Christophe Claret - History of the brand
Born into a bourgeois family in Lyon, he scraped his way through private school. By no means a keen student and inherently stubborn rather than downright rebellious - he even admits to a rather shy nature - the young Claret was to pursue a path that he discovered by chance during a visit to a watchmaker-restorer when he was just 14.
Christophe Claret was not yet 20 when he graduated from the Geneva Watchmaking School. He found in this field a source of fulfilment and scope for creative expression that have remained undiminished to this day. Insatiably curious and thirsty for knowledge, he trained for an additional year with the master-watchmaker Roger Dubuis who, in taking him under his wing, passed on the secrets of restoration and the mysteries of complex horological mechanisms.
Upon returning to his native city, he set up his first real horology workshop in the family home. His equipment and his tools had been patiently acquired at flea markets in Geneva. He decided to specialise in restoring antique models, perfecting his finishing techniques and also crafting openworked or "skeleton" watches.
In 1987, Christophe Claret was 25 years old. His first ever trip to the Basel Watch Fair led to an encounter with a person who would change his life forever. Rolf Schnyder, a Swiss industrialist who had just acquired the Ulysse Nardin brand, placed an order with him for 20 minute repeater movements with jacks. This marked the start of a spectacular development. After creating a first company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, he officially set up the Manufacture Claret.
Within a decade, his name became a benchmark in the field of complication movements. The most prestigious clients, such as Ulysse Nardin, Franck Muller, de Grisogono, Jean Dunand and Harry Winston, turned to the famous watchmaker in developing their most complex timepieces. Christophe Claret therefore decided to install his company within a setting worthy of its reputation and its ambitions. In 1999, he acquired the Manoir du Soleil d'Or, a venerable mansion perched on the heights above the nearby town of Le Locle, just a few steps from the Musee d'Horlogerie des Monts. He set up his workshops there, giving a new lease on life to this magnificent residence that former belonged to the legendary watchmaker Urban Jurgensen.
A first 500m2 annex was inaugurated in 2002, followed by a second identically sized one in 2003, and then by the most recent 100m2 extension in 2008. Currently in the vanguard of technological process and craftsmanship expertise, the Manufacture Claret employs almost one hundred of the most highly qualified experts in their respective fields.
While continuing to create exceptional movements for the most prestigious brands, Christophe Claret has always also made watches bearing his own signature, one-of-a-kind creations ordered by collectors won over by such impressive horological mastery. This activity was revealed to a wider audience in 2009 when, in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Manufacture, he launched the DualTow, a mechanical compendium of his considerable range of competencies. This first piece naturally led to another, Adagio, and a third, the 21 Blackjack.
The Christophe Claret brand now belongs to the extremely exclusive circle of independent Haute Horlogerie brands that conceive, develop and produce their watches entirely in-House - an exceptional situation within the Swiss watch industry placing it firmly on the cutting edge of horological creation.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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