RJ’s new twist
Haute horlogerie brand RJ has been reinventing itself over the past year in a number of ways. The marque has unveiled its novelties for the year, which include the ARRAW 6919 and ARRAW Star Twist, and more importantly, its own in-house movement. We caught up with Marco Tedeschi, CEO of RJ Watches, on the side lines of Baselworld to find out its latest news and offerings…
Can you tell us about RJ’s latest creation, ARRAW 6919?
ARRAW 6919 is a very important project for RJ, as it is the first DNA product within the ARRAW line, our new core collection, and also because it is the first manufacture movement for the brand. It is a big challenge to create a movement in six months. We had to create something that is impactful, is new and at the same time very simple – all of these are things that are very difficult to accomplish in a movement. So, we created a 360° Moon Phase that we patented, and after our SIHH launch, we have sold out two of our three products that we have made in titanium.
Why make an in-house movement, which is a massive investment for the brand?
It is very important for us to have an in-house movement because we need to master our creativity. As a brand, we are not willing to produce a huge quantity, we need to be able to produce small numbers at a reasonable cost. To create small number of pieces is key for us; it does not make sense to produce such special watches in thousands.
As you commented, it is expensive, but we decided to develop another business model. At 5 o’clock when production of RJ closes, another department opens then. We are sub-contracting for other industries, and for others in the watch industry as well, by producing components for orders. This allows us to pay for production of RJ products. Basically, during the night and the weekends, we are producing for others and this allows us to finance RJ products. This enables us to manufacture at low costs.
What was the reaction when you launched the Star Twist, which was a well-hidden secret till then?
People were surprised because they did not expect RJ to come up with a ladies’ watch, but it is very important for us to develop this market as well because it is half of the population today. Personally, I love developing watches for women because there are many more ways for you to express your creativity by creating watches for women. The idea was to have two unique concepts within the same watch – one being the hand painting on the mother-of-pearl dial to give the effect of a deep sky object that gives depth to the dial, and the other that is most easy to see, the spinning bezel. I wanted to have an interaction between the watch and the wrist and that is why we created the spinning bezel.
When are these watches going to be in the market?
We are going to start delivering Star Twist in May and the 6919 in June.
How hard is to work with Warner Bros and DC Entertainment to make watches for certain characters from their comic universes?
It is actually fascinating because in terms of inspiration, these universes are huge sources of inspiration. We are lucky because we are very small scale and yet are able to partner with such big names. We recently met with them to debrief about our previous collaboration and we are now trying to find new ways of collaborating in the future and extend what we are doing with the watches to a bigger experience for our customer.
What are the reasons for choosing the Joker and Two-Face as the characters that were released last year?
There are two different reasons; we chose the Joker as he is the most iconic villain. Two-Face was more of a design decision as we decided to release a watch that is half-skeleton, half-plain, so we could design a watch that has a half face with laser burns and the other half that is regular.
Can we expect any other collaborations within the year?
Yes, we are working on new collaborations with both Marvel and DC; these are in the process and you can expect them by the end of this year.
How hands-on are DC and Marvel in terms of the design of the watch?
They are not really very involved in the design; the main challenge for us is to respect the spirit of the character, and the spirit of the creator of the character. They guide us to ensure that we are not damaging the image of the character by taking wrong decisions in term of design. The amazing thing about this collaboration is that they are giving us total freedom with reference to the creativity and we are working with no restrictions, which is unheard of and amazing for the designer.
Which is the strongest market now for RJ?
Our three main markets are Japan, Middle East and Mexico; we are now developing the United States. We just opened a subsidiary in Miami two days ago. The US is not an easy market to get into, but I believe that RJ is really a brand made for the US as it is a market where entertainment and comics are very strong. Also, with our Apollo 11 watch, we are a brand that is talking to the American customer. Additionally, around 20 per cent of the traffic to our website is from the US, and the sales volume in the US for pre-owned watches of the brand is very big.
Will RJ continue to make special editions for El Dia de los Muertos in Mexico?
We were actually one of the first brands to create watches for El Dia de los Muertos and other such similar feasts. We are not going to continue with similar designs; we are now working on a new concept that we shall unveil in Mexico in October this year.
