Armure Quadrifoglio Limited Edition

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Armure Quadrifoglio Limited Edition - Mauron Musy
Mauron Musy is boosting its local approach to marketing with a Quadrifoglio limited edition and some new projects for 2020.

Eric Mauron and his son-in-law Christophe Musy launched their brand in 2013. The Armure collection came out last year, and with it a rather unusual locally-based marketing approach. The original concept was to create a different kind of watch to give to friends and family, as an original gift. The Armure builds on the family duo’s skill in creating hermetic seals, and features an innovative gasket-free case that is water-resistant to 300 metres, thanks to Mauron Musy’s patented nO-Rings® system. 

It quickly became clear that a watch like this deserved a wider audience than just the Mauron Musy family members and friends. But such a small brand doesn’t have a big marketing budget, and for the launch, Mauron Musy decided to give the first watches to its brand ambassadors. Unlike the celebrity muses of the big brands, these are local people, primarily based in French-speaking Switzerland. In March 2019, 110 “ambassadors” were invited to collect their watches at a convivial event in Saint-Aubin (Fribourg canton), where Mauron Musy is based.

4x4 limited edition

The idea of the Mauron Musy Armure Quadrifoglio limited edition, the company’s latest creation, came from one of their ambassadors. Patrick Benoît, owner of the Garage du Littoral in Vevey, an Alfa Romeo dealership, wanted a special model to give his clients. Alfa Romeo aficionados will be familiar with the Quadrifoglio, the nearly 100-year-old emblem seen on the Italian car maker’s vintage racing cars, and its most high-powered modern vehicles such as the Stelvio SUV.

The Mauron Musy Quadrifoglio is based on the Armure Mµ 03, and it shares almost all the same features: titanium case equipped with nO-Ring® technology, exclusive automatic calibre MM01, developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret, a 55-hour power reserve and the same meticulous decoration found on the other Mµ 03 models. But the black dial features a distinctive carbon structure, and at 3 o’clock it has a deeply carved four-leafed clover filled with varnish, left deliberately colourless to preserve the sober design of the watch. 

Edition limitée Armure Quadrifoglio

The Mauron Musy Armure Quadrifoglio, “developed in partnership with the Garage du Littoral, not with the Alfa Romeo brand,” as Christophe Musy is at pains to point out), is a 16-piece limited edition – a nod to the 4x4 version of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. It comes with three different black straps, with green and white, red or grey topstitching to mirror the leather options available for the cars’ seats and steering wheel. The Garage du Littoral will also handle marketing and sales for the watch, which is available for the price of CHF 11,900 (including taxes).

Middle-East and Africa

Despite Mauron Musy’s approach, it’s more than just a low-profile local brand. Over the last year the brand has expanded its distribution network internationally. It now works with around 10 retailers in the Middle East, with a presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrein and Kuwait. On the African continent, after launching in South Africa six months ago, the Armure collection made its debut in Nigeria in December 2019. In Switzerland, the company places a priority on meeting clients directly, particularly through its ambassadors, but also through a retailer based in the ski resort of Arosa, in the canton of Graubünden.

Looking back at 2019, and forward to 2020

With 200 watches sold in 2019, Christophe Musy says he’s very happy that the brand’s performance exceeded expectations. “2019 was a year of intense production, and we had to work very hard to keep up,” he admits. “Today, we’re in a position to fill our orders at a more serene pace. We’re a small team with a highly artisanal way of working. We’re a niche brand offering exclusive products. Our goal is to produce 600 watches per year.”

The new launches announced for 2020 will show the way. Christophe Musy hints that the company will be launching an Armure GMT and an Armure skeleton at Baselworld. They’re also working on a project with the Red Cross to create a limited edition of seven unique pieces, corresponding to the seven values of the international aid organisation.

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