Ladies and gentlemen, how are you? It's Way here with the legendary KFA. How are you, sir?
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
0:09 ↗
Very well. Thank you, Way.
So I don't know, maybe I can start with something quite entertaining. We have basically enacted an honor system in the GPHG which amongst ourselves we call the KFS rule, right? So the KFS rule is basically this: I know in 2016 you won for the FB1 for Ferdinand Berthoud, and what happens is when you win the Aiguille d'Or you become a member of the jury next year, and that year your brand doesn't participate, understandably. But then of course no one had thought, hey, actually you have two brands, right? Because you have Chopard L.U.C as well. So you found yourself in the strange position to be at the table deciding on the Aiguille d'Or for 2017, and one of the watches that's in contention is the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike. One of my favorite, probably my favorite contemporary minute repeater, and with the most beautiful sound. So then what did you do when you were in this strange situation?
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
1:08 ↗
Well, I thought that it was time for me to retreat and basically leave everyone to the task of making a final decision, because I felt that I was not really in the position to... I could not possibly... although of course I wanted us to win, but I was not possibly in the position to influence that.
Indeed. Indeed. So I found that, and I remember Nick Foulkes, our dear friend and the former president of the jury, found that to be an incredibly elegant gesture. And so that's essentially what we've enacted, which is the KFS rule is basically if you've had anything to do with the watch, get up and leave. Yes. Right. You don't have to overexplain it or anything. Just be, ladies and gentlemen, no. Please enjoy your deliberation. Which is great. Now let's talk about Ferdinand Berthoud. We're now in the 11th year for Ferdinand Berthoud, if I'm not mistaken. And in 11 years, or just shortly over a decade, you have created one of the most hotly desired independent watch brands, which is an extraordinary and intoxicating synthesis between the highest level of authentic technical innovation, beautifully expressed by Néson, you know, which was the first timepiece using a really true split bimetallic balance wheel, right? But then you also COSC certified it and showed that it functioned, and combined with a superhuman level of finishing. And when you started this 11 years ago, you mentioned to me that not everyone understood it immediately. And then we cut to 11 years later, and now you have a waitlist that is almost a decade long. Yeah. Well, we're talking about, yeah, 2030, 2031. So, what changed during this period?
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
3:17 ↗
Well, I think over this period, watch collectors and everyone who loves watches started to understand the no-compromise philosophy that is behind Ferdinand Berthoud. And a non-compromise means that we will not, we cannot deliberately increase production because we would possibly not attain or not keep the same quality. And this is especially true when it comes to decoration of the movement, but not only. And then, you know, conceiving meaningful mechanisms, meaningful movements which reflect Ferdinand Berthoud's genius. It does take time, and from there to produce them, it's yet another story. And that's why I think we achieved as much as we could possibly do within the 10 years since we won the Aiguille d'Or at the GPHG in 2016.
Oh yeah, it's been exactly that. It's been 10 years exactly. And not forgetting the extraordinary invention of Néson de Montre 3.
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
4:52 ↗
Wow. Which, you know, really occupied a whole team of people at Chopard, and created an incredible community spirit within our companies. And we ended up with the NM3, which I'm proud to wear here.
That's spectacular. So, yeah, I think we can look back to a serious development, right? But also a wonderful team of work, because you know all this was only possible because we have some really great craftsmen who are passionate about what they're doing every day. May I see a watch if you don't mind?
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
5:54 ↗
Of course.
So maybe we can talk briefly about Néson de Montre 3, because I adore this project. Also, this is a watch that is in contention for the mechanical exception category at the GPHG this year, very deservingly so. Now what you see here is a completely handmade watch, and I know that you had to build first an atelier to, you know, for this dedication.
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
6:19 ↗
We first actually purchased machines which were, I would call, old-timers, and which we restored and then recommissioned. And mostly younger mechanics learned how to use them again, and all this was part of the project, right? You know, and this particular atelier now has grown because we are now producing the 10 NM3 pieces over the next four or five years, and there are new projects that will be added, and so we'll keep this tradition up. That was also part of the scheme, because we said the most important thing is to keep, you know, watchmaking traditions and craftsmanship alive, and this is really something we, I think, we achieved through the, what was it, five years of incredible project.
Yeah. But you know, you've also contributed in a huge way to knowledge, right? Because so if you come in closer, what you'll understand is, you know, you can see the architecture of the movement is that it's got a chain and fusee here, you can see the lever and the escape wheel here, but this balance wheel is a split bimetallic balance wheel, right? Which... and it's entirely handmade, which is entirely handmade and actually changes in terms of, it very minutely changes in terms of its shape, right, affecting its inertia as the hairspring goes through changes itself relative to the different temperatures and experiences. Right. Right. And no one knew how to do this. This was an art that was completely lost in terms of how to make a bimetallic balance wheel. And I remember members of the Time Foundation were giving you all kinds of suggestions. I think Van Halter even said you got to put the metals in a bucket, tie it to a string and spin it around underneath your attic. [laughter] Right.
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
8:33 ↗
Yeah. We tried lots of different...
So, how did you figure it out?
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
8:39 ↗
Well, you know, like in the old days, it was trial and error.
Karl-friedrich Scheufele
8:45 ↗
And as we went along, we learned a lot. And there's a story attached to most of the parts in this watch where, you know, we had to learn how to make them the old way. Incredible. You know, without any digital equipment, without any CNC machines, and this was really re-engineering, going rediscovering the trade.
Wow. Absolutely extraordinary. Now, I would say every one of the FB watches has made its own contribution. And I think what's so engaging about it, especially now that we have a generation of collectors who are deeply enamored with the golden age of watchmaking from the 18th century, you know, kind of this technical race between the English and the French to not only find the secret to creating marine chronometers, but then actually creating them at scale so they could outfit their navies. Um, you have in FB1 you've got a chain and fusee and you've got a massive tourbillon. In FB2 you've got a remontoir d'égalité with a dead seconds indicator. Do you also have a chain and fusee in there as well? Yes, if I'm not mistaken. FB3, well actually this is also kind of an FB as well. So you've got here the chain and fusee and the traditional, I would say the traditional FB layout.
Yes. And this reminiscent of marine chronometer, and also from a historical perspective, the split bimetallic balance was an essential part of marine chronometry, right, as was the cylindrical hairspring, as was remontoir d'égalité. So in FB3 we have the use of a cylindrical hairspring, which is such a wonderful thing to look at.
It's something you could watch forever. It's extraordinary. Talk to me about FB3.
