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EDITORIAL EXAMPLES

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In 2013, Fawaz Gruosi celebrated the 20th Anniversary of de Grisogono. Since the brand’s creation, he has raised it to the rank of one of the most famous inter-

national luxury brands of its generation with passion, creativity and innovation. de Grisogo-no has been loyal to its unique elegant, graceful style continuing to do so by introducing new innovative models at Baselworld 2014. This year de Grisogono focused all of its new products on the feminine segment with the arrival of the Allegra timepiece, a collection complementing the already existing jewelry line. Fawaz Gruosi, founder and president of the brand, tells Le CITY deluxe what to watch out for this season.

Tell us what de Grisogono is going to dazzle its clients with this year?

As usual, we released 5 new collections, along with 2 existing ones with some new added models. This year we didn’t release any watches for men so attention is all on the ladies. We have made two models of exquisite women’s timepieces. The first watch is a part of the Allegra collection. It’s an incredible watch which we believe is going to be very successful, and then we have another timepiece which is quite expensive. It is surrounded with a lot of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. Moreover, as expected of the brand, we have something totally insane. There is a watch which is quite big and in shape of a skull. It’s going to be covered in white diamonds and black diamonds.

Why does your focus lie solely on the ladies? Why not appease both genders this season?

I love women. But the main reason why we

have shifted our attention is because our men’s collection is already quite extensive and so I thought this year we’d do things differently. I think the new models are going to be quite trendy and unexpected, because people usually expect the same from me. This line was not very obvious. Next year we will release something for men.

You are notorious for utilizing black dia-monds in your pieces. Are we going to see a lot of that this year?

There are no specific stones, as I am working with materials that are available in the market. What you will see this year is focused much more on the creative execution rather than just a specific material. It’s not easy to find material that have not been used, but by the end of this year we will come up with something using a material that has not been widely put to use.

Baselworld is a great event to meet your cus-tomers from all over the world. In which mar-ket do you think you will be more in demand?

de Grisogono has been very fortunate to have customers from all over the world, so when we

are present at Baselworld, we have noticed that people from different countries come to view our collections. Be it United States, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan. All of those clients are at Basel where they make an order for the next 12 months. Moreover, each country is different and has different demands. It’s hard to compare these markets because their requirements are very unique. For example, you cannot compare Moscow to Rome, since transactions taking place are not the same. Russians tend to pur-chase more expensive lines, while the Italians and French acquire lines with a more modest price tag.

Since you have recently opened a boutique in Miami, share your thoughts on the Florida market. What has your experience been like?

It is hard to evaluate the market with the newly opened boutique. The first three months have been challenging, however in September of last year the sales have exploded and our South Florida store has outdone many others.

Who purchases more in South Florida: Lo-cals or tourists?

Locals do purchase but there are also a lot of foreigners from South America, Arab Emirates, Russia. The whole world comes to Miami. de Grisogono’s prices are the same throughout the world, what’s different are the taxes in each country, so some people would prefer to do a purchase elsewhere just for that reason  

“This YEAR is focusEd Much MoRE on ThE cREATivE ExEcuTion”

Ode to Joy

Fawaz GruosicEo of dE GRisoGono

inTERviEW bY cLAudiA TRiMdE // PhoToGRAPhY bY sTEPhAnE chichE

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Fashionably PromptBaselWorld 2014 came to a close and once again succeeded in bringing together over 150,000 attendees. It has underlined itself as the most important trend-setting event for the world’s watch and jewelry industry. Here are some highlights of the most couture timepieces from this year’s blockbuster event.

Hermès Dressage L’Heure masquée

Issued in gold or steel limited series of 500 and 1,000 respectively, this playful stage-setting is orchestrated by the ingenious interaction of the rack, pinion and gear trains. Manufacture-made composition, self-winding calibre H1925 is equipped with an exclusive patented module enabling it to play this uniquely personal musical score  

TuDOr graNTOur

This year, TUDOR is giving a new dimension to the Grantour line, its collection devoted to passion for motor sports, by redesigning its Grantour Date and Grantour Chrono models and introducing a new model : the Grantour Chrono Fly-Back. This most recent addition to the collection allows consecutive time intervals to be measured rapidly thanks to its on the fly chronograph reset and instant restart functions  

graff DiamOND gyrOgraff

The perfect union of watchmaking and jewellery, this new timepiece from Graff shines the spotlight on a gyroscopic moon phase and a double-axis tourbillon, no less. The bezel is embellished with a mosaic of diamonds in a stunning and patented invisible setting, the work of the jeweller’s master craftsmen using a technique which took one year to perfect  

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Women

WomenWomen

feNDi Crazy CaraTs

In its Italian workshops, Fendi takes fur towards peaks that have not been explored for almost a century. Bearing testimony to this longstanding tradition, the new Crazy Carats watch is fitted with a precious strap in two-tone mink, while the watch itself features a number of White diamonds  

savOy siNgLe Time 35mm iCON LigHT

The Swiss watch brand presents watches with diamonds stainless steel 35mm strap with stainless steel inserts and pearly white leather. It is a modern woman’s watch with a great design details. As a material they are using stainless steel and impact resistant glass and sapphire scratch

BvLgari CaTeNe

It is as much a jewel as a timepiece, a showcase of watchmaking magnificently sculpted in gold. This most famous of wristwatches bears the hallmarks of the celebrated Italian jeweller whose heritage has shaped each of its new models, including Catene with its chain links. Assembled into the legendary bracelet that coils twice around the wrist, a favourite signature of the brand, they interweave with deceptive simplicity

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Le City Deluxe USA is thrilled to launch the third edition with an extraordinary Watch Special: a se-ries of exclusive interviews with the

CEOs of the world’s most luxurious watch brands. During BASELWORLD, !e World Watch and Jewelry Show in Switzerland, Le City Deluxe had the pleasure of meeting the driving forces behind Zenith, Roger Dubuis and Ernst Benz amongst others. While the three timepiece companies are very distinctive in their own notable ways, they share a mutual passion for the craft of watchmaking. Each one vows to deliver quality and style to the watch enthusiasts.

Zenith watches have come a long way since their "rst manufactured chronograph in 1899, but to this day, it continues its legacy of exce-llence which can be especially noted in the "ve of its luxury collections. Zenith’s original pilot watches are crafted during complex processes in which over 2,500 operations are preformed

Watch SpecialMEET THE CEOS Of ZEnITH,

ROgER DubuIS, & MIAMI’S ERnST bEnZ

Le City Deluxe had the pleasure of meeting the driving forces behind Zenith,

Roger Dubuis and Ernst Benz

by over 300 pairs of highly quali"ed craftsmen’s hands. Each watch is truly a work of art that shows the intense but delicate process each piece goes through to be created. 

Similarly to Zenith, Ernst Benz is renowned for its ability to innovate a timeless classic. Inspired by the vintage chronographs from the Second World War, the namesake of the company began producing aviation watches. Since its "rst conception in the 1970s, the piloting chronograph, has become a guiding light for the company’s contemporary models. 

Unlike its counterparts, Roger Dubuis is a fairly new company, but that doesn’t re$ect on the caliber of their creations. !e Swiss wat-chmaker is the only manufacturer that has the Hallmark of Geneva which to the company, signi"es a starting point on its odyssey for eminence

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JEan- FrEdEriC duFOurZEniTh CEO

Timeless Trends and InnovationPassion is what helped us build a new brand identity around the new image that we have at Zenith.

BiographyJean-Frederic Dufour has been the Chief Executive O!cer and President of Zenith Manufacture of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton since June 2009.He graduated from the University of Geneva where he studied  Commercial and Industrial Sciences.

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Zenith, the brand lead by Jean-Frederic Dufour prides itself on the creation of the world’s most precise chronograph, El Primero.

Each watch in Zenith’s collection is uniquely exquisite, but El Primero is both stunning and incredibly intricate. It is a marvelous example of a #ne watch. “Follow your own star,” is Zenith’s adage, and this luxury brand has certainly fo-llowed its star which lead them to the successful creation of magni#cent timepieces.

 Mr. Dufour, what was  the key element that helped you bring Zenith back to its roots? 

It was an amalgam of many things, but most importantly it was the passion that gave me the energy to travel 120 days out of the year and the strength to visit all the countries around the world in order to gain a better understanding of what was expected of the Zenith brand. Passion is what drove the development of a new collection that stemmed from more than 120 di$erent references, which ranged from very classical to very complicated.Passion led to work on the distribution of the brand, to the closing of around 200 shops, but then opening 100 new ones and the building of 13 boutiques. Passion is what helped us build a new brand identity around the new image that we have at Zenith. But in the end, it’s also very important to be surrounded by the right people because alone you cannot do everything.

 Since Zenith owns the patent on pilot wat-ches, please explain how the company concei-ved the concept of a pilot watch? 

 %e very #rst pilot watches that we created were similar to pocket watches which pilots wore on top of their shoes.%e watches were the only technical tools that they had at their disposal during &ight to know how long they

had been up in the air. %e watch gave them the distance calculations they needed and also the autonomy. %e pilots needed to know pre-cisely when to &y back, so the watch was very instrumental to their line of work. It obviously needed to be very accurate. %e pilot collection that we have this year is completely inspired by the very #rst wristwatches from the very beginning of the 20th century. %is collection doesn't look like any others, it's very unique and it has a strong sex appeal. %e product is not only alluring to people who are rapt by manufactured watches, but also to those whore are interested in the aesthetics and the size of the product. 

 What is your favorite Zenith piece? 

 I love all of them. I am heavily involved in the creative aspect of all the Zenith models. It is very di!cult to select which one I like best because I never release a watch that I personally don't like. However, the El Primero is a watch that means a lot to me. It’s an iconic piece from 1969. It has such strong legends surrounding it that it makes it quite unique. So, from the new collection I really like the El Primero. 

 Was the ladies line a challenge to create? %e ladies line is a challenge, but its worth it

because we are seeing that there are more ladies than ever looking for manufactured watches. We are not trying to compete against brands that are producing jewelry watches, but we also truly believe that modern women are looking for a di$erent type of product. Now they don’t just want a quartz watch with diamonds on  top, so we o$er in our collection the same value that only men are able to #nd in some other brands. %e new collection contains really nice watches that will last forever. Women today are looking for something that will last for a long

time, that is of strong quality and that is really state of the art.

 How receptive are the watch a"cionados of America to the Zenith brand? 

 In America, people have a very strong emo-tional bond to their purchases. For most of them it’s all about the experience. %e key to success in the United States is to #nd the right partner, because it’s all about the retailers. Zenith has only recently come back into the market in the United States. We used to sell our brand there until the Second World War but we started back up again in 2000. %e interest and the brand are both growing slowly, but the size of the brand is not quite what we would expect for an established international brand such as ours. I know that if you do it well in the United States you usually get it right and for now we are really doing well, we are going by the book to make it happen. I think that in two or three more years we will really start to see growth in America.

 How involved is Zenith in the Florida re-gion?

 Florida is great, not in only Miami, but in a lot of locations. %ere is a strong sense of retail not only with locals, but also with the South American community that is always traveling to Florida. We o$er them a chance to check out our collection. We are also currently working on developing a project which would include a boutique in Florida, but it’s too early to talk about it. Florida is de#nitely a place where we can see ourselves. People from all over the world, and all corners of America travel to Florida. It is the ultimate holiday destination. It’s an interesting state and the it place for a luxury brand

TExT Claudia TrimdE & mady GErardPhOTO david maTThiESSEn

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No matter if it is a wristwatch, mobile phone or eyewear, when the product in question is used regularly, it is important the users are happy. If a

company invests time and e!ort into the product, irrespective of what it is, and focuses on customer satisfaction, the product will please. At TAG Heuer, regardless of what they are developing, they strive to give their customers the utmost bene"t in terms of both style and practicality.

Le CITY deluxe sat down with #omas Hou-lon, Innovation Director for TAG Heuer, and honorary Chairman Jack Heuer himself.

Is it true you haven’t always worked in the watch industry?

TH: I actually spent the "rst 12 years of my career in eyewear. Designing glasses consisted of just not sticking a logo on the frame, but giving the glasses themselves real value. After ten years, it had become absolutely massive, even though our models were quite pricy. We managed to give customers the utmost bene"t in terms of style, which, while pure and simple, was extremely

practical. I then started working in watches, as the innovation manager for all watches, and I’ve been working on innovation ever since.

Are there any other new products in the works for TAG Heuer?

TH: I also helped launch our "rst mobile phones three years ago. Today we are presenting a new mobile phone called Racer. We are trained to transpose new product categories, and today, Tag Heuer’s DNA is so strong, it is becoming even more popular.

“IT ALL COMES DOWN TO CRAFTSMANSHIP AND FOCUSING ON THE BASICS” (THOMAS HOULON)

TAG HEUERContinues to Impress Irrespective of Product

History of tAG Heuer

1860 · Edouard Heuer, the great-grand-father of Jack William Edouard Heuer, founds TAG Heuer

1958 · Jack Heuer joins the family business and gives the watches a modern twist

1969 · #e Company creates the world’s "rst automatic chronograph

1977 · TAG-Heuer produces the Chro-nosplit Manhattan, an electronic wrist chronograph with analogue reading of the time and digital reading of the stopwatch function

1982 · Jack Heuer launches IDT (Inte-grated Display Technology, Ltd.) in Hong Kong, which today employs over 9,000 people

2012 · Jack Heuer celebrates his 80th birthday

www.tagheuer.com

THOMAS HOULON JACK HEUER

What is so special about this phone?TH: It all comes down to craftsmanship and

focusing on the basics. In our opinion, today’s technology sometimes goes too far and is too complicated. And while we want to revert to something simple, it is also technologically fan-tastic and, "rst and foremost, beautiful.

How will you celebrate your 80th birthday this year, Mr. Heuer?

JH: I’m a product man, and I’ve designed a watch to commemorate my 80th birthday. I’ve signed the back and stamped it with the family’s 15th century coat of arms, which I "nd quite interesting. It is a limited edition of only 3,000 models, and numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are reserved for my 3 children and me

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HistoriA of tAG Heuer

1860 · Edouard Heuer, el bisabuelo de Jack William Heuer Edouard, funda TAG Heuer

1958 · Jack Heuer se une a la empresa familiar y renueva los relojes con un toque moderno

1969 · La compañía crea el primer cronó-grafo automático del mundo

1977 · TAG Heuer produce el Chronosplit Manhattan, un cronógrafo de pulsera elec-trónica con función de lectura analógica de la hora y lectura digital del cronógrafo

1982 · Jack Heuer lanza IDT (Integrated Display Technology, Ltd.) en Hong Kong, el cual actualmente da empleo a más de 9.000 personas

2012 · Jack Heuer celebra su 80 cumpleaños.

INTERVIEW CLAUDIA TRIMDE

No importa si se trata de un reloj de pulsera, de un teléfono móvil de unas gafas, cuando este producto se usa con regularidad; es importante que

los usuarios estén contentos. Además del producto en sí mismo, si una empresa invierte tiempo y esfuerzo en un producto, y se centra en satisfacer al cliente, el producto gustará. En TAG Heuer, más allá de aquello que estén desarrollando, se es-fuerzan por dar a sus clientes el máximo bene!cio en términos de estilo y funcionalidad.

Le CITY deluxe tuvo la oportunidad de dialog-ar con Houlon "omas, Director de Innovación para TAG Heuer, y con el mismísimo Jack Heuer, presidente honorario de la !rma.

¿Es cierto que no siempre han trabajado en la industria del reloj?

TH: En realidad, los primeros 12 años de mi carrera me dediqué al mundo de las gafas. El diseño de gafas no consistía solo en pegar un logo en el marco; las gafas tienen un valor real en sí mismas. Después de diez años, nuestros modelos se habían convertido en algo realmente masivo, a pesar de que eran bastante caros. Nos las arregla-mos para dar a los clientes el máximo bene!cio en términos de estilo, que, aunque puro y simple, era muy práctico. Entonces comencé a trabajar en el mundo de la relojería, como el director de innovación para todos los relojes, y he estado trabajando en la innovación desde entonces.

¿Está trabajando TAG Heuer en nuevos pro-ductos?

TH: También ayudé a lanzar nuestros primeros teléfonos móviles hace tres años. Ahora mismo

estamos presentando un nuevo teléfono móvil llamado Racer. Estamos capacitados para incor-porar nuevas categorías de productos, y hoy en día, el ADN Tag Heuer es tan fuerte, que se está haciendo cada vez más popular.

¿Qué tiene de especial este teléfono?TH: Todo se reduce al trabajo artesanal y a

centrarse en las cosas básica. En nuestra opinión, la tecnología de hoy en día va, a veces, demasiado lejos y es demasiado complicada. Nosotros que-remos volver a lo simple. El teléfono es hermoso y tecnológicamente, fantástico.

¿Cómo va a celebrar su 80 cumpleaños, Sr. Heuer?

JH: Yo soy un hombre productivo, y he dis-eñado un reloj para conmemorar el día de mi 80 cumpleaños. He !rmado y he estampado en su reverso un escudo de la familia del siglo XV que me parece muy interesante. Se trata de una edición limitada de sólo 3.000 unidades, y los 4 primeros ejemplares están reservados para mis hijos y para mí

“TODO SE REDUCE A LA ARTESANíA y CONCENTRARSE EN LO BáSICO” (THOMAS HOULON)

Sigue impresionando independientemente de su producto

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21st Century Creative Watchmaking Guillaume Tetu // CEO HautlEnCE

INTErvIEW ClAuDIA TrImDE // PHoTo DAvID mATTHIESSEN

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Hautlence watches are some of the most beautiful and intricate wat-ches in the world. The company which is based in Neufchatel,

Switzerland, was formed by Guillaume Tetu and has recently  been acquired by MELB Holding SA, which is propelling the brand to further success. With limited numbers and limited collections the brand is not only luxury, but also exclusive. The breathtaking designs speak for themselves and are climbing to similar status of luxury watch brands that have been around for hundreds of years. 

 Guillaume Tetu, it’s a great pleasure to meet you. Could you tell our readers what is the essence of your brand?

 HAUTLENCE is a brand made of architec-ture and design. We created the brand in 2005 around this frame of mind, and we wanted to create something of inspiration that was new on the watchmaking market. 

 Are Hautlence timepieces mainly marketed to men? 

  Historically Hautlence watches are very mechanical and the design is strong. We have developed a lot of our products for men, but on the other hand we have many women who are now looking to purchase from our brand. I would say about five percent of our custom-ers are women, it seems small but that is still good percentage of women. We have done designs that are dedicated to women, they are beautiful designs with diamonds and they are really elegant.

 Which is the most precious piece that you have in your collection right now? 

  The HL2. The HL2 is the piece that we have here, and it is a concept watch that we launched in 2011. It is a masterpiece. We have three patents on this and we have 550 pieces at the moment. We have been working on the development of this watch for more than four years. It’s really exciting to work on the HL2.  We are planning to do more editions of this watch with diamonds and will continue to make it really unique. It is quite exciting.

 The former CEO of Audemars Piguet re-cently joined Hautlence. How important is his involvement in the company?

 When you have a partner like Georges-Hen-ri Meylan who’s the former CEO of Audemars Piguet, a family owned company, it's pretty im-portant. Now we are with people who have the knowledge and the respect from this industry. We are all committed to the vision and we thank him for the doors he has opened up all over the

world. Now there is trust in the brand, people were excited about Hautlence before, but that excitement had limits. Now we have made a real connection with these people.

 Is your brand currently present in the US?

  Currently we have one point of sale in Florida, and only have two points of sale in the USA. One is the on the West Coast and the other is in Naples, Florida. People in the US and Florida like the brand. We know that we have a lot of interest on the coast of Florida, so we are in the position now to open one or two more points of sale.

  What do you have in store for the future?

 The years 2012-2013 were monumental for the brand. We have been clarifying the strategy; we have been creating new architecture, creat-ing a new picture and a new universe. Now everything is clear in my mind and everything is clear with my partners so we can go ahead to continue to develop the brand. As of now we are a brand that serves 250 people a year. Our goal is to reach 800 to 1000 people a year. I think this is very attainable with the new collection, the new partnership movements and the con-tinuation to develop amazing masterpieces. In parallel we also need to be consistently working on the design and development of the network to expand our institution

"WE ArE WITH PEoPlE WHo HAvE THE kNoWlEDgE AND THE rESPECT from THIS INDuSTry"

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Perfection Though HistoryINTErvIEW ClAuDIA TrImDE // PHoTo DAvID mATTHIESSEN

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It is through drawing inspiration from centuries of history as well as artistic and horological culture that De Bethune uses state-of-the-art technologies to create

timepieces in which aesthetic and technical aspects merge into a unique whole, and form meets function. All in pursuit of a subtle balance between simplicity, readability and chronome-ter-worthy precision. Le City Deluxe had the pleasure of interviewing the Chief Executive Officer of De Bethune, Pierre Jacques: 

 What is the essence of you company?

The essence and value of the brand is to create the best watches possible with quality finishing. 

 What does De Bethune mean? 

The reason that the company is named as such is because De Bethune was a famous watchmaker of the 18th century. Chevalier de Bethune was a nobleman who is credited with inventing several mechanisms in watchmaking. He was rich enough not to work for a living and lived solely to create watches. This is how we want to run our company. We want to make watches not for the sake of earning money. That is why we do not mass produce. 

 Have you been with the brand since the be-ginning? 

Pierre Jacques CEO of De Bethune

BiographyJacques holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations and in 2000 he co-founded GMT magazine. Since January 2010, he had been serving as Branch Manager of Les Ambassadeurs Genève, and he also headed the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix as director of the organizing company.

No. I became the CEO of De Bethune in March 2011. David Zanetta, President of the Board of Directors and the co-founder, Denis Flageollet, Director of Productions, appointed me as the Chief Executive officer. 

What is the typical De Bethune clientele? The typical client of De Bethune is someone

who knows his or her watches. Someone who knows what the craft of watchmaking is about. A collector, or someone who appreciates good quality timepieces. 

 Where in South Florida can De Bethune timepieces be purchased?

In South Florida, De Bethune watches could be purchased in Boca Raton, in a retail boutique called Les Bijoux

"THE ESSENCE AND vAluE of THE brAND IS To CrEATE THE bEST WATCHES PoSSIblE WITH quAlITy fINISHINg."

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Andy Sogoyan began his incursion into the jewellery world at a tender age, working in his uncle’s jewellery shop, until years later, in the 1980s, he

founded his !rst company, CA Links, Inc.Drenched in Hollywood swagger, sophistica-

tion and lustre, as well as a fervent longing to share his passion for diamonds, he managed to !nd a market comfortable with his creations and an enthusiastic clientele for his exclusive products. Necklaces, cruci!xes, chains... jewels inspired in the A Team, Mr. T and ‘80s hip-hop. His business success helped CA Links, Inc become one of the world’s primary wholesalers of urban jewellery.

Andy’s untiring passion for perfection and quality, as well as his pursuit of innovation and trends, coincided with a spiking public interest in high-end watches, giving birth to his next company: IceLink, which opened up to the world of Swiss watchmaking in 2007. "at same year he attended Baselworld for the !rst time. Con-fronted with a traditionally elitist watch market, Andy Sogoyan showed why his models are the watch of choice for a large number of celebrities. Since then, he has worked unabashedly. As he once remarked, “Somewhere, somehow, there

will always be someone looking for extraordinary things only my company can provide”.

Could you explain a bit about the new models you have recently released?

It is a very unique watch. Actually it is the !rst watch with a mechanical moment for 5 time zones, which work together simultaneously. It took me two and a half years to develop this movement, which is an IceLink Swiss-made movement. You mainly create watches for men, but do you do so for women as well?

Of course we also have watches for women. Last year we produced 50 percent for men and 50 percent for women. As you can see, we now have a lot of diamond watches, so our watches are now 70% for women and 30% for men. What is your main market? Is Los Angeles or the US the market where you sell the most?

No, as a brand, we are also in the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine and now Asia is quickly becoming a strong market for us

From a family of jewellers,

Andy Sogoyan represents this

exclusive brand, a passion for

diamond watches and the

continuous innovation that

makes it a favourite among

successful artists, singers, djs and

athletes the world over.

A passion for diamond watches and continuous innovation

CEO of IceLinkAndy Sogoyan

INTERVIEW CLAUDIA TRIMDE

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Empapado de arrogancia, so!sticación y brillo en Hollywood, así como un deseo ferviente de compartir su pasión por los diamantes, Andy Sogoyan se

las arregló para encontrar un mercado a gusto con sus creaciones y una clientela entusiasta para sus productos exclusivos. Collares, cruci!jos, cade-nas... joyas inspiradas en el Equipo A, Mr. T y el hip-hop de los 80. Su éxito comercial ayudó a CA Links, Inc. a convertirse en uno de los principales mayoristas del mundo en joyería urbana.

La pasión incansable de Andy por la perfección y la calidad, así como su búsqueda de la innovación y las tendencias, coincidió con un creciente interés del público en los relojes de alta gama, dando lugar a su siguiente empresa, IceLink, que se abrió al mundo de la relojería suiza en 2007. Ese mismo año asistió a Baselworld por primera vez. Frente a un mercado de relojería tradicionalmente elitista, Andy Sogoyan demostró por qué sus modelos de relojes son los elegidos por un gran número de celebridades. Desde entonces, ha trabajado incansablemente. Como comentó una vez, “En algún lugar, de alguna manera, siempre habrá alguien buscando cosas extraordinarias que sólo mi compañía puede ofrecer”.

¿Podría hablarnos brevemente acerca de los nuevos modelos lanzados recientemente?

Se trata de un reloj único. En realidad, es el primer reloj con maquinaria mecánica para 5 zonas horarias, que funcionan juntas de forma simultánea. Me llevó dos años y medio desarrol-lar esta maquinaria, una maquinaria IceLink de fabricación suiza.

Usted principalmente crea relojes para hom-bres, ¿los hace también para mujeres?

Por supuesto, también tenemos relojes para mu-jeres. El año pasado producimos un 50 por ciento para hombres y un 50 por ciento para mujeres. Como puede ver, ahora tenemos muchos relojes de diamantes, por lo que nuestros relojes son ahora un 70% para mujeres y un 30% para hombres.

¿Cuál es su mercado principal? Es Los Ángeles o los EE.UU. el mercado donde venden más?

No, como marca estamos también en Oriente Medio, Rusia, Ucrania, y Asia ahora se está con-virtiendo en un mercado fuerte para nosotros

Pasión por los relojes de diamantes y continua innovación

Procedente de una familia de joyeros, Andy Sogoyan no sólo es el representante de esta marca exclusiva sino también es un !el representante de lo que signi!ca la pasión por los relojes de diamantes y la innovación continua, carac-terísticas hacen destacar a esta empresa como la favorita entre artistas de éxito, cantantes, djs y atletas de todo el mundo.

www.icelinkwatch.com

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JEan-MarC POnTrOuéCEO rOgEr DubuiS

BIO Jean-Marc POntrOué

He was the director of

givenchy in Paris Sales and

an Executive Vice President

of Product Strategy and

Development of Montblanc in

Hamburg. He is currently the

CEO of roger Dubuis.

Codes of ExcellenceinTErViEW CLauDia TriMDE

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www.rogerdubuis.com

The main challenge of Roger Dubuis has been international develop-ment. At a rapid rate it became one of the top !ve High Class Watch

brands in the world. And this has a lot to do with Jean-Marc Pontroué, the CEO of the Geneva-based manufacturer. A company that has become famous for their ability to arrange product strategies and capturing the needs of individual countries.

What would you like to highlight most about Roger Dubuis?

Most importantly, the watches have been ma-nufactured with the codes of excellence in mind. A pioneering brand that targets connoisseurs of Haute Horlogerie with all the manufacturing involved in the very heart of Geneva.

What are your most important product con-cerns at the moment?

"e motion. If Ferrari can’t be Ferrari without its engines, then Roger Dubuis doesn’t exist without proper movement. All of our deve-lopment capacity and innovation are going to in#uence the SIHH13 gala, a new caliber, which will be the !rst on the watch market.

Roger Dubuis contains four product lines. What are their main features?

We relate our four products to the universe. We are able to cater our four product lines based on four types of potential customers categorized in hypothetical archetypes: the player, the warrior, the adventurer and the diva. So far, apart from having product lines where there is no competition, no brand has gone so far as to have a fantasy world model for their product lines.

What is the main market for Roger Dubuis?Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, and the United

States; in addition to all emerging countries.

Valencia is considered a unique market in Spain. How did it come to be such a successful location?

In Valencia we are partnered with the jewel-ry !rm Rabat. I’m not sure if it would work without our partners at the local level. Whether it’s Rabat in Spain or Swiss Union in Barcelona and Madrid, we become able to attract a clien-tele likely to understand our product.

What is the current status of Roger Dubuis on the market?

Although we cannot give exact speci!cs, the brand has prospered in all countries. In the market of Spain in particular, Roger Dubuis had an increase in sales by 48% last year

If Ferrari can’t be Ferrari without its engines, then Roger Dubuis doesn’t exist without proper movement. All of our deve- lopment capacity and innova-tion are going to in#uence the SIHH13 gala, a new caliber, which will be the !rst on the watch market.

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Ernst Benz Master CraftsmanInterview with Leonid Khankin, Managing and Creative Director

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In 2005, Leonid Khakin took the driving reins from the namesake founder of the watch company Ernst Benz. Just as his predecessor, Khakin has been a total suc-

cess at spearheading the timepiece enterprise.  

Mr.Khakin, give me a bit of the the back-ground? How did you end up managing and creating products for Ernst Benz?

   Ernst Benz was established 50 years ago by the namesake founder. For 20 years the company  produced aircraft instrumentation, which inspired Benz to create the pilot’s watch, a vintage style chronograph from WWII. I grew up doing restoration on such pieces. My forte is chronographs and restoration, so I was chosen by the company to develop the most complicated watch for Ernst Benz. By 2001, I started developing products for the company. Later, I became Managing & Creative Director of Ernst Benz, producing a few hundred wat-ches a year. Fast forward eight years, we’re now producing nearly 5,000 pieces annually with a collection over 300 basic models. For us, the dream was never to run the watch company it was the dream of the watchmaker to build the watch. What we build now is this idea of the sprit of travel and the art of watchmaking, the ideal version in a modern way of the classic watch. 

 So do you consider yourself as one of those power managers?

 No. I consider myself a watchmaker. I don’t consider myself to be in power, businessmen

want to be in power. I am an artist who wants to leave tomorrow better than it is today. 

 Is that the key to your success?

  I don't hold it to success; I hold it to an ongoing privilege to be able to work in this "eld. If I am allowed to do watches tomorrow than that was the success of today. I am not successful I am just getting started.

 Is there a sense of power in the watch industry in general?

 I think today there is de"nitely a sense of powerfulness in the watch industry because of the scope that we have. You travel the world from Paris to Moscow, from New York to Mexico City, the watch industry is everywhere. #ere are powerful men who run the compa-nies of watchmakers, but watchmakers are the craftsmen who give a service to the men of power. Artists have always been in service to people of power. We work for the people who decide that we are talented enough that they are entertained by the things that we do.

  Where’s Ernst Benz headed in the future?

 #e future of Ernst Benz is very interesting. In the "rst eight years we produced watches on a smaller scale. #en cut to this collection, and we’re distributing to the greatest stores in the world. We have an audience to which we get to teach the art of watchmaking. So now the future: new calibers, new production, new stories, new designs. It’s a very exciting time for us. After eight years in the business, it feels like

day one. I feel like I am just getting started.  

Is it more about the limited edition watches or more about the lower line to just get it out there?

 It has never been about mass production. We produce exclusively mechanical collec-tions that are 100% built in Switzerland. #e company makes 4000- 5000 watches in a year so everything is limited. #e core collection is quite limited in itself, but limited edition for us is not better than our regular watches. Limited edition is just an opportunity to tell a special story, while full production tells our company’s story. Limited edition is the watch with Mario Batali, the famous chef from New York. From this limited collection we donated 500,000 Euros to the Food Bank of New York. For us, limited edition serves di$erent purpo-ses: additional creativity, collaboration, and sometimes interesting charity projects where you have a watchmaker who gets to leave the world a better place than he found it.

 What is your connection to Miami, Florida?

 I actually discovered Miami by chance while celebrating the new Millennium with friends. For the brand, Miami serves as a hub between North America and South America. After I took charge of Ernst Benz we started to distri-bute a lot in the Caribbean and Latin America, I found myself frequenting Miami with our agents. It’s a very interesting place. Miami is where the whole world somehow connects

Interview with Leonid Khankin, Managing and Creative Director

We build the idea of the sprit of travel and the art of watchmaking, the ideal version in a modern way of the classic watch. 

InTErvIEW ClaudIa TrImdEPHOTO davId maTTHIESSEn

S P O R T W A T C H E S

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Sport WatchesSEARCHing fOR THE bEST TimE

The spirit of sportsmanship and adventure is the main feature in the top manufactures. High precision, exclusivity, and quality mechanisms accompanies users when playing their favorite sports.

Men

Women

Rolex Submariner

!e quintessential dive watch is adorned to strengthen its already recognizable personality. Its redesigned box is similar to the historical model launched in 1953

Yacht-master Rolesium de 35 mm

Created in 1992 it was one of the "rst luxury watches that combined robustness of a sports watch with the elegance of a luxury watch. One can say it’s a partner to practi-ce sailing with

www.rolex.com

TEXT RAquEl RAbAdán

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Women

Women

www.iwc.com

www.corum.ch

www.jeanrichard.com

IWC SChaffhauSenPortuguese Yacht Club

Chronograph Edition. A special edition in honor of the famous race, “!e Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012”

Men

Jean RIChaRd Aquascope

Designed for the adventurous woman looking for glamour at a depth of 300 meters

CoRum Admiral’s Cup Challenger

A call to adventure! An invitation to travel! Lightweight and strong, this model is a beacon Admiral’s Cup legend 38

fiancée

All the requirements for elegance that preserve the lineage and philo-sophy of the collection with a box of 12 sides and 12 nautical pennants

Men

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RogeR dubuISPulsion Cronograph Titanium

Manufactured technology which combines perfectly harmonious aesthetics and performance for a perfect day of running

www.rogerdubuis.com

Men

ulySSe-naRdIn lady diver Sporty and re"ned, contains a me-chanism ideal for diving

www.ulysse-nardin.ch

Women

Seamaster Aqua Terra “golf ” !is watch with its distinctive green "eld element is in keeping with the latest fashion within this worldwide sport

www.omegawatches.com

omega Constellation

!e watch accompanies world renowned golfer Michelle Wie on all her shots. Femininity, power, and technique

Men

Women

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www.frederique-constant.com

www.tagheuer.com

Men

Men

www.harrywinston.com

www.bulgari.com

fRedeRIque ConStant Vintage Rally Collection

Wearing this model will make you feel like a real Studebaker Comman-der!

bulgaRI diagono White diamond

!e latest update of the model presented in 2008 with a much stronger design. Inspired by the statue of the discus thrower, it’s speci"cally designed for boating

Women

tag heueR Aquaracer 500m Ceramic

Made for diving, this watch is the best evolutionary improvement with premium detail. Aquaracer’s 500m depth range was demonstrated at the Baseworld 2009

haRRy WInSton Ocean Sport Chronograph

Safety on your wrist from dive resistance to 100 meters

Women