Like most good ideas, luxury watch company HAUTLENCE was born out of frustration. HAUTLENCE's CEO, Renaud de Retz recalled the watch convention of Basel in 2001 as his boiling point, “We saw some brands announcing their novelties but they were only changing the colour of the strap or adding a diamond,” he said.
Like most good ideas, luxury watch company HAUTLENCE was born out of frustration. HAUTLENCE's CEO, Renaud de Retz recalled the watch convention of Basel in 2001 as his boiling point, “We saw some brands announcing their novelties but they were only changing the colour of the strap or adding a diamond,” he said. Fed up with the vacuum of innovation that plagued the watch industry, de Retz and his friend, COO, Guillaume Tetu, poured their aggravation into a series of sketches. “It started as a hobby,” said de Retz. “We began to do some drawings of what we would like to see in a watch. After two years we had all these on the table and we said, ‘Well, there is a link between these drawings and all of these movements. It could be a brand.'”
Neither of them being trained as a watchmaker, de Retz and Tetu took their ideas to various horologists, only to be turned away. “They told us to forget about it,” de Retz said. ‘It has to have two hands … it has to be centred … it's been like this for the past century,' he remembered the experts saying.
Thinking differentlyBut the young entrepreneurs were not disheartened. “If it were some famous watchmakers who were telling us this, it could be interesting for us to go that way,” said de Retz. “But we're not watchmakers, meaning we can think differently.” A single vision drove the process: “Our goal was to display time in a different way, without adding complexity,” he explained. In 2004, when HAUTLENCE debuted its first design, competitors were fascinated, but not threatened. “They told us, ‘well, it's nice, it's interesting.' They saw that it was a new concept and thought it would never come to the market. But six months later we arrived,” he recalled. De Retz even agreed with the primary complaint of his competitors: “They said, ‘you cannot read the hour very easily, you cannot read the minute very easily,' which is true,” he admitted. “You have to consider this model more as a toy than a watch – I must admit – quite an expensive toy, but when you have it on your wrist, people want to see it, they want to see the mechanism and the cinematic effect.”
Finding inspirationDe Retz and Tetu found new inspiration in an old piece of technology – locomotives. Their first watch, the “HL”, recreates the connecting rods that chug along the sides of steam trains. This industrial style is integrated with a jumping hour and retrograde minutes, which swing on the hour. HAUTLENCE also innovates in its transparency. The brand not only recognizes, but thanks the over 50 participants, including independent workshops, that manufacture the pieces of each watch. They call these producers the “HAUTLENCE College”.
De Retz comments that the brand does not incorporate the phrase “Swiss Made” in any of its pieces. “If you ask 10 to 15 people to define ‘Swiss Made,' you'll get 10 to 15 different answers,” he said. For him, “Swiss Made” must mean 100 % Swiss material and production.
“We don't have crocodiles, so the straps are imported,” he conceded. Constantly seeking to improve, de Retz acknowledges that about four percent of their watches return for repair – a figure many better known brands would be quite content with. “For me it's too much,” he said. Building confidenceDe Retz recognized that HAUTLENCE has a long way to go in building consumer awareness and hence confidence. “We want our customers to feel secure with the brand,” he said. “Some people told me, ‘Yeah, it's a nice product, but what about in three years, will you still be here?'” He recalled hearing that when HAUTLENCE debuted in Basel, it was one of fourteen new brands. Today, only four of those companies remain.
Understanding that buyers might be hesitant, HAUTLENCE offered a three-year warranty on all its pieces from its outset. Until recently, that time span was greater than the life of the company itself! Despite his obsession with the new, de Retz has a reverence for tradition, expressed by his love for Neuchâtel. “I'm quite fed up with the Geneva seal,” he said. “Here in Neuchâtel you have a real watch history. I don't know why it was lost.” Even the brand name pays homage to its surroundings. It is an anagram of Neuchâtel. Like the company itself, its name reassembles the elements of the old in a new way. In 2006, HAUTLENCE made 250 watches. This past year, they introduced their second line, the “HLS”, which has a similar movement to the “HL”, but offers a sleeker style.
But when it comes to innovation, de Retz says they are far from finished. The company is currently constructing another entirely new form of watch movement that de Retz is sure will solidify HAUTLENCE's status, even among the early doubters. “They thought we were too young, that our watch was just a concept – but we're still here,” he laughs contentedly.For more information visit HAUTLENCE's website at www.HAUTLENCE.com.Swiss Style – Neuchâtel Special - by John Béguin and Evan Dec
Neither of them being trained as a watchmaker, de Retz and Tetu took their ideas to various horologists, only to be turned away. “They told us to forget about it,” de Retz said. ‘It has to have two hands … it has to be centred … it's been like this for the past century,' he remembered the experts saying.
|
|
De Retz comments that the brand does not incorporate the phrase “Swiss Made” in any of its pieces. “If you ask 10 to 15 people to define ‘Swiss Made,' you'll get 10 to 15 different answers,” he said. For him, “Swiss Made” must mean 100 % Swiss material and production.
“We don't have crocodiles, so the straps are imported,” he conceded. Constantly seeking to improve, de Retz acknowledges that about four percent of their watches return for repair – a figure many better known brands would be quite content with. “For me it's too much,” he said. Building confidenceDe Retz recognized that HAUTLENCE has a long way to go in building consumer awareness and hence confidence. “We want our customers to feel secure with the brand,” he said. “Some people told me, ‘Yeah, it's a nice product, but what about in three years, will you still be here?'” He recalled hearing that when HAUTLENCE debuted in Basel, it was one of fourteen new brands. Today, only four of those companies remain.
Understanding that buyers might be hesitant, HAUTLENCE offered a three-year warranty on all its pieces from its outset. Until recently, that time span was greater than the life of the company itself! Despite his obsession with the new, de Retz has a reverence for tradition, expressed by his love for Neuchâtel. “I'm quite fed up with the Geneva seal,” he said. “Here in Neuchâtel you have a real watch history. I don't know why it was lost.” Even the brand name pays homage to its surroundings. It is an anagram of Neuchâtel. Like the company itself, its name reassembles the elements of the old in a new way. In 2006, HAUTLENCE made 250 watches. This past year, they introduced their second line, the “HLS”, which has a similar movement to the “HL”, but offers a sleeker style.
But when it comes to innovation, de Retz says they are far from finished. The company is currently constructing another entirely new form of watch movement that de Retz is sure will solidify HAUTLENCE's status, even among the early doubters. “They thought we were too young, that our watch was just a concept – but we're still here,” he laughs contentedly.For more information visit HAUTLENCE's website at www.HAUTLENCE.com.Swiss Style – Neuchâtel Special - by John Béguin and Evan Dec
Marque
