As the protagonist of Into the Wild concluded after spending three months alone in Alaska: “Happiness is only real when shared.” What if the same were true of interests, and in particular, a fascination for fine watchmaking? You won’t hear any objections from the members of the Fine Watch Club. After several months of enforced hiatus due to the public health situation, the watch enthusiasts of WorldTempus and GMT Magazine’s watch club have finally been able to meet up again. Beginning this autumn, they once again had the opportunity to share their passion for fine watchmaking, with a programme designed by Jean-Christophe Teigner, the club’s dynamic new Secretary General.
The power of networking
Looking behind the scenes at watch manufactures, taking part in prestigious events, discovering new launches before they’re released to the public, talking to some of the movers and shakers of contemporary watchmaking, or gaining access to limited editions designed in collaboration with watchmakers – these are generally out of reach of anyone who is not part of that world. But the Fine Watch Club can open doors. As the club’s founder, Brice Lechevalier, explains: “The goal of the club is to open up the world of watchmaking to enthusiasts from all over the world, thanks to the network we have built up over 20 years based in Geneva, the cradle of watchmaking. By joining the club, members enjoy benefits they would struggle to access without our network. They can grow closer to brands whose values they share, and with which we are in daily contact through our activities with WorldTempus and GMT.”
A series of events
Alongside the regular happy hours organised in the Fine Watch Club’s lounge in Geneva, where guests “talk about watches, bond over a shared passion, discuss savoir-faire, design, technology, watch industry news and the latest launches,” as Jean-Christophe Teigner notes, the rate of meetups accelerated significantly over the autumn. Club members enjoyed exclusive invitations to a number of events, including the GPHG’s 20th anniversary exhibition, WorldTempus’s 20th anniversary celebration in Geneva, a guided visit of Dubai Watch Week, the winners’ exhibition of the 2021 GPHG at the Chronext Lounge in Paris, and a private visit to the Jaeger-LeCoultre exhibition, also in Paris.
The 2022 programme looks set to be equally rich, incorporating visits to watch manufactures, hands-on watch movement workshops and guided museum visits, as well as the possibility to purchase new limited series designed in collaboration with the prestigious watch brands that are the club’s partners. Building on the legacy of the limited series already created in association with Bulgari, Zenith, Frédérique Constant, Maurice Lacroix and Alpina, further models will be unveiled in 2022, reserved exclusively for members of the Fine Watch Club.
