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The Real Time Show
Vice President of the Fondation Haute Horlogerie Pascal Ravessoud on Watch Culture
00:15:54
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Transcript17 lines
- [00:00]
Pascal Ravasut
Foreign.
- [00:07]
Judah Aloman Joseph
And welcome to another edition of the Real Time show. I'm your friendly neighborhood Judah Aloman Joseph, together with our friendly neighborhood watchmaker Rob Nunc. We're sitting here with a long, long time friend and dear friend, Pascal Ravasut, vice president of fhh. He's a co managing the Federation Auto Luxury and he is a watch nerd pour sang. He is promoting. His literal job is to promote the Metier des Art de l'l'auxerie. And you're doing a terrific job, if I may say so, Pascal. She says that we ping each other privately. I see you on all my socials around the world. So tell us, what are you doing these days? Because I see FHH everywhere. Events Academy. So update us please.
- [00:57]
Pascal Ravasut
Yeah. Hi everyone. Hi Rob. It's a pleasure to be here today. Yeah, actually many people say so and we're very happy about that. As you might know, Fantasien Autologie was created like 20 years ago, so we're celebrating the 20th anniversary this year. It was the organizer of the SIHH for a long time before the two entities split. You know, since 2023 there is a Watches and Wonders Geneva foundation organizing the Watches and Wonders show. And the FHH continues with its original mission of spreading the good word and trying to increase the knowledge and make people understand the value of the watches to the widest possible audience. That's basically what we do. And yes, I'm pretty happy to do that because myself I've been versed into watches when I was a teenager through the Swatch phenomenon and I was one of the first collectors before the collectors, before the Internet it was bit, I felt lonely, but now much less so. And so yeah, FHH since 2023, it's like the 2.0 version where together with my friend and colleague Aureli, we are trying to be as present as possible to explain to not only, but also to a new generation of watch aficionados what they should buy. How, what does it, why does it make sense? Why does a totally disconnected object, connected world makes sense? And what makes the value of everything that's inside, that's behind all DNA, the history, the craftsmanship and everything. So we have three areas of expertise. One that we call Watches and Culture. We have a pretty active, young oriented Instagram account called Watches and Culture where we have now 30k followers. So it's a pretty decent following and it's managed by a couple of people from our team that are really in the younger side of the collecting side and they're trying to bring more people aboard by speaking a little bit differently. So we want to have a more fun, a more relaxed approach. And that's probably needed because what we hear that about all the newcomers in the watch scene, the 18 to 30, 35 year olds that flowed massively in the last few years, they need to be spoken to a bit differently. They don't have the same codes as the old chaps and the very traditional approach of watchmaking. So we do that. So this is watches and culture, basically, Watchmaking for dummies. Everything you want to know, should know about watchmaking from a credible and non commercial source. You can get it from us through our website also hauteurlogerie.org which is really a reference site.
- [03:53]
Judah Aloman Joseph
So this is amazing. While we sit in the glass igloo and I'm listening to you, I waved at the godfather of watch collecting and culture, Goldberger. Look, standing there.
- [04:05]
Pascal Ravasut
He's here.
- [04:06]
Judah Aloman Joseph
And, and this is amazing. So for our dear listeners that don't know what you refer to with culture, I mean, us nerds in the community, we take it as granted. But what is it that you guys mean by that? What is that culture?
- [04:19]
Pascal Ravasut
I think it's a whole world, it's a small world by itself, where tradition meets innovation in a way that has no comparison in luxury environment. Because if you look at the mechanical watch movement, I mean, the heart of the mechanical movement is the same for more than 300 years though it has been perfected and innovations have come across and materials have changed and few iterations have come, but still the heart is still the same. I think the spirit is still the same. And around that the, the Watch Valley. So basically the Switzerland, around the Jura Arc, Geneva, Schaffhausen and some areas like that, they've developed a whole area. It's, it's really the Watch Valley. You can really compare it to the Silicon Valley where the environment is one and only. I mean, recreating those pockets of savoir faire that is very specific. There are actually hundreds of jobs that compose a watch that can go in any direction from technology, from material research, from watchmaking itself, micro mechanic, artistry, metedat, etc. It's unique. And so this culture is unique as well.
- [05:35]
Rob Nunc
You know, it's very interesting. You touch upon the savoir faire that is so essential to watchmaking and the diversity of skill sets that's needed to bring a watch to fruition. In the last, well, 10, 20 years maybe, there was this real push by certainly major brands to bring everything in house to be seen to be doing it all alone. And that became a calling card for quality or luxury or independence. But of course, what we are trying to communicate now is a very old reality in the watchmaking industry, that this is not something someone can do alone. Very few people, one or two masters in the history of watchmaking have been able to build a watch from start to finish. So many specialized trades. And although the assumption was over the last couple of decades that doing it alone was a greater thing, so many human stories were lost in that process because we weren't focused on the incredible complexity and the necessary collaboration. So breaking apart that system again, pulling back the curtain and showing people exactly how many fascinating trades there are that go into this is incredible. I mean, jewel making seems like a simple thing. Every watch has jewels, but very few people can do it. Well, creating a good sapphire crystal, not easy. A watchmaker never learns to do that at the bench. I know that. What is it for you that you enjoy so much personally, being able to show these things to the world in a new light?
- [07:08]
Pascal Ravasut
Actually, you know, a lot of people have this image of the old watchmaker with white blues in front of the snow, making everything by its own. And if you visit any kind of modern manufacturer, you already clearly realize it's not the case yet. Historically. I mean, the first watchmakers in the 15th, 16th century, they were doing everything by themselves, but it quickly spread and specialized due to the etablisseurs in the 18th century, and then this myth of the Horloger Payson. So, you know, the cold month of winter in the Jura Arc, where the peasants were actually out of work, and they actually take on some specialized job for the etabliceur so they can finish the watch. So this specialization of work existed already from the 18th century, yet since the globalization of luxury in the beginning of the 21st century, they wanted to make it again all verticalized. But it's an illusion, of course, because there are so many different skills needed and specific jobs that need to be perfected that you need a specialist to do it. Does it make sense to include it in your manufacturer? Usually not, because there is no financial reality to it. Because if maybe for one collection or one reference, you need that specific skill, you will never be able anyway to have 100% of the skills in house. That doesn't make any sense. And I think this is what makes. Also the reality of watchmaking today is this vast array, this network, this net of specificities and specific crafts. Some of them don't, don't have a school to be taught anymore. They are taught from the master to the pupil. This is crazy if you think about it. It's an immense skill network that probably doesn't exist elsewhere and needs to be maintained and needs to be talked about. Because for me, when I'm visiting any kind of workshop, be it in a manufacturer or a specific subcontractor, you see that these guys first are very skilled. Two, they are passionate and they form the whole magma of watchmaking that needs to be preserved.
- [09:26]
Rob Nunc
It's very interesting that you should say that because to take the example you were given there of an established manufacturer thinking, oh, maybe we can make this one component ourselves for this one specific watch that we want to make rather than outsourcing a professional. Reminds me of something Alon have been saying, Alan and I have been saying this week about an agency that we founded recently, 360watch agency. And one of our little taglines, which is very generic and very cliched, but also true, especially in this context, is if you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur. You know, you cannot make up for those years and years of experience that these, like you say, people that learn at the knees of craftspeople, not in schools, hand given skills from generations prior. It's an invaluable resource that has to be protected at all costs. And I think when it comes to the storytelling, the shift we're seeing now where we're now able to open the doors and say, yes, we work with these professionals, yes, this is their story, it humanizes the whole process and it builds the collaborative aspect of watchmaking, which feels more like a community now. It requires humility from brands, which is something that was lacking maybe in recent times, but now they're embracing that. They're not only finding all these new stories they can tell, but they're becoming more emotionally accessible to the audience who themselves are a community that drives watchmaking forward. So what do you do in your role in the fhh to access these communities around the globe and to excite them and to engage them with their skills.
- [10:48]
Pascal Ravasut
I think part of the job of DFHH is actually really to make people understand all this diversity, this human side of things, this, you know, the importance of the hand. Because everything has been industrialized one way or another, but still at the end the very skilled finishing are only be able to be done by hand. We try to engage with communities around the globe. We're starting this process because again we're were reformed two years ago. And so for example, we had an event three weeks ago in London in a series that we call A Talk with. And we had three female collectors that we had a speakeasy in downtown London, like a hidden place with 50, 60 people from the watch community. Some of them didn't attend a watch event before because it's, you know, it's very posh kind of things. Champagne, invited by brands, etc. In order to really break the mold and access the watchmaking through passion. And that is the passion that reunites everyone in the watch industry and in the watch collector scene. And so we had these three ladies that came from different backgrounds that explained how they went into watchmaking. It was truly inspiring and they had a very different story, but yet they connected through watching watch passion. And this is what we try to unveil is to have these people, the passionate people that have their story to tell and they exchange and they build up this watch community.
- [12:19]
Judah Aloman Joseph
It's actually very interesting because I'm very happy to hear this. Both Rob and I are volunteers to the Red Bar Network community. It's not an organization, it's volunteer based and it emphasizes independence. But it actually daunted on me when you just said that most of your guests have never attended these events because they're luckily a lot of them out there, but hardly any are objective. Could we say that you guys are basically doing these events to further the culture and the art of watchmaking, but it's basically a platform and a podium, but not with a hidden commercial agenda.
- [13:00]
Pascal Ravasut
No, we are 100% nonprofit foundation. We're basically very easy. We have funded by. We have around 40 partner brands that help us develop all the contents. We do, but it's a minor part of our revenue. Our revenue is mainly driven by our training programs and certification program and also the contents that we can provide to the events. For example, here at Watches and Wonders, we are doing all the auditorium program during the weekend. We don't appear, but we actually are doing and preparing all the content. We are active also at Geneva watch days in our game time, unique, et cetera, et cetera. So this is the kind of thing that we do on a more, let's say industry level thing. But these kind of small events like London, we're going to have a big one in New York in October to celebrate our 20th anniversary. But we bring final clients and consumers and we see that, you know, you see that the numbers of the watch industry exports, we sell less and less watches more and more expensive, but it's not selling to the younger generation. So now we, I think we really have an objective to take the new generation on board and make them understand what makes the beauty and the magic of watches.
- [14:17]
Rob Nunc
It is thrilling to hear you say that because, you know, we visited many events in recent years, months and years, and we've seen the same demographic present at these events and we know that there are watch fans that exist outside of this demographic, but they're maybe not being spoken to in the right way or given the opportunity or the comfort level that they need to attend one of these events, it can seem quite conservative and standoffish. So thank you for the work that you're doing. The good work. The missionaries of watchmaking. Spreading the good words.
- [14:47]
Pascal Ravasut
Right. Thank you.
- [14:48]
Judah Aloman Joseph
And for our daily that want to plug into that world or attend your events and or actually do a academy module. Where do they need to go to first place?
- [15:01]
Pascal Ravasut
Our website, hotelgerie.org you will find all our academy programs. You can please register to our newsletter. That's the best way to be in touch. Everything is free. Of course, not our training modules because we need to survive in this crazy world. Although we are non commercial, I mean we still need to function. And yeah, once you come to one of our events, you will understand the spirit. And really the spirit is about, you know, spreading the good word, spreading the passion and connect through the watches.