Ghost in the Machine

Or what could have been with JEANRICHARD.
As much as I'd like to provide you, gentle reader, with an active link to an actual website, it would appear that the Sleeping Beauty that is JEANRICHARD might, in fact, have slipped away in the night. Or at least sometime in 2016 as that is the last update from their official Facebook page.

This is a shame, a waste and a tragedy. And no, I'm not being melodramatic. JEANRICHARD circa 2013 had real potential, and was starting to move the needle. And with a little more discipline, a little less cockiness, and a few less bone-headed celebrity partnerships they might still be here among the living. My hope is that JEANRICHARD is waiting on a daybed somewhere, surrounded by 7 dwarves awaiting Prince Charming to come along and rescue it. Because hand to God, truth to power - Patrick Pruniaux, this is not only a brand worth saving, it is one that could actually help pull Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin out of their collective funks. But only if you're ready to either give it a kiss and wake it up, or sell it to someone ready, willing and able to do something with it.

I absolutely believed in JR, so much so that this one was mine for a year or so -

Apologies for the photo quality, this is back when I was taking photos with a Kodak disposable camera and picking up the prints at the Photomat -

Shamelessly borrowed from the past...

So here's hoping that the big swinging dicks in La Chaux-de-Fonds can find a Prince Charming most Rikki-Tik. Here's a summer re-heat on the topic -

What If? JEANRICHARD

Would you buy this watch?  I know I sure would, and for approximately 21 months, most of the watch world would have too.

Courtesy of JEANRICHARD

My personal obsession with both Girard-Perregaux and in this particular case, JEANRICHARD, borders on the unhealthy.  In 2013 JEANRICHARD reemerged from a long, somewhat drunken slumber, born again in the form of a modular casing system that not only allowed for a consistent look across three different families (Terrascope, Aquascope and Aeroscope), it also allowed for easier production and manufacture owing to a standard "chassis".

I was excited.  Hell, most of the watch world was excited.  The timing of the release was, seemingly, cursed as Tudor returned to the US market the very same year.  But curious to relate?  JEAN RICHARD had a very successful debut as GP had decided to come back to BaselWorld, and that first year they enjoyed a fair bit of success.  But post BaselWorld, their marketing and PR folks (both in-house, and the US PR firm that they hired) started making some decidedly dubious choices about how to promote the brand.  They literally walked a "high wire" with Nik Wallenda, rugby players, a Master Chef winner (Luca Manfe), and then grasped for the brass ring with their partnership with Arsenal.  In a PR/publicity sense their eyes were bigger than their wallets.  What started out as a very sound, very rational product offering ran off the rails, and in less than 2 years' time, jumped the shark.  

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide infoweb

I got an early peek at the new collection in January of 2013, later that year we all got to see everything at BaselWorld.  And that was a curious experience for myself and several other journalists covering the story.  In that first year, it was challenging for JEANRICHARD to get the big dogs to pay attention.  Many of the established outlets poo-poo'd them.  For myself and others covering it, we thought it was something interesting, something cool that had very real potential.  And for us it was great because we had access to review product, we got asked to lunch when the US brand manager was in town, emails actually got answered.  

And then there was a shift.  Suddenly the bigger outlets were starting to cover them, and those of us "early adopters" were, essentially, jettisoned from the press list, forced to read the news on other outlets.  But this went further.  Because what had started out as a charming campaign, referring to actual watches, then shifted to a focus on partners, co-branded watches, and the amount of SKUs multiplied at the rate of the cooties in that movie Contagion.

The inevitable happened, in order to make sales numbers, sales managers started looking the other way as the prices were slashed.  It didn't help that the shot-callers were selling directly to trans-shippers and grey market outlets.  You couldn't find a JEANRICHARD at full price, because they were all deeply discounted.  Keep in mind, this all happened in approximately a 2 year period.  From hero to zero.  Their first year back at BaselWorld, they had an equal sized hall to GP.  Year 2, that was halved.  Year 3, there was one room that looked as if the junk drawer of a watch repair shop had exploded, with a very harried PR person nearly in tears trying to present watches in a setting that was not dissimilar to a Walmart following the Thanksgiving Day sale.

Brand managers left for pastures greener, retail partners opted to cut bait, and JEANRICHARD was put into a "Sleeping Beauty", where it slumbers still.  Their last Facebook post was in February, THREE YEARS AGO, and there is no other apparent "proof of life".

But, and it's a big but -

there is one guy out there with the talent, experience, and let's just call it like it is - COMMON SENSE to bring JEANRICHARD back from its deep sleep.   The core collection of three families is good.  People wanted it, they will want it again.  But it will take someone who can park their ego at the door.  A sort of "elite commando" team of watch dogs who can roll up their sleeves, and focus on making and selling watches, not on photo opportunities, friends of the brand and velvet ropes.  It can be done, but it will take some outside of the watch-box thinking. 

Focus on watches, communicate consistently and evenly, punch your weight.

Kering, if you're reading this, I know the guy to take this on, and I won't even charge you a finder's fee.

Why the Watch World Needs Stefano Macaluso

Regular readers will know that Girard-Perregaux has long been a personal favorite.  But not unlike the awkward kid with a crush on the head cheer-leader, that love was not always reciprocated ; )

I visited the GP HQ on one occasion some years ago and it left a lasting impression.  And if ghosts do exist, and I mean that in the absolutely most positive way, the ghost of Luigi Macaluso most definitely frequented the halls of the buildings in La-chaux-de-fonds.  If a corporate office could be said to be a romantic place?  Well GP was the watch fan's equivalent of Paris in Spring.

Curious to relate, I only recently met (at least face to face) another key person from Girard-Perregaux, Stefano Macaluso, this past March when he participated in the Henki Time podcast.  What was striking to me in that conversation was that although he was no longer with Girard-Perregaux (at least insofar as the daily operations although I believe that his family still holds a stake in the brand), was what I can only call a romantic notion about Girard-Perregaux.  And thank God for that.

In an age where watch brands are, in effect, losing their collective shit about what to do next, throwing money at influencers, slashing their advertising budgets with traditional media and dumping their over production wholesale into the grey market, here was a quiet, contemplative man speaking thoughtfully about the family business.  Other watch executives leave (or get asked to leave) a position and they take off on booze and drugged fueled jags.  Mr. Macaluso?  He grabs his bicycle and his sketch book and travels the world, documenting his impressions, and sharing them via instagram and facebook.  Many of us locked in our jobs had the opportunity to travel vicariously through him this past summer.  I guess my point here is that he is something outside of the mold of what is typical in the watch business.  

Whether it is a G-Shock you were given as a 10 year old, or your father's watch that you inherited when he passed on, watches do more than measure the time of our days, they mark the times of our lives.  And it is hard not to be romantic about that.

Now I am 51, no longer a young man by any stretch of the imagination, but I still feel those stirrings in that place where my heart (alleged by some not to exist) resides when it comes to some things, and Girard-Perregaux is one of them.  In all honesty?  We don't need more celebrity ambassadors, more watches made from "unobtainium", more limited-edition-partner watches with "watch news" (excuse me while I die laughing) outlets.  We need more artists, more poets, more dreamers.  The watch world needs people like Stefano Macaluso to remind us of the value of beauty, of thinking, of listening and of dreaming.

For now, something simple from GP to inspire.  Not too much, not too little, but to quote that other great commentator on watches, Goldilocks:

"This one is just right."

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

On the shoulders of giants

So I had set out to start a brief review of the wonderful Girard-Perregaux book that 
I received for my birthday this past Sunday.   I set out with really great intentions, 
I was going to divide it up into sections of 5 - 10 pages, reporting on the book as a
whole over the course of several days.  And opening up the book I was stuck.
There looking back at me was Luigi Macaluso.


Today it seems easy - you're in the right place at the right time - you buy a dead or 
nearly dead company, then sit back and wait for the magic to happen.  Yeah, right... 


It is easy for some of us to forget that there was a time when mechanical watches were dead.  Quartz was king, and there were a handful of guys who saw that the future was  irrevocably linked in the past.  People who in many ways, literally staked their lives (or at least their livelihoods) on the insane notion that mechanical watches would return.  Think about it - you're successful, comfortable, and yet you get this idea in your head that, in fact,  it is everyone else who is wrong - and maybe, just maybe - you are right.  What sort of person does this remind you of?

As I have heard said once before - there are three types of people:
The person who makes things happen, the person who sees things happen, and the person who wonders what just happened.


In a time where it would have been easy for him to stick to the familiar path, he took up the challenge to move from his native Italy and in the process he created one of the most dynamic watch manufacturers on the face of the earth.


Now to be fair, I know that we are talking about watches.  We are not talking about curing cancer, teaching school, or feeding the poor.  But think about the things that we love - things that are beautiful, captivating, magical.  Beauty, poetry, magic - in many ways, these are the things that we unwittingly live for.


To be sure, there are other watch companies, other entrepreneurs, other ateliers waiting in the wings - but I for one am grateful that Girard-Perregaux is still here - better than ever.

And I know that for all who follow the Macalusos (to paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton) 
if they see farther, it will be because they stood on the shoulders of giants.

A Few Minutes with Stefano Macaluso

James Henderson - What was your first watch, was it a gift?
Is there a story behind it?


Stefano Macaluso - It was a Casio ‘Star Wars’ watch with the
Imperial march, Darth Vader, droids… I was 6 years old.



JH -  As with your brother, you were in many ways born into
"the family business", is it ever difficult to separate Girard-Perregaux
from the Macaluso family?



SM - Since the Haute Horlogerie renaissance begain some 20 years ago, Girard-Perregaux has become woven into our family's culture, so it is quite difficult to separate the two.



JH - When you were a boy, what did you want to be "when you grew up"?

SM - I wanted to be a car designer.



JH - Where did you go to school, what did you study?

SM - I studied architecture in my hometown of Torino, Italy.



JH -  Did you ever consider doing something else for a living?
SM - I would have also loved to be involved in industrial design.



JH - And because I asked Massimo, I have to ask you -
who was/is your favorite to wear the black and white?

SM -It depends on the year or the situation.


JH - You and your brother Massimo are now by tragic necessity
at the helm of the Sowind group. How are things progressing for 2011?

SM - It is, for certain, a challenging time for us, but globally the business is progressing well.



JH - Will there be more Girard-Perregaux boutiques coming?

SM - We are continually studying several options round the world.



JH - I know that it might be hard to choose, but is there a favorite GP or JR model for you?

SM - I particularly like the design of the GP Sea Hawk as well as the JR Highlands.



JH - Who else out there is making watches that interest you?

SM - Most of our competitors produce iconic watches I like.
To give you a name, I would say Lange & Söhne for the extreme
quality of finishing and design of their movements.



JH - If you weren't doing this, what do you think you might be doing?

SM - Again, I would have also loved to be involved in industrial design.




JH - What is a typical "day in the life" of Stefano Macaluso?

SM - It seems that lately I have two kinds of "typical days" -
The first is a 12-hour work in our Manufacture of La Chaux-de-Fonds in
Switzerland.   The second would be a 12-hour flight to somewhere on the
other side of the globe.



JH -  What do you like to do in your down time?

SM - I like to explore the world, either by traveling or through
books and movies.  I also enjoy outdoor sports.



JH - You and your brother represent, in many ways, a changing
of the guard. Needless to say, with the nature of watch companies
being family owned, there will be more second and third generations
taking the reins of their companies. What advice to you have for those who
take over the family firm?



SM - My advice would be to keep an intellectual coherence with
the brand but also to interpret and maintain the heritage with the spirit of
your generation.

In Memoriam - Luigi "Gino" Macaluso

I am sad to share with those of you who had not already heard that Luigi "Gino" Macaluso passed away unexpectedly yesterday.

Mr. Macaluso was the man behind the revitilization of Girard Perregaux taking over in 1992, and the founder of (Daniel) Jean Richard.

A former rally car driver, and architect, Mr. Macaluso was one of the young stars to help revive the fortunes of the flagging Swiss watch industry in the 80s and early 90s working with firms such as Omega and Tissot.