https://vimeo.com/64605775

from the excellent website for watch lover :
http://watch-anish.com/

WatchAnish x Laurent Picciotto – Part 1: Growth of a watch brand

Laurent, for the last few months you’ve been very open with me about your desire to see someone new in charge at Audemars Piguet. 

Laurent Picciotto: That’s true. They’ve been waiting for a new boss, or even just a boss, for a long time now. I’ve seen several people come and go, each of them appointed in a similar fashion. At the end of the day it pretty much resembled a relay race; simply passing on the baton, whereas for my part I was convinced that a completely different approach was called for – provided by someone capable of laying down a clear, rational strategy, and able to see things right through. The thinking was already in place there. Now we’ll have action too.

François-Henry Bennahmias: I’m certainly not afraid of admitting that I’m a man of action. That’s my job; it’s what I’m paid for.

That said, you’ll be moving from a 70-strong organisation in the United States to one with twelve hundred people located worldwide. It’s not the same kettle of fish!

François-Henry Bennahmias: Of course not. The decision-making chain will be longer and the process may sometimes be slower. Many things are going to change, but I don’t intend to do a U-turn. I’m now at the helm of a huge vessel, one that I feel is going rather too far too fast. My objective is to bring some stability – and that can’t be done in just a few metres or minutes. I’m giving myself two years to stabilise our speed and direction, after which we’ll be making a gradual shift to a strategy that will be easier for our partners and clients to understand.

Laurent Picciotto: Plenty of CEOs are saying the same thing, but very few know how to implement it. François, however, has already walked the talk on the American market, even though it’s one of the most atypical. If anyone can pull this off for an entire brand, it’s him.

François-Henry Bennahmias: As things stand, all our partners have got behind what I’m saying. I’ve travelled virtually all the way round the world in three months to meet them, and I haven’t come across any reservations at all. It’s a question of method: I’ve been careful to involve our best partners in the strategic thinking from the beginning. I’ve established a guiding principle and adjusted it in line with all their feedback. Once everything’s been nailed down, I’ll get them together again to confirm that we’re all headed in the same direction. That might seem obvious, but the fact remains that this wasn’t how things were done in the past.

Cutting back on an offering means less choice for retailers and clients, doesn’t it? 

Laurent Picciotto: Not when there have been items coming out faster than you could count them – while at the same time some end customers were having to wait several months or even years to get a watch simply because the brand was offering more than it could produce.

François-Henry Bennahmias: We need to have the best possible offering, with the help of the best possible partners.

How do you recognise a ‘best partner’? 

François-Henry Bennahmias: By their commitment. We had too many retail outlets and our distributors were carrying too many brands. We owe it to ourselves to choose the best; similarly, we’ve encouraged our partners to make a more stringent selection in their brands.

Both of you aren’t afraid of telling it the way it is – that’s quite a change from the carefully worded statements that are widespread in the exclusive world of watchmaking. Did having that in common play a part in bringing you together? 

François-Henry Bennahmias: Perhaps it did (laughter)! Our friendship goes back a long way. We’ve known each other for nearly twenty years.

Laurent Picciotto: Eighteen to be precise!

François-Henry Bennahmias: I began in 1994. It’s very simple to explain. I wasn’t originally from the world of watchmaking, so back then I came to learn from Laurent. Few people really have a grasp of the extent to which he has had an influence on watchmaking.

It was as a result of this relationship that together, you opened the very first Audemars Piguet store outside Switzerland. 

Laurent Picciotto: That’s exactly right. It was an intense, passionate experience – a first for both Audemars and myself. It was 1997 and we were starting out from scratch with everything to be accomplished. The adventure lasted 10 years.

So it’s more about people than brands…

François-Henry Bennahmias: Precisely! Our whole business is about people! I don’t work with Chronopassion because it’s Chronopassion, but because the boss is Laurent. And that changes everything. It’s the same relational approach that you need to maintain with end customers. You can make all the plans in the world, but if you don’t manage to get your end customer on board, none of it’s any use at all.

Laurent Picciotto: Once again, François practices what he’s preaching here. Recently we’ve seen the price of certain gold models come down.

François-Henry Bennahmias: Despite that being unthinkable in the world of luxury goods – some people seemed to think it was a treasonable act!

Laurent Picciotto: Perhaps – but in the short term, at the day-to-day level, it was becoming virtually impossible to sell some watches in your collections because they were unaffordable, in spite of all their qualities. We are on connoisseurs’ markets; people buying an Audemars Piguet are not to be treated like some random customer.

François-Henry Bennahmias: Of course. They read up, make comparisons; sometimes they’re even familiar with the price of gold. If you are too expensive, you’re putting yourself out of the game, as Laurent says. It makes no sense at all. I was vilified for doing what I did, but today orders for these gold timepieces are taking off again and I’m getting calls from competing brands asking me for my point of view on the subject. Which just goes to show…

So it’s all looking good for now. Is this just a honeymoon period?

François-Henry Bennahmias: I know that just as after a presidential election, an appointment such as mine leads to a sort of temporary, post-election state of grace. I’m being watched and my strategy examined. It’s a little like a president’s first 100 days.

Laurent Picciotto: You’ve wasted no time getting in touch with your partners during those first 100 days, though. To put it in a nutshell, the risk-taking is mutual. People are evaluating, committing, signing up and then acting accordingly.

Is it as simple as that? 

Laurent Picciotto: It should never have been any other way. Audemars Piguet is a brand with capabilities and untapped potential.

François-Henry Bennahmias: It won’t stay that way for long, believe me!

Laurent Picciotto: In any case, don’t worry, I’ve signed up already (laughter)!

Journalist : Olivier Müller  (03/2013)

Laurent, you’re in the habit of saying that only around ten percent of the watches you’re shown are of real interest for Chronopassion. What was the decisive factor for Perrelet? 

Laurent Picciotto: The erotic manga (laughter)!

Is that all?

Laurent Picciotto: From the sole point of view of form, yes, but there’s much more to it than that. Perrelet is a brand that I’d had my eye on for a while, but it was some time before it really stirred my emotions. I found the Turbine interesting but I had the persistent feeling that it was an idea that hadn’t yet come to full fruition. When I saw the Manga, I felt that the brand was heading for a more fun approach, and I liked that. In addition to the design, it showed an unusual degree of daring – not least in that the watch is represented by a woman, Joëlle, which unfortunately is a pretty rare occurrence in and of itself. The Paranoia has further confirmed this daring streak.

Was that direction intentional right from the outset? 

Joëlle Esculier: Yes, it was. Although it has a history, the brand is also young and dynamic. Our designers are constantly exploring new paths. When they came up with the mangas, everybody thought it was a bit of a risky direction to take, but it was a good fit with the brand’s positioning, as well as with the venerable tradition of erotic watches. In addition, while it wasn’t really in line with the usual angle of a store like Chronopassion, when I spoke to Laurent about it, I saw his eyes light up. I knew then that we were indeed on the right track.

Laurent, from the customer point of view, was it one step forward or two steps back? 

Laurent Picciotto: At first, seeing as how I have an all-female team, it was two steps back (laughter)! With the customers it was a difficult exercise. You never know beforehand if you’re going to amuse or offend a customer. You can get it completely wrong. So the sales approach is something of a risky undertaking, although that’s something we’re used to.

Joëlle Esculier: Less so for me, I must admit, because I know all my customers personally!

So what’s in it for the final customer? 

Laurent Picciotto: As far as we can tell, most of them are collectors looking for something new, something that’s fun. People who already have some experience with watches and who are mainly interested in the Turbine.

Joëlle Esculier: I’ve seen exactly the same thing as you. It’s absolutely clear at exhibitions. When someone stops to try on a model at our stand, they take off their own watch to put ours on. More often than not, we’ve noticed that the watch they put down on the table is not exactly a piece of junk…

Isn’t the brand in danger of locking itself into this rather naughty approach? 

Joëlle Esculier: I don’t think so; as Laurent said, it should be seen above all as a daring brand – that’s really what our culture is. At the same time, there’s no point pretending that model didn’t help get the word out. We’ve gained a lot of people’s attention and got a lot of press coverage with this series. Even now, when customers pick up a Perrelet, they give it a shake no matter which particular watch it is!

Laurent Picciotto: And in fact the best means of communication for you is video rather than text. I remember when we posted the Manga video on our YouTube channel, it was our biggest hit. We’ve reproduced the same approach in real life by having a dynamic showcase in the store that makes the watch ‘startle’ every 20 seconds, bringing the turbine to life. 99 percent of customers look up to see what’s going on!

Did this limited edition change the brand’s positioning? 

Joëlle Esculier: Yes, in that it made a deep impression on those who saw it.

Laurent Picciotto: Me first and foremost! We had said we would only take Turbines – but I changed my mind. Now we’re going to have skeleton chronographs, too. They’re right in keeping with the spirit of the brand. We began with a fun watch and now we’re moving onto a more technical timepiece.

Joëlle Esculier: The brand is maturing now. We’re starting a more sporty trend in our collections, as well as going international.

Isn’t this development unsettling for a store like Chronopassion that’s positioned more on rare, exclusive brands? 

Laurent Picciotto: Exclusiveness isn’t a quality in and of itself; it’s more an outcome of our choices. As it happens I like complicated, expensive watches. It’s not my fault if that ends up meaning we always have exclusive brands (laughter)! Joking apart, I choose my brands according a range of criteria – and exclusiveness isn’t one of them.

You’ve haven’t been working together for long yet – how do you see the future? 

Laurent Picciotto: As far as I’m concerned, I’m really quite confident. The brand isn’t independent – it’s part of a large group, and that inspires trust. What’s more, I regularly see new items arrive that are very much in step with its positioning, and that’s an excellent sign.

Joëlle Esculier: I see Laurent in much the same way. We have a very good relationship; we’re in for the long term. We started working together nearly fifteen years ago, when I was still at Leroy. When I became Perrelet Head of France, I took special care to stay attentive to people like him – they’re real partners for us. Every one of their comments is taken into account; every e-mail’s dealt with personally. When you reach that sort of level of familiarity and trust, you’ve got the right foundation for long-term ambitions.

Journalist : Olivier Müller ( 03/2013)

Chronopassion Perrelet Joëlle Esculier& Laurent Picciotto

So has this been one of those great love stories?

Max Büsser: 23 years and still going strong! I was doing a work placement with Audemars Piguet when we met for the first time…

Laurent Picciotto: You’d just spent almost three hours at the store subjecting me to an incredible barrage of questions!

Max Büsser: The worst of it is that I originally had no intention of working in watchmaking. My background is in engineering; after having spent 50 hours a week on equations, it was a strange thing for me to be talking about feelings, emotions and the human side of things with you.

Laurent Picciotto: I did my best to sell you a bronze Gefica Safari, but you put up stiff resistance!

Max Büsser: I wasn’t far from giving in – I almost spent all my savings on it! But at that time, I didn’t yet have any intention of joining the world of watchmaking. My plan was to have a marketing position with Procter & Gamble or Nestlé in Asia. Fortune decided otherwise when, in 1991, I met Henry-John Belmont, then Managing Director at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Three weeks later, he laid it on the line for me: “At P&G, you’ll be one of 200,000. With us in the Joux Valley, you’ll be one of a dozen people – people who could save this venerable company.” Looked at that way, it didn’t take me long to reach my decision.

Laurent Picciotto: Whereas as far as I was concerned, I’d simply missed a sale (laughter)!

Were you already working with Jaeger LeCoultre?

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, in 1991, I took on 15 brands including JLC. Those were great, relatively carefree years! Then Max left to join Harry Winston. But I still kept an eye on his career. When I ran across him in Geneva in 2003, I remember being impressed by how he had become the real boss of Harry Winston Timepieces. He seemed to be really laid-back.

Max Büsser: That was how things ended up, yes. But you have to have fought the war to enjoy the peace, as they say. My war involved getting Harry Winston back on its feet. After that, in 2005, I was finally able to make my entrepreneurial and creative dream come true and set up MB&F.

Laurent Picciotto: Max got back in touch with me just after his decision to leave HW. I must admit that I’d been somewhat exasperated at not being able to have Opuses because I wasn’t doing Harry Winston. I’d said as much to Max, who answered me with a wry smile: “Wait a little longer.” A few months later, the first designs for Horological Machines arrived.

Max Büsser: Even though I hadn’t been planning on European distribution for them (laughter)!

Laurent Picciotto: That really blew me away. As did the HM1, in fact. I was cautious all the same. The direction you were taking was improbable but interesting. It was just what was needed to upset the applecart.

Max Büsser: The markets I was targeting had expressed the interest I’d hoped for; I’d already established a trust-based relationship with them throughout the Harry Winston years. However, I had no business history with Laurent – just a long-standing friendship. I didn’t think he’d take the HM1 purely on the basis of the blueprints.

If it hadn’t been for the Opuses, would you have considered MB&F all the same?

Laurent Picciotto: I think things would have been very different. The Opuses were forerunners of the HMs.

And what about you, Max – did you hesitate before choosing Chronopassion?

Max Büsser: No, Laurent was in my top 5, and history has proved me right: he was the one who sold the very first HM1.

Did you supply him with a robust sales pitch to go with it?

Max Büsser: Not at all, that’s his job not mine (laughter)! I’m not at all at ease with sales.

Laurent Picciotto: In any case, you were unknown as a watchmaker and you only had one watch to offer!

Max Büsser: My dream – of no longer having to be afraid of whether or not I would make any sales – has come true. And what’s more, I now have loyal customers dating back to the very first HM.

Loyal to your brand… and to you! Laurent, if Max goes on to new adventures, will you carry on with the Horological Machine saga nonetheless?

Laurent Picciotto: Max has made a very strong personal mark on the brand. Of course, we’ve seen some very good things come out of brilliant takeovers, such as the Hayek / Breguet twosome. But of course, we’d be paying very close attention for a while if that were to happen here.

Max Büsser: Rest assured, that won’t be happening any time soon – I still have plenty of projects in store. Stay tuned, as they say!

Journalist : Olivier Müller (02/2013)

These days, one really gets the feeling that trust and harmony has been restored between you.

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, that’s true. Hautlence is a very fine brand that had a very fuzzy positioning for a good number of years. The watch itself met with immediate approval, although we had to explain its price and added value. We’re used to having to educate people in this way. That being said, HLs are at the meeting point of a number of segments, so much so that it took the brand a while to find its target.

Guillaume Tetu: The trust between Laurent and myself has been built up gradually. To be perfectly honest, it took us a while to convince him! His clients already had lots of toys in their collections and Laurent had the ability to push them a step further if they were so inclined. Our task was to convince him that we too were able to provide something new.

So what was it? 

Laurent Picciotto: Technically speaking, there was no problem with the watch. It was solid, right from the start. But a client buys a watch not only for what it is but also for the universe it portrays. That was more complicated: it was harder to match it to a clear positioning.

Guillaume Tetu (continues): …until quite recently when a key shareholder, Georges-Henri Meylan (ed: the former CEO of Audemars Piguet), came in and got us to think about our own identity. Six months later, it was clear that our positioning should be that of the gateway into independent watchmaking. With that came price changes and a far more precisely targeted clientele.

Laurent Picciotto: At the end of the day, the actual launch of Hautlence is happening now!

Guillaume Tetu: yes (laughter)! But we’ve come a long way – we were on the edge of disaster. The arrival of MELB (ed: G-H Meylan’s company) brought us financial input, as well as plenty of credibility – you can’t put a price on that.

Are you saying that some things could have been done differently?

Guillaume Tetu: There have been some outstanding accomplishments – our watches first and foremost. I suppose I would have liked to have been able to spend more time with people like Laurent, so as to reposition more quickly. But I’m a watch designer, not a marketing manager (laughter)!

Laurent Picciotto: Paradoxically, I find it’s quite cool to be starting off with Guillaume now. At least I know where he’s coming from. In the final analysis, you have to bear in mind that it’s a manufacture with plenty of resilience. It struggled for almost five years and came out on top – in a situation where so many others would have been swept away.

What’s going to change from now on? 

Guillaume Tetu: Structured collections. Clear positioning. Established credibility. And quite simply, almost ten years’ worth of creations: that really helps put a brand on the map.

Laurent Picciotto: Hautlence had the great idea of relaunching the brand without throwing away everything it had gained in earlier years. It’s kept the same philosophy and the same creativity. Moreover, the fact that it now offers round cases offers some reassurance. At the same time, there’s no change to certain fundamentals that are important to many customers.

Guillaume Tetu: But we’ll still be bringing out really original haute horlogerie creations from time to time – at much less affordable prices!

You’re going to end up going schizophrenic – getting back to affordable independent watches at the same time as dabbling in top-end watchmaking!

Guillaume Tetu (laughter): Not at all: there are plenty of brands doing a balancing act involving complicated limited editions side by side with more affordable collections.

Talking about limited editions – is that an option you’re both looking at? 

Laurent Picciotto (coyly): We’re having conversations about it…

Guillaume Tetu: It’s early days yet. We’ve just tried that out in Venezuela. It’s working well. It’s definitely a way forward for the future.

Journalist : Olivier Müller (01/2013)

Panerai is something of a special story for Chronopassion. 

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, in more ways than one. For one thing, we go back a very long way. I first met Angelo Bonati fifteen years ago, in 1998. But that wasn’t the beginning of the adventure, because I had already worked with Franco Cologni before that. So it’s a firm that we have a lot of history with. Times change but Panerai’s still there!

Angelo Bonati: You too are someone who doesn’t change! The special thing about our relationship is not what is said, but what remains unsaid. We never have to say more than a few words to each other. I don’t need long explanations. That’s true both for positive things and when it comes to criticism. I very much appreciate how frank we can be with each other. Even if I don’t always listen to your suggestions – which is just as well!

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, Panerai’s outstanding attributes are its constancy and meticulousness. It’s a very businesslike enterprise. Over the last twenty or thirty years, I’ve seen too many brands bewitched by siren songs and head into fatal territory.

Angelo Bonati: The main thing is to be consistent.

Laurent must have shaken you up a couple of times though, surely – as is his wont?

Angelo Bonati: Yes, he definitely has! I’d say he’s a kind of discrete egotist. He knows exactly what he wants. We’ve worked together on a number of limited editions, for which we’ve been able to express our respective feelings, whilst at the same time maintaining a certain degree of consistency for Panerai – some aspects of which have never changed and which never will. That hasn’t stopped Laurent trying to alter a few, but he’s never managed!

Can you give some examples? 

Angelo Bonati: Well, that’s between ourselves, but I can go so far as to tell you that for instance, Laurent knows that if he wants to try and comment on any of these immutable aspects, he sends the message via other channels – through my friends, for example. He knows that I won’t give in, but he tries anyway. He doesn’t give up easily!

Laurent Picciotto: Guilty m’lord! More seriously, the main thing at the end of the day is that we agree and as Angelo very rightly says, that we stay consistent with respect to the band and its positioning.

And in the case of Panerai, with respect to the fans, too, perhaps? Have they changed over the years? 

Angelo Bonati: Everybody changes with time. When I began, what Paneristis had in common was their passion and their extremely detailed knowledge of the products. They were real enthusiasts who would sometimes criticise us – but always whole-heartedly and passionately. Today, the circle has widened to include some we might see as being more opportunistic. You can sometimes see a certain degree of speculation. But given that we produce only very limited editions, it’s only natural that our timepieces quickly become collectors’ items. That’s due to Panerai’s business model.

High demand and a small supply of watches. How do you manage a distribution network based on these two contrasting variables? 

Angelo Bonati: It is indeed an equation that requires a lot of accuracy to solve. At one time, we had a lot of outlets – too many, if the truth be told. I set about cutting the number in favour of proprietary brand stores. However, our philosophy is not so much that of owning all our outlets but rather of being present only in the best. That’s why names like Chronopassion mean a lot to us. We have a specialist clientele, so it’s vitally important to have the best specialists.

Doesn’t there come a point at which the complementary nature of flagship and multibrand stores turns into competition? 

Laurent Picciotto: That’s a fact; it’s always been true. A brand store makes its living from its watches. An independent specialist store like Chronopassion makes its living from its choices. A third category – generalists – are increasingly under pressure. If those stores can survive it will be through training and gaining a higher level of skills. But at the end of the day, it’s not a case of being for or against any of these business models. Each one has its advantages. Flagship stores allow you to centralise an offer; an independent store can be open to new collections whilst offering a high level of expertise. Increasing the output for a brand like Panerai wouldn’t solve anything. Whatever you do, demand will always outstrip supply.

Angelo Bonati: Whether we’re talking about products or outlets, the selection criteria must be the same – quality. As I was saying, we had too many outlets. So I cut the number from 500 to 350. It wasn’t a question of cutting just for the sake of it. Proof of this is the fact that we’ve just opened five outlets in China! It’s simply a matter of concentrating our efforts on the added value we bring to our outlets. In any case, this trend for specialisation isn’t new. It’s been around for at least thirty years.

Mr Bonati, you said that when you first took over Panerai, it had “no products, no content and no branding”. Would you still be game in 2013 in the same circumstances? 

Angelo Bonati: Yes, with no hesitation whatsoever. The brand had real potential. It’s a question of faith and conviction.

Would you say the same, Laurent? 

Laurent Picciotto: I think so, yes. I get canvassed every year by a score of brands. This isn’t the right place for perhaps ten of them – although that’s not a criticism of them in and of itself. Three or four of the other ten finally make their way here. Panerai would have been one of those. Firstly because Panerai is backed by the power of the Richemont group. But also – and more importantly – because these are watches that stir the emotions and generate genuine feelings. And that’s rare enough not to be missed.

Journalist : Olivier Müller (01/2013)

Felix, you’re no doubt going to tell me that your decision to work with Chronopassion was easy and natural – a case of working only with the best, and so forth? 

Felix Baumgartner: Not at all! My father worked in clock restoration. He often went up to Paris, to a small shop close to Laurent’s. Twenty years later, I thought of giving that shop my first watches. There was an offbeat aspect that I really liked: finding really unusual timepieces, some of which were really futuristic, at a traditional clock repairer’s.

There must be a “but” coming somewhere…

Laurent Picciotto: …but he sent me his brother (laughter)! More seriously, Felix’s brother did come to see me one day, just before they moved on to the UR-103. It was a turning point for Urwerk, transitioning from two to three dimensions. He came with a steel prototype as well as to talk about cash, because cash was precisely what he needed! We talked all afternoon and in the end I placed a preliminary order with him for a certain number of watches, which he was then able to start producing.

Prototyping is one thing, production another. Were there any surprises or delays for the first watches? 

Felix Baumgartner: Yes, I’m afraid there were.

Laurent Picciotto: No, Felix, you’re being too hard on yourself – that’s not really the case. We had to wait a bit, but not unusually so. And I had every confidence in you. I was hearing honest, open talk.

That isn’t always the case for a brand that’s just starting out, seeking to provide reassurance as to its viability, when in fact it’s really fragile and in dire need of financial support.

Felix Baumgartner: That was all the more true for us because we were totally independent – with no financial partners, banks or shareholders; we were and still are fully independent. We needed people who believed in us. Not a lot – four or five was enough for us to launch. Laurent was one of them. At the same time it was an honour for us to be at Saint Honoré (laughter).

Laurent Picciotto: It was a case of fair winds. Our world is really tiny, and I was picking up what my colleagues were saying. Max (ed: Büsser) very much encouraged me to take a look at the brand new Urwerk. He helped build up trust.

Felix Baumgartner: Max already had some great references. He’d contributed to the Opus. He was also a valuable asset when it came to approaching the Southern European markets; my natural leanings were taking me more towards Scandinavia.

Once the brand had been launched, were you able to adopt a long-term vision – for five or ten years? 

Felix Baumgartner: It was more like a ten-day vision! I’m a watchmaker, not a businessman. The last time I tried to do marketing, the result was the Urwerk name. I don’t think I could have found a less sexy name if I’d tried (laughter)!

It seems to work quite well, though.

Laurent Picciotto: The name can indeed make life easier for a brand – or harder. But I’m convinced that when a product’s good, it can cope with any name.

Felix Baumgartner: For hundreds of years the trend was for the names of the founders to be used side by side: Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and so on. However, I also noticed that these brands were basically competing to see who could put the most hands on the dial. We weren’t interested in that. So from the outset we had to find a name that suggested that we were in a different game altogether!

Laurent Picciotto: That does leave a lot of people thinking it’s a rather obscure name, though.

Felix Baumgartner: Not nearly obscure enough! A lot of people confuse us with Kraftwerk, a brand of drills! We have a great reputation in the world of machine tools (laughter)! More seriously, I didn’t like the idea of a “Frei-Baumgartner” style brand. I don’t like white light – I prefer reflections.

Having a mysterious brand means you need to know how to explain it to the clients, though. 

Laurent Picciotto: No, not really, because…

Felix Baumgartner (interrupting): …because your customers trust your choices!

Laurent Picciotto: Not always! We have a lot of customers who literally took a shine to Urwerk. People who are very keen on traditional, institutional brands ended up going away with an Urwerk having really fallen in love with it. And then of course there are the specialist collectors who absolutely must have one of everything.

Have you never thought about offering more technically and aesthetically accessible watches for a broader clientele, gradually enticing them on to a higher degree of complications? 

Felix Baumgartner: We tried that in 2001 with the Goldpfeil project. The design may have been very detailed, but the way the hands displayed the time was extremely conventional. It didn’t work.

Does each of you still pay attention to what the other is saying, and value having a joint opinion? 

Laurent Picciotto: Felix always listens to me. But he never does anything differently as a result! Except once, when I mentioned that we could work together on a limited edition known as ‘White Shark’. Once the project had been greenlit, Felix and Martin wanted it to have a platinum case. I suggested steel, and they agreed. But that really was the only time!

Felix Baumgartner: That’s true. I admit that I’m inflexible! But that’s what enables me to carry our ideas through to completion.

Laurent Picciotto: Compromise is never the right solution.

Felix Baumgartner: Our strength is the way we leverage the power of our growth, without over-expanding.

Journalist : Olivier Müller (01/2013)

So, Jacky Epitaux and Laurent Picciotto; what brought you together? 

Laurent Picciotto: on the face of it, virtually nothing – which of course turned out to mean that we were made for each other (laughter)!

Jacky Epitaux: It’s true that you weren’t easy to get alongside – it took me two or three years to convince you that our approach was worth looking at.

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, and it took me two or three years to understand where you were coming from. Technique, personality, based on family values; one has to have a feel for all that to understand the Harmonious Oscillator. In my defence, the first few times we met we were at Baselworld, by far the least suitable place for listening to what you had to say about putting the craftsmanship of the Franches-Montagnes District to use! In the end, perhaps that’s what won me over – a timepiece that could only be understood and appreciated when one devotes the amount of attention it deserves.

Jacky, why didn’t you make a more accessible watch, to make it easier for the brand to be more widely known? 

Jacky Epitaux: I didn’t want to do something ‘in-yer-face’ to begin with. My background is watchmaking, not design. What’s most important to me is making good use of the expertise and skills that have always made our region different. I work only with local craftsmen. They’re renowned all over the world for their knowhow, but they’re not the kind of people that are famous for sensationalism or being showy.

Is Rudis Sylva a special case? 

Laurent Picciotto: Yes, they’re somewhat in a class of their own. They could possibly be compared to Greubel Forsey. In any case it’s a very personal approach – basically that of their founders.

Jacky Epitaux: Design is one thing, sprit is another. Aesthetically and technically speaking, we have a very distinctive angle, but there are brands that are quite different on the face of it but which actually have a similar spirit of authenticity. Greubel Forsey could be one such example. In any case, I’m not interested in meddling in things I’m not familiar with. My aim is to promote the watchmaking skills of the Jura – our local region. Rudis Sylva is a tribute to people whose roots run deep.

Doesn’t that lead to something of a marketing conundrum, with pressure on you to bring out new items at regular intervals in order to grab clients’ attention?

Laurent Picciotto: as far as I’m concerned, at least, it’s quite the opposite – virtually a selling point. It doesn’t make sense to bring out something new every year when we’re talking about watches that are so complicated and for which everything depends on authenticity. The kind of approach you’re talking about involves winning over new clients at regular intervals. With Rudis Sylva, it’s a whole different story.

Jacky Epitaux: We’re in a world that’s becoming exhausted with that kind of approach.

Laurent Picciotto: Not only that, the regular arrival of new models makes the older collections obsolete sooner.

Jacky Epitaux: I’m convinced that truth will always prevail in the long run!

Do Chronopassion’s customers need to have the same take on the timepiece for it to be appreciated? 

Laurent Picciotto: Yes. Often my clientele are more ‘grunge’ than ‘rural’! They might get a feel for the importance of craftsmanship when it comes to making a watch of this calibre, but they need guidance if they are really to appreciate the master crafts that have made it what it is.

Jacky Epitaux: The technical approach of the Harmonious Oscillator makes everything more complicated. We decided to have a toothed balance wheel – which went against everything that had ever been seen in watchmaking up till then. But after four years of development, we were easily able to demonstrate the added value of this invention. We have now reached levels of precision in a vertical position that are easily ahead of those of the tourbillon.

On the back of that kind of progress, wouldn’t it have made sense for Rudis Sylva to develop marketing and advertising to support the fame of the Oscillator – and incidentally, the work of a commercial partner such as Chronopassion…?

Jacky Epitaux: I suppose so, but I like to think that we’ll get widespread acclaim for our watchmaking skills, rather than for the choice of visual for our latest ad!

Laurent Picciotto: The latest version of your watch is a move in the right direction. It’s still just as technical, with a little more of its movement apparent – adding a spectacular aspect to its aesthetic appearance that it didn’t have before. For the final customer, the watch is just the same. The difference is that they can start to appreciate the fact that they have a top-notch timepiece in their hands, even before they begin to understand it.

Looking back, Jacky, do you think that the pace you set for your brand when it was first launched was the right one? 

Jacky Epitaux: I believe in the pace of my output, yes. If I could change anything, it would be the investments agreed prior to the production of the very first watch. I invested enormous amounts in the development of production processes and equipment, even before I saw watch number 001. That said, in the light of current demand, those investments have now turned out to be good ones.

Journaliste : Olivier Müller (01/2013)

The International Herald Tribune (01:2013)