Zurab Zazashvili

Niels Eggerding has been with Frederique Constant for almost ten years. He experienced the both time before and after the company’s takeover by the Japanese Citizen Group. As of 2018, he has been Managing Director of the Swiss watch brand, which was founded by Peter Stas and his wife Aletta in Hong Kong. Ever since…

When genius and madness come together in watchmaking, Greubel Forsey is the place to be. While some people feel satisfied once they have understood the fundamental principles of a mechanical three-hand watch, even the most complex complications cannot really challenge Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey any longer. Their company logo reads: "Art of Invention" –…

Our conversation with Chabi Nouri took place back in January – so before COVID-19 and all that followed with it. Nouri’s optimistic views on watchmaking and the sector itself are remarkable. She speaks with passion and enthusiasm about the rich heritage of the company she inherited three years ago, when she became CEO of Piaget.…

Jaquet Droz is all about emotions. Almost 300 years ago, Pierre Jaquet-Droz already knew how to excite people around the world, from France to China, with his snuff boxes, pocket watches and automata. Today, it's up to Christian Lattmann and his team to respectfully maintain the horology house’s heritage. However, it was Nicolas G. Hayek…

Audemars Piguet's company hybrid Porsche takes us from Geneva airport to our meeting with François-Henry Bennahmias in the Vallée de Joux. But not to a fancy restaurant – our lunch takes place at his office desk. Later, he will suddenly interrupt in the middle of the conversation because he has thought of a little game…

50 years ago, Zenith made watch history. On January 10th, 1969, it introduced the first chronograph with an automatic movement, in the form of the ‘El Primero’. It was a tough race between a few Swiss watch brands, and Zenith was only just ahead in the end. At that time, now-CEO of the traditional manufacture,…

A conversation with Maximilian Büsser is (at least in a metaphorical sense) like a rollercoaster. Our talk over lunch was a wild journey through the human soul, shaped by euphoria and joy, which suddenly headed free fall into deep compassion and sympathy. Maximilian Büsser, a once creative little boy, got lost to an industry in…

Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, is a pleasantly grounded, sovereign and refreshingly optimistic person – making him a person who is symbolic of the proud Glashütte-based manufacture he represents. For Schmid, there has never been a better time for watch enthusiasts than today, thanks to our increasingly digitalised world. Still, the thoughtful…

For almost 20 years, Angelo Bonati guided and shaped the Florentine brand Panerai. Since just over a year, however, there is a new man at the helm: Jean-Marc Pontroué, who has been with the Richemont group for almost 20 years now, having previously held the title of CEO at Roger Dubuis. During a visit to…

Watch restoration is one of the main pillars of Parmigiani Fleurier. With the experience of numerous restorations and 300 years of watchmaking under its belt, CEO Davide Traxler and his team aim to design enduring watch collections that withstand time. Although a mechanical watch is something rather masculine for Traxler, ladies watches make nearly 50…

If Christoph Grainger-Herr had to stereotype the average IWC customer, he might catch himself picking his own name. Not out of sheer vanity, but because the young CEO embodies and leads the brand with so much genuine dedication, and has been doing so for just over two years. The trained architect has been with the brand for over…

Claude Greisler is a determined man with a clear attitude and vision. Not least because of these reasons he managed, together with his business partner Serge Michel to make the brand Armin Strom a manufacture in only three years. Nearly all movement parts are produced in-house in Biel. Greisler is not only CEO and watchmaker…