Jaquet Droz blooms to catch the hearts of women
Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1721, Pierre Jaquet Droz was a mechanical genius and a pioneer in the art of the Haute Horlogerie. His accomplishments were vast, but perhaps he is best known for his incredible automatons that have astounded the world of mechanics. Creator of the 240 year old clockwork doll that can write, The Writer Automaton is one of Jaquet Droz’s most renowned works
Today, the brand is still inspired by the creator’s dreams, his extraordinary horological masterpieces, his other exceptional automatons, which include the androids entitled, The Lady Musician and The Draughtsman. Operating in the Haute Horlogerie industry, Montres Jaquet Droz SA excels in the art of unique timepieces that give focus to both mechanisms and aesthetics. The brand has revived traditional art that was once disappearing and are keen to raise brand awareness around the globe.
Day and Night Magazine was the observant audience of Mr Marc Aellen, Vice President, Head of International Sales at Jaquet Droz, who kindly revealed news and his views about the brand’s progress in the market. One of the key points he expressed was the brand’s ability to create custom dial designs to meet its enthusiastic clients’ requirements. The brand’s character and refinement mark out a very special place for it in the world of prestige and luxury watchmaking, and currently the brand is enjoying around 220 points of sale around the globe.
How did the unpegging of the Swiss Franc affect the brand?
In general, the unpegging of the Swiss Franc has had a negative impact of the horology industry as most of the prestigious watches derive from Switzerland. There are some German brands and other European brands, but we remain primarily a niche country who specialise in quality movements. The result of this downturn led to prices being artificially adjusted in countries around the world – for example, countries which trade in Euros saw a 10% increase, and Russia had a colossal 50% price increase due to the drop in ruble. However Jaquet Droz is faring quiet well and it has not affected us as much as it may have affected other brands.
What has been the feedback like on the Geneva Edition Bird Repeater?
This is the fourth edition of the Bird Repeater and the feedback has been amazing. The movement and functions are the same as the previous editions, but only the design of the hand-engraved dial has changed to illustrate the city of Geneva. Jaquet Droz has decided to delay any more bird themed watches, so this will be the last watch for a while, but in the meantime we want to focus our energy on something a little different that features the same movement.
Minute repeater movements are extremely expensive to manufacture. How many watches would you have to sell to recover direct production costs?
We based the cost of this movement on around 60 – 70 watches, so you can imagine how expensive research and development costs are in the horology industry.
Jaquet Droz is known for incorporating art with automation. Does this formula work well in terms of sales?
Yes, it works very well as creating beautiful products is in the brand’s DNA since the eighteenth century when Jaquet Droz creations were known for its magnificent artwork using techniques which we still use to this day. Anyone looking to own a luxury timepiece will always take the exterior into consideration before making their purchase, so we endeavour to make the exterior of our watches as artistic as possible according to market tastes. When the brand was acquired and re-launched by the Swatch Group in the year 2000, the idea was to maintain the original values of Jaquet Droz, and one of those values was to honour art in the form of watch dials.
Where does the inspiration for materials used on the dial come from? What is your reaction when other larger brands copy your trend?
We are extremely proud when we are the first to introduce something to the market, and when larger, more popular brands imitate us, we know we did something right! When a brand releases a watch that has a similar dial to us, it pushes the need for us to be more inventive and inspire more original dials. Jaquet Droz has always prided itself for setting a higher bar than its competitors, we strive to find new materials or be more artistic with our creations using various stones, meteorites and other specifically requested materials by clients wanting bespoke timepieces. This service of personalisation allows the brand to stand apart and maintain exclusivity from other brands. To help clients experience a unique personalisation for their watches, we have published a catalogue that lets clients browse and gain ideas of the many options available for customisation; and if they wanted something specific, we could do that too.
What is the sales ratio between the watches for men and women?
Primarily we were a men’s brand, however over recent years we are focussing more on women as well, as they enjoy luxury accessories too. Currently, the ratio is around 70% to 30% in favour of the men as an average; however some of our watches are unisex such as the 39mm diameter cases, where in Asia the majority of men would purchase this but in Europe women would be the main purchasers.
What is Jaquet Droz doing to increase sales of women’s watches?
Generally women love to shop and the attraction of branded products that are also aesthetically pleasing is an enormous pull factor for them. For this reason we are working on enticing a larger female clientele to the brand, as previously we were not known as a feminine-friendly watchmaker. The way we are shifting the ratio of sales, is to introduce more feminine timepieces, such as the Lady 8, which comes in a range of styles and models to suit various tastes and was first unveiled two years ago. The Lady 8 Flower is a new release for 2015, the remarkable timepiece is sure to capture the hearts of many women as the mesmerising dial features a flower in the upper part of the figure 8 which opens and closes becoming an attractive and exclusive feature.
