ore than a century separates two events: both in Paris and each symbolic, in a radically different context, of a golden age for L’Epée.

The first event is the 1889 Paris Exposition. Fifty years before this, Auguste L’Epée had set up a company manufacturing music boxes and components for clocks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the Franche-Comté region. By the time of the Paris world’s fair, L’Epée was making over 200,000 escapements a year, employed 600 watchmakers and served the entire industry. It came away from the Paris Exposition with multiple Gold Awards. These distinctions were presented by a scientific committee for innovation in various disciplines. L’Epée won for its escapements, of course, but was also singled out in other fields, for pressure-regulating gas and water meters, and even for street lighting. The fair was nothing short of a triumph.

The second event took place in 2025 at Le Cheval Blanc, where LVMH gathered all its watch brands: L’Epée, a recent addition to the group’s portfolio, among them. The brand represents the finest in what are now termed “art mechanics” and is unanimously acknowledged for its ingenious mechanisms, artistry and craftsmanship.

A selection of L’Epée clocks illustrating the diverse nature of its production.

Ministerial cabinets and contemporary homes

How does a company go from making gas meters to creating some of the most desirable contemporary horological sculptures? The answer from Arnaud Nicolas, who in 2009 took over the company with an associate, transformed it, then in 2024 sold it to LVMH, retaining his role as CEO.

Arnaud Nicolas, CEO, L’Epée.

“For many years, L’Epée was associated with seats of power. Its clocks were displayed in royal palaces and presidential residences, in particular in France and England. It rose to global prominence after the wedding of Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, and it was because of this particular facet of its history that in 2000 it was acquired by an English investor, who withdrew the brand from traditional watch distribution to focus on this clientele. But the products became too traditional. When we took over in 2009, we completely rethought the product and reintroduced it to retailers.”

An article published in a 1978 issue of Europa Star.

The brand still manufactures (and repairs) its historic product, the carriage clock…

Perhaps the most striking aspect of L’Epée today is the two very different sides to its production. While the company continues to manufacture traditional carriage clocks that wouldn’t look out of place on a ministerial desk (and also repairs models made over a century ago), it is by far better known for ultra-contemporary, often futuristic “time sculptures” that fit perfectly with the most contemporary, design-driven interiors. Two worlds for a single brand.

...but is best known for its contemporary “time sculptures”, which it has revitalised through collaborations. The Albatross is one example. One of fifteen co-creations with MB&F over a decade, it totals 1,520 components, chimes the hours and half-hours, and incorporates an automaton whose 16 pairs of propellers launch into action every hour.

An integrated Manufacture “out of necessity”

Collaborations, starting in 2011, with the new watchmaking scene (Alain Silberstein, MB&F and Fiona Krüger) put a reinvented L’Epée well and truly on collectors’ radar. When it comes to production, however, the brand very much goes it alone.

“We take the long view,” says Arnaud Nicolas. “Our production is fully mechanical. Of the 500 or so components in the Time Fast II, for example, only four are sourced outside the company. We are an integrated Manufacture out of necessity, being the last of our kind in Switzerland. We even made the lights for the Time Fast II ourselves. No-one could supply them so we turned our hand to polymer engineering!” The brand’s 90 staff are skilled in 20 specialisations.

The Time Fast II in Chrome celebrates the iconic lines of 1960s race cars. The time displays (hours and minutes) of the eight-day manufacture movement are on the dual air filters feeding the V8’s two banks of carburettors.

There is an almost instinctively recognisable L’Epée style, even if certain pieces are unsigned: bespoke products commissioned by leading names in the business. For the past decade the brand has focused on introducing transparency to reveal the mechanisms inside these kinetic objects.

Arnaud Nicolas remarks how “by working with some of today’s most innovative watchmakers, we’re reviving what is actually a longstanding format, as L’Epée can trace its first partnership back to 1870 with Hermès.”

Defend an entire category

How does one find distributors for such a singular product? For Nicolas, an aerospace engineer by training who was part of the team for the Ariane rocket launch in French Guiana, it partly comes down to time and place: “Retailers have completely rethought the in-store experience and want products other than wristwatches. Our clocks provide a talking point inside the boutique. They catch the eye, add another dimension.”

Designed in collaboration with Winston Chapman, the Watch Box springs to life at the press of a button, when a mechanical system opens the box at the same time as it lifts the wristwatch.

Provided, that is, L’Epée can keep up supply. Order books are full and can never exceed quantities compatible with production that is almost entirely in-house. For this reason, L’Epée currently restricts sales through galleries, despite their representing a huge potential market, so as not to overload capacity. A recent extension to its Delémont manufacturing site should help ease the pressure but production will, by nature, remain limited.

“I was at Singapore Art Week in January, where visitors were queuing to see us. Mechanical art is new to them and our clocks represent a category of object they have never encountered before. There’s something quite magical about them. Everyone knows what a watch is but few people are familiar with our horological artworks – or they think clocks belong in the past. Our greatest challenge is to alter this perception and introduce people to our brand.”

LVMH buyout to boost growth

L’Epée’s production capacity had reached saturation point and this would spark a conversation with LVMH. Both Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. were – and still are – clients of L’Epée who wished to develop their collaboration but were told this wouldn’t be possible. There was a very real need to expand and for the investment this implied. “Six months before the takeover, we came to the conclusion that my business associate and I were the thing holding L’Epée back. We didn’t have the financial resources to give the brand the scope and stature it deserved.”

We should note, at this point, that L’Epée’s clocks are generally static and do not form part of the related but distinct category of automata, which “would require us to use electronics, which we refuse to do.”

Pulling the handbrake on the T35 releases the V8 engine to reveal a hidden cigar lighter.

Having developed more than 50 calibres for its time sculptures, the brand has expertise that is unique within the LVMH group. “We have the luxury of being able to retain our independent, entrepreneurial spirit. In fact risk-taking is encouraged. There is no consortium within the group taking blanket decisions. Each brand generates its own creative force. Initially, I thought this was perhaps part of the negotiation pitch but now, from the inside, I can confirm this is how the group thinks. The aim is to help us develop, pass a milestone, but our objectives are the same as they have always been.”

There will be more collaborations with brands, including outside the group. “Rather than a dozen, in the longer term we envisage working with around fifty partners. We know the brand itself will remain small but we have the opportunity to put clocks at the heart of the conversation.”