Whilst many of today's key figures in the management of the watch brands have similar career paths, David Chaumet’s route was more unusual. His career started in the energy sector with the Total Group in France. However, he was also influenced by watchmaking at a young age, as he observed his grandfather rewinding a magnificent gold pocket watch that originally belonged to his great-grandfather. It led him to develop an appreciation for beautiful objects and the artistic know-how that they embody.
His entry into the watchmaking industry was in 2004, through a logistic role for a watch & jewellery distribution group. He then joined Roger Dubuis in 2008, as its Customer Service and Quality Director, ensuring that the maison would uphold the standards required by the Richemont Group. Once those programmes were in place, Chaumet became the maison’s representative, first for Western Europe in 2012, then for Asia Pacific in 2016, based in Hong Kong, until his promotion to CEO for Baume & Mercier in 2019.
It’s understandable that he cites the introduction of the Roger Dubuis Quatuor in 2013 as a key moment, since it represented the culmination of team effort and years of shared experiences embodied in a single timepiece. Even beyond the maisons he has worked for, he has been impressed over the years by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon in 2004, the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Luminous in 2010, the Cartier ID Two concept watch in 2012 and the Vacheron Constantin 57260 in 2015 – all examples of excellence in execution, beauty, and the mastery of savoir faire that has exemplified fine watchmaking over recent years.
He naturally does not neglect a nod to Baume & Mercier, with the Baumatic calibre, first introduced in the Clifton collection in 2018, even before he was appointed the maison’s CEO, this movement impressed him as the result of a collaborative effort exemplifying a resolutely modern approach to watchmaking that has led to a tremendous amount of innovation in its particular segment.
*Written by Sean Li
*On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021.
