Armand Nicolet Makes a Comeback
IN THE little town of Tramelan in Switzerland, master watchmakers in quaint villagers are kept busy diligently assembling tiny watch components to create exquisite mechanical movements.
These villages and factories have made Tramelan one of the most important zones of Swiss watch-making industry since the 1950s.
It is also here in Tramelan that renowned manufacturer Armand Nicolet set up base at the turn of the 20th century. For more than a century now, Armand Nicolet is known for watches with sophisticated movements, precision and beauty.
Rare and significant pieces bearing the brand’s technique and style of mechanical perfection can still be found conserved inside the Nicolet S.A. Museum.
Chief executive officer Rolando Braga said the Armand Nicolet values, passed on from generation to generation, was ever present.
“The special machinery dating back, in some cases to the 20th century, are still being used by the brand’s watchmakers for certain precision operations.
“Our watchmakers, engineers and operators work respecting tradition, which add soul to our watches,” said Braga who was at the Armand Nicolet boutique at Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur recently to promote the brand’s limited edition, antique movement watches.
He said there were currently just some 425 of the limited edition pieces in the world, made some 50 or 60 years ago.
“Theoretically, you can maybe re-make them but the cost would be three times more.
“Once the limited movements are sold off, you won’t be able to get it anymore, so the term ‘limited edition’ here is certainly no marketing gimmick,” said Braga.
Initially an Italian entrepreneur, Braga met Willy Nicolet (son of Armand Nicolet) in the 1990s and the encounter brought about a collaboration of brilliant Swiss technical capacity and ingenious creativity of Italian design.
“There’s more art in the old than new movements, and old movements are made the way they are for aesthetic reasons more than anything else.
“An old movement watch tells you time exactly like any other watch does. But an old mechanical movement watch is a collector’s item, for which value lies in how the interpretation of time of one master watchmaker differs from another master, in terms of lubrication, the piecing together of tiny components and right down to the minute detailing and delicate finishing,” explained Braga who was here for the introduction of the L06 Limited Edition pieces.
“The L06 edition is a 1951 movement assembled in five series, available in limited pieces of between 50 and 100,” he said.
All are mechanical movement watches of manual winding with small seconds, created on Guilloche dial decorated with applied indexes and diamond cut dots.
LuxuryConcepts Watches & Jewellery Sdn Bhd is a partner of Armand Nicolet.
Its CEO Frank Low said the limited edition watches were part of the company’s mission of bringing special and hard-to-find products to KL that would make the capital a preferred first-stop shopping hub in South- East Asia.
“Mechanical watches are like jewellery, people who love watches would know the value of excellent craftsmanship involved in putting together something that once sold out, would be impossible to re-make, especially since machines and technology can’t replace the skilled hand finishing,” said Low.
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