A world first in time zone watches - Watchuseek, World's Most ...

Michael, Le Créateur
VOGARD founder Michael ‘Mike’ Vogt started in the watch industry at the age of 20 when he
joined Swatch Group in 1983. After studying for an MBA in economics and marketing at
Switzerland's prestigious University of St Gallen he became European brand manager for
Unilever in London before joining TAG Heuer in 1991 as international marketing manager, a
post in which he worked directly with the sponsored athletes such as Michael Schumacher
and the late Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna to create high performance chronographs.
He then moved to Ebel as world-wide marketing director, a role in which he gained huge
experience from the legendary watch industry guru Pierre-Alain Blum. Next he went to Gucci
where he launched with Tom Ford two of the brand's most significant collections.
It was during these high-pressure roles that took him to more than 120 countries around the
world that he realised there was a gap in the market for a good-looking, simple-to-use, highly
functional time zone watch that could be re-set without all the usual button-pushing and
crown-spinning that was required of current models.
His conviction that such a watch should be available was so great that he spent more than five
years researching, developing and perfecting his own patented 'Timezoner' mechanism which
would allow his unique 'VOGARD' watches to be adjusted from one time zone to another by
simply opening a lever and rotating the bezel.
The VOGARD name is formed from a contraction of Vogt's family name and the term 'avant
garde,' an expression used to describe a creation that is ahead of its time.
When the prototype VOGARD watches were unveiled at the Baselworld show in 2003, the
concept proved to be highly appropriate - no one had seen anything like it before, and the
mechanism attracted huge enthusiasm from watch industry experts, retailers, enthusiasts
and, above all, the globe-trotting individuals whom Vogt first had in mind when he set out on
his quest to create a truly unique time zone watch.
The first VOGARD watches went on sale in 2004, since when the brand has developed a
following from thousands of satisfied clients around the world. In addition to the standard
Business Officer model, versions with specially engraved bezels have been produced for
golfing enthusiasts, licensed aircraft pilots and stockbrokers. In addition Vogt's love of sport,
and of motor racing in particular, has led him to create editions marked with the names of the
world's most important race circuits.