Pim KoeslagHe is perhaps one of the youngest technical directors in the Swiss watch industry, which is not surprising if we take into account that the brand itself, Frederique Constant, has been around for just over twenty years. Pim's first contact with Peter Stas, president and CEO of Frederique Constant, occurred in 2003, when at the age of 21 Pim was a watchmaking student in Amsterdam and on a study trip visited several manufactures in Geneva. Ten years later, Pim has not only become the technical director of the entire group (made up of Frederique Constant, Alpina and Ateliers deMonaco) but is responsible for conceiving and producing the manufacturing calibers that are taking the brand to a level never seen before, much less one that has no glorious past to recover after the famous quartz crisis.
He receives me at the FC headquarters in Plan les Ouates (Geneva), flanked by such well-known names as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin...
Special Watches:After meeting the Stas in 2003, how did you come to join the Company?
Pim Koeslag:At our first meeting (there were ten students on the visit) Peter challenged us with a question: were we capable of helping the brand develop its own caliber? Knowing that I was going to meet him, I had taken with me some proposals for Heart Beat, the model that had put them on the map. From there the “briefing” became clear: it was about moving the balance from twelve o'clock – where it appears in a standard eta caliber – to six o'clock. We achieved this move relatively easily and quickly, because Peter had very clear ideas about it and my proposals were in line.
RE: There is no doubt that it was fast, because at Baselworld 2004 the FC-910 was presented, the first Heart Beat caliber manufactured. But how do you explain that today, ten years later, they have fifteen manufacturing calibers?
PK: Well, actually it will be eighteen because we have a lot of things to present at Baselworld 2015 (smiles). Let's say that our secret is planning: all these calibers are based on four base calibers to which we have been adding modules and/or complications.
RE: In this line of forecast we have been told that the newHorological SmartwatchThe roadmap for the next five years has already been written.
PK: That's how it is. In fact, we have been with it for two years, and we have even registered the name, because we learned the hard lesson of not having registered the Heart Beat design and its consequences [copies appeared shortly after its presentation without FC being able to do anything to prevent it]. The circuit that integrates our smartwatch is prepared to incorporate a whole series of well-known applications, but also others that are currently in development.
RE: Let's go back to mechanical watches, your specialty. That secret called planning cannot be the only one that gives them so much agility when it comes to presenting functional models and calibers in such short times...
PK: True, there is another one: we design, develop and manufacture all prototypes under the same roof, this one, where we have everything from CAD equipment to CNC machines that allow us to go from the design table to the production table literally in minutes. Once the prototypes have been tested - at least three evolutions - we give the green light for series production.
RE: What production does Frederique Constant currently have?
PK: We are currently producing 150,000 watches per year, of which 25,000 are manufacturing calibers, 50,000 are fitted with mechanical ETA or Sellita and 60,000 are quartz with Ronda movement, always Swiss.
RE: But not all your watches are Swiss… What aboutAteliers deMonaco
PK: Ateliers deMonaco was my proposal to Peter Stas to position ourselves decisively in Fine Watchmaking, but it is also a laboratory where we can develop complications that over time can be applied in Frederique Constant watches. The headquarters are actually in Monaco and the watches have been assembled there (hence the legend “Made in Monaco”) although their components are produced here, in Switzerland. However, we are seriously considering bringing even the assembly to Switzerland because the Swiss Made seal is still very strong.
RE: Why this foray into Fine Watchmaking?
PK: Well, we are a very young brand if we compare ourselves with our neighbors here, in Plan les Ouates (from our window you can see the Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and other venerable factories) and in twenty years we have reached a position that some others took more than three times as long to achieve. That's because we thought in several directions simultaneously, and when we felt ready for Haute Horlogerie we simply did it: at Ateliers deMonaco we have developed a perpetual calendar with what we call EZ Adjust, which allows an extremely simple adjustment of the date by crown and pusher, but also a minute repeater or a tourbillon that we apply to Frederique Constant watches. Because a tourbillon is still complicated to produce! (laughs). All Ateliers deMonaco movements are finished by hand (the rotor is made by Benzinger), but even there you can see the FC philosophy: we decorate the parts that will be seen by the owner and leave undecorated the parts that will only be seen by the watchmaker who is going to do the maintenance or repair. This allows us, for example, to offer our Turini (manufactured perpetual calendar with silicon escapement in titanium case with optional DLC finish and limited to 88 pieces) for 28,000 Swiss francs: “Accessible Luxury”. On the other hand, we don't mind investing more in the case (composed of 33 parts) to be able to perform perfect polishing, or in the straps, because we know that it will be enjoyed.
RE:And the brandAlpine? How does it fit?
PK: This would be an ideal question for Peter to answer, but since he's traveling I'll explain it to you [At the time of this interview Peter and Aletta Stas had just left on a trip to San Diego and Tokyo respectively to present theHorological Smartwatch]: Frederque Constant was born with the desire to maintain a classic line of watches, what we colloquially call “dress watches”, and although sports watches are a more than interesting niche, it was decided not to create that line within the brand so as not to disorient a consumer who already has us positioned as classic watches. Instead, it was decided to wait for the opportunity to purchase a brand that already brought sports in its essence (what is called “DNA”). Alpina shares all the technical aspects with Frederique Constant - including the recent Horological Smartwatch - but expresses its own personality, even contributing its own history.
RE: Forecasts for the future?
PK: As I said before, we have long-term plans, but knowing Peter and Aletta, you can expect a surprise at any moment!
www.frederique-constant.com
www.ateliers-demonaco.com
www.alpina-watches.com
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