Recycled stainless steel parts in front of photos of Circular model wristwatches from the Swiss start-up ID Geneve, on December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
Vegetable leathers, steel melted in a solar oven, composite material repairable with heat… The Swiss start-up ID Genève is exploring all avenues to make watches that are as durable as possible.
In this micro-enterprise there is “no question of using Amazonian wooden boxes which collect dust in a cupboard”, warns Nicolas Freudiger, its co-founder, aged 35, during an interview with the AFP.
The watches come in boxes that look like cast iron but are made from algae that dissolves in water and can be reused as garden fertilizer.
Created in December 2020, the start-up has so far only produced 620 watches, but has already generated a lot of buzz among Swiss watchmakers, especially since American actor Leonardo DiCaprio invested in the company. , in October 2023.
Cédric Mulhauser, co-founder of the Swiss start-up ID Genève, works on the mechanism of a watch in the brand’s workshop, December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
The idea was born when Mr. Freudiger, recruited by Coca-Cola after leaving the hotel school in Lausanne, resigned to take training on the circular economy.
He talks with his childhood friend Cédric Mulhauser, a watchmaker trained by the prestigious Vacheron Constantin brand, who introduces him to Singal Depéry Mösch, a designer friend.
– Alternative to luxury –
At the end of a concert, the trio lays the foundations of the project, with the ambition of becoming “a credible alternative in luxury”, recalls Mr. Freudiger, with these watches sold between 3,600 and 5,000 Swiss francs.
Plastic-free compostable industrial materials and recycled green waste used for vegan bracelets in front of a Circular model watch from the Swiss start-up ID Geneve, on December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
For their first model, they recovered high-quality steel, recycled from scrap from watch factories and medical equipment manufacturers in the Jura.
They unearth watch movements among the unsold stock of major brands, doomed to be destroyed, and for the bracelets they turn to an Italian company which manufactures vegetable leather from grape marc and a British start-up which produces them from grape marc. plant waste from London parks.
(ld) The founders of the ID Genève watch brand Singal Depery, Nicolas Freudiger and Cédric Mulhauser in their workshop, December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
The trio then wonders about the energy footprint during manufacturing and goes to carry out tests in a solar oven in the Pyrenees.
They return to Switzerland with recycled steel ingots, melted without fossil energy, used for their second model.
Ultimately, they hope to use a solar oven which should see the light of day in Switzerland, in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
– “As sexy” as rose gold –
In March 2023, during the ChangeNow innovation fair in Paris, they met students from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne who have developed resin systems allowing the rapid repair of carbon fiber materials using of a heat gun, and also created their start-up.
An ID Geneve brand watch made with recycled carbon fibers, December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
Applicable to composite materials in aeronautics, wind power or sports equipment, their technology makes it possible to extend the lifespan of parts which are often thrown away because “too long to repair”, explains Amaël Cohades, co-founder of this company called CompPair.
Together, they decide to make a material from wind turbine production scraps to easily repair watches in the event of a scratch or impact.
“We want to show that it is as sexy to wear a watch with CompPair technology as an 18-carat rose gold watch,” says Mr. Freudiger.
A piece of recycled stainless steel (L) next to wristwatch clasps from the ID Genève brand, on December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
For now, these watches mainly appeal to business leaders and engineers specializing in environmental professions, looking for “a piece of jewelry that reflects their values,” he explains.
According to Jon Cox, analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, “part of the market is certainly on the lookout for this type of product,” he told AFP.
ID Genève quickly caught the eye of the British luxury watch brand Watches of Switzerland, “the new generation of buyers being more aware than ever of environmental issues”.
The watches “sold out immediately after their launch”, in the United Kingdom and the United States, she assured AFP, the announcement of the investment made by Leonardo DiCaprio giving her a boost additional.
A pink Circular S wristwatch from the ID Genève brand presented in its compostable packaging made from algae that can dissolve in water and serve as fertilizer for the garden, on December 4, 2023 in Geneva (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)
For Luca Solca, analyst at Bernstein, this contemporary concept will probably attract new competitors in the coming years.
But “ID Genève will perhaps have carved out a niche for itself” and “will no longer be so small by then”, he says.
The brand intends to accelerate its growth, hoping to manufacture 1,000 watches in 2024.
© 2024 AFP
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