulletproof system that really works.

“The clerks need to make a living, they don’t care what they are selling and they have a choice of what brands they will support,” he continues. “I am looking to build raving fans, who will be ambassadors for our brands. I have a reputation like this in close-outs, I don’t play any games, so people trust me. I want to build that same reputation in the retailer network.”

“The one thing that a salesman hates is losing a sale.” the products that his company, Chiron, has.

“The one thing that a salesman hates is losing a sale,” he details. “If there are ten closeouts out there and a retailer wants reference three and he doesn’t have it, we give him access to our Intranet. It tells him what is available and in what quantity. This retailer

sold something. The clerks behind the counter have a choice of anything in their showcases which they can propose and encourage, so the clerks will sell what they are most confident in. And, if consumers come in and ask for a certain reference from one of our brands which the clerks don’t have, they can go onto

BALANCE by Chronoswiss

europa star

DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE 67

KAIROS CHRONOGRAPH by Chronoswiss

20’000 FEET by CX Swiss Military

RÉGULATEUR by Charmex

For Goldberger, the only difference between regular line distribution and close-outs is price point. “In close-outs, these are goods that are no longer in the catalogue, for whatever reason,” he says. “Full price is sold at full price. It’s in everyone’s interest to sell at full price. The retailers need return on investment.

Support the clerk and you have the consumer.

“I have been doing close-outs for 18 years, and I didn’t plan to do full-price distribution,” he adds. “10 years ago, there were two main markets for close-outs – Japan and USA.

Now, 10 years later, we have China that is absorbing tremendous quantities of inventory, South America is growing and Europe is selling. And, manufacturers are cutting back on their inventory. It seemed like a good time to move in this direction.”

Goldberger isn’t getting out of the close-out

leather companies and high end pen companies as well.”

Goldberger’s offices are in Montreal, Canada but the distribution is all done from 444 Madison in New York. “We want to control the quality, we really want to hold our retailers, our customers, by the hand,” he says.“If it all is from

“I am scalable and I can add more brands as long as they don’t compete.” business. In fact, he is still doing close-outs for brands throughout the industry, and he will also handle the close-outs of the brands he distributes. “This allows me to control all aspects of a brand in my market,” he clarifies.

“I handle the full price goods and close-outs, though it is two separate sales staffs. We have someone dedicated to the brand in the office, who is always there.”

More brands in the future Chiron will continue to grow, according to Goldberger. “We are going to be doing more brands, with a goal of five total in the short term,” he says. “I am scalable and I can add more brands as long as they don’t compete.

We are going to be working with high end

one location, we can control it. Servicing the accounts is the biggest challenge. Distributors typically don’t excel in the service area. Retailers told me that they call other distributors and don’t get any response. What can they tell their customers if they don’t get a response? This is a problem throughout the industry. The consumer doesn’t blame the brand, he blames the retailer.

If I am a hero for the clerk, I can be successful.”

Goldberger has a respected name in the industry for close-outs, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out as he moves into regular line distribution. With his calculated and measured approach, he could be very successful.

Chiron International’s corporate website is currently under construction. O

68 WORLDWATCHWEB europa star.com

The online demand for luxury watches in the United States

A

RTamar Koifman, Head of Marketing, Digital Luxury Group

As publishers of the WorldWatchReport™ for the last eight years, we’ve been watching (forgive the pun) and analysing the rises and falls of the luxury watch industry across numerous countries. Although for the first time this year China has surpassed the United States as the country exhibiting the highest demand for luxury watches, the US, a large, diverse, and mature market, continues to represent an incredibly important opportunity for luxury watch sales. Understanding the American mentality to luxury (and luxury watches, specifically) is crucial to watch marketers. By analysing the details of the interest Americans express for luxury watches, we can learn a great deal about their preferences for specific brands, models, or styles as well as see their sensitivity to price point and other crucial buying factors.

While a lot has changed over the past years, other things remain constant. Rolex continues its dominance as the luxury watch brand with most online interest. Of the 40 brands tracked in the US, Rolex captures just over a quarter of all brand-related

Top 10 Most Popular Brands in the United States

searches. It nearly doubles its category challenger Omega, which comes in 2nd place with 13 per cent of brand search volume.

Compared to 2011, both of these brands have seen an increase in market share percentage. William Rohr, a long time collector and pillar of watch forum Time Zone, says of this finding, “It is much easier in a slow market for the strongest to get stronger.

Rolex was able to push its advertising and did not pull back.

Furthermore the brand reputation has a ‘halo’ effect; it is considered a ‘safer’ purchase than a lesser known brand.”

A large market like the United States has a large volume of online searches related to luxury watches and it’s by grouping these individual searches into certain intentions that we are able to better understand exactly what about luxury watches has Americans looking for more information. Brand-name-only searches represent just under two-thirds of total searches and specific model name searches represent about 17 per cent of total. The remaining intention categories may not represent a large slice of the total, but when considering the large total volume of online

(January to December 2011)

europa star.com

demand from a large market like the US, these numbers become more significant. Searches including replica-type words come in first among these smaller categories, at 2.83 per cent of the total.

This significantly differs from other markets as well as the global results, in which price tends to be the top category, while replicatype searches only appear midway through the list. Globally, replica searches represent 1.85 per cent.

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery but I’m not sure that the sages who came up with this expression had the luxury goods business in mind. If we look at the brands most often associated with replica searches it’s perhaps no surprise to see Rolex and the top. This amplification is a consequence of its longheld status as the top brand. While not as stark as Rolex’s share of replica-based searches, Breitling’s 2nd place ranking here could be considered even more worrisome news. Not only does its 9.43 per cent share of the searches here surpass its general market share, but it also surpasses its general market share ranking, in which it ranked 4th. This disproportionate share of replica searches is much more unique to this market than Rolex’s, which is near consistent throughout markets of this study.

Another interesting insight on the US market is the importance of mobile marketing. Over one in five online searches globally concerning the luxury watch industry occurs from a mobile device such as an iPhone, BlackBerry, or iPad. This statistic is even larger when looking at just the US market, making it clear that this

WORLDWATCHWEB 69

The Most Desired Counterfeit Watches in the United States (January to December 2011)

country is prime ground for mobile-friendly websites and mobile marketing initiatives. Those brands that do not cater to this segment in the coming years will be demonstrating a clear lack of understanding of the opportunities and challenges that are presented by digital communications in general. O For further insights on the US market, or any other for that matter, the WorldWatchReport™ offers a wealth of information.

More details are available at: http://www.worldwatchreport.com.

Relative Share of Mobile Searches in the United States

(January to December 2011)

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72 LETTER FROM CHINA europa star

“We call Eterna ‘Sleeping Beauty’” At the Shenzhen Watch Fair, Jianguang Shang, CEO of China Haidian, talked about the holding, its two Chinese brands and his ambitions for its new Swiss flagship brands Eterna, Porsche Design and CodeX.

RJean-Luc Adam

Europa Star: Was the purchase of Eterna and Porsche Design in 2011 part of China Haidian’s group strategy?

Jianguang Shang: Yes! In 2010 we started to restructure our activities by selling off any that were not related to watchmaking, in particular our copper factories.At the end of 2011, China Haidian became a genuine watchmaking group.With Ebohr and Rossini we have two

Photo: Jean-Luc Adam

C

China Haidian, based in Hong Kong, is a family company that is 60 per cent owned by its chairman, Hon Kwok Lung, 57, and 10.89 per cent by Keywise Capital Management, which is also based in the former British colony. The rest of the capital is floating on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Unlike with Fiyta and Sea-Gull, therefore, the Chinese government does not hold any shares in the company.

China Haidian, owner of the Ebohr and Rossini brands, has 3,000 full-time employees. Its tentacular distribution network comprises 2,900 points of sale spread across five networks (one proprietary network and four joint ventures).

In 2010, Ebohr financed a new Swiss brand, CodeX. One year later China Haidian purchased the venerable (1856) Eterna and with it Porsche Design watches, which are also produced at the same factory in Grenchen, in the Swiss canton of Solothurn. China Haidian’s 2011 turnover was 1.47 billion Hong Kong dollars (HKD) (approximately CHF 185 million) and its net profits were HKD 282 million (CHF 36 million).

Jianguang Shang, 60, who is both CEO of China Haidian and Managing Director of Rossini, talked exclusively to Europa Star.

Jianguang Shang

out of the top four Chinese brands in terms of volume, the second of which has been the domestic market leader for ten years! The arrival of Eterna and Porsche Design in our group is an excellent opportunity for our development of watchmaking technology, our influence on a global level and the outlook for our business.

ES: Certainly. But what level of autonomy will you leave these brands of tradition?

JS: We will not interfere with their business because we want them to keep their Swiss identity. We will, however, help them to fulfil their potential in the Asian markets, and in China in particular. Internally we call Eterna “Sleeping Beauty”. We will wake her up using the financial power of our group. But, I repeat, our assistance will be limited to financial support and marketing. For everything else they will have total autonomy.

ES: And is Porsche Design Sleeping Beauty’s sleeping sports car?

JS: Just like the famous sports cars, Porsche Design watches have their own engines. Here too, we aim to improve the brand’s commercial performance. Actually, we do not differentiate between the sports car brand and the watch brand, even if they no longer have the same shareholders.

ES: But Porsche is known for its cars, not its watches…

JS: The Porsche Design watches are the perfect embodiment of the Porsche cars in terms of their styling and technology. Such closeness is, incidentally, quite rare in the Swiss watchmaking industry.

ES: Will you use Porsche showrooms in China to boost sales?

JS: Our strategy for Porsche Design is still a secret.

ES: Eterna is also a movement manufacturer.

Could you foresee it supplying the high-end models for your Chinese brands, or even— why not?—stepping into ETA’s shoes as a global supplier, since Eterna will go back to quartz?

China Haidian has 2900 points of sale in mainland China, spread across five different distribution networks.

74 LETTER FROM CHINA europa star

New from Ebohr for 2012: Complication collection with orbital tourbillon at 9 o’clock, 60-hour power reserve, dial on three levels, stainless-steel or pink-gold case, 46.1mm diameter, alligator leather strap.

˘ (“shared New from Ebohr for 2012: The "Mèng xiang" dream”) model in the Kana collection, 18-carat gold case, Swarovski crystals (257 rubies, 204 diamonds, 8 cut stones), Swiss quartz movement, limited series of 60 pieces.

JS: Absolutely not! Given the growth forecasts we have for Eterna, we would be happy if it could just satisfy its own demand for movements. Quartz at Eterna? I don’t know where you got this information from but it is out of the question! Ebohr and Rossini rarely use Swiss movements, they are generally Japanese.

ES: In 2010, the Swiss brand CodeX was set up with financial support from Ebohr. But it had a difficult start and its first director was clearly not on the same wavelength as the Chinese managers. Was this a problem of cultural compatibility?

JS: You need to distinguish between the investor and the company, since they are two very distinct entities! Of course the investor is looking for a return on investment, sometimes quite quickly, but in the watchmaking industry we know that you have to look at the long term. At CodeX the watches are made in Switzerland by Swiss employees and using

ES: So why don’t Chinese watches finally use Chinese movements? Sea-Gull’s movements seem to have improved a lot…

JS: They have improved but it will take some time yet before we use their movements because quality is our overriding concern.

In Zhuhai, a town near Macau, Rossini will open its new factory this autumn. The style is European but the size Chinese.

New from Ebohr for 2012: Kana collection, Swarovski crystals, Swiss quartz movement.

Swiss marketing. Ebohr is merely an investor!

On the other hand, the day that the brand decides to enter the Chinese market, we will offer them direct support.

ES: You have to admit that China and Switzerland is a bit like the tale of the hare and the tortoise! One goes too fast and loses itself a little, while the other progresses slowly but surely towards its goal…

JS: (Laughs) Here is how I see things: what we need in the precision industry is the Swiss model. This country produces the best watches because the Swiss are serious, professional and perfectionists. This is why we do not get involved in operations. So is there a cultural difference between China and Switzerland? Yes: the Chinese work for money, but money is not the main motivation for the Swiss. We are aware of this antagonism, in fact we fear it! This is why we leave the management to the Swiss teams without any interference from our side. The moral of the tale: to invest in Switzerland, you need to understand the Swiss culture, otherwise do not invest in Switzerland.

76 LETTER FROM CHINA europa star

the idea is not to copy Swiss design but to meet the needs of the Chinese customer. You have to understand that the watch market is a pyramid, with the Swiss brands at the top.

Ebohr and Rossini have left the “low-end” segment to position themselves in the low- to mid-range, the most promising segments for the next few years. This is why we are constantly looking to improve our wristwatches.

And it’s worth remembering that Swiss design is easier to implement than Swiss technology!

New from Rossini for 2012: Chinese tourbillon at 6 o’clock, yellow-gold plated stainless-steel case, crocodile leather strap, sapphire crystal front and back, water resistant to 30 metres.

ES: But when Swiss quality meets the profitable Chinese market there are fireworks! So why not launch CodeX in China immediately?

JS: Its market is mainly in Europe, but it will progressively open up to Asian markets. But we haven’t set any deadlines for this.

ES: In the conference with the leading players in Chinese watchmaking,Tao Li, your colleague at Ebohr, mentioned the idea of hiring Swiss designers.Will “Swiss design” be the new trend?

JS: Of course we want to take advantage of the Swiss industry to improve our designs. But

A SCOOP AT CODEX On the CodeX stand in the“Swiss Pavilion”at this year’s Shenzhen Watch Fair, Eric Alban was wearing a new watch. The Biel-based brand’s designer reveals the prototype for a new collection.

Europa Star: Your watch looks great!

Eric Alban: It is an entry-level three-hander in a new collection that will be called “Intemporel” and is more geared towards elegance and classicism.

ES: It certainly stands out against the virile “Identity” collection…

EA: When CodeX was launched two years ago we used some very strong design codes in order to stand out from the crowd.

Now it is time for stability.

ES: How is this stability transferred to the new collection?

EA: By a horizontal bar which separates the dial into two, a symbol of stability. It con-

EA: And on the screw-in sapphire crystal case-back. If you look at the watch from the back all around to the front, you will see a continuity in this polished/brushed effect.

trasts well on two-tone models and highlights the two-level dial. The upper plate on the dial adds relief, bringing something extra to the dial but at the same time conserving the elegance of a classic watch.

ES: And the movement?

EA: On this model, we are playing it safe with an ETA 2824 calibre. For around 1500 Swiss francs, we are trying to offer the best production and finishing quality of the watch itself, as well as the movement.

ES: The case seems very intricately worked.

EA: This is because of the play of light and shadow created by polished and brushed surfaces. It is most striking on a polished line called “the path of light”, because it moves around the case without interruption. It’s a feast for the eyes…

ES: Isn’t this the opposite of the first CodeX collection?

EA: Yes, in terms of the effect, because the watch is “calmer”, but it remains coherent with its CodeX attributes. Look at the conical shape of the case, with the case-back smaller than the bezel, or the sharp angles that do not spoil the grace of the piece. Or the almost mirror-polished markings on the dial, just like the other CodeX models.

ES: So it’s a canny mix of sharp and rounded edges?

EA: Taken even further! When the hands are aligned with the hour markers, for example, the continuity is perfect. Furthermore, the hands and hour markers are domed, which means that they capture a lot more light and bring the dial even more to life.

ES: The polished/brushed look is even on the buckle!

ES: What will the collection consist of?

EA: There are two case versions for the three-hander, as well as the small seconds, but this one uses a Dubois-Dépraz movement, and a big date in three different cases, also with a Dubois-Dépraz complication. The cases are in stainless steel or steel with a 4N pink gold bezel and all-gold for the big date.

ES: Is the design of the CodeX Intemporel your personal work?

EA: Absolutely…

Photo: Jean-Luc Adam

New from Rossini for 2012: Dedicated to football, YD5559, with 45-minute display, stainless-steel case, date, sapphire crystal, polyurethane strap, quartz movement.

ES: Another speaker advised Chinese watch brands to take advantage of Chinese culture, which is legitimate in the watch business. But today, apart from some culinary aspects, what Chinese things are left in China?

JS: How many people buy a watch because of its Chinese culture? Don’t look for Chinese culture in our Rossini and Ebohr models because they have their own culture. The former plays the “business” card and the latter “fashion”.

This is exactly what the customer wants. From time to time we can add symbols from Chinese culture, like a dragon, but that will only be popular for a short while. A modern watch brand cannot sell Chinese cultural heritage! O

i d

Editorial & Advertisers’ index Managing Director: Philippe Maillard EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Pierre M. Maillard • pmaillard@europastar.com Senior Editor: D. Malcolm Lakin • mlakin@europastar.com International Editor: Keith W. Strandberg • keiths821@aol.com Managing Editor: Paul O’Neil • poneil@europastar.com Editorial Consultant: Casey Bayandor • cbayandor@europastar.com Asst. Publisher: Nathalie Glattfelder • nglattfelder@europastar.com CONTRIBUTORS • Italy: Paolo de Vecchi • Germany: Gerhard Claussen, Timm Delfs • France: Antoine Menusier • Australia: Martin Foster • Russia: Vyacheslav Medvedev • Portugal: Miguel Seabra • Romania: George Gisca • China: Jean-Luc Adam • Art & Techniques of Watchmaking: Jean-Claude Nicolet ART Alexis Sgouridis • asgouridis@europastar.com Dummy: Fonderie Grafix, Geneva MARKETING & CIRCULATION PRINT/E-MEDIA Marketing & Circulation Director: Nathalie Glattfelder • nglattfelder@europastar.com Marketing & Circulation Manager: Jocelyne Bailly • jbailly@europastar.com PUBLISHING & PRODUCTION PRINT/E-MEDIA Advertising Manager: Laurence Chatenoud • lchatenoud@europastar.com Editorial, Production & Advertising Coordinator: Talya Lakin • tlakin@europastar.com ADVERTISING / INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGERS Switzerland / Italy / US: Casey K. Bayandor.

Tel: +41 22 307 78 37 Fax: +41 22 300 37 48 • cbayandor@europastar.com Europe & International: Nathalie Glattfelder.

Tel: +41 22 307 78 37 Fax: +41 22 300 37 48 • nglattfelder@europastar.com Spain: Carles Sapena, Sisserou s.l. Tel & Fax: +34 93 112 7113 • csapena@europastar.es Asia: Maggie Tong Tel: +852 9658 1830 Fax: +852 2527 5189 • maggietong@europastar.com Ukraine: Sergiy Kuzmenko Tel: +38 044 205 4089 Fax: +38 044 205 4099 • skuzmenko@karavan.ua ACCOUNTING Business Manager: Catherine Giloux. Tel: +41 22 307 78 48 • cgiloux@europastar.com Credit Manager: Alexandra Montandon. Tel: +41 22 307 78 47 • amontandon@europastar.com MAGAZINES Europa Star - Europe - International - USA & Canada - China - Latin America / Spain Ukraine, Europa Star Première, Bulletin d’informations, Eurotec, CIJ International Jewellery Trends & Colours WEBSITES www.worldwatchweb.com, www.europastar.com, www.watch-aficionado.com, www.watches-for-china.com, www.horalatina.com, www.europastar.es, www.europastarwatch.ru, www.CIJintl.com, www.eurotec.ch Head office: Europa Star HBM SA, Route des Acacias 25, CH-1227 Carouge/Geneva - Switzerland Tel +41 22 307 78 37, Fax +41 22 300 37 48, www.europastar.com.

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Printed in Geneva by SRO-KUNDIG Audited REMP2011 Copyright 2012 EUROPA STAR All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Europa Star.

A, B AJS 33, 4 Antoine Preziuso 52 Antopi 75 Arnold & Son 40, 42 Atokalpa 33 Audemars Piguet 47, 57, 69 Ball 63, 65 BaselWorld 18, 36, 40, 43, 59, 79 Baume & Mercier 40, 52, 60, 61 Bell & Ross 61, 62 Bovet 51, 55 Breitling 68, 69 Bremont 65 Bulgari 35 C, D Carl F. Bucherer 40 Cartier 52, 68, 69 Casio 39 Cedric Johner 52 Centagora 33, 43-44 Chanel COVER IV, 68 Charmex 67 Châtelain 44 China Haidian Group 72 Chopard 36, 52, 55, 57 Christophe Claret 48, 49, 51 Chronoswiss 66, 67 Chung Nam Group 37 Citizen 31, 33, 34, 4042 CodeX 72, 74, 76 Concepto 33, 34 Concord 40 Corum 40, 42 Cousins 77 CX Swiss Military 66, 67 Daniel Roth 52 David van Heim 51 David Yurman 62, 65 de Grisogono 35 DeWitt 21, 48, 49, 51 Digital Luxury Group 6869 Donzé Cadrans 19 Dubois Dépraz 76 E, F Ebel 19 Eberhard & Co. 40 Ebohr 72, 74, 76 E-light 56 Ellicott 35

Emile Chouriet 32 Ernest Borel 29, 57 Ernst Benz 62, 63 ETA 24, 58 Eterna 57, 72, 74 Fabrique du Temps 22 Fédération of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) 60 Fiyta 72 France Ebauches 36 Franck Muller 40, 46, 47, 50, 51 Frédérique Constant 59

Optimo 34-35 Oris 18 Panerai 7, 40, 68, 69 Parmigiani 55 Patek Philippe 2-3, 47, 52, 56, 61, 64, 69 Paul Picot 40 Perrelet 62, 63, 65 Precision Engineering 33 Thomas Prescher 47, 50 Promotion SpA 73 Prothor 40 Prototec 40

G, H Gérald Genta 52 Girard-Perregaux 40, 47, 49, 51 Glashütte Original 64 Graf 35 Graham 40 Greubel Forsey 36, 47, 51 Hamilton 60 Harry Winston 43 Hublot 40, 58, 69, 80

R, S Rado 68 Raymond Weil 10-11, 40 RGM 47, 49 Richard Mille 47, 51, 57 Rodolphe Cattin 35 Roger Dubuis 47, 50, 51, 52 Rolex COVER II, 1, 64, 68, 69, 80 Romain Jerome 64 Rossini 72, 74, 76 Salvatore Ferragamo 64, 65 Sea-Gull 72, 74 Seiko COVER III Shenzhen Watch & Clock Fair 77 Svend Andersen 52 Swatch Group 33, 36, 58

I, J Ice-Watch 70-71 IWC 68, 69 Jacob & Co. 35 Jaquet Droz 40 Jaeger-LeCoultre COVER I, 12-15, 33, 46, 47 Jean Dunand 47 K, L Korloff 62 La Joux-Perret 33, 34, 40-42 Léman Cadrans 22 Longines 59, 68 Louis Erard 58-59 Louis Moinet 35 Louis Vuitton 9, 22-24, 40 M, N Maurice Lacroix 59 Milus 63 Montblanc 40 Moser & Cie. 33 Nivarox-FAR 33, 35, 38 Nouvelle Lémania 19 O, P Ludwig Oechslin 19 ochsundjunior 19 Omega 64, 68, 69, 80

T, U TAG Heuer 6, 26, 2, 30, 44, 68, 69 Technew 53 Technotime 33, 36-38 Timelab 52, 54, 55, 56 Tissot 25 Titoni 27 Tudor 16-17 Ulysse Nardin 18-20, 61 V, W Vacheron Constantin 4-5, 48, 49, 51, 52, 55 Vaucher Manufacture 33, 55 Victorinox Swiss Army 60, 61 Wyler Genève 56 Z Zenith 48, 51, 61

BASELWORLD.COM

THE WATCH AND JEWELLERY SHOW APRIL 25 – MAY 2, 2013

80 LAKIN@LARGE europa star

The art of subliminal advertising Boy, have Rolex and Hublot got it right or what?

With the summer only half way through those two brand names have had so much exposure on television it’s unbelievable.

In June we had the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as the Euro 2012 Finals. 31 matches were played over a total of around 2,850 minutes, during which time the Hublot brand name appeared every time a player was substituted or additional playing time was shown on an electronic board hoisted above the head by what is known as the Fourth Official.

That is forty-seven and a half hours of possible subliminal advertising for what was probably a derisory (in watch company advertising budgets terms) amount of money spent. And if I’m not mistaken, I think I caught a glimpse of Roy Hodgson, the England team manager, wearing a Hublot Big Bang.

A remarkable coup by that master of marketing, Jean-Claude Biver, but even his brilliant marketing manoeuvre is put in the shade by Rolex. A partner of The Championships at Wimbledon since 1978 when Rolex became the “Official Watch”, the amount of time the Rolex name has appeared on television screens around the world can only be estimated, but given that the name and the logo appears on the ever-present scoreboard, we’ve got to be talking around 4,000 hours over the years.

And that’s not to mention this year’s winner of the Gentlemen’s Single Final, the Rolex ambassador, Roger Federer. On winning his seventh Wimbledon title after beating Scotland’s Andy Murray, he dropped onto the hallowed green turf of the centre court, then victoriously sauntered over to his chair, nimbly pulled off his bandana, wiped his forehead and placed an exquisite gold Rolex watch on his wrist prior to receiving the winner’s magnificent golden cup. Déformation professionnelle oblige, it was a rose gold Rolex Day-Date II—or as the brand care to refer to it as an Everose Gold watch, which is not only pretentious but also redundant since 18-carat gold doesn’t discolour unless there is a problem in the alloying of the metal—which is highly unlikely chez Rolex or Metalor!

In addition to the watches that the genius with the racket receives, I discovered on Gregory Pons’ Business Montres site that it is rumoured that Federer’s annual income from this ambassadorship is around fifteen million dollars. Again, hardly a dent in the annual budget!

To give my eyes a rest and my body a workout after sprawling across the couch for all those hours of sport, I left the sunshine and warmth of the Côte d’Azur and squeezed into an EasyJet and popped over to London to attend a rather posh wedding, morning dress et al.

It was all busy, busy, busy over there as the city was preparing for the

invasion of visitors to the summer Olympics, which in British terms meant between 15 and 16 degrees centigrade accompanied by daily tropical downpours many countries in Africa never see in a lifetime.

But back to the Olympics: the opening ceremony was on Friday, July 27 and the closing ceremony on Sunday, August 12. During those two weeks, another Swiss watch brand reaped the rewards of subliminal advertising since Omega was the official timekeeper for the games—and not for the first time either, this was the brand’s 25th occasion. Clearly a marketing tool par excellence.

But back to my visit. Whilst roaming around the West End I was drawn to watch retailers’ windows like a wasp to my sandwich and was impressed by the omnipresence of Omega watches.

However, in one leading retailer’s display, the Omega name on the display was facing the wrong way, so, being a good Samaritan, I ventured into the shop and told one of the salespeople, a rather churlish man as it turned out who mumbled something about it being readable from the inside and showed me the door with a simple “Good Morning”.

Two days later, on my way to buy some cheddar cheese at Selfridges I passed by the display again to discover that it hadn’t been corrected— and voilà, the proof snapped by my telephone’s camera. Why did I bother? Well may you ask, but I thought that perhaps Stephen Urquhart, the brand’s President, would have appreciated the gesture— after all he has Scottish blood running through his veins.

So with the Olympics in London I suppose there were many people sprinting through the streets this summer, carrying torches and passing batons, a bit like last summer except they were passing television sets and other moveable objects.

So, here’s my Olympic games story: an attractive blonde sees a man carrying a long metal bar close to the athletes’ entrance and asks him if he’s a pole vaulter.

“No,” says the man, “I'm German, but how did you know my name is Walter?”

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

D. Malcolm Lakin Roving Editor

www.chanel.com

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