A meeting of minds

Luxury houses Bulgari, Chanel and Hermès have more in common than meets the eye, at least with regard to their incursion into the world of time measurement, and a shared ambition to reach the pinnacle of watchmaking. Speaking at Baselworld, Laurent Dordet, the freshly minted CEO of La Montre Hermès, describes the company’s philosophy. “Hermès considers a new activity only if we can bring something different, in which case we want to come close to and ultimately be one of the best. This is precisely what happened in watchmaking. We entered the field some forty years ago with women’s quartz watches. We knew that if we were to be taken seriously, we also had to propose mechanical watches for men. We’ve been working to this end for fifteen years and will continue along this way with humility, yes, but also a great deal of ambition.”

A promising youth

Jean-Christophe Babin, Chief Executive of Bulgari, concurs. “Our challenge is to go on progressing. We aim to become one of the top ten watchmakers worldwide in terms of sales. Available estimates show that we were fifteenth in 2014 and will probably rank twelfth this year. So we’re heading in the right direction.” Chanel has set itself the same trajectory. As International Director of Watches Nicolas Beau confirms, the brand is building its legitimacy in watchmaking. “We took our first steps in time measurement in 1987 with the launch of the Première watch, followed by the J12 in 2000 then the Mademoiselle Privé collection in 2012. So as far as watchmaking goes we are just a teenager, but this is already a very promising youth.”

Another common denominator, then, is that all three are relatively new to watchmaking. Although Hermès and Bulgari both made noticeable inroads into timekeeping as of the late 1930s, in particular Bulgari whose Roma this year celebrates its fortieth anniversary, La Montre Hermès was established in Biel in 1978, while the Italian jeweller settled in Neuchâtel to develop its watchmaking business in 1990. Judging by the new releases unveiled at Baselworld 2015, they have come a long way since. The ultra-thin Slim d’Hermès, also proposed with a perpetual calendar module, adds a third movement to the Parisian firm’s repertoire and a fourth collection after Arceau, Cape Cod and Dressage. Majoritarily fitted with in-house movements, they have reached a “critical mass” that marks an important development for Hermès, according to Laurent Dordet. Bulgari is also offering its Roma watch in an extra-thin anniversary edition, alongside a Carillon Tourbillon that illustrates a rare command of complications. Chanel, meanwhile, unveils a Première Openwork Flying Tourbillon Camellia and a J12 Skeleton Flying Tourbillon that bring French flair to the rigours of a mechanical movement.

Inside and out

These products, and others, bring to light a likeminded understanding of the need to cosy up to the industry’s top movement-makers. Hermès, which in 2006 took a 25% stake in Vaucher Manufacture before adding the services of dialmaker Natéber and case-maker Joseph Erard in 2013, regularly collaborates with Agenhor, including for Slim’s perpetual calendar module. Chanel works hand-in-hand with Renaud & Papi, a subsidiary of Audemars Piguet, to develop its movements. When in 2000 Bulgari took control of the Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta brands, it also acquired uncommon expertise in watch design and complications. The company has completed its vertical integration and now stands as a full-fledged manufacture, spread across three sites, that is able to run the gamut from grandes complications to time-only movements.

The list of similarities between these three brands wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the artistic crafts. Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé collection features dials that are a canvas for sculpted gold, grand feu enamel and stone-carving, a technique known as glyptic. Hermès chose Baselworld to unveil limited edition Slim d’Hermès with dials crafted from Sèvres porcelain then hand-painted by a Japanese master in Aka-é, an art that reached its apogee in the nineteenth century and which uses a red paint made from iron oxide and ground glass. The artistic crafts are in evidence at Bulgari too, which of course deploys its talent in gold and gem-setting, but also enamelling and miniature painting. In Laurent Dordet’s pragmatic view, these arts are a means to reach horology’s highest summits just that little bit faster.