There are few single addresses in Lausanne or indeed in the surrounding area of Lake Geneva where you can view the collections of Patek Philippe and Rolex together and, if you are an existing customer of either brand, have your watch serviced on site. With just a single exception (the Rolex DeepSea, which requires testing in a specially designed container to check its water resistance to 3,900 metres), A L’Emeraude can handle servicing work for any Rolex watch. Watchmaker Loïc has been trained by on the Rolex base calibres as well as the Daytona chronograph movement and has also attended exacting training courses at Patek Philippe. The second in-store watchmaker, Oliver, who has 12 years of experience at A L’Emeraude, handles all other brands sold by the store. Both watchmakers are also equally qualified to sell watches to customers.
Since the store was remodelled in 2017, A L’Emeraude has opened a separate store for Rolex and Patek Philippe, something which is unique in Switzerland. In parallel with this separate sales room, the customer service area was also redesigned and equipped with Rolex-specific machines to allow service work on Rolex watches. Operations such as polishing and satin finishing can therefore be performed in-house. For the customer, such possibilities translate into a time saving for service work, since the watch does not have to be sent off to Rolex, which even in Switzerland can add to the turnaround time.
A L’Emeraude is also a jewellery store as much as it is a watch store and its customers benefit from the experience of Marina Cremers, who is a qualified gemologist and the fifth generation of a French family of jewelers. Marina can therefore offer customers valuable advice on the evaluation and transformation of any jewellery or gemstone.
“We want to stand out because of our service,” says store director Derek Cremers. This doesn’t just mean after-sales service but the way the customer is welcomed the minute he or she enters the store. “Every member of staff is trained to sell watches,” explains Mr Cremers further, “and everyone is capable of taking over different responsibilities.” The fact that all the employees at A L’Emeraude are able to do this is in part down to their loyalty and long service. Deputy director Laurent has been working with the Cremers family for 25 years and administrative manager Carla for 20, in addition to the considerable experience acquired by the two watchmakers.
