The Brutal Reality of Starting an Independent Brand

Sylvain Berneron is in high demand, and so are his watch designs. Just last week, a 34-millimeter version of his debut time-only watch, the Berneron Mirage, came up for public auction for the first time, and bidding soared beyond the CHF80,000 high estimate to fetch a staggering CHF241,300, including fees. Having previously worked in the automotive industry with BMW, Berneron is a designer who has now chosen watchmaking as the canvas to express himself and his ideas. 

After departing the big brand corporate atmosphere of Breitling, he's enjoyed significant success so far with his own brand and has just unveiled his second collection - Quantième - and an annual calendar that brings a unique, yet superbly finished, movement architecture to the complication that aims to simplify setting and provide a stress-free experience for the user. Sized at just 38 millimeters in diameter and 10 millimeters thick, the dial design is both stunning and innovative in the way the time and date are displayed, while the platinum case features removable (and replaceable) steel elements that act as bumpers and guards for the precious metal. 

But this podcast is about business, and Berneron indulged us with a lengthy, candid, and exceedingly in-depth discussion about his plan for building a brand and sustainable company that bears his family name. He tells us why he's set up shop in a Swiss industrial park, the business strategy behind limiting production to less than 25 of each specific watch per year, and why he's turned down creative jobs at Rolex and tens of millions of dollars in financing from potential investors despite having barely a holiday or weekend off for the last half-decade. It's a deep dive into the business strategy and plan of a young, driven, red-hot watch brand that's trying to make it for the long haul. We hope you enjoy. 

Show Notes:

3:20 Berneron Quantième Annuel 

4:45 Berneron SA 

6:20 Panerai manufacture in Neuchatel 

13:00 BMW Research and Innovation Centre

13:40 Breitling 

18:20 Ben Clymer on founding Hodinkee and a professional life in watches

24:00 White label watch manufacturers in Switzerland include companies like Roventa-Henex 

25:50 Swiss watch components makers include companies like Acrotec, the biggest supplier 

32:15 Breitling Sells Controlling Stake to CVC Capital

32:50 Nicolas G. Hayek Sr. 

40:20 Building Resilient Teams: What Business Can Learn From Military Cohesion 

42:20 Employee Share Plans In Switzerland: A Regulatory Overview

47:00 Long-term commercial lease agreements in Switzerland: An Overview

49:00 Panerai 

51:10 Hands On Review Of The Berneron Mirage

59:30 Family Offices 1:11:00 Mountain Survival Tips for Beginners

1:12:03 Audemars Piguet Buys Key Supplier

1:16:30 GPHG Audacity Prize Awarded to Sylvain Berneron

1:17:00 Why Using Your Last Name Is The Last Way To Name Your Company (Forbes)

1:18:56 Business Ethics Key Principals (Investopedia) 

1:19:02 Simon Sinek 

1:21:35 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

1:23:10 MB&F

1:23:20 Simon Brette

1:23:25 Xhevdet Rexhepi 

1:23:28 Rexhep Rexhepi 

1:23:30 Petermann Bédat

1:24:50 When Art Is Putting Yourself In Danger (CBC) 

1:26:30 The Art of War (Sun Tzu) 

1:27:06 Trust The Process (Simon Sinek) 

1:31:49 The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals (Harvard Business Review) 

1:37:00 Luxury and Socially Valued Behavior (Columbia Business School)

1:38:05 Germany's Car Industry Crisis 

1:39:00 Hans Wilsdorf Foundation 

1:41:00 Inside Rolex (Ben Clymer)

1:45:00 Patek Philippe Calatrava Collection

1:45:45 Fiasco (Wikipedia) 

1:46:20 Batman Two-Face 

1:53:00 Fathers Give Watch Collecting Advice (Hodinkee)

1:55:20 Christopher Ward

1:55:45 Swatch Group 

1:58:00 MoonSwatch Phenomenon (Hodinkee)