Alexandre Perraldi, the Samurai of design
Since he took over from Baume & Mercier’s design studio in 2001, he has been orchestrating all the brand’s watch making projects under the initials Phi, a symbol that corresponds to this 40 year old man well, passionate about the philosophy of the Samurais and in search of perfect balance.
With Alexandre Perraldi, artistic director of Baume & Mercier since 2001, you would willingly spend hours questioning him and taking the time to listen. To hear him talk about his passion for Japanese culture, the history of Nippon art, the spiritual apprenticeship of the Samurais, martial arts in general, Kendo in particular, men who wear skirts – that’s practically all they wear -… and above all his approach to design. A brief flash back: newly graduated from the Boulle School in Paris, specialising in Engraving and Ceramics, Alexandre Perraldi started his career in 1988 in Cartier International’s design bureau, designing accessories for Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent. In 1997 he became group manager in the design department in charge of watch making and computing before leaving Paris to embrace Geneva… and take over Baume & Mercier’s design studio, today made up of three people.
Where did your passion for watch making come from?
It came quite late in fact. On going to the Boulle school I couldn’t have imagined for a single second that one day I would become a designer in a watch making company. All I can tell you is that I realised that what appealed to me most of all as far as design was concerned was the constraints, and particularly technical constraints. Contrary to jewellery design for example, in which you have almost total freedom, watch making design must take into account a number of technical constraints linked to the movement. These constraints are the most interesting thing about design to me.
Why did you leave Cartier for Baume & Mercier?
I’d wanted to settle in Switzerland for a long time. For the atmosphere, the country, the people, the lifestyle… it was a long love at first sight but I finished by falling in love with this country. And from a professional point of view, I often compare my experience to music. Before becoming a good musician, you need to practice your scales. Me, I did classical design at Cartier, today I’m doing jazzier things at Baume & Mercier.
How would you define a good design?
A good design is one that succeeds in finding the right balance between aesthetic choice, technical possibilities and constraints and finally an affordable price. In the watch making field a watch needs to be beautiful, comfortable, and wearable. Not too heavy, not too big, not too expensive, this is what we try to do for all Baume & Mercier designs.
What are the design characteristics of Baume & Mercier watches?
I would say that they are original and classical at the same time, comfortable and affordable, timeless and yet fashionable. We don’t follow fashion in the strictest meaning of the word but this market pushes us to be more creative while remaining in a niche that customers mustn’t get tired of.
What achievements are you the proudest of?
All of course! I particularly like the Classima Executives, which is an automatic chronometer with very pure, contemporary lines. This piece appears quite simple but in the end it wasn’t so easy to design. The simplest watches are often the most difficult to design. I’m also very proud of the Riviera XXL with its rubber strap. It represents the outcome of work on one of the brand’s mainstays. It’s a real challenge transforming a brand icon and this model, which we designed in a bit of a rush, was retained by the marketing department which then turned out to be a huge success. Finally I can say that I’m also very proud of all those that will never be launched. These watches that remain on paper help us every day, teaching us what we cannot do, or simply as ideas that we partly include in watches that will be marketed.
