The first watchmaker to offer timepieces 100% manufactured in Switzerland and traceable, Le Rhöne timepieces are stunning eye candy that are also horological masterpieces. We sat down with Loïc Florentin, Business Owner and Co-Founder of Le Rhöne, to understand the marque’s love of Switzerland and its mastery of watchmaking
You founded the brand Le Rhone in 2013; why did you choose the name Le Rhone?
There are many reasons for the name. When I started the brand, I was with Timo Rajakoski my best friend from our teenage years in Venezuela. He had his offices next to the Rhone river. We had been thinking of many names; I wanted something that represented Geneva as a whole. I was planning to create something by working only with external people; the idea has its advantages and disadvantages, but I was thinking only of the advantages.
Who do you mean by ‘external people’?
I mean all the best artisans of Switzerland – watchmakers and so on. Le Rhone is a watch that is 100% made in Switzerland. When I say 100% made in Switzerland, I mean literally everything. Even the sapphire is melted in Switzerland; the bracelets are made in the ateliers of Multicuirs in Geneva. I did not plan it that way, but everything is made in the French part of Switzerland.
Your website states that Le Rhone is the first brand to offer watches 100% Swiss-made; is that correct?
Le Rhone is the first Swiss brand that provides a certification of being 100% made in Switzerland. Our website has a section titled “Traceability” and if you click on that, it takes you to a page that shows all our watches. You can click on any watch, and it will show you details of who made which part of the watch and where. The main idea was that I wanted it to be all-Swiss; what is interesting about all these artisans is that the story of Swiss watchmaking began when John Calvin arrived in Geneva 500 years ago.
His preaching against ostentation meant that all the big jewellers who created high jewellery for the royalty could not make them anymore, as the Calvinist Protestants no longer wanted them. The jewellers then settled down in Geneva next to the river Rhone and used its energy to create their tools; they then turned their goldsmithing and jewellery making skills to creating watches. They were utilising the best of each part of Switzerland to create those watches. Similar to our brand name, our logo also comes from the same idea. The stylised R also represents the watermills that powered this industry initially. I too live near the Rhone; the brand name was in honour of all of these factors. The two dots (umlaut) above the ‘o’ in Rhone is for the way my name is spelt – Loïc Florentin – and to honour my friend and our friendship that has spanned more than 30 years.
How did the decision to create a watchmaking brand come about, as that was actually a difficult time for brands?
Many of my friends thought I was crazy to do so; but actually, there is never a good time to do it. If I look back over the past 11 years – since before we started and now – there is always something. Sometimes, it is because other brands are doing too well so you should not start a new brand. Other times, it is because the economy is not good, and so you should not. At that time, I was working for LVMH and the one thing that bothered me greatly was the use of the label Swiss Made, used by the whole industry.
I am not talking about the collector; this is 95% of consumers around the world. When we tell them our watch is Swiss, they respond, ‘yes, mine is also Swiss’, but we know that the case and everything inside is done in China. You cannot say anything to them because they have paid that money for a Swiss make. We are also losing all that craftsmanship as most companies are keen on cost-cutting, saving and making more money for their investors and shareholders. This means that they have pushed out the real craftsman and the artisan and today it is highly difficult to find skilled craftsmen. I am interested in creating something for the future of the watchmaking industry in Switzerland – this is a big part of our watchmaking journey, the name of the brand, traceability on our website.
It is sad that all these gifted artisans are made to sign non-disclosure agreements with the big brands promising to never say that they create masterpieces for them. On the contrary, they should be put on a pedestal because they are the ones actually creating the pieces. We, the brands, are just creating the designs.
