Swiss watchmakers optimistic about future<\/p>\n
Although Swiss watch production is widely supported by hi-tech
\nequipment, a small number of watchmakers remain committed to the
\ncountry's centuries-old tradition as the world's best producer of
\ncomplicated hand-crafted timepieces. Singapore's Sincere Watch
\nLtd invited a number of Asian journalists, including The Jakarta
\nPost's Rita A. Widiadana, to visit the headquarters and workshops
\nof Franck Muller and DeLaneau in Switzerland. In the following
\nthree articles Rita reports on her visit.<\/p>\n
GENEVA, Switzerland (JP): Watchmaking may be regarded as an
\nart, but above all it is a science, says prominent Swiss
\nwatchmaker Franck Muller.<\/p>\n
\"It requires the combination of highly-skilled technology and
\nartistic talent and I am quite lucky to master them both,\" said
\nMuller, one of a dwindling number of hand-crafted timepiece
\nproducers in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
During the last few decades, the Swiss watchmaking industry
\nhas been transformed, as the numerous manufacturers have had to
\nface the challenges and opportunities posed by the development of
\nquartz technology, in which Japanese competitors got off to a
\nrunning start.<\/p>\n
\"There are only a small number of companies, including mine,
\nwhich are still insisting on preserving the tradition of
\nproducing hand-made watches,\" says Muller.<\/p>\n
He conceded that plunging into mass production techniques may
\nbe profitable and in line with international market demands for
\ncheaper items.<\/p>\n
However, Muller sees the trend to do so is a threat to
\nSwitzerland's image as the producer of high-quality timepieces.
\nToday, Muller says, young people like easy jobs. They work in
\nvarious watch factories producing second-rate lines of
\ntimepieces. Only a few youngsters enroll in watchmaking schools
\nto master traditional watchmaking techniques.<\/p>\n
\"I am very much concerned about this gloomy situation. It will
\nreally ruin the highly reputable hand-crafted watch industry,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Born in July l958, Muller showed an interest in mechanical
\nsubtleties at a very early age. When he was 15 years old, he
\nbegan studying micro-mechanics and a year later he entered Geneva
\nEcole d'Horlorgerie (watchmaking school). After graduating from
\nthat prestigious institution with first-class honors, he began
\nworking as restorer of antique watches belonging to museums,
\nauction houses and private collections.<\/p>\n
Muller later began to design his own watches for several
\ncompanies and fashion houses and in l991 he established his own
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
Since l992, he has been producing watches in two lines -- the
\nclassic model and the cintree curvex model.<\/p>\n
Each of his watches is individually crafted in his workshop
\nand he is personally involved in each stage of the creation
\nprocess. Each aspect of manufacture is strictly controlled: the
\ndials, the watch glass, the movements, the diamonds -- all must
\npass stringent quality control tests.<\/p>\n
\"It needs patience and skill to produce a wristwatch,\"
\ncommented Muller, who spent 3,000 hours making one highly-
\ncomplicated chronograph watch in l992.<\/p>\n
He says his obsession is to pass the tradition of making hand-
\ncrafted watches to Switzerland's younger generation.<\/p>\n
To realize his dream, he has recently set up a new workshop in
\nwhich he can share and transfer his expertise to talented young
\nwatchmakers.<\/p>\n
His new workshop, Franck Muller Atelier, is housed in a neo-
\ngothic building, formerly known as Les Amandoliers, in Genthod,
\noutside of Geneva.<\/p>\n
He chose to locate the workshop in the heart of the village of
\nGenthod. This delightful hamlet is perched on a vineyard-covered
\nhill facing Lake Geneva and offers spectacular views.<\/p>\n
\"I am quite satisfied with my current effort and I do not
\nintend to expand my business in the near future. I produce
\nwatches that I like to make, not because the market demands it,\"
\nMuller said at the opening of the atelier last month.<\/p>\n
Muller distributes his production worldwide, as far afield as
\nSouth America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.<\/p>\n
Potential market<\/p>\n
\"The sales of my products in Asia is very encouraging. I have
\nmany Indonesian customers but it is very difficult to set up
\nbusiness there,\" Muller said.<\/p>\n
Francis Habersaat, president of the Federation of Swiss Watch
\nManufacturers, is not among those who predict trouble ahead,
\nparticularly in the luxury segment, which some say is reaching
\nthe point of saturation.<\/p>\n
\"When I see the image of Swiss watches in the world, I am very
\nconfident of the future for all, but we must continue to exercise
\ncreativity in both products and marketing,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Habersaat foresees only modest increases in the luxury watch
\nmarket in Europe. The Middle East will be difficult, he says,
\nbecause of the economic and political situation. He believes there
\nis tremendous potential in Asia, where Hong Kong is currently the
\nbiggest market for Swiss watches, recording in 1993 and l994
\nincreases of 14.1 percent and 14.9 percent respectively.<\/p>\n
Total sales of luxury watches in l994 were ahead of the
\nprevious year by six percent in volume and eight percent in
\nvalue.<\/p>\n
There are more and more watch collectors, and there is a
\ngrowing number of people who keep a wardrobe of watches for
\nvarious occasions. \"People today think in terms of a sports
\nwatch, a classic watch, an evening watch,\" Habersaat says, adding
\nthat the trend is good for business.<\/p>\n
DeLaneau<\/p>\n
Another Swiss exclusive watchmaking company, DeLaneau, is also
\noptimistic about the future of hand-made watches and also sees
\nAsia as potential niche market.<\/p>\n
\"I have quite a lot of faithful clienteles from Indonesia
\nincluding high-ranking government officials, top businessmen and
\ncelebrities,\" said Rolf Tschudin, owner of DeLaneau, but declined
\nto name names. DeLaneu's strongest Asian sales are currently in
\nSingapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and
\nMalaysia. In Europe, the company is especially strongly
\nrepresented in London.<\/p>\n
DeLaneau is one of Switzerland's exclusive jewelry watch
\nproducers run by a husband-and-wife team Rolf and Yolande
\nTschudin. Yolande designs the watches while Rolf attends to the
\nharsh world of business.<\/p>\n
The DeLaneau success story began 27 years ago when Rolf, a
\ndescendant of a long-established Swiss watchmaking family, and
\nYolande, a daughter of famous artists from Florence, Italy,
\nfounded a watchmaking company in Bienne. At first, they
\nconcentrated on making cheap timepieces. But the competition was
\nvery keen and the prospects far from certain. \"We risked the jump
\nto the top of the price tree. Yet, we are still making a profit,\"
\nRolf said during afternoon tea at the De Bonmont Chateaux outside
\nGeneva.<\/p>\n
DeLaneau began producing expensive dress watches, at first
\nunder private labels for celebrated jewelry firms like Chaumel in
\nParis and Kutschinky of London, then later in their own names.<\/p>\n
\"It was tough at the beginning. Our premiere collection
\nincluded only seven watches and used up all our financial
\nresources,\" Rolf said. \"The money we earned from it was
\nimmediately reinvested in producing more watches. That is how we
\ngrew. I have never worked on borrowed capital,\" Rolf added.<\/p>\n
DeLaneau achieved its success in the years when the Swiss
\nwatchmaking industry seemed to be dying a slow death. The
\nTschudins see themselves more as jewelers than watchmakers. For
\nmore than two decades they have made consistent profits from
\nproducing the most expensive watches.<\/p>\n
Their clients include film stars Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia
\nLoren, celebrities Michael Jackson, Tom Jones and Sammy Davis
\nJnr. They also count the sultans of Brunei and Oman among their
\ncustomers.<\/p>\n
Jewelry design<\/p>\n
\"I had no idea how much money you can make in this business. I
\ndon't like to talk about turnover and profit,\" says Rolf.<\/p>\n
Yolande says it takes more than a diamond setting to make a
\nwatch which is a piece of fine jewelry.<\/p>\n
\"Whether set with precious gemstones or not, a timepiece must
\nbe elegant, original and balanced in every detail to be worthy of
\nthe designation \"jewelry watch,\" she adds, while displaying her
\nmost recent jewelry watch collection.<\/p>\n
The initial concept for a jewelry watch must take into account
\nevery aspect of its design, from the shape of the case to the
\nstyle of the bracelet or strap, and all the materials that will
\nbe used to fashion it, from noble metal to fine leathers and
\nprecious gems, she explained. \"I always hold serious discussions
\nwith my staff and my partner before producing a watch,\" she
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Producing jewelry watches involves difficulties faced in no
\nother sector of the watchmaking industry. A manufacturer must
\ncreate an array of dials, different colored straps and a wide
\nrange of settings with a variety of stones for each model it
\ndevelops.<\/p>\n
Rolf says he has made it his policy to keep the company small.
\nHe employs less than a dozen employees, with much of the
\nproduction farmed out to a number of independent workshops and
\ngoldsmiths. Annual production is less than 1,500 watches.
\nIndividual models are produced in runs of no more than 20
\nwatches. The prices range from SFr50,000 to more than SFr 1
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
\"We have never wanted to build up a huge organization; we are
\nabove empire-building. Our only daughter will probably never join
\nthe business. She is trying to establish herself as an art dealer
\nin Boston, U.S.A.,\" Yolande said.<\/p>",
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