Why focus on vintage reissues? And why is it important for them to be faithful reproductions?
I prefer to be true to the original and to make re-editions as close as possible to the vintage ones because I think something like the vintage Chronomaster is perfect. The size is perfect, the look is super cool. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and make a big, fat, 44mm, automatic motherfucker.
That’s what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to do it like TAG Heuer does. I think for me it’s: stay true to the size and thickness, [because] that’s what the collector wants. I try to always make [the watch] the most authentic I can — to be slim, to be 37mm, for example, to have the right indexes, to have the right crown … so my engineering team hates me, but in the end, you have something perfect.
What other brands, entrepreneurs or personalities do you particularly admire?
I would say Max Busser. It’s insane what he’s doing with [his brand] MB&F, and he started from scratch. What’s crazy is that he was a product manager at Jaeger-LeCoultre and then he was at Harry Winston very early. And then he created MB&F. This guy is very inspiring for what he’s done and what he’s still doing.
[Then, there’s] Jean-Frédéric Dufour, because he taught me the basics. I was also impressed by Jerome Lambert when he was CEO of Jaeger[-LeCoultre]. I think he’s probably one of the most clever minds I’ve met. He has a computer in his head, he remembers everything. He’s now the Richemont Group CEO.