Welcome to the new article series of WorldTempus and GMT, presenting watchmaking enthusiasts who bring their passion to life through video and photography. The first to feature: two young Genevans. You’ll likely find Alexis and Jonas Mouret frequenting the old town of Geneva, at the open-air tables of La Clémence, for example, a long-established and beloved Geneva institution favoured for after-work drinks. It was at another Swiss institution that they were asked to capture seven exceptional watches: Bongénie, an upscale retail store with five floors of luxury shopping.
Our in-house team worked together with the WatchArch brothers to scout the perfect location for the photo shoot. Factors under consideration for the final location included the possibility to maintain a high level of privacy and discretion, since a number of the watches were under Watches And Wonders embargo at the time.
Watch What?
The name WatchArch, used on their YouTube channel and their Instagram account, symbolises the connection between their passions, that of watches for Jonas and that of photography for Alexis. It also evokes the link between them and the community that follows them. According to the two brothers, who say they are very complementary and who decided to unite their skills around the same project, "You have to go through several projects in your life before you find the one that works.”
At the end of their studies, they created an Instagram account featuring their watch photos, and then a YouTube channel to be able to talk about them. "This was good timing because Alexis wanted to do more video," Jonas says, citing Alexis’s background in graphic design. Alexis is usually the one behind the camera and plays the role of art director in their content creation, while Jonas focuses more on storytelling, social media management and community animation.
Which brands would the WatchArch brothers like to do a photo or video shoot for one day? They list a range of brands, from niche haute horlogerie to household names — F.P. Journe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Laurent Ferrier, Naoya Hida & Co., Omega, Tudor or Vacheron Constantin. Their tastes are very classic: Alexis dreams of one day being able to afford a Patek Philippe Calatrava with the iconic sector dial (such as the ref. 5296), the Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-rotor or the Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 by Vacheron Constantin. Jonas overlaps with Alexis in his choice of the Cornes de Vache, but otherwise his Grail watches are the Chronomètre Souverain by F.P. Journe, the Odysseus by A. Lange & Söhne or the collector’s favourite Patek Philippe World Time ref. 5130R. Good news for these age-old brands and independent designers, a new generation of customers continues to revere them. By the way, the Odysseus is featured in our shoot.
