Twenty-five years in the business and the same fire in his belly. Yvan Arpa plays by certain cardinal rules: generosity, fidelity, creativity and an irresistible desire to lead the market into unknown terrain.
This is no easy task, given that the Swiss watch market is designed not for change but to preserve what already exists. Watchmaking lives off three hands and a steel case. Whether in volume or value, the rest is marginal.
This “rest” is where you’ll find Yvan Arpa. His brand, ArtyA, remains fiercely independent and self-financed. It goes its own way. It isn’t simple: disruptive creations that challenge the status quo, 50 ideas a minute, a boss who sticks to his principles and values. ArtyA is a high-speed train: you can get onboard or you can stay on the platform, but there will be no stopping along the way.
“We’re on the map”
Even so… the Yvan Arpa at Geneva Watch Days cuts a more tranquil figure. Like his brand? “Yes, which has always been part of the strategy. We were a provocative brand for the first ten years. That’s how we emerged and it suited me, too. Now the brand is on the map. We have 80 points of sale, ten established collections, partners we can rely on [Télôs Watch] and strong growth in most of our markets.”
The watches unveiled at Geneva Watch Days make no secret of this maturity, in particular the Purity tourbillon, one of the standout pieces. From a “typically ArtyA” 46mm diameter, it has shed a full seven millimetres to reach 39mm.
The Purity, with is stripped-back architecture, puts sapphire centre-stage. It’s a material that has always had Arpa’s full attention. In fact he’s at Geneva Watch Days with “Chameleon” versions of his watches: translucent sapphire crystal that changes colour depending on the angle at which light hits it. “Around a dozen brands are working on this process, hoping to reproduce it,” he says.
Repeaters and divers
Complications-wise, the ArtyA minute repeater is back in the spotlight with its facetted case, three gongs and dual-axis gyroscopic tourbillon. This grande complication is an opportunity for Yvan Arpa to insist on the significant role played by the late Pierre Favre (MHC) in the creation of this exceptional timepiece and, more widely, the development of complication watchmaking for over 40 years.
In another big reveal, the brand presents its first authentic dive watch, in the Son of Sea collection. After inaugural editions limited to nine pieces, it’s slated to return in runs of 99 pieces each, with a new movement and at a lower price point, “something we’re able to do thanks to the first series, which have practically sold out,” says Arpa, who of course tested the watch himself in real-life conditions.
