Portraits

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht

CONTINUALLY FORGETTING IN ORDER TO START AFRESH

By Pierre Maillard / Photographs: Fred Merz, Lundi13

June 2017

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 Designer in 2007, for Harry Winston in 2009, Van Cleef & Arpels in 2010, Hermès in 2011 and 2015 and Fabergé in 2015 and 2016) and a plethora of patented inventions each more stunning than the next. But he is nonetheless a deeply modest man, who says of himself: “My biggest strength is that I always forget everything, because that forces me to continually start afresh.” And with the help of these perpetual new beginnings, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht is able to invent idiosyncratic processes, and discover new creative paths.

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht

CONTINUALLY FORGETTING IN ORDER TO START AFRESH

By Pierre Maillard / Photographs: Fred Merz, Lundi13

June 2017

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht

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 Designer in 2007, for Harry Winston in 2009, Van Cleef & Arpels in 2010, Hermès in 2011 and 2015 and Fabergé in 2015 and 2016) and a plethora of patented inventions each more stunning than the next. But he is nonetheless a deeply modest man, who says of himself: “My biggest strength is that I always forget everything, because that forces me to continually start afresh.” And with the help of these perpetual new beginnings, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht is able to invent idiosyncratic processes, and discover new creative paths.

A

nd with the help of these perpetual new beginnings, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht is able to invent idiosyncratic processes, and discover new creative paths.

France: brands that stand alone

The result is a collection of outstandingly poetic pieces that tell the time in a new way – such as Temps Suspendu, l’Heure Masquée and l’Heure Impatiente, three pieces created for Hermès, as well as Pont des Amoureux and Midnight in Paris, designed for Van Cleef & Arpels – and radically revolutionary inventions, like his recent Visionnaire Chronographe for Fabergé. The one constant factor in his work? His quest to achieve the utmost simplicity. This quest is reflected in certain objects that can tell us a little about both his background and his creative journey.

: The indications of the Visionnaire Chronograph made by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht for Fabergé are displayed centrally with concentric counters, providing a reading that we see at a glance. Rather than having to look for the seconds, minutes and hours displayed at different places on the dial, all the indications are provided on one central dial. Reading is made even easier thanks to the chronograph hands in gilded aluminium with red tips.

WATCH FILES
Portraits

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TRENDS & REMARKABLE WATCHES