“We want to give birth to the soul of the watch,” Jean-Claude Biver emphasises. “What I would like to bring to the world of watchmaking is soul. The art of watchmaking, like any art, has a soul within it and it is transmitted to the object by the artist.
“I believe in the soul of the watch. Provided a watch is made with love, quality and respect, and according to the rule of the art, then internally there are vibrations. It’s like magnetism. It’s something you cannot see, but you can feel,” he says.
Jean-Claude and his son Pierre have embarked on a new adventure together: the creation of a highly exclusive brand – BIVER.Over the past half a century, Jean-Claude has made a profession out of spreading his passion for watches. It is a passion he developed early in his career working under the leadership of Georges Golay at Swiss watch manufacture Audemars Piguet.
Jean-Claude went on to help develop brands like Blancpain, Hublot and TAG Heuer, earning him a level of insight matched by few.
With the purchase of the then flagging Blancpain brand in the early 1980s, he went on to be a driving force in the revival of the mechanical watch. He has been instrumental in telling the story that watches aren’t merely functional instruments; they’re truly works of art and artisanship.
At Omega, the vestiges of the partnerships he built between the brand and the likes of Cindy Crawford and Nasa remain in existence till today.
In the new millennium, despite having over two decades of experience, Jean-Claude never lost touch with his entrepreneurial “start-up” mentality, investing in Hublot and making it one of the most popular and innovative brands in luxury watches.
“After stepping down as the president of LVMH’s watch division in 2018, the titanic figure of the watch world is now back to launch a new watch brand, this time taking his own name.
“I thought I could retire. I did my job, but it turned out my job wasn’t finished. I have learned that you cannot retire from your passion. It’s in your blood. It’s in your heart. It’s in your brain. A person without passion is like a person who is dead,” he states.
BIVER watches use sodalite that looks stunning and dynamic.
It is almost like starting anew again for the now 73-year-old Swiss, as he talks about renewal and feeling young again during a short visit to Kuala Lumpur last month prior to the main launch of his eponymous brand – BIVER.
“I feel very excited. And I didn’t know starting from scratch would demand so much attention. Because starting from scratch means the smallest detail is suddenly important,” he notes.
“There were so many things in the administration stages that were not so easy because I was used to working in companies where everything was already organised. So we just had to organise the business and plan for the future.
“But with my own brand, I have to provide everything. I have to buy cars, I have to buy food for the watchmakers, buy coffee, I have to buy everything, it has to be done.”
Jean-Claude Biver and his son Pierre at the launch in Switzerland of the watch brand that bears their name.Talking about the evolution of the perception of watches over the decades is like the evolution of himself over the years – of mistakes he made, and sharing them – it’s a learning experience for Jean-Claude with his brand.
“That’s the beauty of life, the learning process (only) stops once you die. But as long as you are alive, you learn. You learn every day, every day is an excitement, every day is an adventure, every day something happens, every day is another colour, every day the birds are singing. Every day something happens.”
It’s now half a century since Jean-Claude first ventured into the watchmaking industry.
“I started in 1973. I must say I had the inspiration through a friend of mine, Jacques Piguet. He is the son of Frederic Piguet, who was a famous movement maker. Jacques and I run marathons, we trained very often together.
“Then Jacques told me about his job, about his father. Eventually I also caught the passion for watches.”
Even further back in his childhood was a conversation that Jean-Claude had previously underestimated its influence in his early passion for watches.
His grandfather gifted him an Omega Divina watch when he was eight years old, to be worn for church and religious occasions.
“(At the time) he said, ‘you wear this watch to go to church, but when you come back, you give the watch back and we put it in the safe. When you are 20 years old, we’ll give it back to you and it’s your watch. Unless you’re 20, it stays in the safe’,” reminisces Jean-Claude, who was born in Luxembourg.
Just after the watch became his to keep, he promptly lost the prized possession while skiing. He describes it as his first “interference” with a watch.
“It was linked to a big mistake. I didn’t follow the instructions of my mother, I went skiing. I had no respect, because if you are respectful, you don’t go skiing with an ultra-slim watch.
“Indirectly, I believe, it was a sign to me that one day, this would be my job, this would be my passion. Of course, in those days, I didn’t know that. Now it is easy to say.”
He is a firm believer that things happen for a reason.
“I am very thankful for my grandfather, that he offered me the gateway into my passion.”
Jean-Claude Biver was in Kuala Lumpur last month prior to the main launch of his eponymous brand – BIVER.
Being a legend in the Swiss watch industry, Jean-Claude has seen much that has changed.
He cites an example: “When I started, a watch of 32mm was a gents watch. Now, a watch of that size is too small for ladies. So the perception has totally changed.”
The same happens with gold. Today, besides yellow, there are also rose and white gold. Suddenly you have three colours of gold, he says.
Over the decades, the wish to work with his family has constantly been on Jean-Claude’s mind. And until recently, at least, he felt he could never realise his dream of a family brand.
“I am a believer in family, I am a believer in love, I am a believer in community, so family is important to me,” says the father of four.
“I would have loved to have included my first son in Blancpain, my first (company) but he was too young. But then I sold (Blancpain), so he went to work in Hong Kong for an agent, and now he is in charge of China for LVMH.”
His daughter, previously with Hublot, left the business when she had her first child. His second son worked at TAG Heuer but has switched to real estate.
That leaves his youngest son, Pierre. The 22-year-old currently acts as his assistant. The new brand is as much his son’s as it is his.
“Our dynamic is very special. Normally, as a father you teach your son. I am learning from him too,” says Jean-Claude.
“Now I am in a process where I teach or I learn, depending on the subject.
“If you ask me, I am from the old generation, so I will maybe explain the taste of the older people. So, with Pierre, we complement one another.
“He has very good understanding of the young generation, which are the decision-makers of tomorrow. So here we have one guy who understands tomorrow and we have one guy like me who understands yesterday. If we understand tomorrow and yesterday, we understand the world,” he says philosophically.
According to him, Pierre has immense expertise in classic watches.
“He was in charge of my private collection. He also knows better than me what the trends and prices are. I have a much closer relationship with Pierre than I ever had before.“It has brought us together and together we have a lot of synergy.
“One of the major reasons why I do my brand is for Pierre. I think there is nothing better for a young man to have a stage to learn with an experienced guy. That’s what happened to me when I was young.”
His dream has come true with the launch of the Carillon Tourbillon BIVER in Switzerland.
