Imagine being a collector who can’t find the watch you want. In recent years, various collectors have considered that a signal to start their own watch brands.
“They like to be able to offer something in their taste that did not exist,” said Alexandre Gouverneyre, a watch specialist at Christie’s in Geneva.
“We will see this more and more,” he said. “Every year something new is founded by a collector, or financed by a collector.” (Even big brands seem to be too aware of the trend. On November 19, Zenith presented his second collaboration with Collective Horology, a brand in California, founded by the watch -enthusiasts Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly. The Watch, a limited Skyline Model Model Model Model Model Model Model ($ 12,300), had the slogan “for collectors, by collectors.”)
“Why am I making a watch?” asked Adnane Kerd, a collector who founded the high-end watch brand in 2018. ‘Because I am a watch addict. I have been a collector since I was 9 years old, but it wasn’t enough for me to collect. “
Mr Kerd’s first attempt for a brand – named after the hot ghibli -wind that wipes over North Africa – came eight years ago, when he and Mr. Gouverneyre were both active in Watch Circles in Lyon, France. “At first I did not take Adnane seriously when he showed me very primitive drawings and designs,” said Gouverneyre.
But Mr Kerd left the import export activities of his family to study watchmaking at the Center De Formation and Watcherie in Besançon, France. “I had to learn to understand it well, not to work as a watchmaker,” he said during a recent interview in the small office studio of the brand on a roof above the Rue du Rhône, the luxury shopping street of Geneva.
He said that the brand had sold a total of 35 watches so far – and expected the first of the 20 prologue models to be delivered in March (32,800 Swiss francs, or $ 35,753), and the first chapter 1 model (38,900 Swiss francs) in Summer.
“Adnane took the time to meet the best artisans in every field and integrated their skills into the product,” said Gouverneyre, referring to employees such as Eric Giroud, who carried out all the final designs; Kari Voutilainen, whose team made the complicated Cushion-shaped cases of 20 side in titanium; Sylvain Pinaud, who made the bridges and head plates; And Nathalie Jean-Louis, who used techniques such as destruction, perlage and microbillage on the components. (“Even if you don’t see it, God sees it,” said Mr. Kerd. “So you have to push everything to be correct.”)
His plan now, he said, was to deliver a total of around 12 watches every year, some customized pieces made with precious materials.
Mr. Gouverneyre now refers to Mr Kerd as a “designer and watchmaker who understands the process of making a watch, including finishing and technical details”, and mentions Gubly under brands of collector such as Furlan Marri, Ming, Fleming, Lyrique and Massena Lab.
Brazilian
“I started collecting when I was very young, about 12 years old,” said Henry during a recent telephone interview from his house in São Paulo, Brazil.
He said that he had acquired an extensive collection of approximately 1500 vintage pieces for three decades, and in 2016 he decided to start making vintage-inspired watches from $ 230 to $ 470. “I wanted to be worn in Brazil’s Without any fear of theft or losing the watch, “he said.
The Dan Henry, introduced in an Instagram post, now has its Asian suppliers around 10,000 watches per year. “I don’t want the company to be huge,” said Mr. Henry. “I only have one employee and three warehouses: one in Europe, one in Asia, one in New Jersey, from where watches are automatically sent when ordered online.”
The brand now offers 10 models, each designed and named for a year in the 20th century. And eight out of 10 models are chronographs or stopwatches. “What can I say?” Mr. Henry asked laughing. “I am a chronograph, I have always loved Pushers and many useless subdials.”
“And I love quartz,” he said. “You don’t have to set them, they always show the right time. That is why we use Japanese quartz movements. And we also have automatic Miyota movements as an option for three of the models. “
Dots
The Lyrique Brand Adventure then started about a dozen collectors who knew each other through online forums, gained even better during the pandemic when they rated the same watch.
It soon became clear that they were all lovers of high horology, but most of them could not afford it. “But because I was also involved in publishing, I understood Markups,” said Bill Sanders, a former sociology professor who now leads the brand collective. “As far as I understand, the selling price is at least six times the costs to make a watch. So that meant that we could probably make a very good watch that our group of collectors could afford. “
He put his hand out to Agenhor, who produces movements for brands such as Hermès, Parmigiani and Van Cleef & Arpels, and asked for the help of the director, Nicolas Wiverrecht.
“Bill Sanders knows a lot about watches and suppliers,” said Mr. Wiverrecht. “He knew that he wanted a case of Voutilainen & Cattin, Agenhor movement and Metalem Dial. But he didn’t know the process. ‘
“I had to take him by the hand and take him to where he wanted to be,” he added.
Dr. Sanders said the men learned: “There is a kind of Swiss club; Which craftsman is recognized and who is not? It made me realize how important relationships were, and because Nicolas introduced us, people listened to us. ‘
Since July 2022, the brand has introduced Étude No. 1 (9,500 Swiss francs) and Étude No. 2 (9,670 Swiss francs). A third, called Heure Zoulou, a pilot watch, is expected to debut in the late summer.
“I think Lyrique is a brand as far as we have a Swiss lawyer,” said Dr. Sanders laughing. “But we don’t make a profit. In other words, we just made the watches and distribute the costs. The goal with Lyrique is to get the horology of the highest quality for a price that we can afford – that’s all. “
Mr. Wiederrecht acknowledged that working with collectors can be time -consuming. “You can’t invoice for this – but it makes you very rich!” he said. “You can spend time with passionate, modest people with a strong desire to make something that belongs to them.”
