Pascal Raffy, owner of Bovet

“In the world of finance you have to offer a dividend every year and you get stuck into a race to do that. In a family-owned company, however, the first thing you are worried about is the long term. So passing on knowledge and assets is your concern. Furthermore, the freedom that this gives me is the freedom to explore fine watchmaking techniques. If I was looking for a short-term return on investment then I couldn’t do this.

“I have to consider myself more as a patron, at least in the early years. Once the fundamentals are in place, then sound profitability should come automatically. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed for the future, of course - you need to maintain it. It is quite a fatherly vision of the company but that is also what brings the passion. When the craftsmen and craftswomen come to work at Bovet they are also at their second home and they are expressing a talent. You can feel this, it’s not impersonal.

“I can promise you that thanks to all 128 people working at Bovet, what we will present in January will be even better than the Shooting Star. I promise that this philosophical view of space-time will be further strengthened.”