Some simple truths could be provocative in the USA. It's very common for the Swiss to focus their communication on a simple historical fact like depuis 1882.
“My customer might say, ‘In 1882, my great grandfather was a slave back then. You were selling gold watches at that time? You are not my brand,’” said Lior Arussy of Fundtime in the busy restaurant of Hotel Beau Rivage on Geneva’s lakefront. With a background in client experience from large global brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volvo, Kia, Mazda he is well aware of the hurdles of the American market. According to Arussy, the same kind of hurdles apply whether you are an established global actor like said car behemoths, or a one-person startup independent watch brand.
Another difference between the US and Europe, is that European wealth is built on inheritance, whereas in America it is based on disruptive entrepreneurship breaking the rules, changing things. “So, to come and sell tradition, tradition, tradition, and reinterpretation of old pieces doesn't resonate very well. Second, the American customer is not sophisticated. If you sit down and explain to them that you made a change in the spring, you lose them.”
I object to this, since I have met a plethora of sophisticated American collectors. “Of course they exist, but they are not the majority. So, you must be able to focus on an authentic story, not just on the particular polishing of a screw,” he clarified.
The Importance Of The US Market
The US watch market has grown in importance – in the last five years it nearly doubled, where other markets including China, Hong Kong, and Eastern Europa have decreased due to geopolitical factors such as property bubbles, wars, and sanctions. This makes the US market the largest homogenous market where you can build a brand. And the money is there. Just take as an example Miami county, which has become a watch collectors’ hub. Number of millionaires in Miami county? Nearly 39,000. Only in Miami!
“The US is far superior to any other market because of the entrepreneurship engine. Entrepreneurs want to feel their success, and watches have become one of the ways to do that,” said Mr. Arussy.
But how to find these watch lovers and retailers, when you are an independent brand or a micro brand with a limited amount of marketing funds? How do you reassure retailers, taking into consideration the fact that several retailers have been burnt, or at least seared, by financially unstable indies in the past. A liaising middle man could be the way to bridge the gap. And since watchmakers can’t clone themselves, a middle man could be the active partner needed for multibrand boutiques to sell particular brands. Because let’s be honest: a passive retailer that hesitantly takes a couple of pieces to “see what will happen,” is not the way to go. “Guess what happens in such cases? Nothing. Because the pieces are not going to move by themselves. And worse yet, they're diminishing the brand because what happens is the longer it sits there, the reputation of the brand is that this is not a brand for the US market. And retailers speak to each other,” said Mr. Arussy.
Lorige and Mauron Musy are two of the Swiss brands that chose to work with Fundtime.
Lorige is starting to appear in the right places from a PR standpoint, recognition standpoint, influencers standpoint, so on and so forth. We've helped them reduce the cost and some of the cost of goods and some of the cost of production. We work also together with their manufacturers in Geneva. So that's an example for us where we were able to do 150% growth in a single year,” he said.
Another example is Mauron Musy, who signed with Fundtime in April 2026. “We put a full campaign in place with several ambassadors. Since then, we have 80 press mentions in the US market, we created two launch events for them in Miami and New York, and we did selective private VIP activities with watch clubs. Within three months we needed to replenish our annual order of dozens of watches after three months. He claims another unmentioned brand had 400% growth in a year, with 60% pre-sales for the following year. One might wonder what the catch is, since this all sounds a bit too good to be true.
“There's no catch. The goal is very simple. We are equity partners. We make equity investment in the brands. We are financing our own orders and everything else. We work with watch clubs. We work with influencers. We take three things that today existed separately – investment, sales, and PR – and we put them together,” Mr. Arussy said.
Giving Up Control
Giving up control could be a catch. For Fundtime to get involved, it must become at least 10% equity owner in the brand. It also requires the license and permission to translate the brand through the local market, culturally. This includes the strategic writing, talking to the press and influencers, and cutting the deals; around 40 percent direct to clients and the rest to very selective retailers.
“For every one brand that we take on, we say no to about 10 brands. Just because you have a nice piece doesn't mean that we are ready to be a brand. You might be a project, and that's what some of them do not understand. I look at them and say, "Is there a collection here, or is there a bunch of experiments? Do you have an authentic story or do you only have engineering excellence? Are you ready for growth? One of our criteria is, if we don't believe we can do $3–5 million in the US in three years from this brand, we're not interested.
Looking into the future of the American market, Mr. Arussy believes that the 40 percent direct sales to might increase in the future. Not only because watch clubs are increasingly important, but because Americans love customizing. They are individualistic and they want to have a personalized customer journey since they see themselves as the brand. This also affects retailers.
“The retailers recognize that their building is not their power, the customer base, which could be all over the US, is their power. When we select our retailers, they must have a proper CRM so that we know what will sell, since we are checking against profiles. This is not an art for us; we have a scientific approach.”
Bridging the Chasm
Lastly, Mr. Arussy talked about an oft-forgotten phenomenon when it comes to independent watchmaking. “It is described in the 1991 book Crossing the Chasm, written by Geoffrey Moore. Why does a product raved about by early adopters so often fail to reach a large audience? “It is because they buy for opposite reasons. Early adopters (visionaries) want to be first and will forgive rough edges because they're buying the vision itself. The early majority (pragmatists) want proof: they buy what's already working for people like them, and they need the whole solution — support, training, integration — not just the core idea. Pitch the pragmatist the same story that won the visionary, and it doesn't land; that mismatch is the chasm. We want to bridge that chasm,” said Lior Arussy.
FAQ
What is Fundtime and what does it do for independent watch brands?
Fundtime is a company led by Lior Arussy that helps independent watch brands grow in the US market by taking equity stakes and combining investment, sales strategy, and PR under one partnership.
Why is the US watch market important for independent brands?
The US watch market has nearly doubled in five years, as other markets like China and Eastern Europe declined, making it the largest homogenous market for brands to build significant growth.
Which watch brands work with Fundtime?
Swiss watch brands Lorige and Mauron Musy have both partnered with Fundtime, with Lorige achieving 150% growth in a single year and Mauron Musy gaining 80 US press mentions within months.
What is the “chasm” concept from Geoffrey Moore’s book, applied to watch brands?
From Geoffrey Moore’s 1991 book “Crossing the Chasm,” it describes the gap between early adopters, who buy for vision, and the early majority, who need proof and full support before buying.
