Portraits

Portraits

THE WATCH FILES

Portraits

A selection of Europa Star portraits of widely known or widely unknown personalities of the watch industry.

Epos, against the grain

Epos, against the grain

As the quartz crisis raged, Epos was founded as a brand making only mechanical watches. Today, in a luxury-dominated space, it refuses to move upmarket, (...)

Edox: “We built the brand back from almost nothing”

GENERATIONS REPORT

Founded in 1884, Edox was a thriving concern that fell victim to the quartz crisis. The family that bought the brand, a century after it was established, (...)

Atelier du Bracelet Parisien, the Parisian watch strap emporium

Atelier du Bracelet Parisien, the Parisian watch strap emporium

Tucked along the side of Place du Marché Saint-Honoré, a stone’s throw from Place Vendôme, Atelier du Bracelet Parisien is the place to go for a watch strap (...)

Eric Coudray, the movement constructor who “can't stand watches”

Eric Coudray, the movement constructor who “can’t stand watches”

GAÏA PRIZE

Impossible to classify, mad about mechanisms, for a long time this hot-headed ex-rugby player was known for his fiery personality. Nineteen years at (...)

0 | 20

Jean Rousseau: the true worth of watch straps

Jean Rousseau: the true worth of watch straps

Compared with cases or movements, watch straps are still the “poor relation” of watch parts, often dismissed as simple accessories, ordered from third-party (...)

100-year-old Grovana holds its own in the entry-level segment

100-year-old Grovana holds its own in the entry-level segment

In the Swiss watchmaking world, dominated by Haute Horlogerie titans with their long-standing traditions, not many hundred-year-old brands operate in the (...)

Draw me a dial!

Draw me a dial!

Whether admired or misunderstood, the watch designer is a key figure in any new project. Collectors often see them as artists, with a strong personality (...)

The multiple talents of enamellist Anita Porchet

The multiple talents of enamellist Anita Porchet

A master of the time-honoured techniques of cloisonné, champlevé, paillonné and miniature painting, enamellist Anita Porchet’s years of practice and experience (...)

André Martinez: the dial as canvas

André Martinez: the dial as canvas

Miniaturist André Martinez was instrumental in developing this decorative art in haute horology and has trained an entire next generation of artists. His (...)

A tribute to Peter Baumberger (1939-2010)

A tribute to Peter Baumberger (1939-2010)

HOMAGE

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Peter Baumberger (Koppingen, 1939-Bienne, 2010), a brilliant watchmaker who invested his passion in (...)

Anne Biéler

Anne Biéler

THE CULTURE OF ENCOUNTERS

Aside from her early fascination for craftsmanship, there was nothing to suggest that Anne Biéler would become a key figure in the world of Haute (...)

Jean-Claude Biver: past, present, future

Jean-Claude Biver: past, present, future

A GIANT THROUGH OUR ARCHIVES

As everybody knows, Jean-Claude Biver has stepped down from day-to-day operational responsibilities. An ideal opportunity for us – we have just digitised (...)

Georges Dubois - The oldest watchmaker in the world

Georges Dubois - The oldest watchmaker in the world

PARAPHERNALIA

Born in 1921, Georges Dubois still lives in the small house bought by his father in 1923. Around the age of 15, not knowing what do in life but needing to (...)

Balthasar de Pury : watches with a soul

Balthasar de Pury : watches with a soul

PARAPHERNALIA

It all started with his passion for insects, then it was the skateboard, and only later the watch. On his way home from school, he would gaze at the (...)

Pascal Raffy

Pascal Raffy

BOVET

Pascal Raffy was born and brought up a long way from the watch world, in Lebanon. He’s cosmopolitan; he has his head in the stars, but his roots go deep. (...)

A tribute to Helmut Sinn

A tribute to Helmut Sinn

PORTRAIT

The German watchmaker, a great specialist in pilot watches, was 101 years old. And he still dreamed of relaunching a brand. (...)

Dominique Renaud

Dominique Renaud

THE ROOTS OF A REVOLUTIONARY

"I would like to open new horizons for mechanical watchmaking,” Dominique Renaud told us a year ago when he presented us with the first prototype of the (...)

The Finnish moons of Stepan Sarpaneva

The Finnish moons of Stepan Sarpaneva

PORTRAIT

Stepan Sarpaneva is the Aki Kaurismäki of the watchmaking world. Aki Kaurismäki? Probably the “Stepan Sarpaneva” of movies! Both share a northern surrealistic (...)

Aurélie Picaud

Aurélie Picaud

FABERGÉ

In a few short years, Aurélie Picaud has managed to bring the Fabergé brand front and centre, with very creative, technically innovative watch propositions (...)

Vincent Calabrese

Vincent Calabrese

OBSESSIONS OF A NEAPOLITAN WANDERER

Vincent Calabrese has just brought out a book that anyone gravitating around the watchmaking “ecosystem” should consider reading. Although it reads it like a (...)

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht

CONTINUALLY FORGETTING IN ORDER TO START AFRESH

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, watchmaker and founder of Agenhor, may have no fewer than seven Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève awards to his name (for Best Watch (...)

Severin Wunderman, the genius precursor of the fashion watch

Severin Wunderman, the genius precursor of the fashion watch

ARCHIVES

In April 1993, Europa Star dedicated its cover to Gucci Watches, which at the time was licensed to the Severin Group, owned by Severin (...)

Martin Frei

Martin Frei

TOOLS THAT INSPIRE IMAGINATION

Martin Frei is the co-founder and principal designer at Urwerk. It is virtually impossible to separate his work from that of watchmaker Félix Baumgartner. (...)

Ludwig Oechslin

Ludwig Oechslin

“DR. LESS”

“My pieces seem simple, but the intellectual path to a simple build is extremely complex. Making things simple is not the same as simplifying. For instance, (...)