There appears to be a move afoot within the watch industry to play down the dominance of the watch in watch advertising. Instead of promoting a particular watch, style or trend or jumping on an existing bandwagon, a few watch companies have decided to concentrate on creating an environment in their advertising that nurtures a particular lifestyle. This visual concept is not intended for the populace, it is aimed at a carefully defined group of potential consumers that can relate primarily to the prevailing ambience and then, almost as a secondary consequence, interact with the watch.

Going with the times
Carl F. Bucherer is one of those companies. Its new slogan that accompanies their worldwide campaign is: ‘For people who do not go with the times.’ The campaign shows ‘modern people who share the Carl F. Bucherer philosophy. People who do not go with the times. People who do not follow the trends and who live their own life as they wish. People who insist on choosing their own path and who create their own destiny. People who are independent, confident and sovereign.’
“There’s a new spirit in Carl F. Bucherer,” Thomas Morf the company’s Chief Executive Officer explains. “Forget what the company has done in the past, everything has changed. Over the past two years there have been several important developments in our company. We have a new, fully equipped state-of-the-art factory, we have created a museum and, most importantly, a brand new watch collection seconded by a policy of regular changes.
“The brand has existed since 1919, but the types and styles of watches that were produced in the past, our old-style watches if you like, are on the point of slowly disappearing. To accompany these changes we have introduced a new campaign whereby the product is not at the centre of the visuals, we focus on people. But they are not celebrities, they are ‘real’ people, they share our philosophy, they go their own way, which is why we have chosen the phrase ‘For people who do not go with the times’.

Using real people
“We are using three people: Elisabeth Sykes, a thirty year old wine merchant who communicates via e-mail, the Internet and even puts pen to paper and writes real letters to friends, relatives and people who are important to her; Mark Reay, a forty year old entrepreneur who lives in the USA and is a passionate photographer who focuses on what is essential – a skill from which he profits time and again as he manages his business; Josié de Wolff, a fifty-three year old stylist who lives in Amsterdam and advises large corporations on styling issues. Aesthetics are important to Josié and yet she stresses that she would never consider cosmetic surgery.
“These are real people and we want them to convey the message of what Carl F. Bucherer is and what it stands for. Although we are a part of the Bucherer group, we are totally independent, we have our own management, a different philosophy to the other sectors and we have our own personality. Not everyone will like the new advertisements, but we are getting a lot of feedback which indicates that we are on the right track.”
Carl F. Bucherer watches are present in the Far East (the company has a regional office in Hong Kong), the Middle East, Germany where it has a subsidiary, the Netherlands, Ireland where it uses Appleby, an important retailer and in the last few months is to be found on the Russian market using the Bristol Trading House as its distributor. “We’re not trying to conquer the world in a day,” Morf underlines, “ and we don’t want to expand too fast. At present we are exploiting the markets we have. We’re not looking to have 5,000 points of sales, more like 600 – 700 worldwide.”
Sales have been particularly good in Hong Kong and the Greater China area and the United Arab Emirates, but the company is enjoying a noticeable success in most of their markets. As Thomas Morf explained, they are refusing many retailers because they are looking to establish contacts with outlets that can offer the brand a long-lasting success.
An independent, family-owned Swiss company, Carl F. Bucherer makes no compromise in the quality of its timepieces or its love of detail – to ensure ‘we remain unique in the future too.’




PATRAVI TONNEAUGRAPH
3-part stainless steel case equipped with a Calibre CFB 1960 movement. Based on the Dubois-Dépraz 4580, it is an automatic chronograph with big date (at 12 o’clock), small seconds (3 o’clock), 30-minute counter (9 o’clock) and power reserve display 6 o’clock. Cambered sapphire crystal, alligator leather strap, water-resistant to 50 metres.

ALACRIA
18 carat yellow gold watch set with 102 Top Wesselton VVS diamonds (1.71 carats), mother-of-pearl dial, quartz movement, python leather strap with an 18 carat gold folding clasp.

ALACRIA DIVA
18 carat white gold case equipped with an ETA 256.031 quartz movement. Domed sapphire crystal, Roman numerals, fine textile strap, water-resistant to 30 metres.