ARTS & WATCHES - Europa Star

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EUROPE EDITION
All Europe
Central & Eastern Europe, Russia
N° 316 6 /2012 Dec. / Jan.
CHF12 / €10 / US$12
ARTS & WATCHES
SIHH previews
NEW SECTION: SERVICE, PLEASE!

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.
Malte Small Seconds Caliber 4400 AS
18K 5N pink gold, Power reserve of approximately 65 hours,
Hallmark of Geneva, Hand-wound mechanical movement,
Silvered dial, sand-blasted, Applied hour-markers in 18K gold
Ref. 82130/000R-9755

6 EDITORIAL europa star
Mixed signals
R Pierre M. Maillard Editor-in-Chief
Children are not the only ones who
like to play at being scared. These days
there are so many examples, in both
film and literature, of post-apocalyptic
tales that it seems as though everybody
likes to scare themselves.You only
have to listen to all the rhetoric about
the Mayan calendar predicting the end
of the world (scheduled, we remind
you, for 21 December 2012, just as this
issue is published) to see this. The end
of time has, in fact, become a very lucrative
market.
The watch industry is no exception. For
several months, the darkest prophecies
have been mounting. Everyone—
including us—was saying that China’s
appetite for watches would wane
drastically. With the rest of the world
in intensive care, we would see what
we would see. And, then bang. At the
end of November, the Federation of the
Swiss Watch Industry, basing their predictions
on an expected increase in
exports, announced that “2013 will be
a record year”. We don’t know which
way to turn.
In September, everything seemed to
indicate that the prophets of doom were
right. Swiss watch exports did indeed
decline for this month.The fact that this
decline was minimal (-1.5 per cent)
doesn’t really change anything. For
many observers, this first decline was
indeed a sign that the downward spiral
had begun. But then in October exports
rebounded considerably, up 13.2 per
cent to CHF 2.1 billion.This pushes the
probable total for 2012 beyond the
CHF 19.3 billion reached in 2011, a
record year in itself.
So, we might again think that all is
well in the best of watchmaking worlds.
Unfortunately, however, this is not the
feeling among subcontractors, whose
order books, which logic dictates
should be overflowing, are far from
full. Undoubtedly, the reason for this
disparity is the increase in the average
sales price combined with a decline in
volume.The drop in volume, at 2.7 million
pieces, was 3.4 per cent in October.
But over the same period the value
shot through the roof, up 17.1 per
cent for watches selling for more than
CHF 3,000. All together, the average
unit price at export for a Swiss watch
increased from CHF 590 in 2011 to
CHF 680 in 2012. During the month of
October, the watches that decreased
most by volume (down 10.3 per cent)
were the less expensive pieces, those
selling for under CHF 200.
What do we conclude from this jungle
of mixed signals?
First of all, that no one is a prophet and
that the worries resulting from the fears
of a catastrophe, so apparently appreciated
by our civilisation, are often the
fruit of our own projections. We must
also realise that the gradual abandon
of the low and even mid-range categories
by the Swiss watch industry is
unavoidable. But this abandon may not
be as painless as we might think. Over
the medium term, we could actually
see a weakening in the Swiss industrial
fabric. Worse still, these forsaken
lands will not remain fallow for long.
Want an example? The (Sino-)Belgian
Ice-Watch has just provocatively opened
a flagship store in the heart of Geneva.
A crime of lese-majesty? We hear that
the watches are flying off the shelves…

TO BREAK THE RULES,
YOU MUST FIRST MASTER
THEM.
FOR 2012 THE ROYAL OAK REINVENTS ITS
HERITAGE AS THE ORIGINAL RULE-BREAKING
HAUTE HOROLOGY SPORTS WATCH. THIS ICONIC
PIECE CELEBRATES THE PURPOSEFUL ROYAL
OAK STRONGBOX ARCHITECTURE, AND THE
ARTISANAL FINESSE AND ELEGANCE OF THE
ENGINE-TURNED “GRANDE TAPISSERIE” DIAL.
THE USE OF 18 CARAT PINK GOLD CREATES A
DISTINCTIVE PRESENCE, AND IS OFFSET WITH A
CROWN OF DIAMONDS OF ULTIMATE PEDIGREE.
EACH STONE IS INTERNALLY FLAWLESS AND
PERFECTLY MATCHED, AN ALLURING MASTERY
OF BOTH WATCHMAKER’S AND JEWELLER’S ART,
AND SIGNATURE AUDEMARS PIGUET.
ROYAL OAK
IN PINK GOLD WITH
DIAMOND DIAMOND-SET SET BEZEL.

10 CONTENTS europa star
CONNECTING
ICONIC
BRANDS
TO THEIR
CLIENTELE
ONLINE
DIGITAL-LUXURY.COM
WORLDWATCHREPORT.COM
media partner
EDITORIAL
6 Mixed signals
COVER STORY
12 Chanel – When watchmaking and jewellery combine their
effects
ARTS & WATCHES
18 Introduction: Is watchmaking an art?
20 The cultural track – A discussion with Franco Cologni
24 Vacheron Constantin – Creating a dialogue between art
and artisanal
26 Handing down talent and experience – The Rolex Mentor &
Protégé Arts Initiative
30 Girard-Perregaux – Paying tribute to Le Corbusier
32 Hermès – Imaginary time
34 Greubel Forsey – Microscopic art
36 MB&F’s M.A.D. Gallery
38 Cultural patronage: miraculous manna
41 Cinema Paradiso: Watches and cinema
SIHH
51 Audemars Piguet: Interview with François-Henry Bennahmias
53 Cartier’s new manufacture chronograph
54 Piaget’s strident voice from a slender body
55 Richard Mille’s support for road safety
56 Roger Dubuis leads the way in self-sufficiency
GALLERY
58 Geneva shows previews
SIHH (continued)
59 Panerai’s celebration of classic yachting
60 Baume & Mercier’s seaside odyssey continues
GALLERY
62 Geneva shows previews
SIHH (continued)
63 Ralph Lauren’s Sporting World Time in steel
NEW SECTION: SERVICE, PLEASE!
65 Introduction
66 Reinventing customer service at Piaget
69 Letter from China: Customer Care in China
71 Opinion: Patek Philippe
72 Letter from France: The Chinese salesgirls at Galeries
Lafayette
WORLDWATCHWEB®
74 An updated look at the Chinese luxury watch market in 2012
RETAILER PROFILE
76 BTC, Egypt
78 EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
LAKIN@LARGE
80 The face of adversity
www.europastar.com
THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE
N° 316 6/2012 DEC./JAN.
PREMIERE TOURBILLON
VOLANT by Chanel
The 28.5mm by 37mm Première
Tourbillon Volant model features
a case constructed on two
levels that allows for numerous
possibilities of precious stone
setting. The minute attention to
detail paid to this piece can be
seen in the delicate diamondset
hands and the diamond-set
cabochon of the camellia flower
that rotates once every minute
in the 6 o'clock position. This is
mounted on a flying tourbillon
powered by a manually-wound
TDC10 movement with 40 hours
of power reserve. The exceptional
level of finishing on the movement
includes hand chamfered,
drawn and circular-grained components
as well as Côtes de
Genève decoration.
CHANEL
Place Vendôme 18
75001 Paris / France
Tel. +33 (0)1 40 98 50 00
www.chanel.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 / FRP 2012
The statements and opinions
expressed in this publication are
those of the authors and not
necessarily Europa Star.

THE RALPH LAUREN STIRRUP WATCH
18K ROSE GOLD LARGE MODEL. MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT. SELF-WINDING CHRONOGRAPH.
261 COMPONENTS, 48-HOUR POWER RESERVE. SWISS MADE.
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12
COVER STORY europa star
When watchmaking and jewellery
combine their effects…
CHANEL’s approach to watchmaking relies on intangible stylistic codes originally set down by Mademoiselle
Chanel. They are at the heart of its profound identity involving simplicity of forms, rigour of colours, and authenticity
of materials. When these pure architectural forms, these clean colours favouring black and white and these uncompromising
materials combine with diamonds and precious gemstones, the exceptional results speak for themselves.
Diamonds and precious stones reinforce the architectural purity of the form, illuminate the richness of the colour,
and emphasise the boldness of the material. Watchmaking and jewellery seem to come together, not in an artificial
manner, but rather in a natural combination that results in one remarkable and, therefore, timeless object.
RPierre Maillard
T
The Première Flying Tourbillon offers a spectacular
and poetic example of the precious
fusion between fine watchmaking and high
jewellery. The 228 diamonds (approximately
7.7 carats total weight) that are set in the 18carat
white-gold case and bezel underscore,
in a brilliant and vivid manner, the clean lines
of the case of the Première collection, inspired,
as we know, by the geometry of the Place
Vendôme and the famous stopper of the
CHANEL No. 5 perfume bottle.
In this jewellery version, however, its stylised
geometry is seen on two levels. The middle
case is surmounted by a bezel that majestically
frames the black ceramic dial. The cor-
ners have been truncated, conferring upon
the piece additional dynamism and lustre. The
case’s two-level architecture allows for a multitude
of stone-setting variations. Thus, for
example, the lower part of the case can be set
with vertical, rectangular baguette diamonds
along the entire edge, except in the cut-off
corners that are highlighted by square-cut
diamonds, while the side of the bezel can be
set with round diamonds. Or, alternatively, the
bezel can be set with baguette diamonds,
with or without coloured stones that, by mixing
their fiery brilliance, come together to create
new harmonious combinations. The possible
variations and combinations are endless.
On the edge of the case, a large crown is also
set with baguette and round diamonds.
This rigorous magic of jewellery allows the
light fully to play its role in highlighting the
floral sculpture that rotates on the dial. It is a
flying tourbillon in the form of a camellia
whose interlocking petals are carved in metal,
while its diamond-set heart is surrounded by
a semi-transparent lacy net, giving the flower
its delicate texture. This ethereal camellia
makes one rotation per minute and the petals
indicate the passing seconds. The hour and
minute hands are placed slightly off-centre,
higher on the black dial, and are also set with
diamonds. This in itself represents quite a feat
given the size of the diamonds and the slenderness
of the gold hands.

The timepiece evokes high jewellery, of course,
but it also represents a wonderful example of
prestige watchmaking. This poetic and mysterious
camellia is a flying tourbillon whose
cage—devoid of an upper bridge, but containing
the regulating organ of the watch (in
other words, the escapement, balance, and
balance spring)—seems to twirl around
weightlessly. It is a true timekeeping exploit,
developed in collaboration with the Swiss
constructors, engineers, and master watchmakers
at Renaud & Papi (APRP), the advanced
research and development unit of the Audemars
Piguet manufacture.
With the Première Flying Tourbillon, CHANEL
offers women a true mechanical timekeeping
complication and demonstrates that the rigour
of its stylistic approach also works well with
the most luminous poetry.
An interplay of materials
Another fascinating fusion of two materials
that would, at first glance, seem unlikely is the
union of high-tech ceramic and diamonds. The
marriage of this high-tech composite material—which
is hard, silky, and resistant to harsh
environmental conditions—and carbon transformed
into diamond over the mists of time,
produces an exceptional effect. With the J12,
CHANEL’s cult timepiece (and the first to give
high-tech ceramic its letters of nobility), the use
of diamonds and precious stones only enhances
the well-balanced architecture while accentuating
its easily recognisable design.
The J12—whether simply set with diamonds
on its bezel or radiant when fully paved with
diamonds—clearly demonstrates the extent
of the piece’s versatility. Always different, yet
still the same, the new watch increases these
effects due to the unchanging design of its case
and bracelet that lend themselves perfectly to
the new and rich unions that marry ceramic,
white gold, yellow gold, round or baguette
diamonds and precious coloured gemstones
such as emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.
An example of this type of union is the new
version of the J12 that combines 18-carat
white gold, cognac (or pink) sapphires, and
high-tech titanium ceramic. The unique colour
and glow of this highly scratch-resistant titanium
ceramic is obtained by adding titanium
to the ceramic itself, which is then polished
using diamond powder. The result is a special
luminosity, whose soft and subtle reflections
combine perfectly with the delicate radiance
of the 36 cognac (or pink) baguette-cut sapphires,
set all around the bezel (for a total
weight of approximately 6.1 carats). On the
dial, twelve diamonds mark the passage of
the hours. Powered by an automatic mechanical
movement, this J12 is available in cases
measuring either 38 mm or 33 mm in diameter.
Water-resistant to 50 metres, it has a case
back and a triple fold-over clasp in titanium.
Another subtlety is the 18-carat white-gold
crown that is set with a cognac (or pink) sapphire
cabochon. [References: H3125 for pink
sapphires and H3295 for cognac sapphires]
Another jewellery version of the J12 is an 18carat
white-gold model that is fully paved with
europa star COVER STORY 13
1,018 diamonds (~ 11.9 carats). An amazing
example of brilliance and sparkle, the full-diamond
pavé-setting dramatically emphasises
the strong and clearly defined lines of the
J12’s case, bezel, dial and the links of its supple
bracelet.
The black dial is surrounded by diamond pavé,
while twelve black diamonds make up the
hour markers. Its crown is set with 12 diamonds
(~ 0.07 carat) and is surmounted with
a pointed onyx cabochon.
Water-resistant to 50 metres, this supremely
jewellery version of the J12 is equipped with a
high-quality quartz movement and is available
in the three sizes of 38, 33 and 29 mm in
diameter. [Reference: H2919]

14
COVER STORY europa star
Exploring the secret of
Mademoiselle Privé
Inspired by the plaque that was on the door
of the private workshop of Mademoiselle
Chanel, “Mademoiselle Privé” is the name
that CHANEL has given to a new collection
of pure and essential watches that
lend themselves to the creation of majestic
dials evoking the highest level of creativity
possible.
Highly classical, the perfectly round case of
the Mademoiselle Privé is thus devoid of lugs
and is mounted on an integrated strap. With
its clean lines, this disc is perfect for snow setting,
but it also permits a variety of other
exceptional work to be carried out on the
dials of this new collection.
The best example of this decorative work has
been inspired directly by the famous and
sumptuous Chinese Coromandel screens that
still decorate the apartment of Mademoiselle
Chanel. The person to whom the French
house turned for the difficult task of reproducing
some of these particularly refined
Coromandel screens in grand feu enamel is
Anita Porchet, the most reputed specialist in
the field of enamelling on watches. Porchet
works on a finely engraved base, which is
then covered with an exceptionally deep and
rich black enamel. The task requires not only a
great level of artistic skill but also demands
an intimate knowledge of the secrets of grand
feu enamelling. This work means that she
must apply one colour at a time, since each
colour needs its own firing time and tempera-
ture, as the colours change during the operation.
At each step, all of the hard work runs
the risk of being compromised due to a mistake
in the firing.
Each timepiece is thus unique, inspired by a
different scene drawn from the Coromandel
screens, whose name is engraved on the gold
case back.
Surrounded by a case entirely set with snowset
white diamonds, which gives the piece a
silky look, mounted on a black Mississipiensis
alligator leather strap, the dial of the
Mademoiselle Privé is surmounted by two
simple open-worked hands. The result is a
magnificently highlighted dial that befits its
status as a true work of art.

A mind full of symbols
The perfect circle of the dial of the Mademoiselle
Privé lends itself to all sorts of variations in
poetic and jewellery design. Constellations,
comets, stars, camellias, feathers… So many
motifs directly inspired by Mademoiselle
Chanel’s mind full of symbols, so much savoirfaire
finding a unique expression, so many different
approaches to highlight the precious
artistic skills involved in this collection that
reveals the entire mindset of CHANEL.
In this manner, La Plume pays homage to
the “Bijoux de Diamants” collection of
Mademoiselle Chanel, a collection born in
1932 out of a visionary look at freedom and
modernity. It was in this collection that the
feather motif appeared for the first time, in
the form of a sumptuous brooch.
At the same time detailed, open-worked, voluptuous,
and ready to fly away, La Plume offers
an infinite level of creativity, like the most daring
of precious pieces. In this case, it is an
enchanted feather that is designed on the
black enamel dial of the Mademoiselle Privé
collection. Sculpted in relief in 18-carat white
gold, the feather motif is decorated with
grain-set and invisible-set diamonds and pink
sapphires that create a subtle gradation of
colour. The pink lacquer applied to the tips
of the feather underscore its delicacy. The
37.5-mm 18-carat white-gold case is covered
in snow-set diamonds and pink sapphires.
Powered by an automatic mechanical winding
movement with a 42-hour power reserve,
the Mademoiselle Privé Plume is mounted on
a black Mississippi alligator strap with a diamond-set
fold-over clasp.
The favourite flower of Gabrielle Chanel,
the camellia, is honoured in another creation
that elegantly combines stone setting with a
mother-of-pearl sculpture. Composed of a
europa star COVER STORY 15
dozen different elements, it is a true carved
mother-of-pearl flower, with hand-sculpted
petals that are each a different shape.
Assembled as a very delicate inlay, these
petals make up a camellia that marvellously
evokes the smoothness and softness of the
original flower.
This splendid camellia blooms on a black onyx
dial set with seven diamond hour markers,
and evokes subtle reflections that breathe life
and femininity into the watch. Two floralshaped
hands, entirely cut out, complete this
exquisitely refined painting, a work of art
enclosed by an 18-carat white-gold case set
with diamonds and driven by a high-precision
quartz movement. This Mademoiselle Privé is
mounted on a black satin strap and a buckle
set with diamonds. O
For more information about Chanel click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

for the new emperors
Montres DeWitt SA - Geneva - info@dewitt.ch - www.dewitt.ch - +41 22 750 97 97

evolutionary by tradition

18 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
IS WATCHMAKING AN ART?
A S P E C I A L A R T & WA T C H M A K I N G S E C T I O N
I
Is watchmaking an art? Is it the 12 th Art, as
was ceremoniously proclaimed during the last
Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix?
It all depends on the definition attributed to
the word “art”, a notion that changes over
time. During the Middle Ages, the seven “liberal
arts” taught in the centres of higher learning
were grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic,
geometry, astronomy and music.Among
all these disciplines, only music is considered
today to be an “art”, or more precisely, a fine
art, whose definition is to “to produce something
for its aesthetic value”.
- Without a doubt, watchmaking is “fine”, but
is it also one of the “fine arts”?
- Yes, if we accept that the result is “fine”.
- No, if we consider the conditions under which
this “art” is practiced.
As Franco Cologni reminds us in an interview
granted to Europa Star, the essential principle
of art is the freedom of a creator. An author,
painter, sculptor, musician and dancer are, in
principle, free to act or create as they wish,
without being concerned with anything other
than their own expression. Yet, we must qualify
this definition. Not only has this freedom
not always been the rule (consider, for example,
the painters of the Middle Ages, whose
subjects had necessarily to be religious) and
still is not universal even today, but we must
also not forget that art, so praised for its freedom,
is itself also dependent on a market, in
this case, the art market. Its freedom is a managed
freedom. And if the recognition of the
“market” is a long time coming, the artist,
without any audience, is reduced to creating
in the shadows. This freedom is even more
restricted in the case of the architect, who can
only create to order, and the filmmaker, who,
even before creating, must convince his financial
backers.
The line between what is Art and what is not
(or not entirely) depends on the use that we
make, or will make, of the created product. A
painting, a poem and a piece of music have
no other object beside themselves. They are
there to be seen, felt and heard. A watch, on
the other hand, as beautiful as it may be, as
close as it may be to an “objet d'art”, maintains
its essential practical function, which is
to tell the time. If it is sometimes “nearly” an
objet d’art, it is nonetheless still a slave to the
function that it was designed for. Herein lies
all the difference.
Still, in a thousand different ways, watchmaking
seeks to approach the status of an artistic
activity. This may mean employing still more
“artists”—the famous Métiers d'Art—by
moving further away from the single essential
feature of the watch (see, for example, the
mechanical sculptures of MB&F in this issue)
or by moving closer to the art market thanks
to the spectacular auctions that are trying to
establish veritable market values for timepieces
like those for artists. In this regard, does the
recent sale by Sotheby's of the Space Traveller's
Watch by George Daniels, which went for more
than double its highest estimate to reach the
record sum of more than CHF 2 million, give
the English watchmaker the status of an
“artist”? In other words, does an object reach
the status of art when its value is disconnected
from its use? O

Get in touch at www.tissot.ch
1 st Prize in the Classic Category
Tissot Le LocLe AutomAtic
chronometer
Classic watch with an automatic COSC certified movement,
316L stainless steel case, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
and water resistance up to 3 bar (30 m / 100 ft).
IN TOUCH WITH YOUR TIME
The winner timepiece of the International Timing Competition, “Tissot Le Locle”, portrays the innovative and
traditional values of the brand. It pays tribute to the people of Le Locle who allowed Tissot to begin their
exceptional journey nearly 160 years ago, providing them with the experience and skills they have today.
This prize is therefore dedicated to all of those who contributed to the expertise that remains unique to Switzerland.

20 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
The cultural track
A DISCUSSION WITH FRANCO COLOGNI ON THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN ART AND WATCHMAKING
RPierre Maillard
G
“Guru of Haute Horlogerie”, “Cardinal of the
Richemont Group”—the description of the
role(s) played by Franco Cologni in the vast
reorganisation of Swiss watchmaking are
indicative of his very special place in the
galaxy of personalities—or characters—that
make up the watchmaking landscape. Contrary
to many others, Franco Cologni does not
come from the world of finance, trade or engi-
neering, the breeding grounds for watch company
managers. He hails from the theatre and
the university, Milan University to be precise,
where, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he
taught “The history of theatre and the performing
arts”, covering everything from Greek
tragedies to Broadway. At the same time, he
was a journalist for a major daily newspaper,
writing reviews for films and the theatre. At
that time, there was nothing to indicate that
Cologni would become the éminence grise of
the world’s second largest luxury group,
which he largely helped to build. As a student
of the theatre, however, he learned, in his own
words, that “there is no show without an
audience. And, that even if the audience is
responsible for a show’s success, it can only
be achieved with a team effort. And, theatre
is a team effort. This is exactly what we find in
the métiers d'art [artistic craft professions],
which together contribute to make an exceptional
object.”
We asked Franco Cologni if he believes watchmaking
to be the twelfth art, as people are
saying. His response was quite direct:
“Watchmaking is not an art per se, but rather
art that is applied to watchmaking. That is the
difference. The ‘artist’ enjoys creative freedom,
while the ‘designer’ works in a sort of controlled
freedom, forced to respect the rules—rules of

the product and rules of the brand. His ‘art’ is
closely tied to the predetermined function of
the product. He may stray from this function,
but he cannot forget it.Also, a designer does not
‘sign’ his work like an artist does.A designer’s
work is collective and does not belong to him.
If watchmaking is an art, you could say that it
is a minor art.”
Three lives
Franco Cologni has several lives, which retrospectively
shed light on his words from other
perspectives. After the theatre and the university,
in a booming Italian economy, he became
an entrepreneur without, however, deviating
from his aesthetic preoccupations. He began
transforming “beautiful quality objects into
luxury goods: watches, pens, leather goods,
and cigarette lighters”. Thus, Cologni created
John Sterling, the flattest lighter in the world on
a “base”, as we would say of a movement in
watchmaking, of a Dupont, Dunhill or Cartier.
“Cartier!” He succeeded in making Italy the
world’s second largest market for Cartier
lighters, an endeavour that did not go unnoticed
by Robert Hocq and Alain-Dominique
Perrin, who had just launched the famous collection
of Les Must de Cartier. In 1973, Franco
Cologni was invited to come aboard. We all
know the rest… or do we really?
“What did I bring to the table?” he muses.
Before answering, while collecting his thoughts,
he says, “I brought together luxury and culture,”
then continues more specifically, “a
luxury product is, by the nature of things, a
cultural object. It has a tangible value and an
intangible value because it is the fruit of a
culture, of a particular sensibility, that has
developed over time, taking on one face here,
another there. It is a product constructed of
cultural layers.This is its intangible value.What
can best express this value if not know-how, if
not the artisans who work on it, with a deep
knowledge passed down over generations.”
The cultural track
When Cartier and Alain-Dominique Perrin
passed into the fold of Richemont, Franco
Cologni was asked to work with the brands
and their respective cultural concepts. “Only
with the CEOs who accepted this cultural
track,” he explains quickly looking you straight
in the eye with his blue “serial-killer” (as he
sometimes likes to call himself) gaze and a
cat’s grin. “Often the problem is not so much
the brand but the person who manages it. His
or her intimate understanding of the brand’s
essence is central because a brand is a cultural
entity, an enduring entity…”
With the brands that listen to him—or sometimes
are forced to listen to him, for their own
good—Franco Cologni reveals his “system”.
It basically consists of two words: long term.
“If I am a ‘guru’ of anything, it is only of the
long term. This allowed me to propose to the
brands long-term strategies based on luxury,
and adaptable to the precise codes of each
brand”. His work with Vacheron Constantin,
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 21
“The ideal case—a magnificent history, preserved knowledge, and particular affinities with the cultural world”
for example, represents “the ideal case—a
magnificent history, preserved knowledge, and
particular affinities with the cultural world”.
In the framework of this cultural strategy,
Cologni returned to his first loves—writing
and publishing beautiful books featuring
the historic heritage of the brands. And, very
importantly, he started the SIHH and founded
what would become the current Fondation de
la Haute Horlogerie.At the same time and what
is lesser known, he also started the Creative
Academy in Milan, which belongs to Richemont,
and launched the “Fondazione Cologni dei
Mestieri d'Arte” [Cologni Foundation for
Artistic Craft Professions].
Towards a new Renaissance
Born in 1995, the Foundation is a “non profit”
organisation, and Cologni is the president. His
goal is to encourage a “new Renaissance” in
the métiers d'art, which he refers to as “the
intelligence of the hand”. Even if it is all about
passing on and perpetuating know-how, this
foundation is not at all a conservatory. Its
scope is wide. To the traditional skills that we
know in watchmaking, jewellery and haute
couture, Cologni adds the chef, photographer,
vintner, editor, typographer and the designer,
among others. “The intelligence of the hand”
is in perpetual evolution. It may be nourished
by past practices, but it is also open to new
ways, seeking to preserve its vitality while
maintaining the sense of its history and the
depth of its roots. The programmes are many,

22 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
and include teaching, training, research,
demonstrations, conferences, exhibitions and
publications, as well as a beautiful series of
basic works on these various professions (see
www.fondazionecologni.it).
“Everyone is coming over to the artisanal,” he
observes, happy to have been the first to
realise this. He sees a turning point in society
offering new economic opportunities. “The
notion of artisanal, of the métiers d'art, fine
workmanship and the quality of the product
are returning to front and centre. In the vast
game of redistribution that is globalisation,
Italy—although aging and crisis ridden—has
an enormous role to play in this domain
where it has deep and ancient cultural roots.
Against the flow of the run-of-the-mill, we
must create beautiful objects, justified by their
great quality. When the painters of the 18th
century came to make their ‘grand tour’ in
Italy, it was as much to see the beauty of the
light as it was to return with small artistic
treasures in their trunks. Passing on this historic
intelligence of the hand is also an economic
responsibility for the future of young
generations, for their employment, and for the
future prosperity of a nation. In 2013, the
Foundation is thus launching a major project:
‘100 apprentices for 100 master artisans’. We
want to bring generations back into contact.”
Slow Food
It is not surprising then that the Cologni
Foundation for Artistic Craft Professions collaborates
with the Italian movement called
Slow Food. Far from restricting itself to be a
simple reaction to Fast Food, the Slow Food
movement advocates a change in civilisation,
which could very well start with the stomach
and with the art of eating together. “Take the
chef,” explains Cologni. “This is an artful profession
that, like all the others, is a collective
endeavour. Eating bread starts with the
farmer, followed by the miller, then the baker
and finishes with the person who puts it on
the table. The same is true for wine. Food is
energy for life. So, eating good, simple, local
food, that is to say made with selected ingredients
that come from the area, involves a
chain of artistic craft professions. It is the
opposite of fusion. I hate that,” he adds with
a smile. “We need to have the authentic, the
well-made and the real. It was Pope Paul VI
who used to say that ‘beauty is the splendour
of truth.’”
Still discussing our definition of what is and
what is not art, we ask Cologni if the idea of
aesthetics necessarily encompasses that of
ethics. Isn’t the latter term included in the
first? “Yes, since being truthful is being ethical.
Being real is being correct. The problem
is that, today, there are no ethics because
there is no truth. The truth is dissolved in a
multitude of subjectivities. All the aesthetics
are mixed up because all the ethics are
mixed up. We need to look for the splendour
in the real.”
The Salière by Cellini
As its symbolic emblem of promoting the
“real” values of artisans in all domains, of giving
rise to new vocations, of encouraging the
passing on of knowledge, and the entrance of
young people into the artistic professions, the
Foundation chose a work of art that is at the
crossroads of art and the artisanal, the Salière
by Benvenuto Cellini. A magnificent and precious
object, this salt holder was created
between 1540 and 1543 by the famous sculptor
and goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini. Two
symbolic figures are placed on either side of
the salt and the pepper. Pepper represents the
food of creativity, the piquant that stimulates
the body and the mind. Salt is a useful foodstuff
that flatters the aesthetic, serving as a
preservative for food while also giving it taste.
“The Salière by Cellini sums up our objective,”
continues Cologni. “Cellini himself was both
a great artist and a ‘designer’, a goldsmith.
Not only that, but he also had a boutique and
sold his pieces directly to his clients. Cellini
was the beginning of what eventually became
the luxury industry. Today, this industry must
travel the road in the opposite direction; it
must rediscover its own roots. Doesn’t this
salt holder, evoking art and the artisanal,
answer your question?”
Art or artisanal? Isn’t the question a little hollow,
after all? As Franco Cologni reminds us,
“I said at the beginning that the artist was
free. This statement is not really as true as
that.The freedom of an artist is also limited—
in olden days, by his patrons, whether the
prince or the church, today by the gallery
owner and the piece’s market value. For an
artisan, the limitations will be the brand for
which he works and the use of his ‘work’. But
in both cases, the value of an object, whether
art or artisanal, will be the result of a relationship
between the creator and the customer. It
is the desire of the latter to obtain the piece
that will determine the price. It is the client
that determines the value in the marketplace.
So, from this point of view, there is no difference
between art and artisanal.” QED, as we
say when, after the conclusion of a demonstration,
it returns to its starting point. O

24 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Creating a dialogue between art and
artisanal
RPierre Maillard
B
Born in 1755, well before the era of industrialization,
in Geneva, a city well known for the
excellence of its precious jewellery artisans,
Vacheron Constantin is certainly well placed
to talk about the Métiers d'Art so closely tied
to its genetic patrimony.And, it is a patrimony
that the quartz crisis of the 1980s threatened,
but one that was revitalized starting in 1992
with the launch of a series of collections
devoted to promoting excellence in the artisanal
crafts.
Confining itself, in the beginning, to the traditional
skills of enamelling and engraving,
these dedicated collections later became thematic
collections involving a more direct dialogue
with the world of art. They are about
creating a “dialogue”—the word is now out
there—between art and the artisanal, between
art and watchmaking.
To learn more, Europa Star met with Julien
Marchenoir, who manages the marketing, communication,
product strategy, and the patrimony
of the Geneva manufacture.
Julien Marchenoir
Mutual enrichment
One of the best and most fruitful results of
this dialogue between art and watchmaking
is unquestionably the Les Masques collection,
introduced in 2008. Too often, watch companies
act as if they are incorporating art into their
pieces by merely reproducing a pre-existing
work of art on the dial. In Les Masques, the
approach goes much farther because it touches
on not only the decorative aspect, but it also
requires careful reflection as much from a technical
point of view as from a design standpoint.
“We often speak of the dial as the face of the
watch,” explains Julien Marchenoir, “and thus
we wanted in the beginning to literally base
our approach on ‘faces’ that were works of art.
We then discovered the exhibition, L'Homme
et ses Masques, organized by the Barbier-
Müller Museum, in Geneva, dedicated to the
so-called ‘primitive’ and tribal arts. Impressed
by the beauty and power of these masks, representing
so many civilizations, we decided to
engage a real dialogue between this ‘primitive’
art and the artisanal crafts that we practice
today. We wanted to go beyond a mere
reproduction, and create authentic objects of
LES MASQUES
art drawing from and mixing various sources.
The masks that we selected (twelve in all,
spread over three years in three collections of
four masks—from Asia, the Americas, Africa,
and Oceania—each in a limited series of
twelve watches) were meticulously and sumptuously
reproduced, using noble materials, in
three dimensions to be identical to the original,
including the cracks and patina. They
were placed at the centre of the dial. To free
up this centre, we eliminated the hands and
positioned the time indications in off-centred
windows, thus at the same time innovating in
terms of the mechanical movement. In addition,
we reproduced, on the sapphire crystal
dial, texts drawn from Michel Butor’s book, La
Voix des Masques. Mechanical timekeeping,
artisanal art, tribal art, and literature thus come
together to create a unique object, one that is
totally original, whose objective is to incite
the most intense artistic emotion possible.”
Quality and depth of emotion
The aroused emotion, or more precisely, the
quality of this emotion (the word itself, tarnished,
is used in all types of marketing efforts)

is undoubtedly one of the most obvious signs
that an artisanal work can achieve the status
of a work of art. In this regard, the experience
of the enamel expert, Anita Porchet, is particularly
instructive as to the depths that this
dialogue can reach.
“We are patrons of the Paris Opera since 2007,”
says Julien Marchenoir, “and we wanted to
meet a challenge: to recreate, in miniature
painting on a miniscule dial of a few square
centimetres, the 200 square metres of the
Opera’s ceiling and its 180 figures painted by
Marc Chagall. The ceiling was meticulously
studied for a month and a half, and then Anita
Porchet got to work, which lasted more than
two months, working seven days a week. The
enameller studied the paintings of Chagall so
closely that she virtually became on intimate
terms with the painter. She wanted to uncover
even the particular vibration of his strokes,
going so far as to discover a form of anxiety,
transmitted directly by the artist’s brush. This
intimate and deep understanding of the work
is felt in the piece that exudes, in its own turn,
an emotion that is truly artistic.”
And, the work on the case magnifies the
painting on the dial by reproducing in miniature
engraving the twelve different nymphs
that encircle the ceiling, and that serve as the
hour markers.
Cultural dialogues
Another collection, La Symbolique des Laques,
launched in 2010, demonstrates the fertility
of a dialogue that weaves together different
cultures, but with a common goal of achieving
artisanal excellence. Between Switzerland
and Japan, between watchmaking art and the
art of lacquer, the collection reveals a beautiful
coherence, a necessary condition to obtain
the status of a work of art.
Using a lacquer technique that is undoubtedly
the most sophisticated in the world, the ancient
Maki-e in collaboration with the 350-year-old
company, Zohiko,Vacheron Constantin wanted
to establish a close dialogue with traditional
Japanese culture. Thus, faithful to the duality
that we find in Japanese cultural objects, the
top and bottom of the watch were both lacquered.
They paired flora and fauna, as, for
example, the pine tree and the crane, the bamboo
and the sparrow, the plum tree and the
nightingale. Combined, these pairs express
the “complete message” transmitted by this
symbolic dual motif. In the same manner, the
movement, which occupies the central part of
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 25
the dial, was treated with ruthenium, in a “zen”
fashion, insists Julien Marchenoir, “in order to
not interfere with the decorative motif.”
On the level of these cultural exchanges, we can
also mention the recent collection, Les Univers
Infinis, which draws attention to the art of guillochage,
with motifs inspired by the famous
Dutch artist, Maurits Cornelis Escher.We already
know the decorative geometric technique of guillochage,
but we perhaps know less about some
of the great guillochage artists who have created
figures by criss-crossing their engravings.
Thanks to this rare artisanal technique, mastered
in-house,Vacheron Constantin has drawn
inspiration directly from the works of the
Dutch master—a genius when it comes to
trompe l'oeil, plays on perspective, and visual
illusions—to give new and hitherto unknown
dimensions to the arts of guillochage, engraving,
enamelling, and even stone-setting.
Can we call this art? It is all in how we look at
such pieces. But, there can be no doubt that
the borders—quite often artificial—between
art and the idea of “doing” and the artisanal,
are blurred and finally end up by merging. O
For more information about Vacheron Constantin
click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com
MARC CHAGALL & L’OPERA DE PARIS LA SYMBOLIQUE DES LAQUES LES UNIVERS INFINIS

26 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Handing down talent and experience
RPierre Maillard
W
What a line-up! Just imagine, side-by-side,
writers, filmmakers, actors, musicians, dancers
and artists such as John Baldessari, Tahar Ben
Jelloun, Trisha Brown, Sir Colin Davis, Anne
Teresa De Keersmaeker, Brian Eno, Hans
Magnus Enzensberger, William Forsythe,
Stephen Frears, Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney,
Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor, Jirí ˇ
Kylián, Toni
Morrison, Mira Nair, Youssou N’Dour, Jessye
Norman, Martin Scorsese, Peter Sellars, Álvaro
Siza, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Saburo
Teshigawara, Kate Valk, Mario Vargas Llosa,
Robert Wilson, Zhang Yimou and Pinchas
Zukerman. What unites them, beyond the
continents and their respective arts? They have
all been mentors in the Rolex Mentor and
Protégé Arts Initiative.
Created in 2002, the goal of this unique programme
is, according to Rolex, to “make a
contribution to global culture”. It is in keeping
with the brand’s tradition of “supporting
individual excellence”—a tradition that has
found applications in marketing with its many
advertisements over the decades honouring
personalities well known around the world
for accomplishments in their respective fields,
as well as in the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.
For over 35 years, this programme has supported
innovative personal initiatives around
the world with the aim of “improving lives or
protecting the planet’s natural and cultural
heritage”. Since their creation in 1976, the biannual
Rolex Awards have received 30,000
applications from 154 countries and have
awarded 120 prizes.
The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative
is, in a way, the younger brother of the Rolex
Awards, although it covers only culture. This
year, it has added architecture to its line-up
consisting of dance, cinema, literature, music
and the visual arts. Every two years, a new
advisory board of distinguished artists and
arts practitioners creates a list of potential
mentors for each discipline. Rolex approaches
them and, if they agree to take part, the company
works with them to establish a profile of
a young protégé they would like to work with.
This process is important because each mentor
is asked to spend a minimum of six weeks of his
or her precious time with the chosen protégé.
The young artists, the future protégés, cannot
apply directly to the programme. A panel of
experts for each artistic discipline selects a
certain number of potential candidates from
around the world and encourages them to
submit an application.After examination by the
panel members, three potential protégés are
proposed to each mentor, who then meets them
individually before making the final choice.
From left to right:
Dance: Eduardo Fukushima (Brazil),
selected by Mentor Lin Hwai-min (Taiwan)
Brazilian dancer and choreographer Eduardo Fukushima, 28,
graduated in communication of the physical arts from the
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo in 2011. He
trained with many of Brazil’s leading figures in contemporary
dance and created his first solo piece in 2004. More recently,
he was acclaimed for Between Contentions (2008) and
How to Overcome the Great Tiredness? (2009/2010). Both
pieces follow a line of investigation that starts from gesture
and movement.
Film: Sara Fgaier (Italy),
selected by Mentor Walter Murch (United States)
Italian film editor Sara Fgaier, 29, studied history of film at
Bologna University and taught herself the elements of her
profession. Her first editing job was Pietro Marcello's La bocca
del lupo (The Mouth of the Wolf, 2009), a hauntingly
poetic, award-winning documentary. In 2011, she edited
Marcello’s Il silenzio di Pelešjan (The Silence of Pelešjan) and
Michele Manzolini and Federico Ferrone’s Il treno va a Mosca
(The Train to Moscow).
Literature: Naomi Alderman (United Kingdom),
selected by Mentor Margaret Atwood (Canada)
British author Naomi Alderman, 37, graduated from Oxford
in 1996 and received a Master’s in creative writing from the
University of East Anglia in 2003. Three years later, she published
Disobedience, a novel about the tensions and accommodations
between religion and modern life, for which she
won the 2006 Orange Award for New Writers and, in 2007,
was named The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.
Published in 10 languages, the book was followed by The
Lessons (2010), which investigates the power and problems
of wealth, and the forthcoming The Liars’ Gospel, a novel
about Jesus from the perspective of the Pharisees.
This personal choice forms the basis for the
notion of mentoring because, unlike an academic
environment that operates with a topdown
approach, this programme provides
a veritable exchange, a real dialogue, between
artists of different generations and different
cultures. The goal is to help protégés

Music: Dina El Wedidi (Egypt),
selected by Mentor Gilberto Gil (Brazil)
Egyptian singer/songwriter Dina El Wedidi, 24, started
composing songs when she was young and during university
in Cairo where she studied oriental languages. El
Wedidi’s songs are infused with the political concerns of
Egypt. From 2007 to 2010, El Wedidi worked as a singer
and actress with the El Warsha Theatre Troupe, exploring
Egyptian folklore and performing in such unlikely places
as a Cairo prison. During this period (2009 to 2010), she
also performed classical Egyptian and Arabic songs with
the Habayebna band, before establishing her own band
in 2011.
develop and affirm their own voices, rather
than merely reproducing something, as inspiring
as it might be.
From a financial point of view, each selected
protégé receives a grant of CHF 25,000 for
the mentoring year, as well as funds for travel
and other expenses. At the end of the year,
the protégé is given another CHF 25,000 to
be used for a specific project. As for the mentors,
they each receive an honorarium of CHF
50,000 for their participation in the programme.
New this year in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé
Arts Initiative is the inclusion of architecture.
Theatre: Michal Borczuch (Poland),
selected by Mentor Patrice Chéreau (France)
Polish theatre director Michal Borczuch, 32, received
Master’s degrees from both Kraków’s Academy of Fine Arts
and Ludwik Solski State School of Drama, where he currently
lectures. Since 2005, he has been directing plays in Polish
theatres and at international cultural festivals, beginning
with works by modern Polish playwrights and moving to the
classics. He is known for mould-breaking productions that
often challenge popular trends and tastes. Among his most
recent adaptations are Brand. The City. The Chosen Ones
(2011), and Hans, Dora and Wolf (2012), inspired by
Sigmund Freud.
The chosen mentor for this discipline is Kazuyo
Sejima.She is one of the most remarkable figures
in contemporary architecture and was recently
awarded the Pritzker Prize, the “Nobel Prize” of
architecture, together with her colleague Ryue
Nishizawa, with whom she founded the agency
SANAA in Tokyo. It was with this agency that
she designed the Rolex Learning Center at the
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne. Rolex
was the principal private sponsor of this “library
of the future” in the shape of a long wave.
The protégé whom she chooses—an ongoing
process whose outcome is yet to be determined
at the time of writing—will work with
Kazuyo Sejima on the project Home for All
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 27
Visual Arts: Mateo López (Colombia),
selected by Mentor William Kentridge (South Africa)
Colombian visual artist Mateo López, 33, spent a year
studying architecture at Javieriana University but graduated
in fine arts from the University of the Andes. His early
studies in architecture equipped him to consider drawing
in terms of time and space, and three rather than two
dimensions. López is known for setting up his studio in
public and for using memories of his personal journeys in
his work, which is a trademark of his installations. The
installation Viaje sin movimiento (Travelling without movement,
2008-2010) was acquired by New York’s Museum of
Modern Art (MoMA).
that she launched with other famous Japanese
architects. Its goal is to provide much-needed
housing for those affected by the tsunami
that struck the Japanese coast in 2011.
For this edition of the Rolex Mentor and
Protégé Arts Initiative, Kazuyo Sejima joins
her colleagues from other disciplines, who are
Margaret Atwood (literature), Patrice Chéreau
(dramatic art), Gilberto Gil (music), William
Kentridge (visual arts), Lin Hwai-min (dance)
and Walter Murch (cinema). O
For more information about Rolex click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com
Kazuyo Sejima The Rolex Learning Center (EPFL)

30 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Paying tribute to Le Corbusier
RPierre Maillard
B
Before taking over Girard-Perregaux, the late
Gino Macaluso studied architecture. Obsessed
his entire life by an art that had always inspired
him, Macaluso would surely be delighted to
know that his descendants were building
upon his passion by creating a superb trilogy
dedicated to Le Corbusier.
This trilogy came about not just because of
mere chance between a manufacture established
in La Chaux-de-Fonds and one of the
city’s most famous native sons (Le Corbusier
was born there in 1887 as Charles-Edouard
Jeanneret). Especially since before becoming
a visionary architect who decisively transformed
20 th -century architecture, Le Corbusier
trained as an engraver-carver at the school of art
in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
After a long formative voyage throughout
Europe that would take him as far as Istanbul,
Le Corbusier returned to his native town and
established himself—without an actual diploma
—as an architect. His first project was a house
intended for his parents, the Villa Blanche.
Recently restored, this is the location that
Girard-Perregaux chose to present its Trilogy.
The Trilogy pays tribute to three aspects of the
multi-faceted Le Corbusier: the young engravercarver
inspired by Art Nouveau; the architect
and furniture designer who sought “space,
light, and order”; and the pioneer of urban
planning, the king of concrete.
These three “facets” of the famed architect
are expressed by remarkable and very original
VINTAGE 1945 – LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS VINTAGE 1945 – PARIS
VINTAGE 1945 – MARSEILLE
dials, which share the common case of the
perfectly proportioned Vintage 1945. The first
watch, the pink gold Vintage 1945 Le Corbusier
– La Chaux-de-Fonds, offers a superb reproduction,
in mother-of-pearl inlay, directly inspired
by one of his early creations.
The second watch, the Vintage 1945 Le
Corbusier – Paris (the city that was his home
from 1917), pays tribute to his novel proposals,
notably his furniture made of steel, leather
and skin, and his human-scale Modulor. This
watch offers a hand-engraved steel dial with
a calf leather bracelet.
The third watch, the Vintage 1945 – Marseille,
whose dial is made of concrete [a world’s first,
to our knowledge, in timekeeping] honours the
famous Radiant City, a vast reinforced concrete
housing development that Le Corbusier built in
Marseilles between 1947 and 1952.
This lovely Trilogy demonstrates the rich relationships
between art and timekeeping. O
For more information about Girard-Perregaux
click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

A SWISS HISTORY OF TIME
Perpetual calendar, every possible date complication, fl yback chronograph
function and tachymeter scale – the complexity and functionality
of the Manero ChronoPerpetual are hard to match. An impressive timepiece,
whose date will require no correction until the year 2100, when the Gregorian
calendar calls for the omission of a leap year.
www.carl-f-bucherer.com

32 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Imaginary time
RPierre Maillard
T
“The dialogue between contemporary creativity
and our artistic craft professions is vital
for us. It is a source of invention, new challenges
and discovery, without which we risk
resting on our laurels, remaining trapped in a
certain routine. The projects that artists bring
to us are a true challenge for our craftsmen,
first seemingly insurmountable, but they allow
us to push the limits of our expertise,” says
Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès.
Here, he is not talking about watches, one of the
fourteen categories of products that the brand
offers, but rather the scarves—the famous
Hermès scarves, those precious printed silks
that were born in 1937.
Under the designation of Hermès Editeur,
some of these scarves are entrusted to wellknown
contemporary artists, such as Josef
Albers, Daniel Buren, and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
But what Pierre-Alexis Dumas is saying is true
for all the brand’s categories, including watches.
“With a humanist tradition, Hermès has always
been close to the world of culture. A company
CAPE COD GRANDES HEURES
that just earns money is really quite poor
unless it can also enrich itself on the human
and cultural level,” he adds.
This proximity to art and culture is also expressed
through the Fondation d'entreprise
Hermès, which works to promote artisanal
know-how, support artistic creativity and promote
access to education and training, as well
as supporting endeavours that favour the
preservation of biodiversity. In the artistic
domain, the foundation is active in the plastic
arts, photography, the dramatic arts and design.
Exhibitions, artist residences, support for the
performing arts, meetings, awards and scholarships
make up the generous menu of its activ-
ities.“The projects that we support are essential
for the brand because they are in resonance
with our universe,” Dumas goes on to explain.
Exploring unique territory:
turning time upside down
Philippe Delhotal, director of design at La
Montre Hermès, agrees. “In comparison to
other watch brands whose perimeter is clearly
defined, the creative territory of Hermès is
immense, since this proximity to contemporary
creation is carried throughout our fourteen
crafts. All of these generate designs that can
inspire us in watchmaking. To give you an
example, the very innovative use that we are
making of enamel, with its very contemporary
motifs, was inspired directly by our other professions.
Inside the watch boundaries, however,
our watch division needed to define its own
particular territory. In the process, the Grandes
Heures timepiece played a central role.”
Remember? Introduced in 2008, the Cape Cod
Grandes Heures re-invented “a new choreography
of time” by offering different speeds
according to the time of day. On the dial, the
hour indications are no longer simply placed at
regular intervals but are moved closer together
or farther apart in order to give the impression
that time is accelerating or slowing down.
Thus, 8 and 12 o’clock are closer together,
while “temporal pauses” are added between
12 and 4 o’clock and between 6 and 8 o’clock.

ARCEAU TEMPS SUSPENDU
These positions correspond to various ways to
live the hours—all relative—of the day.
“Based on this founding watch, Hermès has
marked out its own particular watch territory,
which is imaginary time, the time to take time,
we could say,” Delhotal explains.
Introduced in 2011, theArceauTemps Suspendu
timepiece allows its owner to “suspend” time
by making it disappear (the hands move into
a position that does not point to a time) and
reappear (the same hands return instantly to
IN THE POCKET
Hermès’s adventure in the world of watchmaking
began in 1912. A photograph from that period, now
famous, shows the young Jacqueline Hermès, daughter
of Emile Hermès and grandmother of Guillaume
de Seyne, current chairman of the board of directors
of La Montre Hermès, wearing a small pocket watch
wrapped in leather around her wrist.A totally original
creation, it was a completely “logical” creation for the
saddle maker that Hermès was, and still is today.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of this
watch, which is among the very first wristwatches in
the world, Hermès decided to re-issue the piece.
Ingenious, inventive, original, and perfectly finished
(an entire week of work by hand is required to produce
the strap holding the watch), the watch features
the new H1837 movement and a palladium case
mounted on a Barenia calf leather bracelet. It will
unfortunately only be available in a limited series of
24 pieces in stores from March 2013, at a price of
CHF 33,000.The In The Pocket timepiece, wearable by
men and women, should fly off the shelves. Hopefully,
Hermès will decide in the future to make more of
these beautiful watches.
the exact time regardless of the time that has
passed). This unique timepiece not only made
a big impression on its debut, but it also positioned
the unique watch style of Hermès
squarely in the art of watchmaking.
Choreography of time
Exploring the “choreographic” possibilities of
displaying time, La Montre Hermès is quite
naturally inspired by contemporary dance
and, in return, has also inspired it. One could
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 33
thus attend a superb presentation of contemporary
dance at the Royal Opera House in
Covent Garden, in London (which will be presented
around the world). Its title, Time in
Motion, clearly describes the relationship
between the arts—music (art unfurling over
time) and dance (the art of movement in
space)—and watchmaking. More specifically,
this programme was created to highlight the
advances made by La Montre Hermès in terms
of movement: in this case, the mechanical
movements that the brand developed in exclusive
collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture
(of which Hermès owns 25 per cent).Two beautiful
in-house movements, the H1837 and the
H1912, were presented. Decorated with a
fine H design on the oscillating weight and the
bridges, featuring a double barrel delivering a
constant force, and an in-house escapement,
these two movements equip the Dressage
and Arceau, respectively.
Created in 1978, La Montre Hermès has grown
with infinite patience, in order to gradually
acquire the necessary expertise to practice the
art of watchmaking to the full. And, it practices
it well—both technically and aesthetically.Today,
watchmaking by Hermès can fully
develop within its own clearly defined space,
which nobody can contest. O
For more information about Hermès click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

34 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Microscopic art
RPierre Maillard
W
Willard Wigan is a well-known artist, honoured
by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 as a
“Member of the Most Excellent Order of the
British Empire” for his services to art. Wigan’s
work is really quite particular. He is a microsculptor.
His pieces are so small that they fit in
the eye of a needle or on the head of a pin. To
be able to sculpt these pieces of microscopic
art, which are less than 1/13 the diameter of
a grain of rice, he works with a scalpel and a
microscope, while using the legs of a fly as a
brush. He also uses such bizarre materials as
spider web mixed with gold or Kevlar.
This extreme artistic discipline also demands
great physical discipline. To create his micro
sculptures,Willard enters into a meditative state
in which he controls his breathing and is thus
able to sculpt between two heart beats. The
amazing result cannot be appreciated with the
naked eye. It is only under a microscope that we
discover a group of camels walking through
the eye of a needle, the skyline of Manhattan,
or reproductions of Michelangelo’s David,
Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, or even a fulllength
portrait of Prince Charles or Mike Tyson...
When Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey
learned about Willard Wigan five years ago,
they immediately thought that a meeting with
this sculptor creating microscopic art and
their own microscopic mechanics might lead
to creating something together, something in
which art and timekeeping would find common
ground, a sort of co-creation in other
words. The word “co-creation” is quite apt
since the complex insertion of a micro sculpture
into a timepiece requires architectural and
technical modifications necessitating research
and innovation.
The result, which has the name Art Piece 1,
can be seen at the SIHH in January 2013. It
has already been presented, however, in various
stages of completion at the International
Contemporary Art Fair in Paris, the famous
FIAC, and at the Contemporary Art Fair in
Shanghai.What we will find is a painted micro
mask, embedded inside the crown and visible
thanks to an optical system.
Shanghai is where Greubel Forsey recently
inaugurated a new type of store, the Time Art
Gallery GF , located at the prestigious Bund 18.
As its name indicates, this gallery aims to create
bridges between art and watchmaking. In
addition to the collection of Greubel Forsey
timepieces, other pieces by exceptional watchmakers
such as Philippe Dufour and Vianney
Halter can be seen, both of whom exemplify in
various ways the art of timekeeping, whether
in terms of spectacular finishing or amazing
architecture. This new type of gallery also
allows Greubel Forsey to exhibit contemporary
artists and, in this case, their first co-creation
with Willard Wigan, a clear example of
how art and watchmaking can work perfectly
together. O
For more information about Greubel Forsey
click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

masterpieces
Treasure the past, embrace the future
TITONI LTD.
Schützengasse 18 | 2540 Grenchen | Switzerland | Phone +41 32 654 57 00 | www.titoni.ch
Master Series

36 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
“In watchmaking,
there are not enough egoists”
RPierre Maillard
A
Art or design? Art or artisanal? What differentiates
a work of art from a design object?
Where is the boundary? To find answers to
these questions, we talked with Max Büsser,
the founder of MB&F, in a place that is known
for blurring the borders, the M.A.D Gallery.
MAD stands for Mechanical Art Devices, while
Gallery refers to the first boutique opened
by MB&F, in Geneva. The M.A.D Gallery sells
the brand’s famous Horological Machines and
Legacy Machines, but it also exhibits other very
unique mechanical works and photographs from
around the world. One example is the extraordinary
motorcycles created by the Japanese
designer Chicara Nagata.
So, is it art or is it design?
“Art exists in an egoistic dimension,” affirms
Max Büsser, “while design is in an altruistic
dimension. In other words, an artist ideally
must not think about pleasing others, but only
about expressing what he has in himself. A
designer, on the other hand, must think of
others, of the use that they will make of his
creation. In the beginnings of watchmaking,
the artistic part was important in terms of
decoration and the actual invention. Then
came industrialisation and the watch turned
into an object for the masses. But, since the
1970s and the appearance of the quartz movement,
mechanical timepieces have become
technically obsolete. We can thus state categorically
that, from that moment, the mechanical
watch should only be created as an art
object, either as a one-of-a-kind creation or
as a series, as artists do. But, alas, there are
not enough real egoists in the watch industry,
photo: Denis Hayoun
meaning people who think not in terms of the
market, but rather and above all about themselves,
about their own creation, without
being worried if they please or don’t please.
All the ‘designers’ exhibited in this gallery
have in common this egoistic approach. They
are thus artists.”
So, can we classify MB&F in this category?
“From our first steps,” Max Büsser continues,
“we have sought to create in an ‘egoistic’
manner. Our approach has nothing to do with
any type of market study, but is the result of a
much more personal and intimate introspective
research. When, for example, we introduced
the very extreme HM4 Thunderbolt, we
asked ourselves ‘who is going to be able to
buy this thing?’ And, while it succeeded well
beyond our expectations, it was not because
of any calculated effort, but rather because it
apparently ‘spoke’ about itself, it ‘touched’
the sensibilities of many people. Like a work
of art does.”

The new “egoistic” machine
We find this lack of a calculating mentality in
the process involved in creating MB&F’s new
“machine”, the HM5, which brings together
two distinct worlds. “Let’s look at the 1970s,”
adds Büsser. “At that time, if someone had
asked the question ‘what will you be wearing
in 2012?’ no one would or could have predicted
the mechanical neo-classicism in vogue
today. We were sure that people would be living
on the moon and that they would be
wearing electronic machines on their wrist,
devices that would represent a complete rupture
with the canons of traditional timekeeping.
Since I have always been fascinated by
the futuristic lines invented during this period,
which we find, for example, in cars such as
An Amida watch as it appears
in a 1976 Europa Star advertisement
The inner case
the Lotus Esprit designed by Giugiaro, the
Lamborghini Miura, and the Lancia Stratos
designed by Bertone, I decided to look at the
most innovative watch designs of that epoch.
I noticed that brands such as Girard-Perregaux,
Bulova and Mido had designed pilot’s watches
with streamlined cases and slanted dials, that
could be set back to facilitate reading the time
in bright light. Among these brands, Amida—
which quickly disappeared—had created the
Digitrend, a totally hybrid watch whose simple
mechanical movement (a Roskopf) powered
the fake LED made of plastic! The HM5
‘On the Road Again’ is inspired directly from
this timepiece.”
As if it drove right off the pages of the 1970s,
the HM5 ‘On the Road Again’ evokes all the
design codes of the supercars of the period:
angular lines, rear spoilers, low-slung exhaust
systems… But these characteristics are not
just an allusion by the designer (Eric Giroud),
they have a function.The spoilers can be raised
up thanks to a sliding pusher situated on the
side of the case. In this way, they let light into
the inside of the case, light that will charge
the Superluminova numbers located on two
discs, which are placed flat under the spoilers.
Yet, these numbers are displayed vertically in
the groove—the “dashboard” if you will—of
the case crafted in zirconium. To succeed in
this endeavour, a sophisticated and highly
precise optical glass was specially developed
in the form of a reflective prism made of sap-
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 37
The prism
phire crystal that bends the light 90 degrees
and magnifies the numbers by 20 per cent.
Also useful, the role of the two small exhaust
systems is to remove the water that could
enter by the partly-opened spoilers.
In this miniature chassis, we find a second
case, a sort of complex casing that ensures the
water-resistance of the movement. Developed
on a Sowind (GP) base, by the constructors
Jean-François Mojon and Vincent Boucard of
Chronode, this automatic movement features
bi-directional jumping hours (thus adjustable
in both directions) and minutes. It can be
viewed through the transparent sapphire crystal
case back.
To sum up, is this an “egoistic” or an “altruistic”
watch? Is it an artist’s watch or a designer’s
timepiece? The very recent Public Prize of the
Grand Prix d'Horlogerie in Geneva, which was
given to MB&F’s Legacy Machine 1, demonstrates
that the public sometimes votes for an
“art object” designed “egoistically” by big
kids inspired by their superheroes or by Jules
Verne. O
For more information about MB&F click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

38
ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Cultural patronage: miraculous manna
RAntoine Menusier
I
It was a cold wintry day in 2005, in Bienne, a
medium-sized, protestant town at the foot of
the Swiss Jura mountains. A chilly fog coming
off the lake enveloped the quiet town, a town
that is nonetheless the nerve centre of the
Swiss watch industry, a town where ostentation
is sinful and work is elevated to a form
of destiny. The contrast could not have been
greater for Christine Albanel, president of
France’s “Public Establishment of the Museum
and National Estate of Versailles”, the Château
of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
This high-ranking civil servant had been invited
to lunch by Nicolas Hayek, the king of Swiss
watchmaking, and the man responsible for
bringing the industry back to life in the 1980s.
He was the founder-owner of the Swatch
Group and was mourned by an entire nation
on his death in 2010. Only a motive with
some crucial premise could explain why such
a person, the future Minister of Culture under
Nicolas Sarkozy, would come to this austere
country: money. And it was a noble motive—
to sign a contract of cultural patronage with
the Breguet brand.
A car was sent to pick up Ms. Albanel, who
flew from Paris to Basel-Mulhouse airport, to
take her to Bienne, home of the Swatch Group’s
headquarters. She was welcomed by Emmanuel
Breguet, seventh generation of the illustrious
dynasty of inventors founded by his ancestor,
Abraham Louis. Born in 1747 in the Swiss
town of Neuchâtel, of protestant parents, he
established his workshop in Paris, where he
became very successful, even creating a unique
watch for the queen, Marie-Antoinette.
Now, two and a half centuries later, a representative
of the French Republic was in Bienne
to discuss business with the genius Swiss-
Lebanese entrepreneur. Everything went well.
They took lunch in Hayek’s private dining hall
along with Emmanuel Breguet, brand manager
for Breguet in France, who is also the
brand’s historian and curator of the Breguet
museum and archives, located on the Place
Vendôme, in Paris. Breguet Watches, the prestige
brand of the Swatch Group, is now managed
by Marc A. Hayek, grandson of the late
patriarch.
It was a “very simple meal, in a simple setting,
and it did not last long,” confides the direct
descendant of Abraham Louis. The Breguet
brand, with the Hayek family’s own financial
backing, thus became one of the patrons of
the Château de Versailles, which needed donations
for its restoration work. But how did this
come about? The unfortunate consequences
of a climatic event that happened during the
summer of 2003 attracted the attention of
the president of the Swatch Group. An exceptional
heat wave killed a 300-year old oak
tree, the botanical pride of the Château de
Versailles, the oldest tree on the estate. Planted
under the reign of Louis XIV, it was the tree
under which Marie-Antoinette would later
take shade.
Nicolas Hayek heard about the tree and
wanted to obtain a piece of the dead stump
to make boxes for watches. He sent two emissaries
to Versailles, Christian Lattmann and
Vincent Laucella, both today Vice-Presidents
of Montres Breguet SA, who were joined by
Emmanuel Breguet. “Christine Albanel was
very kind to us. Seeing that we were genuinely
interested in Marie-Antoinette, she told
us that she was looking for a patron to restore
the Petit Trianon, which was the queen’s place
of refuge and was now in a state of muchneeded
repair. That was the beginning of our
collaboration.”
Nicolas Hayek made a donation of €6 million
and became the exclusive patron for the renovation
of the Petit Trianon as well as the French
Pavilion, also in Versailles, an exquisite stone
residence built during the time of Louis XV
for the lovely Marquise de Pompadour, the
king’s favourite. Breguet and its president were

40
ARTS & WATCHES europa star
awarded the coveted title of “Grand Mécène
du Ministère de la Culture” [Grand patron of
the Ministry of Culture]. Today, a reproduction
of the famous watch made by Abraham Louis
Breguet for Queen Marie-Antoinette rests in a
case made from wood from the legendary oak
tree. The Breguet manufacture in L’Abbaye has
some of this wood, a gift from the Château de
Versailles. The reproduction of the watch and
its case “are often travelling around the world”
according to Emmanuel Breguet, who gives no
further details.
Alain Baraton, chief gardener at the Trianon
estate and the Grand Parc of Versailles, who
also gives advice on gardening on a weekend
radio show for the public station France Inter,
remembers vividly the visit by Nicolas Hayek
to the royal grounds. “He attended the extraction
of the large oak tree. He had a lively look
about him and a sparkle in his eye. He wore
three or four watches on each wrist, from each
of the brands he owned, so that nobody got
jealous, he said,” Baraton recalls.
Patronage and communication
A patron, as defined by the Collins English
dictionary, is a person who sponsors or aids
artists, charities etc. Major Swiss watch brands
sponsor prestigious sporting events. Rolex is
one of the emblems of the Wimbledon tennis
tournament and the brand of choice of Swiss
champion Roger Federer. Audemars Piguet
was, in 2009, co-sponsor of the fastest flying
trimaran in the world, the Hydroptère.
Cultural patronage, however, is a bit more
discreet. “This type of patronage is a form of
communication that pairs well with our company,”
explains Emmanuel Breguet. “It corresponds
with the roots of our history and our
desire to support projects that are perennial.”
Being patron of the restoration of the Petit
Trianon and the French Pavilion are not the
brand’s only sponsorships. It also provided €4
to 5 million to the department of art objects at
the Louvre Museum in Paris in order to reopen
a series of magnificent rooms that have been
closed for many years. More recently, the
brand, whose cultural sponsorship activities
are for the moment confined to France, gave a
gift of €60,000 to the Marine Museum on the
Place Trocadéro in Paris, which helped to equip
a room dedicated to the Fleet Air Arm, recalling
that Breguet was also the watchmaker of
the Navy and the Air Force. This type of support,
not surprisingly, also involves something
in exchange, such as “lifetime” tickets to the
historic buildings in question or even the possibility
to use the prestigious locations free of
charge for events.
The thing being sponsored always has a close
relationship with the image conveyed by the
watch brand. In this way, Hublot, from the
LVMH group, among the top in large luxury
divers’ watches, financed—by the intervention
of its president, the Swiss Jean-Claude
Biver— an exhibition devoted to Antikythera,
the famous astronomical mechanism from
ancient Greece. The exhibition took place at
the Musée des Arts et Métiers, in Paris in 2011
(see Europa Star 6/2011).
History, for watch groups, is a rich vein, a stratum
that is seemingly inexhaustible. A current
trend in the French capital is for large businesses
to participate in the renovation of
historic façades. Their names appear in large
letters on sheets covering the scaffolding.
Nothing could be less discreet. It is no longer
a question of sponsorship, but rather of purchasing
prime advertising space. Anyone who
was in Paris at the beginning of 2012 could
not help but notice a giant sheet depicting
Swatch watches, extending over an entire section
of the renovation work being conducted
on the Conciergerie, where Marie-Antoinette
was imprisoned before being beheaded at
the guillotine…
In Bienne, the Swatch Group is not very forthcoming
about this type of activity. “These operations
are part of the brand’s basic marketing
mix. The same principle is applied around the
world,” says a spokesperson at its headquarters
in Bienne. The French Ministry of Culture,
which sold the “Conciergerie” space on the
north façade of the current Palais de Justice, is
more open. “The Swatch Group used the
space for advertising during the months of
October 2011 and February 2012 in exchange
for a payment of €507,200,” it explains.
“This support by the group financed 20 per
cent of the cost of the restoration of the
façade on the Quai de l’Horloge (this also
included restoring the clock, the first public
clock in Paris). The other partners that have
provided funds for this restoration are Dior,
Apple, Samsung, VW and BMW.”
This type of blatant display has upset many
purists, who see this as an unacceptable—
and too visible for their taste—intrusion of
the marketplace into the French national
heritage. Under the Ancien Régime, the kings
used the money of their subjects to finance
artists and major works. The Republic has done
the same for a long time. Today, however, the
coffers of the State are empty. They beg for
charity. O

Cinema Paradiso: watches and cinema
RKeith W. Strandberg
TIME.
It’s one of life’s most elusive things. For their
entire history, watchmakers have been trying
to control and regulate time, while the art of
film focuses on capturing moments in time. In
both watches and films, the best results are
those efforts that are timeless.
Watches as symbols
Watches and clocks have been used as symbols
throughout the history of film. Remember
Harold Lloyd hanging from the giant clock in the
1923 silent film “Safety Last”? In more recent
movies, “Back to the Future” is a masterpiece
of manipulating time and using imagery regarding
time.“Nick ofTime” with Johnny Depp used
clocks and watches throughout, as it was a
movie that unfolded in “real time”.“Memento”
i Left to right:
Harold Lloyd in “Safety Last”
Daniel Craig as James Bond
Diane Kruger wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre
and “Pulp Fiction” played with the way time is
presented in movies.
In a way, every watch in every movie is a symbol—if
only a symbol of what kind of character
the actor is. In “Made of Honor”, for example,
Patrick Dempsey wears a JeanRichard Tourbillon
in just about every scene. It’s not so much a
statement on time, it’s more of a statement
about him—he is a successful businessman,
able to wear such an expensive watch.
In the James Bond movies, Bond has always
worn an elegant, yet rough-and-tumble timepiece
to reflect his personality. In the recently
released “Skyfall”, Daniel Craig wears an
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean and, this year
being Bond’s 50th anniversary, Omega has
created a special Skyfall Limited Edition
Seamaster Planet Ocean for the occasion.
Product placement
Watchmakers know that one of the best ways
to get you to picture yourself wearing a special
timepiece is to place one on the wrist of
the star of a popular movie.
As awareness of fine watches increases, and
watch brands become savvier about marketing
and promotion, watches are being show-
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 41
cased more and more in Hollywood. Whether
these watches are on the wrists of the
heroes (or villains) in the latest blockbusters
or sparkling on the red carpet, watches are
definitely ready for their close-ups.
In the best product placements, watches are
key components to the definition of character
in movies. After all, characters are defined by
the choices they make: words, jobs, clothes,
actions, cars and yes, watches.
Product placement is good for movie producers
because it helps defray expenses. "No matter
what size the budget of the movie, it is hard
for producers to justify spending $30,000 on
a watch or even $5,000, for that matter, and
we always need more than one for safety,"
says Doug Harlocker, propmaster. "So the
exchange of exposure for the use of goods is
a very gratifying relationship—the production
value of the movie is heightened without costing
an arm and a leg."
Watch placement can happen any number of
ways. Many watch companies have representatives
who work to place watches with studios
and production companies. Sometimes, a production
company will approach a watch brand
about using its products for a particular pro-

42
ARTS & WATCHES europa star
ject. At times, product placement is about historical
accuracy, as in the movie "Pearl Harbor",
for example,Touchstone Pictures wanted something
authentic and Hamilton Watch was a
major supplier to the US military during World
War II. The result? A huge close up of a
Hamilton watch, worn by Josh Hartnett, in the
final cut of the movie.
Another example is the Omega Speedmaster
"Moon Watch", which played a part in the
real Apollo 13 mission—the astronauts used
it to time the start and stop of the engine on
re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere—it was
the only correct choice of watch for Ron
Howard’s "Apollo 13".
Some watch brands have relationships with
actors who wear their products, and when
that actor is in a movie, he or she can help get
the watch in front of the camera (John Travolta,
a Breitling ambassador, wore his Breitling in
“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”).
On “Ocean's Twelve”, propmaster Harlocker
carried around at least $250,000 worth of
watches with him every day to satisfy all of the
actors' characters. Brad Pitt, for instance, wore
a Breitling Emergency, a Chronoswiss, a whitegold
Rolex, a Patek Philippe and a Hermès at
different times throughout the movie. George
The Hamilton watch
that featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey
Clooney wore a classic Hamilton in every scene.
"I could not have provided those watches without
the help of the manufacturers," Harlocker
admits. “Brad Pitt, after being exposed to that
Breitling, purchased a half dozen of them for
his co-stars on ‘Oceans Twelve’. In a perfect
world, the actor will appreciate the product,
wear it in the movie and in real life.”
Ann Roth, costume designer on “Julie &
Julia” and many others, is obsessive about
getting the watch right for each character on
her projects. “I can hold up a movie set for
hours choosing the right watch,” she says. “I
choose the watch based on the character. For
example, Ralph Fiennes needed a watch for
his character in ‘The English Patient’. He was
Hungarian royalty in the 1920s, got involved
in the Royal Geographical Society, lived in
London and Egypt, so the watch he wore had
to be really particular, I wanted the watch that
guy would wear. I found it in London, in a second
hand shop, but I needed two of them, so
I had a watchmaker make me another one. I am
very particular about the watches that characters
wear, as they say so much about them.”
John Myhre, the production designer on “Nine”
and other features, is interested in how a
watch “helps with the story telling process,”
The Terminator wears Audemars Piguet
he says. “It’s a major definition of a person’s
character. I will meet with the property master
and we’ll look at all the watches. The choice
of watches for movies is very important and
the right watch makes perfect sense, like the
Hamilton in ‘Amelia’. She wore a Hamilton in
real life, so it’s genius.”
Some placements are chosen by the cast and
crew, some are paid for and still others are a
joint marketing effort—it all depends on the
movie, the brand and the situation.
“We do not financially support placements or
the gifting of merchandise for participation
and have been forced to turn down opportunities
because of this,” says Larry Pettinelli,
president, Patek Philippe NA.“Therefore, and in
most cases, directors, producers, propmasters
and stylists who have a genuine appreciation
for the timepieces and our brand approach
our team. These individuals ultimately decide
that the inclusion will lend credibility to the
story line or characters involved.We scrutinise
every opportunity and only commit to those
that reflect our company values.”
When product placement works, it is much
better than any advertising a company could
do. The impact is greater, because the audience
is caught up in the plot of a great movie.
“Product placement provides third party
endorsement for audiences,” adds Pettinelli.
“If it occurs in an organic and appropriate setting,
the results can serve to reinforce our brand
message. The most successful placements for
us have occurred when a timepiece becomes
a natural part of the character or scene.”
It's also possible that a watch supplied for a
movie or TV show and worn during the shoot
will never appear on screen, despite everyone's
best efforts. After all, movies aren't edited
with watch placement in mind and what was
a great shot for the watch might not make it
into the final edit.
Watch creation for movies
Some watches, like the watch in Stanley
Kubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey", are
designed specifically for films. Hamilton Watch

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44 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
The Hamilton watches featured in the “Men In Black” series
Company was commissioned to make the
"2001" watch, a special multi-timezone timepiece
for the film and the company never even
considered selling the watch commercially, as
it was too complicated (for the time). In 2006,
Hamilton finally made a limited edition reinterpretation
of this watch, 30 years after the
original film. How limited was this timepiece?
You guessed it, 2001 pieces.
"For Russell Crowe in 'Master and Commander',
I contacted Breguet to duplicate a watch that
they had made in the 1700s to use in the
film,” Harlocker remembers. “They took it on
as a challenge and delivered a magnificent
pocket watch absolutely authentic to the
period at no charge to us. What did they get
out of it? Well, people saw that movie and saw
Russell using it. It is a strong association.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger has worn Audemars
Piguet watches in movies for quite some time,
including "End of Days", the "Terminator"
series and more. For "End of Days",Audemars
Piguet created a new Royal Oak Offshore.
Schwarzenegger even worked with the company
on the design of the watch.
Impact on sales
Though watch manufacturers are reluctant to
say that the appearance of their product
boosts sales dramatically, watch retailers do
Special award watches
by Jaeger-LeCoultre
mention that an increase of interest and
awareness, if not sales, occurs.
Hamilton Watch has had a host of movie tieins,
the most successful and visible being their
involvement with the "Men in Black" movies—
where they took a classic Hamilton design and
put it on the wrists of the two leads, Tommy
Lee Jones and Will Smith.The result? The watch
became a sales leader.
Retailers report customers coming in and
asking for the watches by the name of the
movie or the character, not even knowing the
brand name.
Next time you're at the cinema, or just watching
TV at home, pay attention to the wristwatches
that the characters wear. If you can barely see
the wristwatch, chances are it's not a product
placement. If you can see the brand clearly, and
the watch itself has its own tight shot, then it's
more than likely a product placement.
As watches continue to increase in popularity
and visibility, you can expect to see more
placements in the movies and TV.
The red carpet
Red carpet events are the height of Hollywood
glitz and glamour—a showcase of entertainment’s
elite—where the stars come out to
shine and where high-end designer fashion
takes to the spotlight. It is the stage on which
the crème de la crème of luxury retail flex
their muscles in an all-out star-studded advertising
affair. And, now, more than ever before,
watchmakers are figuring prominently in
red-carpet looks across the awards season
landscape.
How it started
When “Who are you wearing?” became a common
question shouted by reporters and photographers,
brands hustled to provide the answer.
Fashion designers and jewellery companies
were the first to respond, with watches coming
a little later to the party. After all, women
get most of the attention with their colourful
and unique dresses, and most women don’t
wear a watch with a beautiful gown. Watch
companies have recently been working hard
to change this by putting their watches on
both celebrity men and women.
“The problem is that actresses’ arms are normally
not covered so they don’t want to wear
a big wristwatch,” says Jérôme Lambert, president
of Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre,
a long-time sponsor of the Venice, Abu Dhabi
and San Sebastián film festivals and others.
“We have some beautiful tiny watches, and
these watches can fit quite well on the red
carpet. More and more actresses are considering
watches, rather than going with huge

Niels Schneider wearing Chopard
diamond necklaces, bracelets and earrings, as
there is a lower insurance risk.
“For men, we are getting more and more
actors, directors and producers wearing our
watches,” Lambert continues. “The Jaeger-
LeCoultre brand is getting much more awareness,
and creating strong relationships with
creative people, and that’s how we have been
able to get our watches on the Red Carpet.”
Harry Winston has perhaps the longest history
of working with celebrities—it was in 1944
Emmanuel Chriqui wearing Baume & Mercier
Jude Law wearing Chopard
that Harry Winston began to solidify his reputation
as the “Jeweller to the Stars”, when the
brand became the very first jeweller to dress
an actress, Jennifer Jones, for the Academy
Awards. The red carpet tradition, with both
jewellery and watches, is still very much a part
of the company today.
Chopard has been involved in an official
capacity with red carpet events for more than
15 years, starting with jewellery and going
into watches, most visibly with the Cannes
europa star ARTS & WATCHES 45
Film Festival. "I have always loved film, and it
was in 1998 when I was asked by the Cannes
Film Festival’s president, Pierre Viot, to redesign
the coveted Palme d’Or that Chopard became
the Official partner of the Cannes Film Festival,”
says Caroline Scheufele, co-president and
artistic director of Chopard. “Our involvement
with these prestigious events solidifies our
love for the art of film and beautiful jewellery
and watch creations.”
Piaget has also been quite visible on the red
carpet. Explains Larry Boland, president, Piaget
North America, “Piaget watches and jewellery
have always been a favourite of high-profile
individuals and the brand has a longstanding
love affair with cinema and the arts. Dressing
celebrities exposes us to new audiences and
helps attract new consumers and brings glamour
and excitement to the brand and strengthens
our relationship with Hollywood.”
Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier launched
an advertising campaign a few years ago that
featured Andy Garcia, Teri Hatcher, Ashton
Kutcher and other red carpet regulars. “This
campaign caught the attention of both consumers
and professionals in Hollywood and
inspired many to make Baume & Mercier their
timepiece choice for everyday wear as well as
Bianca Balti with Fawaz Gruosi of de Grisogono Owen Wilson wearing Piaget

46 ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Harrison Ford at the Hamilton “Behind the Camera” awards Nicole Kidman for Omega
Leonardo DiCaprio for TAG Heuer
for special occasions,” Rudy Chavez, president,
Baume & Mercier North America, says. More
recently, Baume & Mercier has become the
lead sponsor of the Hamptons International
Film Festival.
Hamilton Watch, in addition to being very
active in product placement around the
world, is the official sponsor of the “Hamilton
Behind the CameraAwards”, held in Hollywood
and Beijing. “The recognition of these offscreen
talents is underlined with the presentation
of the awards by leading actors, actresses
and other movie professionals, who are wearing
our watches,” says Sylvain Dolla, CEO,
Hamilton International. “Celebrities attending
the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards
come because they want to support one or
more honourees they worked with on different
projects.”
Dressing the stars
Watches or jewellery on celebrities might have
gotten there in a number of ways. Sometimes,
the celebrities themselves, who might be fans
of the brand, request to wear a piece or the
agent/manger/stylist makes the initial contact,
looking to borrow a watch or a piece of
high jewellery for their clients. In other cases,
the brands reach out to celebrities.
“We love to dress friends of Piaget,” Piaget’s
Boland says. “If celebrities make a request and
we are able to accommodate them, we do.
Other times, we are captivated by the performance
of a certain star, or we feel that they
exemplify the ideals of the brand, and we let
them know it would be our pleasure to dress
them in Piaget.”
Working with actors and celebrities isn’t easy,
as they are notoriously demanding and know
what they like and want.“When a client selects
a piece of high jewellery or a fine watch, they
are looking for something very meaningful
and very unique,” says Frédéric de Narp, president,
Harry Winston. “It is an extension of
who they are—their personal style, taste, and
even comfort—so it’s about finding something
truly exceptional just for them. This intimate
and highly personalised approach
allows us to give the clients we work with the
complete Harry Winston experience at the
highest level.”
Some companies set up suites where the
celebrities or their representatives come in
to choose what watches and jewellery they
will wear. Other times, they will come into
the LA offices or boutiques of a brand to
make their choices.
“At Cannes for example, the celebrities like to
come to our suite at the Hotel Martinez to
choose for themselves, while other times the
celebrity works with a stylist who comes to us
to see the entire collection and selects a few
items from there,” says Fawaz Gruosi, president
of watch and jewellery company de Grisogono.
Do red carpet placements have any effect on
sales? There is no empirical data, but the general
consensus is that it certainly helps awareness,
and these placements certainly can’t hurt.
“When a famous celebrity is seen wearing
one of our watches or a piece of jewellery,
we will often see an immediate increase in
demand,” Piaget’s Boland says. “Celebrities
can also spark trends. When Rihanna wore a
classic gold Piaget Polo in her music video,
‘Take a Bow’, and on the red carpet, it quickly
became popular with fashion editors and
other celebrities.
“Sometimes the pieces worn on the red carpet
are on loan and sometimes they have actually
been purchased by the celebrity,” Boland continues.
“Once a person wears a Piaget timepiece
or jewellery, they often fall in love with
it, and buy it.”
Because of the efforts of watch companies,
more and more actors, directors and producers
are wearing watches on the red carpet.
"The trend on the red carpet for men is classic
and timeless,” Boland adds. “It's why you're
seeing Hollywood's leading men wearing
dress watches again. The actors are choosing

48
ARTS & WATCHES europa star
Cameron Diaz for TAG Heuer
slim, elegant dress watches to complete their
looks. Our Black Tie Collection and Altiplanos
are in huge demand during awards season
because they are so discreet and slip easily
under the sleeve of your tux.”
Actors as ambassadors
As long as celebrities have been celebrities,
they have been associated with selling products.There
are many companies, like Baume &
Mercier, TAG Heuer, Roger Dubuis, Jaeger-
LeCoultre, Breitling and more, who actively
use actors as ambassadors.
“Omega ambassadors play an important role—
they bring a human face to the values of the
brand,” explains Stephen Urquhart, President
of Omega. “Because our ambassadors have
generally achieved great international popularity
and success, they bring instant worldwide
recognition to Omega—something that
cannot be easily matched through traditional
marketing channels. Our culture loves celebrities
and working with people who are not
only well-known but remarkably talented and
public-spirited is an essential part of our marketing
mix.
“We can certainly point to our association with
James Bond as a success story. Each time a
new film is released we clearly see a renewed
interest in the Seamasters 007 wears in the
Rolex mentor Martin Scorsese with protégée Celina Murga
film. Of course, we have James Bond, the character,
and Daniel Craig, the actor, as ambassadors
so our connection to the franchise is
very strong.”
TAG Heuer also uses actors successfully, like
Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio.
“Buying a luxury watch is not only about buying
a product but also about buying a dream,”
says Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO, TAG Heuer.
“A relevant ambassador contributes to create
a universe, a lifestyle, a success story around a
specific range.
“Actors and celebrities help to attract attention
within a wide offer and allow the brand
to differentiate itself from others,” he continues.
“In a given magazine where you can have up
to 50 pages of advertising, it is key to stand
out from the crowd. Of course the first leverage
to do so is the design of the watches, but
a famous icon such as Leonardo DiCaprio or
Cameron Diaz makes it more special and creates
a recall in consumers' minds.They will also
generate storytelling and, as a consequence,
editorials. Finally, during events, celebrities
bring their glamorous aura and generate a
general feeling of prestige.”
In the past, TAG Heuer used athletes as
ambassadors and this resulted in achieving
great success as a sports watch brand. TAG
Heuer felt that this designation was holding
them back from realising the brand’s potential.
“Therefore we decided to balance our communication
and added Brad Pitt to our ambassadors
team,” Babin details. “He strongly contributed
to developing our Carrera line as an
icon. Now Leo and Cameron do the same
thing. Thanks to them, we can say today that
we are not a sports brand anymore, but a luxury
brand inspired by sport.”
Other cinematic efforts
Montblanc focused on cinema with its recent
“Beauty of a Second” short film contest.
Presented in 2011, Montblanc asked the public
to submit one-second videos, reinforcing
the value of time and Montblanc’s place in it.
To raise its brand awareness in films and
media even more, Hamilton Watch has partnered
with film schools around the world,
spreading the Hamilton message to writers
and directors before they even get into the
industry. In exchange for funds to buy equipment,
Hamilton has these students producing
short works that it uses on its website and in
its promotions.
In 2009, Hamilton began working with the
Osaka Communication Arts School in Japan.
In addition, they are working with other
schools, including Webster University in
Geneva, Switzerland and other premiere communication
schools around the world.
Rolex has been working in cinema with its
Mentor & Protégé program. Some of the luminaries
who have been involved with the program
include Martin Scorsese, Zhang Yimou,
Walter Murch and Stephen Frears [See Pierre
Maillard’s article on the Rolex Mentor & Protégé
Arts Initiative in this issue].
There are many ways the watch industry and
the entertainment world work together. As
consumers continue to get bombarded by
thousands of media messages a day, brands
will continue to find new and inventive ways
of standing out from the crowd.
And you can bet that means more involvement
in entertainment. O

ICE-CHRONO
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CHANGE. YOU CAN.

Plate | The plate which bears the various movement parts and in particular the bridges.
The dial is usually affixed to the bottom side of the plate. The plate is pierced with
holes for the screws and recesses for the jewels in which the pivots of the movement
wheels will run.
Plate
Tableware or
part of a watch
movement?
Discover the world
of Fine Watchmaking
at www.hautehorlogerie.org
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ChrisToPhe ClareT | corum | de BeThune | greuBeL ForSey | harry WinsTon | hermèS | huBloT | iWc | Jaeger-leCoulTre | montBLAnc
Panerai | pArmigiAni | PerreleT | piAget | riChard mille | roger DuBuiS | Tag heuer | VAcheron conStAntin | van CleeF & arPels | Zenith
atelier-zuppinger.ch

“Audemars Piguet:
infusing a new way of thinking”
RInterview conducted
by Pierre Maillard
F
François-Henry Bennahmias, the new ad interim
CEO of Audemars Piguet, may be young (48
years old), but he knows the brand by heart.
Not surprising since he has worked there for
18 years. A former high-level professional
golfer, he joined Audemars Piguet in 1994
and started his career in the French market
before being sent to Singapore and Malaysia,
then notably to Australia. During this period,
he continued to have responsibilities over
various European markets, namely Germany,
Spain, Italy and Switzerland. In 1999, however,
he was transferred to the United States
to launch the brand in this market where it
was in a “bad position”. We know the rest:
thanks mostly to strong media efforts and
partnerships with popular personalities (Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Jay-Z), Audemars Piguet
became an icon in the USA. In light of his success,
the family “board” of the Swiss brand
looked to Bennahmias when it needed to
replace Philippe Merk, who was leaving for
reasons of “strategic differences.”
Europa Star: You declared a short time ago
that “the brand had rested a little too much
on its laurels”.What does this phrase conceal?
Was Audemars Piguet in a bad situation?
François-Henry Bennahmias: Upon my
arrival, the brand had enjoyed ten years of
pure happiness—ten years of development
and of opening new markets. Even the crisis
of 2009 did not affect Audemars Piguet too
François-Henry Bennahmias
much. Sales were down 12 per cent compared
to other companies that suffered 30
per cent declines or even more. So, at that
time, the feeling was to say: it’s all working,
we are there! But this is a dangerous attitude
because it tends to make you overconfident,
and therefore you no longer question what
you are doing. But, one is never “there”. All
the more so since we are heading into more
difficult times. Yet, difficult periods are interesting,
since they force us to be more reactive.
No, not “reactive” since that means that you
are already late. The right term is “proactive”.
ES: This is a word that does not exist in the
French language…
FHB: This is undoubtedly not by chance…
But it is this way of thinking that I want to
absolutely infuse in all of our teams. We must
dare and we must move forward, without fear
of being wrong. We can always make a mis-
europa star SIHH 51
take, but the important thing is how fast we
can correct this mistake. From this point of
view, the crisis offers us an opportunity. It
forces us to make the difference, to weather it
as well as we can, to be the best possible. The
crisis is a wake-up call!
ES: You define your new strategy as being
both “a return to basics and an absolute
respect for the brand”. What does that mean
in concrete terms?
FHB: Above all, it means that we must be
quality-oriented in everything we do, in all
aspects of the brand—product, distribution,
service. Insisting on quality rather than
quantity involves a whole series of direct
consequences, whether upstream on a
purely technical level for products whose
reliability must be totally irreproachable, or
downstream in our relationships with retailers
and end consumers. This has led us to
rapidly take concrete measures: resizing our
distribution network to offer each of our
partners a complete palette of products in
sufficient numbers; and pausing the release
of new products in order to re-establish the
brand in the strongest and most precise
positioning. The race to always introduce
new products is absurd. Watchmaking is not
the fashion industry. The public does not live
glued to every new watch that comes out. It
must digest the offer. And, this offer must be
the clearest possible. The collections must
be cleaned up and we must be able to say:
the Royal Oak is like this; the Millenary is
like this. Having said that, we are well balanced
in terms of the number of references
we have.
ES: You have used an enigmatic expression in
saying that Audemars Piguet “should become

52
SIHH europa star
the watchmaking Apple”. It is difficult to
understand exactly what you mean by this…
FHB: Ah, but it is simple. We want to create
our own standards, as Apple has done in computing.
By drawing inspiration from other
industries that innovate and work in other
ways than the unchanging methods employed
by the watch industry, we are going to innovate
and travel new roads, especially in terms
of service, roads that are in the DNA of the
brand, but that will make the difference. I
don’t want to say more for the moment, since
that would be premature, but we will have a
very remarkable new innovation coming in
2013 - 2014.
The Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication, a contemporary
44-mm diameter titanium and ceramic watch teamed
with a rubber strap, is an automatic minute repeater, splitsecond
chronograph and perpetual calendar. Within this
impressive horological accomplishment, the 648 parts sharing
the 8-cm 3 space allotted to the movement are finished
with exemplary care. Contemporary finishes, such as sandblasting,
are designed to highlight more traditional treatments
such as bevelling or hand-drawn flanks. The parts are
partially visible through the transparent sapphire dial and by
a fitted exhibition back. The latter in particular provides a
view of the solid gold oscillating weight featuring a black
coating serving to accentuate the overall contemporary
touch that the watchmakers have chosen to give this threepiece
limited edition.
ES: Is it an advantage that Audemars Piguet
is a family-owned brand in the current situation
where there are strong pressures being
exerted in the marketplace?
FHB: Yes, most certainly. It is an enormous
advantage. Not only do we not have to worry
about the pressures of the stock market, but
also the fact that we are a more modest ship
gives us greater manoeuvrability [Editor’s note:
even so, this year the brand’s turnover was
CHF 600 million with 1200 people aboard].
Our ship is not as difficult to handle as an
enormous cruise liner. That is one reason.
Another is the extraordinary card that we are
holding, a trump card to play with the major
retailers. Everyone feels and suffers the pressure
exerted by the large groups. These retailers
tend today, therefore, to favour the independence
of the brands they deal with. And
how many brands, regardless of size, are able
to generate a turnover of more than CHF 2
million per retailer? You can count them on
the fingers of one or perhaps two hands.
Audemars Piguet is one of them. I will let you
do the maths…
ES: What is the average price of a watch?
FHB: Around CHF 30,000. For a retailer, this
means he sells 70 watches a year to reach the
sales figure I just mentioned.
ES: Another sensitive question is that concerning
the integration of production, especially
these days given the pressure on movements
and assortments. Where is Audemars
Piguet in regards to this?
FHB: Over time, we want to integrate the few
metiers that we still don’t master. This year, we
are putting into place a production unit that
will be devoted to all of our Royal Oak dials,
which are the strong identifying features of the
product. Moreover, we have just announced a
major investment of more than CHF 30 million
on the construction of a new building in
Geneva, for Centror, our unit that makes cases
and bracelets. As for the famous assortments,
we are working on it (smiles). Patience.
ES: On a more personal level, what motivates
you the most in your new position?
FHB: Without any hesitation, I can say it is
the notion of teamwork. It is being able to
succeed in infusing a new attitude into this
large team, to push it forward, to bring out
the best in the incredible talents that work
here, and to encourage and reward initiative.
To sum it up, what motivates me above all is
to transmit a new way of thinking. Moreover,
I am, and will be, very present at the industrial
core of our activity, in the workshops, in
the production. I would like to infuse this
change of mentality everywhere in the brand
so that we are all “proactive” without being
afraid.This is perhaps an approach inspired by
my American experience. But, I also owe this
approach to my German wife, who showed
me that there is another way to work, without
rigidity but with courage, in a shared and
common manner. O
For more information about Audemars Piguet
click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

RPaul O’Neil
C
Cartier will once again be presenting a number
of exciting new products at the SIHH in
2013 but the brand understandably does not
want to overwhelm us by presenting everything
at the same time. But if the appetiser is
anything to go by, the brand is once again set
to surpass itself at the show in January, since
Cartier has unveiled nothing less than its first
in-house self-winding chronograph calibre,
the 1904-CH MC.
Aficionados will note the column wheel, which
is carefully revealed through an open-worked
bridge section visible through the transparent
case back and sets the movement apart as a
chronograph of distinction. But Cartier’s
attention to detail went beyond this more visible
confirmation of the movement’s quality.
The use of a vertical coupling, for example,
ensures no loss of power and eliminates any
jumps by the chronograph seconds hand
when the chronograph is started or stopped.
Furthermore, the return-to-zero mechanism,
which usually rotates, is in this case linear,
which guarantees an instantaneous and precise
return to zero, regardless of the pressure
applied to the chronograph pusher. A degree
of flexibility has also been incorporated into
the heart cams on the chronograph counters
themselves in order to reduce stress on their
axles. The movement operates at 4Hz and,
thanks to twin mainspring barrels, offers a
power reserve of 48 hours.
The new movement finds its first application
in a 42mm Calibre de Cartier case in stainless
steel or 18-carat red gold with alligator leather
straps or metal bracelets. Although the two
chronograph counters at 3 and 9 o’clock con-
fer a slightly sportier touch to the dial, nothing
of the traditional Cartier elegance is lost.
An oversized XII Roman numeral and the
Cartier name dominate the top of the dial.The
Roman numerals continue around the upper
half of the dial, switching to baton-shaped
europa star SIHH 53
Cartier’s new manufacture chronograph
hour markers for the lower half, with a sectorial
date aperture at 6 o’clock. The chronograph
uniform is completed by an elegant
railway-style minute track that is engraved on
the bezel.
Signature elements such as the sword-shaped
hands and the seven-sided crown adorned
with a faceted blue synthetic spinel ensure
that this new timepiece remains unmistakably
Cartier and acts as a fine ambassador for
Cartier’s new models in 2013. O
For more information about Cartier click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

54 SIHH europa star
Piaget’s strident voice from a slender body
RPaul O’Neil
P
Piaget has established a solid reputation as a
leader in the manufacture of ultra-thin watch
movements. After producing the world’s
thinnest hand-wound shaped tourbillon movement
and ultra-thin versions of some of the
main watchmaking complications, the brand
now reaches the pinnacle of thinning down the
mechanical movement with the presentation
of the world’s thinnest self-winding minute
repeater movement in the Emperador Coussin
Ultra-Thin Minute Repeater.
It has taken the company three years of development
work to design and produce the
4.8mm thick Calibre 1290P with its 407 indi-
EMPERADOR COUSSIN ULTRA-THIN MINUTE REPEATER
vidual components. Based on the Calibre
1200P, the world’s thinnest self-winding movement,
it contains components whose size is
difficult to imagine, some of which—at
0.07mm—are thinner than a hair’s breadth.
In spite of its size, the movement exhibits an
exquisite level of finishing with bridges drawn
and bevelled by hand with a file, a decorated
platinum micro-rotor and polished pink-gold
and rhodium-plated screws.
The elegant mechanism is housed inside a
48mm diameter cushion-shaped case from
the Piaget Black Tie collection. Fashioned in
18-carat pink gold, the case alone comprises
69 individual elements, yet it is only 9.4mm
thick, making this the world’s thinnest selfwinding
minute repeater timepiece. In the
absence of a dial, the ornate decoration on
both sides of the movement can be admired
through sapphire crystals on the front and
back of the watch, with the 60 rays of the
sunburst engine-turned pattern on the mainplate
acting as the watch’s minute markers.
A minute repeater must, of course, be heard
in order to be judged. Connoisseurs of this
highly complicated mechanism will be able to
appreciate the significance of the finer details
that allow the hours to be struck in G sharp
and the minutes inA sharp in the fifth octave at
a volume of 64 decibels—just one decibel less
than the level of an average conversation. O
For more information about Piaget click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

RPaul O’Neil
T
The latest high-tech timepiece from Richard
Mille, which was presented at the annual
awards of the FIA (Fédération Internationale
de l’Automobile) in Istanbul in December, is a
collaboration between FIA president Jean
Todt and Richard Mille. Dubbed the RM036
Jean Todt Limited Edition, it boasts a unique
new mechanical g-force meter that measures
the forces that drivers are subjected to on
deceleration.
The g-force meter was developed exclusively
for Richard Mille by Renaud & Papi, with
whom the brand works closely on movement
development. It is assembled directly on the
main plate and can indicate g-forces of tens
of g, with the scale on the meter at 12 o’clock
indicating whether the deceleration is harmless
(green), or whether it has reached a level
that is critical for the driver (red).
Withstanding such strong forces naturally
places greater requirements on the resistance
of the mechanical movement that powers the
watch—even more so in this case, since the
RM036 movement in question is a manually-
wound tourbillon. For extra rigidity, the main
plate is made of carbon nanofibre and the components
of grade five titanium and ARCAP.
Another particularity of this movement is that
the entire time-setting mechanism is separated
from the main plate, which means that
it can be removed from the watch without
touching the main plate and without removing
the dial or the hands, since it can be accessed
easily from the case back side.
This complex yet practical arrangement has a
meticulous finish and is housed inside the
typical Richard Mille case in grade five titanium,
whose complex form requires 86 different
pressing operations and 49 stamping operations
followed by 20 hours of machine setting
and 30 hours of programming on the three
europa star SIHH 55
Richard Mille’s support for road safety
principal components: case middle, bezel and
back. After 255 machining operations and five
hours of satin finishing and polishing, the finishing
touch—the relief engraving of the Richard
Mille name—requires a further 45 minutes.
Only 15 drivers will benefit from the unique gforce
meter on this RM 036 Limited Edition
Jean Todt model, since that is the extent of
the limited edition. Richard Mille, however,
helps the cause of road safety in a much
wider sense, since Jean Todt will donate the
profits from the sale of these timepieces to
the FIA’s global “Action for road safety” campaign
and the ICM Brain and Spine Institute
of which he is a co-founder. O
For more information about Richard Mille click
on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

56 SIHH europa star
Roger Dubuis leads the way
in self-sufficiency
RPaul O’Neil
A
A visit to the relatively modest premises of
Roger Dubuis in Meyrin, on the outskirts of
Geneva, reveals a text book example of what
a true manufacture should look like. Not only
is every step of the movement manufacturing
process mastered internally but the brand is
also the only one to certify its entire production
with the Poinçon de Genève (Geneva
Hallmark – see the article “Putting the seal on
quality” in Europa Star 04/2012).
On presenting a selection of Roger Dubuis’s
new products for the SIHH 2013, CEO Jean-
Marc Pontroué stressed that there should be
two watchmakers for every other employee if
a brand wants to claim a genuine status as a
manufacture. In Roger Dubuis’s case, 160 of
the total workforce of 250 are indeed watch-
makers. He also emphasised that 40 per cent
more time is required to produce watches in
accordance with the criteria for the Geneva
Hallmark.
Excalibur
The Excalibur collection will be the focus of
the brand’s attention in 2013. It accounts for
30-40 per cent of total sales and is the number
one seller in most major countries. The collection,
launched in 2005 with a 45mm case and
a double tourbillon movement, is distinguished
by its grooved bezel, triple lugs, integrated strap
and elongated Roman numerals on the dial.
Covering a wide price range from CHF 13,000
to CHF 550,000, the Excalibur collection offers
gents’ and ladies’ models, with the former
accounting for two-thirds of the collection and
the latter the remaining third. It currently uses
fifteen different Roger Dubuis calibres, a figure
that will increase next year with the launch of
three new calibres in the collection, in addition
to a new material in a new 47mm case
EXCALIBUR CHRONOMETER
diameter and one entirely new case. The 29
new references to be presented at the SIHH in
January include new metal bracelets for the
36mm and 42mm case sizes—a first in the
Excalibur collection. One such model in the
36mm case diameter is set with no less than
624 diamonds on the new bracelet in red gold,
with a further 48 diamonds on the bezel (for a
THE MANUFACTURE
Roger Dubuis really does master the entire production
process in its facility in Meyrin, Geneva. It starts with
the top-secret workshop where two employees produce
balance springs behind secure, windowless doors.
The springs then arrive in a small escapement workshop,
where the balance springs are fixed to the balance
wheels and the pallet stones are fitted to the lever
by hand, checked for position, then glued in place.
Elsewhere, milling and wire erosion machines produce
movement blanks and individual components, while in
a separate workshop that is unlikely to be found in any
other watch factory, a whole department works on all
components by hand to ensure that they meet the
requirements of the Geneva Hallmark. Working to
within the strictest tolerances, gear wheel teeth are
polished, bevels painstakingly created by hand and the
signature Celtic cross of the tourbillon mirror-polished
by hand on a diamond stone, the abrasive surface of
which actually feels smooth to the touch.
All the Geneva Hallmark components are then meticulously
cleaned using a variety of methods before
moving on to the assembly line, where watchmakers
work in pairs (each one assembling a specific half of
the movement), before handing the finished movement
over to another watchmaker for adjustment.The
movements are then tested to ensure that they meet
the new precision criteria for the Geneva Hallmark (a
variation of no more than 60 seconds over a period of
seven days). Only once they pass this test are they
cased up and tested for water resistance—also in
accordance with the new Geneva Hallmark criteria.

EXCALIBUR CHRONOMETER-CHRONOGRAPH
total weight of approximately 4.78 carats).
This model is powered by the RD821 selfwinding
calibre with small seconds display.
In the 42mm case diameter, Roger Dubuis
presents a new chronometer-chronograph in
stainless steel and with a blue dial.This model
will be sold exclusively through the brand’s 20
own-name boutiques and is driven by the
new self-winding RD681 chronograph calibre
with a micro rotor, whose 280 components
work in harmony to display the chronograph
seconds centrally, the 30-minute counter at 3
o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock.
The Excalibur 42 Skeleton Tourbillon takes its
cue from the popular 45mm Double Skeleton
and shows off its distinctive, mirror-polished
tourbillon cage in the form of a Celtic cross to
maximum effect. Only the bare minimum of
material has been left after the skeletonisation
of the RD505SQ calibre, leaving a sup-
EXCALIBUR 42 SKELETON TOURBILLON
porting structure whose finish is reminiscent
of wrought ironwork. This tourbillon is also a
COSC-certified chronometer and is available
with a case in red or white gold.
Undoubtedly the pièce de résistance in the
batch of new Excalibur models presented by
Roger Dubuis at the SIHH 2013, the Excalibur
Round Table pays homage to the legend of
King Arthur (after whose magical sword the
collection is named) and the Knights of the
Round Table. The scene is captured beautifully
on the piece’s dial, with an enamel disc forming
the table, around which three-dimensional
sculptures of the twelve knights are seated,
each with their hand-forged gold sword laid
on the table to form the twelve hour markers.
The self-winding calibre RD822 powering this
limited edition of 28 pieces displays only the
hours and minutes. A wise choice, since the
continuous movement of a seconds hand would
disturb this exquisite sculpture.
EXCALIBUR ROUND TABLE
europa star SIHH 57
Distribution
Roger Dubuis currently has 20 own-name
boutiques, the latest of which, located at the
Macau Wynn casino, is the smallest of all. The
brand is distributed in a further 170 doors
worldwide, a figure that is unlikely to change
much, according to Pontroué, who says “our
growth will not come from increasing the
number of points of sale”. He also proudly
points out that, in a survey by the Richemont
Group of 600 retailers, three Roger Dubuis
stores came in the top ten in terms of customer
service.The brand’s in-house design team have
created a relaxing lounge-style environment
for the own-brand stores, where customers
can relax on comfy sofas surrounded by bookshelves—so
much the better for an unhurried
examination of the intricate finish of the
brand’s timepieces. O
For more information about Roger Dubuis click
on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

58 GENEVA SHOWS PREVIEW GALLERY europa star
BIG BANG “ZEBRA BANG” by Hublot
With this new model, Hublot continues the animal-print theme that it started with its Leopard
Bang and Boa Bang models. The 41mm case is in black ceramic with a distinctive zebra print
dial and strap, with diamonds, colourless topaz and black spinels completing the monochrome
look of the watch, powered by the HUB4300 self-winding chronograph movement, which
offers a power reserve of 42 hours. This is a limited edition of 250 pieces but with two other
models (also limited to 250 pieces each) available in red gold or white ceramic.
ACADEMIA SECONDE RETROGRADE SERENITY by De Witt
The imposing 43mm diameter angular case of this piece (which is available in white or rose
gold) plays host to an original 30-second retrograde second display in the 6 o’clock position.
Calibre DW1102 is used to power this function—a mechanical self-winding movement that
offers 42 hours of power reserve.
GRAND LANGE 1 “LUMEN” by A. Lange & Söhne
The German brand famous for its big date display betters its own innovation by presenting the
first glow-in-the-dark big date display in this new limited edition of 100 watches.A semi-transparent
smoked sapphire crystal dial acts as the perfect background for the highly visible, offcentre
time, small seconds and power reserve indications
housed in a 41mm diameter case.
Powered by the manually-wound
Lange manufacture calibre
L095.2,it boasts a power
reserve of 72 hours.
SPIDOLITE II TITANIUM BLUE by Linde Werdelin
This limited edition of 75 pieces is the first in a series of three new SpidoLite II models. Its
44mm x 46mm case has been modified slightly but maintains its lightweight design and the
ability to accommodate the unique Linde Werdelin instruments. Set apart by the galvanic blue
tone of its skeletonised dial, with bright orange numerals and hour markers, the SpidoLite II
Titanium Blue is powered by the LW 04 calibre—a self-winding movement that is custommade
for the brand by Concepto and offers a 42-hour power reserve.

RPaul O’Neil
P
Panerai watches have such a distinctive look,
rooted in the brand’s historic ties with the
Italian navy, and a cult following that one may
justifiably wonder whether this places certain
restrictions on the freedom of its designers.
But this conundrum is neither new, nor does it
pose any apparent problem to Angelo Bonati,
President of Officine Panerai. Earlier this year,
Europa Star put this very question to him.
“We consider Panerai a brand that has an
enormous potential for the future,” he replied.
“Somebody asked me the same question twelve
years ago. My answer is still the same: we
have an enormous potential to explore, why
change? It’s true that we don’t have a big
square to draw our watches on. We have a
narrow street, but this means that you have
to be more creative.”
The latest expression of this creativity is a special
edition dedicated to the Panerai-sponsored
Transat Classique 2012, which has seen
a fleet of classic yachts racing in a number of
regattas around the world in 2012, travelling
4,000 miles in yachts that are, in some cases,
over a hundred years old.
The Luminor 1950 Rattrapante 8 Days Titanio,
identified by the reference PAM00427, bears
all the usual Panerai hallmarks, such as the
Luminor case, the sleek black dial and Panerai’s
trademarked crown protector. The lightweight
case in brushed titanium, with a contrasting
polished titanium bezel, houses the Panerai
P.2006/3 calibre, which is a hand-wound splitseconds
movement with a double column wheel
that offers a power reserve of eight days (dis-
played on Panerai’s typical linear gauge in the
6 o’clock position). Since the patented crown
protector takes up most of the right-hand side
of the case, the two chronograph pushers are
located at 8 o’clock for the chronograph and
10 o’clock for the split seconds.
With the logo of the Panerai Transat Classique
2012 engraved on the case back, this special
edition is fitted with a personalised Panerai
europa star SIHH 59
Panerai’s celebration of classic yachting
rubber strap and large brushed titanium buckle
and is supplied with a second strap and the
tool required to change it. Issued as a limited
edition of 200 pieces, it will be available mainly
in the 45 Panerai boutiques worldwide, as
well as at a small selection of specialist watch
shops. O
For more information about Panerai click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

60 SIHH europa star
Baume & Mercier’s seaside
odyssey continues
RPaul O’Neil
B
Baume & Mercier has changed a lot over the
past few years. While the brand’s outward
identity is now characterised by the appealing
seaside escape images inspired by the
Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island in
New York State, an enormous amount of work
has been going on behind the scenes to make
its distribution more exclusive. The latest new
collection, which Baume & Mercier will present
at the SIHH 2013, continues the seaside
theme with a name taken from the affluent
seaside suburb of Cape Town, South Africa –
the Clifton.
Inspired by an historic model found in the
company’s museum, the Clifton slots perfectly
into one of the main axes of the brand’s product
strategy, as Baume & Mercier’s CEO Alain
Zimmerman explained to Europa Star. “We
work along two main lines: Firstly, we have a
balanced offer between gents’ and ladies’
models, which is an historical strength of the
brand. Secondly, we also keep a balance
between classic and sporty models.”
The Clifton
The new Clifton collection is firmly positioned in
the classic segment, with a carefully reworked
interpretation of the round case of the 1950s
original that inspired it. “The original piece
caught our eye for three reasons,” says Mr.
Zimmerman. “The first is that it has a strong
design signature, for example with the recessed
lugs.The second is the purity of the dial and the
third is the ‘chimney-style’ bezel, which is on
two levels and gives the watch a vintage look.”
The 41mm stainless-steel case of the new
gents’ Clifton model houses a self-winding
Sellita SW260-1 movement with a personalised
oscillating mass, circular-grained bridges and
black and rhodium-plated screws. Visible
through a sapphire crystal case back, the movement
provides hour, minute and small seconds
display at 6 o’clock, as well as a date window
at 3 o’clock. Despite a high level of attention
to detail that includes elegant applied Arabic
numerals, blued-steel hands and a new folding
clasp that does not have to be inserted
into the holes of the alligator leather strap
(and thus reduces wear on the strap and
allows better adjustment), the collection has
an aggressively positioned entry-level price of
2,500 Swiss francs. The aim is to appeal to
customers looking to trade up into the luxury
segment. Or, as Mr. Zimmerman explains,
“someone who will progress from a watch
that he may have purchased spontaneously to
what we could call a ‘real’ watch. Someone
who makes this step wants a watch that will
last, so they need a classic design. They want
a mechanical movement and they want to be
able to see it. These are the considerations
that went into the design of the watch.”
Nevertheless, Baume & Mercier also reaffirms its
fine watchmaking credentials with an 18-carat
red-gold version of the Clifton. Slightly larger
at 42mm diameter, it has a more rounded,
“chevé”-style sapphire crystal and a domed
dial that more closely mimics the 1950s aesthetics
of the original model. It is powered by
the manual-winding La Joux-Perret calibre
7381, with 90 hours of power reserve, whose

europa star SIHH 61
circular-grained main plate and bridges with
Côtes de Genève décor are visible through a
transparent sapphire crystal case back. Smaller
39mm Clifton models, as well as a moon phase
variation, are being kept under wraps for presentation
at the 2013 SIHH in Geneva.
More exclusive distribution
The sweeping changes at Baume & Mercier
over the past few years have included a drastic
reduction in the size of the brand’s distribution
network. “Over the past few years we
have massively reduced our distribution network,
from around 3,000 to around 1,600,”
says Zimmerman.
As a result, the brand is in a phase of construction
that is incomparable with other more
established brands within the Richemont
group and suggests an above-average potential
for growth. While the brand has been traditionally
strong in markets such as the USA
(for many years, Baume & Mercier was the
only watch brand other than Patek Philippe to
be carried in all Tiffany stores), other regions,
such as Asia, still require a lot of work. Even
with Europe, there is still room for improvement.
“In the UK we are far behind the level
that we should be at,” explains Zimmerman.
“We have practically had to start from scratch
and need retailers who will give us the space.”
“Our business model is different as well,” he
continues. “We have a different positioning in
terms of price and in terms of distribution,
since we are focused more on wholesale, while
other brands in the group are more focused
on retail.”
Meanwhile, plans to expand the Clifton collection
are already in the pipeline. Look out
for a version with two different dials at the
SIHH, as well as some new ladies’ models in
the Linea collection. O
For more information about Baume & Mercier
click on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

62
GENEVA SHOWS PREVIEW GALLERY europa star
SPIRIT MARK 2 by Speake-Marin
Peter Speake-Marin has completely redesigned the Spirit Pioneer model using a new case,
dial and movement. The dial alone is as complicated to produce as an enamel dial, requiring
the use of different moulds to produce a face that can be bonded to a tradi traditional dial plate.
The finished dial has bold Roman man numerals, hour markers and minute track in Sup SuperLuminova,
producing a clearly readable dable display when viewed against the light-absorbing matt m black
background. The 42mm 2mm case in stainless steel houses a new TT738 calibre movement moveme with
unidirectional automatic winding that offers a 120-hour (5 day) power reserve.
UR-210 by Urwerk
This 53.6mm x 43.8mm machine in titanium and steel features a unique indication developed by
Urwerk. At the top left-hand corner of the dial is an indicator that displays the winding efficiency
over the past two hours. Using this, the wearer can adjust the winding efficiency of the UR-7.10
calibre self-winding movement using a selector on the back of the watch.Turbines coupled to the
movement, which offers a power reserve of 39 hours, manage this function, while Urwerk’s
patented revolving satellite complication displays the time around the bottom half of the dial.
TRANSFORMA RIVAGES
by Parmigiani
Conceived with the exploits of brand
ambassador Bernard Stamm in mind during
the Vendée Globe solo round-theworld
yacht race, this timepiece can
be used as a cockpit instrument
or worn as a pocket watch or
wristwatch. Its 43mm case is in
matt black carbon,with a titanium
support. It is powered
by the PF334 calibre movement
with ¼ second chronograph
function, which has a
power reserve of 50 hours,
and comes with a choice of
black calfskin or waterproofed
alligator leather straps with a
titanium folding clasp.
CHALLENGE JET LINER CARBON by Cvstos
Cvstos combines cutting-edge technology with traditional manual
crafts to produce its first Tonneau case with carbon inlays.
After the carbon sections are cut by laser, they are inlaid, lacquered
and polished by hand in the 53.7mm x 41mm case,
which is available in titanium or 18-carat red gold.The Challenge
Jet Liner Carbon is powered by the Cvstos CVS3250 calibre selfwinding
movement and has a 42-hour power reserve.
OCULUS V.01 CHRONO “THE DEVIL INSIDE” by Valbray
Only six models of this “diabolical” chronograph will be made, with a case in grade five titanium
with a red-gold DLC coating. The diaphragm system hidden beneath the dial allows the
wearer to choose between a sombre black dial on which only the black hands and the distinctive
red seconds hand in the form of the devil’s trident can be seen and the fully open display
with the chronograph counters. This model is powered by a self-winding chronograph
movement that offers 44 hours of power reserve.

RPaul O’Neil
A
After concentrating on the Art Deco 867 collection
at last year’s SIHH, for the 2013 edition
Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry turns its
attention to a democratisation of the Sporting
World Time collection, with a new brushed
stainless-steel version in dark blue tones.
The Sporting line was one of the debut collections
presented at the SIHH in 2009, together
with the Slim Classique and Stirrup models,
and has evolved to encompass the Classic,
Automotive and Chronograph models. The
most recent models to be launched were the
Sporting World Time pieces, inspired by Ralph
Lauren’s love of travel and exploration, which
have until now only been available with precious-metal
cases in yellow and white gold
and with classic white or black dials.
In the new model, the familiar 45-mm case,
with its six visible screws fixing the bezel to
the case, is in brushed stainless steel. It extends
the collection and remains unmistakably Ralph
Lauren with its transferred Roman numerals
and railway-style minute track around the circumference
of the deep-blue varnished dial.
The function after which the watch is named,
the world time indicator, remains relatively
discreet in the 6 o’clock position below the
power reserve display at 10 o’clock and the
date sub-dial at 2 o’clock and above an aperture
in which the city corresponding to the
second time zone is displayed. The day/night
indicator, found in the 9 o’clock position on
the sub-dial, is equally discreet. A simple
press on the pushbutton at 10 o’clock is all
that is needed to change the time zone, while
a separate hidden corrector at 2 o’clock is
used to correct the date.
europa star SIHH 63
Ralph Lauren’s Sporting World Time
in steel
This complication is driven by the RL 939 calibre
movement, which was developed by Jaeger-
LeCoultre for Ralph Lauren. The self-winding
movement boasts a high-quality finish of
Côtes de Genève and circular graining, as well
as a 40-hour power reserve, and operates at
28,000 vibrations per hour. A cobalt blue alligator
leather strap completes the vibrant blue
aspect of the piece, which is water resistant to
100 metres. O
For more information about Ralph Lauren click
on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

www.baselworld.com

I
In the world of watchmaking there is a continent,
somewhat obscure, on which the media
projectors rarely cast their light—much too
rarely. What we are talking about is “service”.
The press is full of talk of brands and the
excellence in their know-how, technology,
design and products. Yet, once the product is
sold, it often seems like that everything stops
there. So many comments come to us from
customers who are profoundly disappointed,
even sometimes disheartened, by the way in
which their preferred brand manages its aftersales
service. Unacceptable delays, risky repairs
and prohibitive prices are among the complaints
that we hear.
Worse still, it is apparent that not all clients
are equal, depending on where they live.
When reading the very instructive Letter from
China by Jean-Luc Adam, who manages our
office in Shanghai, it is quite clear that aftersales
service in China is at best vague and at
worst non-existent. Too busy filling the
shelves of retailers and trying to put a watch
on the wrist of every Chinese citizen, many
brands have sub-contracted the less glamorous
side of their business—after-sales service—to
companies that deal indifferently
and anonymously between “watches in plastic
and watches in platinum”.
The side-effects of this reprehensible negligence
are beginning to be felt. Chinese blogs
are full of Kafkaesque stories, sometimes to
the point of forcing certain brands to backpedal
to silence the growing rumours. Brands
run a real risk in neglecting after-sales service.
It is a danger for them to be so concerned
with the client before the sale but then forget
about them afterwards. Having quality aftersales
service is a question of trust, of longterm
growth and ultimately of the survival of
the brand.
There are a number of questions to be answered
and numerous obstacles to be overcome in
order to set up a satisfactory after-sales service.
Should it be considered as a “profit centre”
or as a costly ethical obligation? How
can a company build good and efficient ser-
europa star SERVICE, PLEASE! 65
Service, please!
A NEW SECTION IN EUROPA STAR
vice when it is difficult to find the necessary
qualified watchmakers whose training is so
expensive? How can a brand improve the quality
control of products in a climate where the
pressure to continuously come out with new
ones is so great? Is the number of watches
returned exploding? Should a brand distribute
the component parts for repairs to third
parties, or try to control everything in-house?
These are the questions, among others, that
we discuss in this new and, henceforth, regular
section in Europa Star, that we inaugurate
with this issue. We will provide both good and
bad examples, since not everything is as bleak
as we have just described. Good practices
exist and, let’s be honest, customers must
also assume their share of responsibility when
things don’t run as smoothly as they should.
While all car owners are aware that they must
regularly take their vehicle in for servicing, it is
not always the same for owners of watches,
whose “engines” run 24 hours a day. But
explaining to a client who has just spent
thousands of dollars on a watch that he must
regularly have his timepiece serviced—and
that it will cost him—is not the most enviable
task. This information should naturally, however,
be part of the “before-sales” service.
Service is a long chain that begins at the factory,
continues with the retailer, and then is
carried out in the anonymous workshops where
the products are sent. More transparency in
the operation and nature of after-sales service
will by no means hurt the watch industry. Quite
the opposite. Providing better transparency by
revealing the good and the not-so-good practices
is a modest “service” that Europa Star
aims to offer to the watch community. O

66 SERVICE, PLEASE! europa star
Reinventing customer service at Piaget
RKeith W. Strandberg
S
Some companies see after sales service as a
grudging obligation, one they would rather
not fulfil. Sure, they’ve sold the watches, but
they don’t really want to see them come back.
For Piaget, the attitude is something altogether
different. Europa Star was fortunate
enough to talk with Piaget’s director of customer
service, Didier Théraulaz, about how the
brand handles this critical part of the watch
business.
Attitude is important
“After sales service is not the first priority in
terms of turnover sales, but it is a priority for
the clients and the image of the brand,” says
Théraulaz. “In the structure of the company,
customer service is under the direct responsibility
of the CEO, Philippe Leopold-Metzger. I
report directly to Mr. Leopold-Metzger—what
he wanted when he created this department,
customer service, was to change from after
sales service to something more client-oriented.
“Usually, in the industry, after sales is very
passive,” he continues.“Ordinarily, watch com-
Didier Théraulaz
panies design, produce and sell watches, wait
for quite a while, then sooner or later the client
will come back with a problem. We wanted to
be more proactive. For the client, after sales
service can be a very negative experience,
and as a result, it’s not positive for the brand’s
image. We want to take this negative and
change it into a positive.”
Starting with the sale
Education about service starts at the time of
sale. “Our goal is for the sales professionals
to be at ease explaining why service is needed,
and why it is an asset of Piaget. When the
client buys from Piaget, we want to use after
sales as a tool in creating a relationship with
our clients.
“Regular service helps to preserve the value
of the watches over time and we believe that
it is good for our brand image.
“Now, we inform the client when we sell a
watch with a leaflet that explains service, that
the watch will need maintenance sooner or
later.”
In addition, Piaget regularly mystery-shops its
boutiques and retailers to make sure their
sales associates handle service clients appropriately
and are able to convey the key messages
when talking about service. The point is
for Piaget to proactively communicate with its
clients about watch service, trying to head off
a problem before it occurs.
“Either we can wait until a problem occurs
and the negative experience follows, or we
can contact the client three years after purchase
and remind him he bought a Piaget
watch and as a mechanical product, it needs
maintenance,” Théraulaz details.
The maintenance service costs a set amount
of money. If the watch is working fine, Piaget

makes sure it is still waterproof, checks the
oils, and if there is nothing special, Piaget only
invoices for a maintenance service. Should
something more serious be found, a representative
of Piaget contacts the client to explain
the situation.
Piaget just started this programme of contacting
its clients, and by no means has the response
been overwhelming. “The rate of return has
been limited, but at least it is starting to work,”
Théraulaz admits. “More and more the clients
are responding to it. The response rate will
never be 100 per cent, but it is getting better.
Piaget acknowledges that the company, and
the industry in general, has to do a better job
of educating watch owners about the need
for regular, preventive service. “That’s why we
have created this leaflet so our sales associates
can talk about the service needs of the
watch,” Théraulaz says. “It’s not easy, however,
to talk about maintenance when we sell
a watch, while keeping the dream alive.”
Piaget service centres
Piaget operates 22 service centres around the
world, plus the service centre at the headquarters
in Geneva, Switzerland. Some retailers
are equipped to service and repair Piaget
watches, but in order to have control over
such a crucial process, Piaget has invested in
its own service centres.
“Piaget has about 60 full time technicians all
around the world in our own service centres,
so we can do the maintenance locally, and we
try to turn a regular complete service around
in 30 days,” says Théraulaz. “If the watch has
to be sent back here to Switzerland, it takes
much longer. We want to do as much of the
service in the local markets, and we manage
to do 95 per cent of the service and repairs
locally.”
Explaining the need for time is important, as
clients are used to same day service with their
cars and other products. “The turnaround all
depends on the work needed and the spare
parts required—we might have to order the
parts from Switzerland, for example,”Théraulaz
explains. “Usually, our clients have several
watches. When they buy from Piaget, it’s usually
not the first luxury watch they buy. We
started proposing a replacement watch to the
clients, but most of them didn’t need it.
“Our clients are less interested in the lead
time, but what they expect is that if we say it
will be one month, we have to respect the
deadline we set,” he continues. “If after sales
europa star SERVICE, PLEASE! 67
“Our objective is to deliver a good quality repair, which is not always easy,
because every watch is unique, and each watch has a different story. “
is already a negative experience, taking longer
makes it worse.”
Quality first
Turnaround time is an important concern, but
so is getting service and repair right the first
time. “Our first priority is the quality of the
repairs,” says Théraulaz. “Our objective is to
deliver a good quality repair, which is not
always easy, because every watch is unique,
and each watch has a different story. Our
watchmakers have to be trained on a number
of different movements—we have 30 different
movements in our current collection, but
we have 130 movements in the history of
Piaget that need to be worked on. We have
trainers throughout the world that train our
watchmakers locally. The quality of the spare
parts is assured, because as an integrated
manufacture, we can reproduce whatever we
need, we don’t rely on external suppliers for
the movement, the case, the bracelet or for
most of the components. We have documentation
as well when we create a new product.
When the first piece hits the market, the technicians
are ready to service it. For some products,
we need special tools, and these are
developed during the development of the

68 SERVICE, PLEASE! europa star
“For a watchmaker, developing new movements is a very good job,
but when maintaining watches, one watchmaker does the entire work.”
watch, so these are sent to our repair centres.
We also have the customer service department
integrated in the development of new
products.We don’t want to repeat any current
or past issues in future products.”
According to Théraulaz, Piaget has had no
trouble finding watchmakers to work in after
sales service, as it’s a challenging and very
interesting area of concentration. Unlike serial
production, every watch that comes in to be
serviced is different, and figuring out what the
problems are is a bit like solving a mystery.
“For a watchmaker, developing new movements
is a very good job, but when maintaining
watches, one watchmaker does the entire
work,” he details. “Usually, the watchmakers
we have in service are among the best in our
company. They have to know so much, and
they have to treat each watch as a special
story.We can attract qualified people because
the job is very interesting, there can be surprises,
and it is really challenging. I discovered
that the watchmakers like what they do
because it’s not always the same.”
In the countries where Piaget is seeing a shortage
of watchmakers, the brand in partnership
with Richemont and Wostep has developed
schools to train their own watchmakers—
Institute of Swiss Watchmaking (IOSW) schools
in Shanghai, the USA and Hong Kong.
Continued contact
Customer service is about meeting the continuing
needs of Piaget’s customers. “The fact
that we are able to care about our products
and client, rather than just being interested in
the money, is a positive message,” Théraulaz
says. “We don’t look at customer service as a
profit centre—what we want in the end is to
cover the cost, we want it to be break even,
which is not the case yet. After sales service is
costly—the infrastructure, the stock, the personnel,
the support team, the documentation,
the training and more.
“Our commitment to customer service shows
to our clients that we will be here 20 years from
now to service their watches,” he continues.
“We can service almost 100 per cent of the
products sent back to us for service. Recently,
we had a high jewellery watch sent back, and it
was destroyed—we couldn’t even figure out
what happened to it. It had to come back here
to the manufacture in Switzerland, and we prepared
the estimate, and it was so high, several
hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs, but it
was a high jewellery product already. We sent
the estimate, explaining the reasons. The client
first said no, then five months later came back to
us to give us the go ahead. The result was that
the watch was almost like new. The restoration
can be seen as an expensive service, but when
the client receives it back, it’s like a new watch.”
Piaget will soon introduce a new box designed
specifically to deliver watches back to clients
after service. This is just another example of
Piaget’s commitment to making the customer
service experience a pleasurable one.
Opportunity rather
than obligation
Customer service can be seen as a drain on
resources, but at Piaget, “everyone agrees
that we have to invest in customer service,”
Théraulaz says. “Now, we are developing a
new quartz movement, because with the old
quartz movement we had some after sales
service problems linked to the obsolescence
of the technology. We have the resources to
do this. I have never been forbidden to do an
investment to improve our service. We recognise
that this is a priority.” O
For more information about Piaget click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com

RJean-Luc Adam
T
Today, in the West, the client is king, but his
accession to the throne has been a battle over
several generations. First of all, it passed by
the consumer protection laws (more guarantees),
then by a competition among manufacturers
(more services) and finally by the saturation
of the markets (more brand loyalty).
After-sales service, maintenance and even
recycling are more and more integrated into
the product and the industry approaches the
client as a partner to be respected.
In China, this same process did not take place,
primarily because access to mass consumption
occurred not only in a different political context
but it also happened quite recently and
much too brutally. In three decades, the nongmin
(small farmer) left his lands to become a
citizen of a growing metropolis, sitting at the
wheel of his Baoma (BMW) with an Oumijia
(Omega) on his wrist. At the end of 2012,
China counted 2.7 million millionaires and a
rising consumer middle class of 700 million.
Quickly, it became clear that demand largely
exceeded supply, thus reversing, right from
the start, the relationship between the seller
and the buyer. This is why the after-sales service
disparages the client.
Personal experience
Before discussing the experience of the Chinese,
I would like to convey my own experience, since
it gives a Western viewpoint of the problem.
After four years in China, I have had to deal with
after-sales service of large brands on several
occasions involving various consumer goods.
The first surprise, don’t bother going to the
brand’s store. After-sales services are always
grouped together in a customer care centre,
generally one office per city. It is a large room
where you wait an eternity before your number
is finally called. Since the usual minimum contractual
guarantee of six months has generally
expired, you must pay for the repairs. Yet, I have
always been positively surprised by the estimate
and the repair time. But this is understandable,
since the parts and labour are Chinese.
For example, I paid CHF 30 to replace the 13inch
screen of my notebook computer.
In the consumer electronics sector, the personnel
are generally competent because they
repair computers, TVs and smart phones by
the millions. In the automobile sector, the level
deteriorates because of the complexity of the
product and rather poorly trained employees.
The national and international manufacturers
have, however, provided computer-assisted
maintenance and repairs. Since the cars are
made locally, the replacement parts are quickly
available.
The exception, Swiss watches
According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch
Industry, from 2005 to 2011, exports have
increased 57 per cent to reach a total of CHF
19.3 billion. And, it must be pointed out that
this success is largely due to Chinese clients
(who also purchase a lot in Hong Kong). Swiss
watches are the industrial exception since they
are not manufactured in China. In addition, at
a certain level, the product tends more towards
art than micro-mechanics. Finally, faraway
Switzerland, which wants to control every-
europa star SERVICE, PLEASE! – LETTER FROM CHINA 69
Customer care in China: Does anyone really care?
For the happy Chinese owner of a “Swiss Made” watch, the dream quickly turns to a nightmare
when after-sales service is required. This is a scandal that the brands have swept under the carpet, almost…
Jean-Luc Adam, head of the Europa Star bureau in Shanghai, reports his own experiences, along with those of Chinese customers,
when confronted with the difficulties in obtaining after-sales service for watches in this country. Since the aim of this
article is not to criticise any particular brand or group but to draw attention to a widespread deficiency, we have deliberately
removed the names involved in these examples. But we have no doubt that those in question will know who they are.
thing itself, is already overloaded with work.
In China, these reasons affect the after-sales
service of the brands in all sectors.
Let’s begin with the mid-range sector and my
faithful Swiss watch whose leather bracelet
tore apart. I was surprised to discover on the
Internet that the problem is recurrent for this
model and that buyers are concerned about
the mediocre quality of the leather.
I printed out this “evidence”, added the international
guarantee certificate and went to the
Xiujiahui neighbourhood in Shanghai, where
the only customer care centre for the brand is
located. Here, I was surprised to see that the
centre deals with clients from many brands
of the same group, ranging from entry-level
watches to sophisticated Haute Horlogerie
timepieces. “Just imagine the scandal if the
VW group received clients of Bugatti and
Bentley in the same workshops as those of
Skoda and Seat,” says my neighbour, visibly
annoyed with his lovely automatic.
Number 921, it’s my turn! In front of me, behind
a window, Tina Tang receives me coldly. “No,
you have to pay for that,” she says without
even listening to my arguments. When I showed
her the guarantee card, she bluntly says, “You
bought it in Hong Kong, so in any case…” I
could hardly believe my ears. I tried to explain
to her that this was no way to treat a client,
but Ms. Tang literally sent me packing by asking
the security guard to escort me to the
door… That was my first experience in 2011.
Return to the scene of the crime
For this article, and somewhat apprehensively,
I returned to the same customer care centre
of the same group, taking a new quartz watch,
but one that had stopped. It was the perfect

70 SERVICE, PLEASE! – LETTER FROM CHINA europa star
specimen to verify the points of contention—
very frequent it seems—between watch owners
and after-sales service centres. At the reception,
the employees do not carefully examine
the condition of the watch, as the technical
specification sheets suggest they do, but
rather they systematically indicate everywhere
that the watch is “scratched”, thus avoiding
any liability.
A pleasant surprise this time, the waiting room
had been entirely renovated and enlarged,
with the plastic benches and the austere
ambiance replaced by designer sofas and cosy
decorations. Number 1049, my turn. The surly
Ms. Tang had disappeared along with the furniture.
In her place was a row of smiling young
women. But the anonymous employee did
indeed write “scratched” on all the lines of the
repair sheet. I couldn’t fault the diagnosis: “It
is the battery”. It cost a reasonable 30 yuan
(about CHF 4.50) and I had to wait half an hour
to get the watch back, an acceptable time.
Meanwhile, the room filled up and the waiting
times got longer. Behind the counter, a blue
tinted window provided a glimpse into the
repair section, where the employees were clearly
all Chinese. To sum it up, although the group
has clearly improved its service, it still makes
no distinction between clients, regardless of
whether they have paid hundreds or hundreds
of thousands of yuan for their watch.
Reassuring to ensure the sale
There are many brands and groups which, on
their websites, claim to have dozens of “customer
service” centres in China. The majority of
these, however, are mono-brand boutiques
that are capable of doing only minor repairs.
In reality, the main groups only have three
true repair centres in the vast nation of China,
in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. So, too
bad for the other 218 cities with more than 1
million inhabitants each. And, even more dis-
turbing, the centres do not all have the same
level of competence. According to a fan of our
Weibo page, a centre in Beijing was incapable
of solving a problem relating to the display of
the power reserve on his very expensive and
robust automatic. The watch had to be sent to
the centre in Shanghai, thus meaning another
two months of waiting.
In fact, the repair centres of the large groups are
Chinese-Swiss collaborations. Yet, this Sino-
Swiss marriage does not always have to be the
case, as exemplified by Rolex (and Tudor) and
Patek Philippe, which manage their own aftersales
service directly.
For your X, go to Y!
The following examples describe the misadventures
that two other clients experienced
with two prestigious Swiss brands. On July 14,
2012, Tiange Li paid 287,100 yuan, the equivalent
of CHF 43,000, for a prestigious classic
watch that he bought in a store in the city of
Qingdao, before returning to his home in
Harbin. Barely 12 days later, he called the store
because one of the gold pins in the bracelet
kept coming out. It was a “small” problem that
could have led to more serious consequences.
Strangely, the store in Qingdao never informed
him that the brand also had a boutique in
Harbin. Worse still, they advised him to repair
the watch at a boutique belonging to brand Y,
a competitor brand, which did have a store in
Harbin. Li did not understand why brand Y
should be dealing with brand X watches, so he
refused. Then, he was advised to mail the watch
to Qingdao, but given the price of the piece, Li
did not want to take the risk. When he looked
at the watch’s guarantee, he discovered that
the date of purchase had been drawn over. “Oh,
our salesgirl likes to draw,” was the response
Li got over the telephone. Distraught and filled
with doubts on the quality and origin of his
watch—was it really new?—Li completely
lost confidence in the Chinese network and
decided to clarify the situation directly with
the Swiss manufacturer. Will he be successful?
Another story involving a beautiful gold watch
costing more than CHF 20,000 generated more
than 214 pages of comments in the forum of the
famous Chinese website, www.iwatch365.com,
before the brand finally decided to do something
to help the owner—and then only on
the express condition that he would cease
and desist speaking about this affair. The story
involves a certain Mr. Z, who noticed at midday
one day that the hands of his watch were
not aligned: the minute hand was four minutes
out! At the mono-brand store in Shanghai, the
professionals explained to him, “This is normal
for a mechanical watch.” Considering this
answer to be unacceptable, this brand aficionado
had his watch sent to the service centre.
After several days, with no answer, he
called the centre, and was informed that the
watch had been returned to the store, along
with the invoice. Invoice? Mr. Z was not about
to pay one cent for such a problem, all the more
so since the watch was still under guarantee.
When he got the piece back, it had clearly not
been repaired since the hands were still not
aligned. Yet, the summary repair order stated:
“There is no problem with the watch.” When
he contacted the brand’s general management
they refused to follow up on the matter. For
Mr. Z, the shock was severe, the disillusionment
profound. It was inexplicable that they should
refuse to repair a fault that was so blatant. Left
hanging out to dry by the brand, he decided
to tell his story on a specialised Internet forum,
where he discovered that he was not the only
one to be (mis)treated this way. After more than
2,000 comments, the brand’s management
finally realised the scale of the problem and
agreed to reimburse Mr. Z, but only on condition
that he agreed, in writing, to remain quiet
on this subject. O

RJean-Luc Adam
D
During the inauguration of the Maison Patek
Philippe last November in Shanghai, Thierry
Stern, the CEO of the prestigious Swiss brand,
publicly expressed his opinion on after-sales
service in China. “In the luxury industry in
China, notably for watches, there are enormous
numbers of complaints, for three reasons.
The first is that the brands do not pay
enough attention to after-sales service. If they
did, it would mean a huge cost. They do not
want to invest or get involved. The second
reason is that it takes a lot of time to repair a
watch and Chinese clients generally have no
patience. As for the third reason, this relates
directly to the watch industry, which suffers
from a lack of qualified watchmakers. The
problem is already apparent in Europe, but in
China, it is extremely difficult to find experienced
employees. This is why Patek Philippe
decided to create two centres for after-sales
service, with a team of 20 people in Shanghai
and 20 to 25 in Beijing. It represents a colossal,
but necessary, investment. In addition, we are
creating a training centre for watchmakers in
Shanghai, taught by experienced watchmakers
from Geneva. This is how we can maintain
the same level of after-sales service abroad as
we have in Switzerland.”
Will the after-sales service situation improve in
China? “That is difficult to say, since the brands
are not facing up to this reality. On the other
hand, Patek Philippe is a family brand that
wants to preserve its generations-old reputation.
It is our priority mission. With this in mind,
after-sales service is capital in our eyes. I might
add that, today, nearly all the brands repair
only watches that are less than 30 years old.
europa star SERVICE, PLEASE! – OPINION 71
Thierry Stern’s opinion
on customer service in China
Beyond that, it has become impossible. At
Patek Philippe, we consider this policy unacceptable,
which is why we have the capability
of repairing all our models, irrespective of
when they were made. It also explains the
very high prices that our timepieces fetch at
auction. This capability, however, requires an
even larger investment.” O
For more information about Patek Philippe click
on Brand Index at www.europastar.com

72 SERVICE, PLEASE! – LETTER FROM FRANCE europa star
The Chinese salesgirls at
the Galeries Lafayette
RAntoine Menusier
P
Profession: Watch salesgirl at the Galeries
Lafayette. Origin: Chinese.
The Chinese watch salesgirl is a formidable
commercial asset. All the more so in the legendary
store on the Boulevard Haussmann in
Paris, a store visited every day by hundreds of
Chinese tourists who speak hardly any French
or English. These tourists have not come to
the City of Light to practice a language that is
not their own, but rather to admire and to
purchase its jewels. And this is why the
Chinese salesgirls are so important.
Xiaoting works at the Swatch stand in the
watch department, located on the ground
floor of the large store with the Art Nouveau
dome, which celebrates its 100th anniversary
this year and wants the whole world to know
it. The young woman has been working at the
stand for only a month. “I studied international
business and am married to a French
man,” she explains. “Before, I lived in Nancy
(editor’s note: a city in north-eastern France),
but this was not ideal for work.”
Around fifteen Chinese salesgirls, like Xiaoting,
work at various watch sales points in the
Galeries Lafayette. Not all of them speak
French as well as she does. But speaking the
language of Molière is not what is asked of
them. The positions in the watch department
are at least doubled up and divided according
to the target customer. So the Chinese customer
is served by the Chinese, and they are
very busy. The tourists from the Middle

Kingdom make up 80 per cent of buyers and
contribute 60 to 70 per cent of turnover in the
watch section of the store, according to a
French salesman.
The young Chinese women receive training
for one or two days, which is given by their
particular employer.The Swatch Group teaches
them the fundamentals of watchmaking vocabulary
at its office situated on the Avenue
Kléber, in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. They
get most training, however, on the job. They
are quick learners and, at first glance, seem to
manage quite well.Automatic, quartz, mechanical…
The Chinese salesgirl at Hamilton
knows the basic nomenclature. At the nearby
competitor Tudor, a brand developed by
Rolex, her colleague details the different metals
and decoration—gold, steel and diamonds—then
adds, “two years of international
guarantee”.
The Chinese customers go right to the point.
“They know which watches they want, and
they are not demanding like the French
clients,” muses Xiaoting with a knowing
smile. Her young French colleague then adds,
“Most of the Chinese customers pay in cash,
up to €2,000. They only want to know if the
watch can go in water.” The Chinese buyer
does not come to spend time pondering the
various models. The tour bus is waiting for
them outside the store. Often, they come with
a shopping list of up to six or seven watches,
all Swiss Made, of course, a sign of social
prestige in Shanghai and Chengdu.
Buying watches in Europe rather than back
home has its advantages for the Chinese. In
Europe—in this case, Paris and the Galeries
Lafayette—he can be assured of the authenticity
of the products, more so than in China,
europa star SERVICE, PLEASE! – LETTER FROM FRANCE 73
“We need to take Chinese language classes in order to welcome Chinese customers,
to convey technical terms, and to guide the clients inside the store.”
which is known for its propensity towards
counterfeits. Also, the Chinese government
levies rather heavy taxes on luxury goods. The
most visited watch stand in the Galeries
Lafayette is, it seems, that of Longines. “It is
the brand’s third highest selling location in
the world,” a salesperson assures us.The manufacturer
in Saint-Imier can certainly thank its
Far Eastern clientele for this distinction.
The phenomenon of the Chinese salesgirl is
just as common in the “luxury” section of the
store. At Louis Vuitton, an Asian-style Bond
Girl has been with the brand for four years
and in France for ten. She shares her time
between the sale of watches and the sale of
handbags, whose success with Asian clients is
now well demonstrated. As with all non-
European Union foreigners, these feminine
agents of the nation of the dragon, so useful
in European commerce, are subject to certain
quotas. “When a Chinese salesgirl does her
work well, we can help her to obtain a longterm
residence permit for France,” explains an
employee at Chopard.
The sales point of the French manufacturer
Michel Herbelin has yet to adapt to the influx
of Chinese customers. But it is something they
are thinking about. “We need to take Chinese
language classes in order to welcome Chinese
customers, to convey technical terms, and to
guide the clients inside the store,” a salesgirl
explains. “We prefer to train ourselves rather
than hire a Chinese girl.This allows us to keep
our staff.” This autumn, the French minister
for industrial renewal, Arnaud Montebourg, a
poster boy for the “Made in France” revival,
praised the “Newport Watch Club” model of
this brand from the Franche-Comté region.
How do you say “incorrigible French” in
Chinese? O

74 WORLDWATCHWEB europa star.com
An updated look at the Chinese
luxury watch market in 2012
REcho Zhiyue Zhou, China Digital Project Manager, Digital Luxury Group
T
The topic of weakening luxury sales in China
has been much discussed for some time now.
Adding to that the politically sensitive period of
the government shift once every decade, which
leads to a calming of extravagant gift-giving between officials,
this year has certainly been an interesting and dramatic time to
take a closer look at the luxury watch sector in China. The recently
released World Luxury Index China: Watches, gives an opportunity
to evaluate the rhythms of the market, the ups and downs
of individual brands, as well as what is going on in the consumer’s
mind.
The western region is waking up
Maybe not surprising to those who have been following China
for some time, the first significant trend our report reveals is that
the western region is really waking up. To give some quick background,
among three major economic regions in China, the west
is known as the least developed, and the least “infiltrated” by
luxury brands. Starting a decade ago and accelerating in recent
years, the central government is giving the western region
increasing strategic support to narrow the gap between the
inland and coastal cities. Consequently, the economy of the west
has started to boom, and luxury consumption follows with it.
Reflected in the luxury watch industry, we observed a clear
increase in the share of luxury watch related searches in the
west. In particular, the awareness of brand names, specifically,
grows the fastest with a year-on-year increase of 8.4 per cent (as
compared to 4.8 per cent in the eastern region). No doubt that it
is just a matter of time before luxury watch brands all lunge for
the west, just like they did years ago in the big eastern cities of
Shanghai, Beijing, etc.
Winners monopolise but a market
difficult for new players to crack
In an immature market where awareness of many smaller brands
is yet to be cultivated, the lucky winners enjoy greater dominance
than in other markets. The top three players in China, Omega,
Rolex and Longines, seized 50 per cent of the total search volume
share, while the top 10 represents an overwhelming 80 per cent
share. Benchmarked against a mature market such as France,
where the top three brands take only 31 per cent and the top ten
take 64 per cent, the difference is clear. A similar market dynamism
is also observed at model level, as the top five most searched for
models capture over half of the search market share (see chart).
Top Five Luxury Watch Models in China
Longines 'Master' : 5.20 %
Others 49.30 %
Chanel 'J12' : 5.90 %
Cartier 'Ballon bleu' : 6.60 %
Omega 'De ville' : 19.70 %
Omega 'Constellation' : 13.30 %
(© Digital Luxury Group, 2012)
As this shows, the watch market in China is, for the moment, difficult
for new players to crack. Unlike in the luxury fashion or
accessories sector, where we have observed a trend that Chinese
consumers are actually turning to those more understated, niche
brands, watches are different. Consumers are still seeking the
most well-known brands and models, possibly to feel more
secure in spending such a large amount of money on an item
that they will wear every day, and that their business partners
and peers will see.

76 RETAILER PROFILE europa star
BTC Trading – Egypt’s leading watch retailer
RKeith W. Strandberg
E
Egypt has been in the news quite a lot
recently. As “Arab Spring” bloomed throughout
the Middle East, the Egyptians rose up
and demanded change, culminating in the
first free elections in the country in many
years. This upheaval, while good for the country
and for the people, has been a challenge
for all retail businesses in Egypt, and especially
for discretionary purchases like watches.
In spite of the political upheaval and economic
challenges, Egypt's leading watch
retailer, BTC, has been able to survive, expand
and thrive.
On a recent trip to Cairo, I had the opportunity
of discussing business with Ayman Nassif,
Managing Director of BTC Trading.
Europa Star: Can you give me some background
on your business?
Ayman Nassif Loria Wassef / The first shop in 1935
Ayman Nassif: The company was started by
my grandfather, Loria Wassef, in 1935, and the
first store was a watch and jewellery boutique
in Fayoum City, which is about 100km from
Cairo, under the name Loria Shop. My grandfather
is a watchmaker and he will celebrate
his 100th birthday this year. He still comes to
the office once a week.
He started the shop in Fayoum and trained my
father and my uncle. They wanted the business
to grow, so they opened a boutique in
Cairo in the late 1940s to establish another
branch. The business started to grow with his
help. They wanted to change the name of the
company, because the name was difficult for
people to pronounce, so they chose BTC.
ES: How’s business?
AN: Frankly speaking, business is still fine,
even though the political and social situation
here in Egypt is difficult. The higher you
go in price, the more difficult it becomes.
Business was slightly down last year, and the
high end and the duty free is affected more
than the local market, as fewer tourists are
coming to Egypt.
ES: How is your business broken down?
AN: We have four types of stores—BTC
Exclusive: $4,000 and up; BTC: Swiss Made,
medium priced brands; Link: fashion and BTC

Duty Free: five international airports, terminals
1, 2 and 3 in Cairo, also in Sharm el-Sheikh,
Hurghada Airport, with some high-end brands
like Bulgari, as well as fashion brands.
ES: How does the future look?
AN: I feel that there is big potential in Egypt,
especially after the old regime has gone, we
expect that the new Egypt will have a more
just dispersion of wealth, which will allow the
middle class to grow.
ES: What does BTC do best?
AN: We only really have competition in the
high-end segment. In the mid-price segment,
there is really no one else that has a professional
approach. We dominate the market,
and we are Egypt’s largest watch distributor,
in terms of value and volume.
ES: How do you do training?
AN: We do three kinds of training – we have
people from the brands come here and provide
training, and some of our people will travel to
Switzerland for training. Our brand managers
also do watch training for the sales staff.
ES: How do you market your company?
AN: We do some events with our customers.
We invite our customers, the crème de la crème,
and these have been really successful, intro-
ducing new watch and jewellery collections.
We are the number one spender on advertising
in Egypt for the watch business. We do
outdoor (billboards), print advertising, we do
our own magazine, we do print brochures, we
sponsor events like the Catholic Film Festival,
concerts and more.
ES: Do you do your own service?
AN: We have three BTC service centres here
in Egypt. We do warranty service, complete
service for most of the brands. Most of the
work we can do here, except for repairing the
more sophisticated complications.
ES: How important is customer service?
AN: Customer service is another tool to
push sales. If a customer is satisfied with the
service we give him, he will be happy and
buy more. We try to upgrade our service all
the time—for example, we invested in nice
boxes to deliver the watches in after service,
and that is very appreciated by our customers.
Our customer service centre is not a
profit centre, our main aim is to please the
customers.
ES: What do you like about what you do?
AN: I like the watch business, I like the idea
that there are hundreds of watch brands, but
every brand is different in design, philosophy
and price point.
europa star RETAILER PROFILE 77
ES: What is the biggest challenge you face?
AN: The biggest challenge is the price increases
and the upgrade of brands’ product lines in
the mid-price segment. People in Egypt cannot
afford these increases, so this can really
impact our business.
A lot of our brands are coming in parallel and
it’s a problem here. If we find a retailer who has
parallel, we stop supplying any of our brands.
Since we are the Egyptian distributor for a
number of brands, if we pull all our brands
from a retailer who is doing parallel, it can really
hamper their business.
Counterfeiting is a big problem here, with
fakes coming from China and other countries.
We train customs how to differentiate between
the real thing and fakes, and we report to the
authorities if we find fakes in the market. We
also educate our customers about the dangers
of counterfeits. We don’t want it to grow. O
FACTS AND FIGURES:
Total stores: 40
Average square metres: from 30 - 150 square metres
Employees: 155
Price range: $125 - $250,000
Link average sale: $275
BTC average sale: $600
BTC Duty Free average sale: $300
BTC Exclusive average sale: $13,000
Total Brands: 35 (including Corum, Girard-Perregaux,
Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin, Chanel, Rado,
Hamilton, Tissot, Raymond Weil, Gucci, Burberry, cK,
Emporio Armani, Boss, Cerruti,Tommy Hilfiger, Balmain,
DKNY, Timberland, Michael Kors, Festina, Candino,
Titoni, Swatch, Graham London, Adidas, Diesel and
Lacoste).

Reliable
timekeeping
needs reliable
batteries
Producers of over
700 million Mercury
Free SR batteries
since 2005*
Only use genuine Maxell Mercury
Free batteries. Look out for the new
2013 Holographic authenticity stamp
* Since Oct 2005 – March 2012
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.
Help Desk: jricher@europastar.com
Subscriptions, one year 6 issues, CHF 100 Europe, CHF 140 International.
www.europastar.com/subscribe
Printed in Geneva by SRO-KUNDIG
Audited REMP2012 / FRP 2012
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
A. Lange & Söhne 58
Amida 37
Audemars Piguet 8-9, 40, 42,
44, 51-52
Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi
13, 55
B
BaselWorld 64
Baume & Mercier 45, 46, 48,
60-61
Breguet 38, 40, 44
Breitling 42, 48
C
Carl F. Bucherer 31
Cartier 21, 53, 74
Casio 43
Centror 52
Chanel COVER I, 12-15, 74
Chopard 45, 73
Chronode 37
Chronoswiss 40
Citizen 39
Concepto 58
Cousins 79
Cvstos 62
D
de Grisogono 45, 46
DeWitt 16-17, 58
Digital Luxury Group 10, 74
Dior 40
Editorial & Advertisers’ index
F
Federation of the Swiss Watch
Industry 69
Fondation de la Haute
Horlogerie 50
G
Girard-Perregaux 30
Greubel Forsey 34
H
Hamilton 42, 44, 46, 48
Harry Winston 45, 46
Hermès 32-33, 42
Hublot 40, 58, 75
I
Ice-Watch 6, 49
Inhorgenta COVER III
J
Jaeger-LeCoultre 41, 44, 45, 48,
63
JeanRichard 41
L
La Joux-Perret 60
Linde Werdelin 58
Longines 74, 75
Louis Vuitton 73
LVMH 40
M
Maxell 78
MB&F 18, 36-37
Michel Herbelin 73
Montblanc 48
O
Omega 41, 42, 46, 48, 69, 74,
75
Orient Watch Company 47
P
Panerai 7, 59
Parmigiani 62
Patek Philippe 2-3, 42, 61, 70,
71
Piaget 45, 46, 54, 66-68
R
Ralph Lauren 11, 63
Richard Mille 23, 55
Richemont Group 20, 21, 57, 68
Roger Dubuis 48, 56-57
Rolex COVER II, 1, 26-27, 40,
42, 48, 70, 73, 74, 75
S
www.europastar.com
Sellita 60
SIHH 21, 34, 53, 61, 63
Sowind 37
Speake-Marin 62
Swatch 40, 72
Swatch Group 38, 40, 73
T
TAG Heuer 46, 48, COVER IV
Tiffany & Co. 61
Tissot 19
Titoni 35
Tudor 28-29, 70, 73
U
Urwerk 62
V
Vacheron Constantin 4-5, 21,
24-25
Valbray 62
Vaucher Manufacture 33

80 LAKIN@LARGE europa star
The face of adversity
"I never forget a face, but in your case
I'll be glad to make an exception." Groucho Marx
I recently spent three weeks travelling across Canada,
from Toronto to Vancouver and on to Salt Spring
Island, yet despite the magnificence of places like Lake
Louise and the Emerald Lake in the Banff National
Park and a memorable two-day train trip through the
ever-changing panorama of the Rocky Mountains, it
was my confrontation with prosopagnosia that will
remain with me for many a year.
It happened in Calgary when we dined with a friend
and her eighty-three year old beau Robert. The ladies
were talking fifty to the dozen so we two males,
emboldened by our second gin and tonic, idly chewed
the fat until I mentioned that he looked fit and well for
his age. He agreed, but rather shyly added, “… except
last year I was diagnosed with prosopagnosia.”
Assuming that this was some form of erectile dysfunction, I asked if it
was painful.The reply caught me by surprise, “No pain, just frustration,
I’m face-blind. Prosopagnosia means face-blindness.”
He went on to explain that if we were to meet tomorrow, or if we were
dining alone and I left the table to answer a call of nature, he wouldn’t
recognise me from Adam when I returned to the table.
The obvious question was how it had suddenly become apparent and
to my astonishment he said it was not sudden, what was sudden was
he had only learned last year that he had it. Since he’d been born faceblind
it seemed absolutely normal because he’d never known anything
else. I smiled when he told me he could never identify his mother from
other women and how during his working life he only reacted to his
boss’s presence through his colleagues’ demeanour, although after a
while he eventually recognised him by both his voice and his lumbering
John Wayne–style walk.
Indiscretion and curiosity got the better of me so I asked him what
happened when he started going out with the female of the species.
“Well, I lost a few girlfriends, more often than not by standing next to
them at our agreed meeting place and not recognising them.The worst
occasion though was when I got a powerful public slap from a girl
when I asked her if we’d met before, not realising that it was the girl I’d
spent the night with twenty-four hours earlier.”
I suggested that as a married man it must have been quite exciting
being with a ‘new’ woman every day, but he countered that with, “The
voice: I eventually became familiar with the voice so by linking it with
the location, such as at home, I could usually work out who the person
was. But if we’d had a row and were not on speaking
terms I had to wait longer until she moved to be sure
I could recognise her gait.There was often a problem if
a friend visited the house and was there when I arrived
since initially I couldn’t tell one from the other.”
Robert went on to explain that one of the additional
problems to having prosopagnosia is that it is usually
accompanied by topographic agnosia - geographical
blindness. As a geologist his saving grace was that
on field trips he recognised rocks and their different
formations thus avoiding his having to live the life of
a hermit in a mountain cave somewhere. In his home
town though he often walked past his own house
several times before his son or wife came out to tell
him he was home and driving a car was chaotic until
the GPS system came into being.
Back in our world, I can’t help wondering if horological agnosia exists
given the number of watches that seem to have the same looking face
– but that’s a story for another day.
All of which reminds me of a blonde woman who was speeding along
in her little open top sports car and was pulled over by a blonde
woman police officer.
She asked to see the blonde driver's licence, who immediately plunged
into her handbag in search for it. "What does it look like?" the blonde
finally asked the policewoman in exasperation.
The policewoman replied, "It’s square and it has your photograph on it."
She finally found a square mirror, opened it, looked at it and then
handed it to the policewoman.
The blonde policewoman looked at the mirror, then handed it back
saying, "Okay, you can go. I didn't realise you were a cop."
Well, you’ve got to laugh haven’t you?
A Happy and Healthy New Year to one and all,
D. Malcolm Lakin
Roving Editor

Jewelry, Timepieces, lifesTyle
February 22 – 25, 2013
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