Horological Meandering

SJX
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A chat with the CEO of Tudor

Tudor has long been a sub-brand, rather than sister, brand of Rolex; practically a poor cousin to Rolex, with uninspiring designs. Up till the 90s or early 2000s some Tudor cases were still marked “Rolex Oyster”. Tudor marketing was tepid too – the brand was the first watchmaker to use Tiger Woods as an ambassador, but lost Mr Woods to TAG Heuer later on.

In recent years, that has changed, especially since the introduction of the Heritage chronograph last year. The man responsible for the transformation is the CEO since 2009, Philippe Peverelli. He was in Singapore for an event organised by retailer Sincere Watch. I was fortunate enough to have an interesting conversation with him over dinner.

From left: Sincere Watch CEO Stephan Ritzmann, Odd Einar Aurbakken, Tudor CEO Philippe Peverelli, and Sincere Watch Academy EVP Patrick Tan 

Mr Peverelli set out to change that. His intention – and I think the brand has made good progress on this front – was to create a distinct and clear identity for Tudor, in terms of product and positioning.

Not having “green blood”, not being a Rolex lifer (Mr Peverelli was previously with Blancpain in the JC Biver years and then Chopard), Mr Peverelli is an outsider with a different perspective. Rolex is well known for being ultra-conservative, and though he didn’t say so explicitly I imagine it took quite a bit of convincing for Mr Peverelli to get the go ahead from Rolex management to remake Tudor.

But Mr Peverelli also stressed that it is not his goal to totally separate Tudor from Rolex. Mr Peverelli likened Tudor to a child that is grown up, moved away but still remains part of the family.

Certain strengths can be built upon, like the tremendous distribution network of Rolex or the strong technical know-how of Rolex. Growing Tudor distribution is on the cards. Tudor is not present in some big markets like USA, though it sells far better in China than most imagine.

A key element of the new identity are the Heritage models. While not a mass seller, the Heritage watches are a flagship product. One Heritage model will be introduced each year. Last year saw the bestselling Heritage Chronograph aka Monte Carlo, followed by the Heritage Advisor Alarm this year.

Tudor Heritage Chronograph 

Aside from the vintage inspired design, the Heritage models are also distinguished by the canvas straps supplied with the watch; these look like NATO straps but have spring bars running through them. Mr Peverelli explained that the canvas straps come from a mill in a region in France (I forget the name) that was once famous for its fabric mills though many have closed. The mill that supplies Tudor counts amongst its customers fashion houses like Chanel and even makes ribbons for medals bestowed by the Vatican.

 Tudor Heritage Advisor alarm

I asked if there will be any limited edition Tudors, since industry practice would dictate that the Heritage models, based on their inspiration and commercial success, are ripe for that. No such thing, according to Mr Peverelli, at least for the near future. He doesn’t see any point in them.

And the rest of the collection will remain eminently affordable, in steel or steel and gold only. All Tudor watches will continue to be entirely mechanical – no quartz – with ETA base calibres but with Tudor customisation or modification. The Heritage Advisor alarm for example uses an ETA base with an in-house alarm module. Essentially Tudor will be affordable, mechanical and Swiss.

The new Tudor watches demonstrate admirable attention to detail, one of which is the new folding clasp in the shape of the Tudor shield 

Mr Peverelli does not rule out an in-house calibre, but if there is one it won’t be soon. Tudor is not a manufacture, and doesn’t need to be. Most components of the watch, inside and out, are made by Swiss suppliers – not Rolex – then assembled in the Tudor factory in Geneva.

Mr Peverelli stressed that Tudor is 100% Swiss made, but stopped at saying anything about the competition. It is a known but not publicised fact that fany of Tudor’s rivals at this price point are not 100% Swiss made – components are made elsewhere then finished or assembled in Switzerland. When I questioned him on this, he responded that Rolex, being entirely owned by an Swiss foundation that is known to be ultra-conservative, puts less emphasis on profits than a listed company and a lot of emphasis on provenance.

- SJX

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