The Carl F. Bucherer mission
Carl F. Bucherer President and CEO Thomas Morf recently convinced the Bucherer family to do things differently, to lessen the risk of consumer confusion. “We want to have a clear distinction between the retailer who is Bucherer and the manufacturer, Carl F. Bucherer,” Morf explains. “At the start, Bucherer and Carl F. Bucherer were sort of competing, as both of us had higher-end watches. We didn't want confusion in the marketplace. Now, Bucherer has B. Swiss, which is a lower priced line of watches, sold to tourists, and we have the international watch brand Carl F. Bucherer.”
Morf wants to stay in the niche he has carved out for the company, that of useful complications, of which the Patravi TravelTec GMT is at the head of the pack. There are many more to come. “The pipeline is full of innovation and nice products for the future years,” he says. “The quest for something unique is not so easy. You don't get new ideas every day, but we are concentrated on creating watches that no one else has. Our strategy is based on useful complications and there is a consumer demand for this kind of watch. You can see it with the TravelTec - it has a bold look and technical innovations with the monopush system and the movement. It makes the watch totally unique.
”Having unique product is important in the marketplace,“Morf admits.”The problem is that, as a relatively new brand, we are crying out for acceptance. We are being scrutinized and challenged more than established brands. The right crowd has to wear our watches to make it work, and that's a tough market to catch without interesting, unique product."





New facility
Morf knew that if Carl F. Bucherer was going to take the next step in its development, more of its watchmaking operation had to come under its own roof. So, Morf opened his own facility, a gleaming new building in Lengnau, where parts are inspected and quality controlled, then assembled and controlled again.
“We do not want to be a marketing brand,” Morf says. “We market our brand properly, of course, but we don't want to invest 80% into marketing, we want it to be the other way around, 80% in the product. You have to have a rock solid product first, and then you market that product.”





New product
This year at Basel, Carl F. Bucherer presents the Patravi Chronograde - a very attractive watch with six complications - chronograph, fly back big date, annual calendar, power reserve and retrograde indication of hours. The watch comes in a 44 mm case, available in either steel or gold.
In addition to the Chronograde, Morf will be introducing the following new watches (pictures not available at press time):
The Patravi TravelTec GMT XXX, which is a high-tech derivative of the TravelTec, featuring palladium, ceramic, titanium and rubber.
The Patravi T-Graph and GMT with new dials, and available in blue for the first time.
The Manero ‘Tribute to MaBu’, a Limited Edition (100 pieces), using a vintage Valjoux 92 chronograph hand wound movement with column wheel, beautifully restored, available in gold only.
The Ladies Manero Monograph, a single pusher column wheel chronograph (35 mm), hand wound, available from steel to gold with diamonds.
And a new high-end jewellery piece in a limited edition, the name still to be determined.
The Carl F. Bucherer brand is really going places, bringing interesting watches to market, and combining bold designs with technological innovation.


Source: Europa Star April-May 2007 Magazine Issue