This year, the new models are once again entirely in keeping with the spirit of their predecessors. “Prestigious watches with a spirit of modernity that pay tribute to the achievements of our forerunners” explains the brand CEO, Jean Depéry, “meaning fine mechanisms and refined decoration”. Two flagship items have been added to the collections. The first is the Tourbillon, which has been the subject of “major developments designed to make the tourbillon mechanism highly visible and above all, extremely beautiful” says Jean Depéry. “There is no dial on this piece: we wanted to give pride of place to the mechanical side of things. The bridges and wheels are the design, and the mechanism itself serves as decoration.”
The Minute Repeater is another masterpiece. To create this timepiece of which just three examples have been produced and equipped with movements from the Thirties re-decorated for the occasion, Emile Chouriet enlisted the talent of well-known craftsmen. Jean-Pierre Hagmann, the last sculptor of cases for minute repeaters, created three rose gold cases, while the portrait of François Dagobert Depéry, the CEO’s ancestor who was one of watchmaker Emile Chouriet’s suppliers in the 17th century, was carefully manually reproduced by a talented enameller.
Focus on Geneva
This famous bridge between the past and the future is also evident in the Héritier line, which beats to the rhythm of a movement from the same era in pure Fifties vintage style.
As Jean Dépery explains, “We bought up 1,000 AS 2063 mechanical movements which we redecorated” – a task performed in accordance with contemporary current quality standards and finishes. Meanwhile, the Nuit des Temps watch offers a new interpretation of the history of Geneva with a design inspired by the clock on the church at the Place de la Fusterie. In addition to its design, which is bursting with historical references, this watch features a distinctive 24-hour display through 12 windows.
Amongst the latest releases by Montres Chouriet is a moon-phase model soberly christened Moonphase which depicts the satellite of a disproportionately sized planet Earth. There is also a noteworthy Zodiac watch (in response to a request from the Chinese market) which daily presents one of the 12 signs of the zodiac. Finally, the Lac Léman collection returns to centre stage with three new extensions: a chronograph, a dual time model and a date version. As Jean Depéry sums up: “These are Swiss watches that suit Chinese tastes. One thing is for sure: they are completely out of the ordinary”.
Spanning past, present and future, like a thread spun over the years between Swiss watchmaking tradition and the tastes of the promising Chinese market: while it may appear to be a young brand well-known to connoisseurs on the territory that saw its beginnings, the Geneva-based company took on the Swiss market less than a year ago and currently still sells 99% of its around 42,000 annually produced watches in the Middle Kingdom. The goal is “50,000 in 2013", says Jean Depéry.
