Talking Watches With Jean-Claude Biver

today we're here outside Montreux Switzerland to talk to a man who's more than just a watch collector he is watches over his 40-year career in the industry he served as the head of multiple brands as well as selling a few others he's the current head of timepieces for Louie Vuitton Moet Hennessy his name is jean-claude beaver and today we're talking watches [Music] so drunk loud I can't thank you enough for being here with us today to show us some of your personal watches from your personal collection but before we get into that I wanted to talk a little bit about your career so your first job in the watch industry was with your old la Piggy and what were you doing for a people so I had the privilege for one year to do nothing and to be paid half the boss mr. Josh Galli he told me during one year you're gonna learn what is the watch making history and you're gonna learn what is the watch making history of AP and after one year once you know this then you can start selling and after one year they gave me the European markets this I did from 74 to 79 so by then was the relic already a success no not like today today but it was not a bad what and we had to push it we had to invest in it because it was not obvious to everybody that a luxury watch would be in steel yeah but we could feel that there is potential because there was potential the young team of AP was saying come on we have to invest we have to invest we have to invest in the railroad so before we get into your own collection this kind of brings up the question we kind of had to ask many people say that the Big Bang looks just like Royal Oak Offshore other percent looks like so what my fault whose fault is it it was based on the idea to take the portal as the inspiration for the watch case it was delivered and was only available with a bracelet from 1972 to 2000 and it was mechanical automatic fantastic a really cool movement now in 1980 we blow comes and designs a watch that is inspired by the portal portal in French means blue but how could he design the watch inspired by the portal that would not look like to relook so we said but in wire Luke is eight angles but the portal of the boat is wrong so if I designed the portal round am I in the same design some people said no number two he said what else can I have so they said if you put these ears here which are where you open the portal the portal has always two things here and you have to unscrew them and you open if you design this this is something that is different all right what else if you don't put an integrated bracelet but you put a rubber strap black it will be different okay what else if you put a quartz movement because we're in 1980 the future they believed is quote then it's also different what else if we are 50% of the price because it's quartz are not mechanical it will be different with all this they got the conviction in 1980 that it will be different and when they came out in 1980 everybody said it's not the same it's different so how come that in 2004 these changes because of the change of the design no I kept the same because of what their number one in 2000 ray loop with offshore took away the bracelet right and they put a rubber spot when you take the brace of the way the look of the case becomes more obvious and stronger then when you have a bracelet number two when I took over he blue I said the size is too small 38 millimeter this is not adapted to today so I blew up the watch to 44 and then I said we cannot go on with quads you blow was doing in 2004 97 percent of the production in quartz I said we gone like that so we changed into a mechanical movement so having suddenly a mechanical movement having suddenly a larger size of the typical blue loop and Ray Alok having in between in 2000 put also rubber crocodile on there what suddenly people felt that it was looking more similar in 2004 then it was looking similar in 1980 so when people say it looks similar I say yes because it's a similar idea both took the porthole as an inspiration for the watch case even this work is a little bit an inspiration of the portal so we have in fact three watches that are today very very successful we have AP with the Ray look we have Patek with the Nautilus and we have a blue so then why do you think people view the Nautilus and the Roy look as kind of friends and they view the big bang and the offshore as combative that's compared they didn't see it as friends in 1976 I was at ap and I don't think people find it as a friend and I think many people find it a little bit strange of Petach to suddenly follow AP and that's why I buy now that's why I bought the watch because these people when they came out with that watch and I was sitting at AP we didn't believe they were friends and we didn't believe this was very nice we said this is a copy of the railroad so what people said in 1976 they have forgotten in 2004 and in 2004 they said you know is the bad boy like Patrick was the bad boy in the other days and to say that a blue is the bad boy is fantastic because it puts you at the same level than the real log and the naughty news and so your time and AP you were selling not only the Royal look but also the traditional line of confiscated watch yes and that's why you purchased this watch and that watch yes I purchased this one because that was my company that was the first words that I hated from a commercial point of view now I love it then this one I also bought because it's a grand complication from AP and we were selling this watch one time a year or maybe two and in 1976 or 1977 the grand complication of AP was sold to the family quant which were the owners still today are the owners of BMW and that was the most expensive and the most exclusive and the most prestigious watch of the AP collection and I said to myself one day I want to own that that's how I bought it in the books and can we hear a chime yes the time is good the charm is brilliant the minutes are fantastic when I left AP I went to Omega he went to Omega in those days Omega I had to collection the standard collection as they called it and I came with the experience of AP I was in charge of the gold collection and I stayed that Omega from 1979 till end of 81 and in 1981 I said to my friend Jacques Piguet Jacques I know because I saw it at Omega Omega owns a brand that is the oldest watch brand in the world called Blanca and I know because Omega is going under restructure relations they lose money they are going to be restructured and I said we should try to buy from these guys the name Plata because since 1959 they are not using this name anymore and Jacques PGA finally succeed at end of 81 - by the name Blanca for 22,000 Swiss francs when that was done I left Omega and I started to rethink redevelop lapa in a total other price segment lapa had never been as prestigious lapa had never been so round and classy and what was the first part she developed a plan part it was the moon phase the Mont you know in 1982 and everybody was running into court the moon phase look because of the moon and they take months this indication were a little bit nostalgic vision what's that this looks like an old watch it was somehow disruptive compared to the quartz watches the Patek ap even Rolex tried to make watts and we were the first ones to say since 1735 there has never been a blower in quartz and they will never be one that was the advertised that was the headline of our and it worked in 82 we started in 82 I think we sold 97 watches in 1992 pre-sold Blanca for 60 million to swatral so you invested 22,000 and God yeah 60 million yes that's a pretty good return it's a very good return if we would have kept abroad we could have got more so this watch here this is the very first perpetual calendar maybe bappa yes number zero zero zero zero I always have number zero zero of global only every watched it was new at papa I took number zero zero for me because number one we had to send to customers number one cannot be kept by the owner so what year was this one that was 85 so you're doing perpetual calendars in 1985 about yes and then end of 88 we had the six masterpieces the ultra slip the moon face calendar the perpetual calendar the tobio the split and the minute repeater we were the first friend in 1989 to have all the six masterpieces all in the same round case and all in a case that is 33 millimeter can you imagine today it will be a ladies watch and this is the first minute repeater that's the first millimeter number zero zeros and so even back then in the 1980s so a peep attack they were not doing complications like this in the beginning of the eighties no they were doing quartz they were totally focused on the new technology what everybody thought in Switzerland would be the future of the Swiss watch industry they were all wrong the first one who believed that mechanical would come back was mr. Hayek señor and he told me and this is why he bought long time yeah so he was visionary you could see that it was returning but in the 80s 90% of the Swiss watch industry was concerned how can I do better and more quartz so who is buying a mineral Peter 1986-87 a lot of connoisseurs one guy lived in Newport Beach I remember because in those days we said we can even deliver you the water like the real artisan you know you buy the watch and then I come with the box and I bring the words to your home so if you but I have a ceremony then I had lunch with the family and I gave him his watch so if you buy a mini repeater in 1986-87 jean-claude beaver shows up yeah no I'm not necessarily but if you want yes yes yes sure that was the kind of service we are giving so you obviously love all watches yes so you've worked at ap at Omega if you blow etc etc but if you're a collector what do you collect I have started in this industry with one huge competitor for AP that was called Patek so I think was always in my kind of obsession to fight against them and so when I wanted to build this collection I said who do I collect shall I collect ap where I started shall I collect any what I saw I don't use you whatever Oh shall I collect the one that I was every morning say karna yeah I'm gonna beat you so that's the one I said I want to collect so I went on to collect Patek which was probably a good decision and a bad one it was a good one because they are the leaders in the classic traditional watch making art it was a bad one because you need a lot of money to collect a few and so you buy the tax at auction you go to Christmas you really you're real collector you go out and find that the specialties yes and I buy only the highest-quality if I see one lug that has been republished however if I see that the Dyer has been cleaned I would be reluctant to buy I want the watch has to be just perfect and so it's very difficult to buy because you find a lot of protects but to find the perfect one the one that is that is modified so this is a 3448 yes and this is not why I called this is platinum yes the case was made by mr. Hakman most of the pay takes minute repeaters were done by Hackman who I knew at lapa because he was making our minute repeater cases when I heard that he had made this case as a unique piece I said that's a unique piece class made by mr. Hogg man plus in mint condition I gotta buy it and where did you find this at Christie's five years ago six years ago so one-of-a-kind perpetual calendar soft wine you guys any piece that's incredible and then this this is even more incredible yeah this so this is a new stainless steel Patek so with a vintage chronograph movement yes I think the movement is from 1937 mr. stern found 16 movements in his stock for the 30s and he decided to make a new one you know I've seen a lot of watches doing this I've never seen one of these ever Vikki and then this is a unique Sebastian yes that you bought for then I bought at only watch in Monaco and I said I gonna buy this watch I gotta action this watch and the price i auction will go for children so my money goes to kids and the watch I get goes for my kid so the five sons watch so it's fat ass it's my son's watch and mr. stern asked me when he made the certificate to which name shall I write a certificate I said to mr. Pierre beaver it's not a bad way to start it's a good way to start and then this is a 15 18 15 18 rose gold with rose gold dial phenomenal condition and fantastic color combination unique and is just like new it's perfect then this is a rare oversized 530 Conrad yeah the oversize is fantastic that is what you can wear today that's a world of today it's also in rose gold that's the watch I wear you know from all the watches we have seen I wear this one I wear this one and I wear the Hagman so the next one here is actually one of my favorite watches really ever so this is a 1579 in platinum 103 one out of three yeah and out of the three it seems that this one is in the best condition yeah and this is a watch that you wear all the time in fact you were Basel world this year it's that gave birth to some speculation that we would buy pet it but you're not and you know why I was wearing at a puzzle because as I was all the time between our boost a blow and a boost Zenit and the booze tag I said the only natural watch I can go to every booth in Basel is this one because this is no true yeah it's above everything yeah and next we have a $24.99 this is a must-have some say it's one of the best watches ever made I think so yeah I believe that in the case is like untouched I'm touched I'm touched I'm touched and cut and this looks like a 130 but it's not this is a Roger pot yes it's in the in the cloud this is a dream on dream what a dream color and in fantastic condition never tested and then we have another 1579 yes in rose gold you see the conditions are incredible and these are the absolute most classic most elegant watches Patek is made yes it's funny to see this and then you have something that 48 millimeters on your yes different things for different people of course you know it's like you can own a rolls-royce and Ferrari this is not competing with this yeah at all so different and you think this collection one day will go to your children yes I hope so and to show that off the sound it's amazing and then that's also unique you have Geneva capital of MML Geneva capital of heigh-ho Lowell jury and Geneva home of Patek and all this in an MMO ultra-slim patek philippe watch two-sided enamel yes fantastic so you collect the tech you work for for Hublot and now the rest of LVMH do you hope one day that you'll have collectors similar to you are with attack for Keibler we will have collectors of course but similar as Patek no I never hope for my brand to be the same as another one but I know for sure that young people will come and young people will collect but it will not be the same as better [Music]

Channel: Hodinkee

Views: 818,314

Rating: 4.9208694 out of 5

Keywords: Jean-Claude Biver (Person), Talking Watches, Talking Watches with Jean-Claude Biver, HODINKEE, Patek Philippe & Co. (Business Operation), Hublot, Audemars Piguet (Business Operation), Blancpain (Business Operation), Patek Philippe 3448, Patek Philippe 3670A, Patek Philippe 5106R, Patek Philippe 1518, Patek Philippe Oversized 530, Patek Philippe 1579, Patek Philippe 2499, Patek Philippe 1436, LVMH Moet Hennessy (Business Operation), HODINKEE 2014

Id: XvLhJamAjAs

Length: 20min 6sec (1206 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 16 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/zephyrus17]

His enthusiasm is what gets me the most. Fantastic guy!

[u/Walkmen101]

What is incredible is that Jean Claude Biver basically forgot that Benjamin Clymer was coming to film "Talking watches" that day and forgot to go to the bank to pick his watches up. He said to Benjamin Clymer that they'll have to work with what he has in house, which is exactly what is shown on the video. I can only imagine what is hidden inside that bank vault though...

[u/___WE-ARE-GROOT___]

So you invested 22,000 (Swiss francs) and sold it for 60 million?
Yes,yes.
That's a pretty great return.

Holy fucking shit, what a great investment. Would be worth much more these days though.

Edit: Just finished watching the rest, that's one of the best videos I've ever seen. That collection is insane. Thanks for sharing OP, I loved every minute of it!

[u/Potatolicker]

What an amazing video

[u/DeathAdderSD]

I know very little of Patek and their watches, but I do know his collection is...as you said OP, insane in a good way.

[u/ProcrastinHater]

Jaw quite literally dropped at 13:10. Holy cow, what an incredible collection.

[u/4K1]

Thank you so much for sharing, this video made my week. I really wish I could meet such an enthusiastic and spirited collector who has experience in the industry too.

[u/krutdurk]

[deleted]

What is this?

[u/WristAddict]

This was the video that gave me a new found respect for Hublot.