Given the contemporary, urban looks of the tonneau-shaped watches from Cvstos Genève one might expect its manufacture to be situated in a Gotham-esque metropolitan down-town. The reality couldn’t be further from that. A hop, skip, and a jump from the Geneva airport I roll my eyes in disbelief when my GPS tells me to turn onto a single lane gravel road lined with majestic trees. It wouldn’t be the first time google maps sent me off-route. But, after a couple of hundred meters I arrive at a 250-year-old neo-classical-style farm where the stone-walled, triple-height former stables has been transformed into a modern watch manufacture with the latest technologies. Where the stable in its equestrian past would have hosted around a dozen horses, it is now home to 14 CNC machines and a loft area where clients can be greeted.
“After a couple of years of working with suppliers we wanted to start our own manufacture. I had bought our first machines, but I did not know where to put them. Luckily, I found out that this place was for rent. I spoke with the Mayor, and he said ‘you must renovate, but if you do that, you will get a 100-year lease,’” said Sassoun Sirmakes who co-founded the brand with Antonio Terranova in 2005.
The renovations were finished in 2009, and the first four machines were put into place. Ever since, the machine park including both 3-axis and 5-axis CNC technologies has grown organically.
“All machines are paid; we owe no money to the bank. Normally you need credit to develop more, but I am a bit conservative on that side,” said Sassoun, showing square pre-cut, brute blocks of steel, aluminum, titanium, bronze, and brass measuring between five and ten centimeters.
These metals are transformed into around 800 watches per year – 40 percent of the brands total production. For the rest they work with suppliers. “We make more and more, and we really make everything inhouse. Components, mainplates, bridges, cases, dials bezel, rotor. We make simple hand-wound movements, automatic, chronographs, tourbillons,” Sassoun continued while showing the tonneau-shaped movements and various parts, going into watches like Challenge Tourbillon 8, Metropolitan Chrono Skeleton, and Metropolitan PS, where the abbreviation is Petite Seconds, French for small seconds.
Cases and components feature several different machine polishings. Satin, sandblasted, and shiny polish can often be found on the same part. Cvstos movements do have some hand-decorations like beveling and the odd Côtes de Genève stripes. For Sassoun, it is a conscious style-choice to limit the handwork. “When you do modern watches like we do, you don’t want to have so much hand-work,” he said, adding that all assembly of Cvstos watches is made behind the scenes of the down-town Geneva showroom.
Light Is The New Black
Cvstos is part of the ongoing trend where watches have become so light that they are increasingly worn by elite athletes during races and competitions. The best example is the Challenge Purity in Aluminium or Carbon worn by tennis player Karen Khachanov.
The success of this collaboration has lead to Cvstos reaching out to more ambassadors, notably MMA fighter Arman Tsarukyan, who was presented as part of the Cvstos team last week.
“It is a bit like Ocean’s 11, you take one guy from here, one from there,” Sassoun jokingly said about the growing number of male and female ambassadors helping to grow the brand awareness.
Looking back, Sassoun calls it a mistake that he until recently focused too much on the product, and not enough on the communication. “Now our goal is to become a real brand. That would allow us to have more styles because you sell a name, not a product. And when you have that level of brand awareness nice designs get awarded immediately.”
Today the entry level watches from Cvstos Genève retail at 12’000 CHF, and the brand’s core business is at 18’000 to 40’000. Mix of private sales and 150 POS around the world.
“If we were to make a simpler watch for 8’000, it wouldn’t work. Because at that price people want IWC or TAG, or another big brand.
Tonneau pioneer
When Cvstos started making tonneau and cushion shaped watches in the early 2000s they were, design-wise, in an exclusive club including Richard Mille and Franck Müller. The latter is where Sassoun learnt the ropes, as his father was a co-founder and today is the sole share-holder of Franck Müller. “When I was 6–7 years old I came with my father to work. Wen I was 12–13 I started working the summers, and at 17 I stopped school and started working in the Franck Müller Group in different places; the diamond department, in production, in sales. After five years I met Antonio – a brilliant designer with excellent 3D computer skills who was looking for a job. We didn’t need him, but I said to him ‘let’s make our own brand. let’s make new tonneau but more sporty and more skeleton.’”
This was obviously a good idea, since the production has grown from 3 staff and a few hundred watches per year to a total of 30 staff and 2’000 watches.
Sassoun Sirmakes praises the opportunities that comes with having your own manufacture. “You have more flexibility and you can answer quickly to market demands. If you make a mistake, you can correct it very easily, you don’t have to wait for 8 or 10 months on super expensive suppliers prioritizing bigger clients. With your own manufacture you can use the materials you want to create exceptional watches.”
FAQ:
Q: What is Cvstos Genève?
A: Cvstos Genève is a Geneva watch brand founded in 2005 by Sassoun Sirmakes and Antonio Terranova, known for tonneau-shaped watches. The manufacture, housed in a converted 250-year-old farm near Geneva airport, produces about 800 watches in-house each year.
Q: What is a tonneau watch?
A: A tonneau watch has a barrel-shaped case that curves outward at the sides rather than sitting perfectly round or square. Cvstos Genève built its identity around the shape, alongside brands like Richard Mille and Franck Müller.
Q: How much do Cvstos watches cost?
A: Cvstos Genève's entry-level watches retail from 12,000 CHF, with the brand's core collections priced between 18,000 and 40,000 CHF. The brand sells through a mix of private sales and around 150 points of sale worldwide.
Q: What is the connection between Cvstos and Franck Müller?
A: Cvstos co-founder Sassoun Sirmakes grew up working within the Franck Müller Group, whose co-founder and sole shareholder is his father. Sirmakes later left to launch Cvstos Genève in 2005 with designer Antonio Terranova.
