Graff might be known for diamonds, but Michel Pitteloud, the CEO of Graff Watches is out to put the company’s timepieces on the map.
“The link between the jewelry and our watches is that our watches are inspired by the shape of the diamond, which really makes sense for Graff,” Pitteloud explains. “From far away, you can recognize a Graff watch from across the way. We have to be recognizable and distinctive. On all our watches, we have at least one diamond.
"The Graffs are watch lovers,” he continues. “Watches are very important for them. Laurence and Francois constantly come up with ideas. On top of the regular Graff watches, we do unique pieces, one or two per month, either requested by a customer or designed by our London office. Usually, they produce a unique piece of jewelry and design an accompanying watch, and we make that here in Switzerland.”
Two new pieces in the Graffstar line are prime examples of the focus Graff is putting on fine timepieces.
The Graffstar Eclipse
What do you like about the new watches?
The Eclipse: I like the minimalist nature of it, it’s black on black, and very slim. The trend today is to go with very light and very slim. We use a new material, titanium Grade 3 with DLC on top. In the future, I will use another material, but the look will be the same. This black watch has all the Graff archytypes, like the icon. You really have to look at the watch closely to see the time during the day, and at night you can’t see anything. The movement has a 42-hour power reserve, it’s automatic, and it’s 6.9 mm in thickness. We designed the buckle like the watch and we have a genuine crocodile strap, rubber finished, in black as well. The last feature is a new black rotor, which includes our logo engraved inside.
The Graffstar Icon Automatic
Icon Automatic: this is very feminine. The dial is set with diamonds and it copies our Icon theme. The center of the icon is mother of pearl, and each icon is put separately on the dial. The watch is a dual time, with day and night feature, with a big date.
This watch is a mechanical movement, self winding. We have diamonds on top and on the side of the lugs, and diamonds on top and around the winding stem, which makes it very feminine.
We put a white crocodile strap on the watch, and the buckle is set with diamonds as well.
The case is made of pink gold surrounded by absolutely pure white ceramic in a facet design. You cut the facets into the ceramic and then you put it into the oven, then it shrinks by 20% and you then fit the gold parts, so it has to be very precise. The ceramic powder comes from Europe.
“Graff is known as the number one high jeweler, the best way to act in the field of women’s watches is in high jewelry,” Pitteloud concludes. “For men, our watches can be jewelry watches as well, but we look for designs and movements that are special.”
