Jean Depéry, CEO

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Jean Depéry, CEO - Emile Chouriet
2 minutes read
Born in 1949 in Geneva, is a cheerful and warm man. He comes from a family fascinated by history and the arts. The watchmaking line goes back to François Dagobert Depéry, a watchmaker living in Challex near Geneva in the early 18th c.

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Jean Depéry, CEO. © Emile Chouriet

Initially destined to take over his father's notary firm, Jean Depéry chose to follow his passion and studied microtechnology at the University of Neuchâtel. Influenced by his grandfather, who collected clocks, he specialised in microelectronics and the production of quartz watches. But he kept his passion for mechanical watches and the ticking sound has set the pace to his whole life.During the technological boom of the quartz watch in 1972, Jean, the new graduate, went to work for the R&D department of a movement factory that was later to join the Swatch group. They developed a series of special micromotors. At the age of 26, he had already forged a reputation as a genius in the watchmaking industry. As an engineer specialising in watch movements, he wanted to adapt and optimise the multifunction capacities of the watch movement to the smallest space possible, while achieving complex functions. He believed there are no limits to improving the movement. Innovation never stops, new possibilities arise all the time.In 1985, now an expert in microtechnology, he started Micromag, a company where he applied his expertise to micromotors. More recently, his father, François Depéry, a notary in the Pays de Gex, wrote the history of his family and its region. In it was the name of Emile Chouriet in the family documents. Emile Chouriet was a watchmaker living in Geneva in the 18th c  He enamelled magnificent "onion" watches.  That same period saw the general adoption of the spiral balance wheel invented by Huygens the previous cent. This innovation was adopted by Genevan watchmakers and guaranteed unrivalled precision in watches.In 1997, Jean co-founded the Emile Chouriet brand. As an expert in watchmaking components and mechanisms, Jean Depéry found an opportunity to express his passion in this enterprise. He believed that having a vision and impact on all the stages in the watch design process was a genuine asset. From design to product, the Emile Chouriet manufactory develops know-how in the great watchmaking tradition. "Emile Chouriet represents the values of Genevan watchmaking. I strive to uphold them", states Jean Depéry.As committed and passionate as ever, Jean Depéry is still interested in the development of special machines, in order to control and improve watch components.At the Meyrin manufactory, with his team, he manages a series of new projects establishing Emile Chouriet at the forefront of the Swiss watchmaking scene.

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