At a time of supersizing and e-commerce, there are still some addresses that give hope and inspiration, at least as much as the watches they display with such passion. Behind the generously furnished windows of his Faubourg St Honoré boutique, known for its rare pieces, the master of the house tells us about Chronopassion’s comprehensive metamorphosis. Still animated by the five-level motorised carousels designed by Swiss artisan Xavier Dietlin, the shop windows draw in passers-by. The carousel modules have been opened up, making it possible to admire many more watches at the same time.
Once inside the multi-brand boutique, the effect of having your gaze pulled in every direction is multiplied by the lateral glassed partitions, each holding several hundred models freed from the traditional point-of-sale advertising pushed by the brands. Attention can focus on the watches, without being distracted by multiple competing branded displays, which always has a jarring effect in a reduced space. “Since we reopened the boutique, clients take more pleasure in discovering new models, and spend much more time with us,” declares Laurent Picciotto, dressed in his trademark leather jacket. “Not only has the duration of their visits increased, but our very good clients, who would leave with three or four watches after twenty or thirty minutes, now give us the pleasure of staying for an hour, and treating themselves to eight or ten pieces, and they leave feeling satisfied that they’ve seen everything.”
The world’s first Hublot boutique
Making the completely fluid transition between the multi-brand area and the integrated Hublot boutique, clients don’t necessarily realise that they are entering the world’s first Hublot boutique, opened almost exactly ten years ago. “For a year, I’ve been working with a guitar designer on an engraved Classic Fusion to celebrate a decade of collaboration with Hublot; I’m just waiting for the green light of Ricardo Guadalupe (Hublot CEO). In 2007 I started to take great interest in Jean-Claude Biver’s work with Hublot. I went to see him in the August, to propose opening this Hublot boutique in an area left vacant by another brand, and in September we started work,” remembers the Parisian entrepreneur. “At the time, he showed me on a scrap of paper his vision for Hublot over the next ten years. What’s incredible is that he did exactly what he explained to me, only faster! That man has an exceptional talent.” At the end of 2017, Hublot now has 87 own-brand shops around the world.
The HYT H0 Chronopassion
The H0 (pronounced H zero) Chronopassion exclusive series was the fruit of an open and uninhibited discussion with Grégory Dourde, HYT’s CEO. Laurent Picciotto, who is also mad about guitars and motorbikes, mentioned the Vultus, the Batman-inspired bike created by a Honda engineer. “I think you sometimes have to follow the example of other industries, whose leaders sometimes encourage their designers to let their hair down, and have fun with a project. That’s how the Vultus was born. Two thousand of them were offered for sale, including a hundred in France, and I bought the first one.” Initiating ideas like this can result in original designs, and also provides an escape from the straitjacket of lengthy briefs. “But creating a watch of course requires a lot of time, thankfully. At Baselworld we thought about the possibility of producing the H0 in a fourth version, alongside the three officially presented, which by the way I can find no fault with. We were going around in circles, when a member of their team remembered a design that had been left in a box. A piece had been designed for a trendy shop in Paris, which had since closed down.” Laurent Picciotto immediately took up the torch, captivated by the unusual harmony between blue and black. The first HYT H0 Blue Night Chronopassion watches were delivered (and sold) in the autumn, at the same price as the other models in the collection (€39,000).
Pulling away
“You’re changing the destiny of the brand,” observed Laurent Picciotto to Philippe Peverelli, Tudor’s then CEO, noting the appearance of a new booth at Baselworld. An inspection of the showcases had made him appreciative of half of the collection, less so the other half. In order to become a retailer for the brand, he had to commit to taking the entire collection. “We’ll see next year if there’s more flexibility,” suggested the pragmatic business leader. And there was. “I appreciate their boldness, there’s a young side in Tudor’s approach. I fell for the Black Bay in bronze, and the left-handed Pelagos. My clients did too. Because of our atypical point of sale, we tend to sell specific watches,” notes Laurent Picciotto. “Our clients are cultured, and rather elitist in their choices. Some clients prefer Tudor to Rolex for budgetary reasons, others for image reasons. Today, Tudor is still the little sister of Rolex in the collective unconscious, but the brand is growing stronger, and the communication put in place, for example with Lady Gaga, gives it its own separate place.” Returning to those niche independent brands, and their creations designed in collaboration with Chronopassion, Laurent Picciotto hints at a mysterious project with H. Moser & Cie: the launch of the first watch that has never been photographed or exhibited! “Edouard Meylan (CEO of H. Moser & Cie) and I are starting with an existing model, and we’re adding some quirky elements, but ensuring it retains its identity. Only a handful of retailers will be allowed to reveal it, to clients who are members of the ‘Moser Family’, and they have to promise not to share images of this unreferenceable reference! They can enjoy it in other ways.”
