“Our brand was established back in 1902 in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss Jura region, which is the cradle of the big horologists and the watchmaking industry,” says Director André Blättler. “Many renowned labels come from here. When our company was taken over by Raffaello Radicchi, the largest property promoter in the canton Neuchâtel, the strategic business focus was shifted to manufacturing. Now, we are a true watch manufacturer. We carry out the whole development and creation process from A to Z and the entire production. Mr. Radicchi gave the business new impulses to develop new timepieces. Now, we are a real watchmaker, developing and producing watches from A to Z!”
Schwarz Etienne offers a manual mechanical movement MSE and an automatic mechanical movement ASE. Both movements are 100% “made by Schwarz Etienne” and consist of 230 components. MSE has a twin barrel while ASE consists of a shifted micro-rotor. Apart from that, everything else is similar.
“This concept is very smart and significantly reduces the costs,” explains the director. “It is patented, and all our collections will be based on these two movements.The functionalities such as power reserve or GMT are integrated into the movements.”
Primarily focusing on men’s watches, all watches boast a contemporary and aesthetic design. The arms of the balance, for instance, are made of the Schwarz Etienne logo – a highly complicated manufacturing process requiring absolute precision and profound know-how.
The model Olympia Sport, for example, comes with a white rubber wristband and a light case, and is the result of years of research, development and improvement. The Roma collection is very elegant and is unique in perfection and aesthetics.
London, New York, Barcelona and La Chaux-de-Fonds are the names of the other collections of the Swiss watch experts. While London stands for the cosmopolitan world, New York conveys a spirit of luxury, jazz and sensual delight. Barcelona combines the beauty, style and sophistication of the Catalene city.
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a tribute to great manufacture and skilled craftsmen. Every single watch made by Schwarz Etienne expresses elegance, style and attitude. “Our standard decorations are highly sophisticated but can also be adapted to the individual needs of our customers,” says Mr. Blättler. “We target real watch lovers. Therefore, we care for every little detail. A timepiece is about total precision.”
Schwarz Etienne sells to customers worldwide via agents, especially from Asia, the Middle East and the Arabian countries, Eastern Europe and, of course, Switzerland. The company also operates its own shop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. “In our own boutique, we developed a unique sales and marketing concept,” explains Mr. Blättler. “We aim to transfer this concept, which is very successful, to the POS in our export markets. Therefore, we are looking for partners currently.”
Today, the name Schwarz Etienne stands for continuity and is a household name among lovers of mechanical timepieces. “We always try to make something new, to be one step ahead and to distinguish ourselves from others,” Mr. Blättler explains the company’s success.
For sure, the movement of Schwarz Etienne is not going to stand still in the coming years. At this year’s Baselworld, the world’s leading fair for the watchmaking industry, Schwarz Etienne also presented a new tourbillon movement, which was developed in collaboration with Chronode.
“We will develop several more functions, such as a big date or the phases of the moon,” promises Mr. Blättler. “Our movements are modular and very flexible, and we will create many more features for watch lovers in the coming eight to ten years.”