Not since the heyday of Breguet there has been so much noise coming from watchmakers active in France. You can hardly go to a fair, or open a magazine or a watch-oriented site without soon stumbling across brands like Baltic, Pequignet, Beaubleu. And perhaps the strongest shining star Yema. Tourbillons for 10 K, inhouse or Swiss movements, founded in 1948. Christopher Bôle– whose family has been in watchmaking for 400 years – took over the helm a decade ago.
“Our family company bought Yema in 2009 and we decided to relaunch the brand in 2018. In the beginning it was mainly with ETA or Sellita movements, and we also had one in-house caliber which was made in France, but with Asian parts, mainly from China. Five years ago, we decided to develop our own movements and to source parts in Switzerland. If the components are not sourced in Switzerland, we make them here with our CNC machines in the company. For instance, the mainplate and the bridges, we are not working with Asian parts anymore. Our main communication is about manufacturing, so our customers, they really want also manufacturing caliber. For the manufacture, we are between 1,700 and 3000 Euro, and we have one tourbillon in the Superman collection at 10,000 Euro.”
And that is also, obviously, a manufacture moment. How is it possible to make a manufacture tourbillon at 10K?
It's easy, you just do the math and give it a correct price. It's possible. It's not so expensive to produce a tourbillon.
But I guess you only have industrial decoration, no handmade decoration?
No, no handmade decoration for now.
I love this square model with rounded edges, tell me more about it.
The design is based on the Palais Grand Ville in Besançon, the town where Yema was born in 1948. I wanted to do a watch, not round and not a square. And the decoration of the dial, is from the roof of the Palais Grand Ville, which gave name to the collection: Granvelle.
It's really nice. And with the applied indexes, it has a lot of levels.
You have four levels in total in the dial.
How much is it?
2,200 euro
If you were to choose... Maybe it's like asking you to choose your favorite children, which is impossible. But if you were to choose three to five watches, what are the most important watches for Yema right now?
For Yema, I think it's the Superman because it's the most emblematic watches. But me, I love the Wristmaster because it was also one of my first creations. And I'm very proud of the Granvelle model.
And on the Navygraf Pearl you got a novel use of Mother-of-Pearl. I've never seen that on a bezel before.
It's very difficult to don the bezel. You need to do one first plate in stainless steel, then the mother-of-pearl, and then you have to protect the mop with a resin.
And what is the material here on this Superman dial?
It looks like the surface of the moon. It's titanium.
That's very nice. And what is the idea with the crown-locked bezel?
It is the original locked bezel of the Superman. Because before in 1960, the bezel was too easy to turn. So, Yema developed this as a security system for the French Navy.
How many pieces does Yema produce per year, more or less?
Between 30,000 and 40,000. The quartz is what makes the volume. This year we're going to sell totally 5,000 watches with manufacture calibers. My objective is to be at 8,000 in 2028. When I get to 8,000, I will stop the quartz and make only mechanical manufacture watches. Then I will not have the headache of quartz which is a lot of work in quality control but the margins are really small.
30,000–40,000 is an impressive number. Where are they sold?
Our biggest markets are France and USA. Then we have United Kingdom, Switzerland Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore.
And mainly online, you said before. Even though I know you grew up in watchmaking, and your family was in it for centuries – how did you get started?
I finished my student in 2015, and actually the company was not doing so well. At the same time, I did some few internships in the company, and I fell in love with Yema. So, I wanted to help the company to get better. I proposed my father to develop Yema with him, and he said, ‘okay, come’.
And what is for you the best thing with being in the watch industry?
I love that we fight against obsolescence.
I hear you. Is there any product with moving parts that would live as long as a watch of you service it and look after it?
I don't think so. I love this industry for that because I think that makes us the only industry to be truly ecologic.
Last question. Imagine you meet a guy in an elevator, and he's never heard about Yemen. So, you've got half a minute to tell him what it is. What do you tell him?
I will explain the story, and our most attractive thing is that we are a French manufacturer. What we do in France with French guys is unique.
Okay, so being a manufacture is the main story for you?
Yes. And then I propose him to drink a beer. Then I will have another 15 minutes to tell and show him everything else about Yema. If he's a gentleman, he will not refuse.
FAQ
What is Yema, and what role does it play in the French watchmaking revival?
Yema is a French watchmaker founded in Besançon in 1948, now a leading figure in France’s watchmaking resurgence, developing in-house manufacture calibers and sourcing components in Switzerland and France.
How much does the Yema tourbillon in the Superman collection cost?
Yema’s tourbillon in the Superman collection is priced at 10,000 euros, which CEO Christopher Bôle says is achievable by pricing the manufacture caliber correctly rather than through handmade decoration.
How much does the Yema Granvelle cost, and what inspired its design?
The Yema Granvelle costs 2,200 euros; its square shape with rounded edges and four-level dial draw inspiration from the Palais Grand Ville in Besançon, the town where Yema was founded.
How many watches does Yema produce per year?
Yema produces between 30,000 and 40,000 watches annually, mostly quartz models; this year it will sell 5,000 watches with manufacture calibers, a figure Christopher Bôle aims to raise to 8,000 by 2028.
