THE WATCHMAKER WHO SHAKES UP MARGINS

Thomas Baillod from Chaux-de-Fonds had the audacity to market a tourbillon for less than 5,000 francs. A crime in a sector where growth no longer seems to have any limits and where pieces costing more than 20,000 francs are snapped up like hotcakes.This was all it took to trigger suspicion and to see all sorts of rumors being spread, particularly by professionals in the industry. The components of these movements inevitably come from China, we hear from the mouths of specialized journalists.

Le Temps wanted to find out for itself and approached subcontractors and other suppliers. The result: if the components of the "Ba111od" tourbillon came from China, this would mean that the same would be true for those of very large brands, particularly from the Vallée de Joux, their subcontractors being the same. A buyer from a company even checked if there was a whirlpool identical to Thomas Baillod's in Asia. In vain.

And it is quite logical since it is at 1000 meters, in the Neuchâtel Mountains, in the heart of the watchmaking city where Thomas Baillod was born, that it is designed. At the base of this little marvel that creates so much commotion, Olivier Mory, a watch designer. The latter, who has his own brand, Skill, is no stranger to the world of watchmaking as he has already worked for some of the big names and is the creator of a complete industrial movement, the SW1000, Sellita's ladies' calibre. A feat he achieved in 2011, after having made his debut in Le Locle, in the holy of holies department of Audemars Piguet (Renaud and Papi).

The meeting between Thomas Baillod and Olivier Mory could only result in a timepiece that shakes up the codes. "It allowed us to open the door to the very high end of the market and to dream of a tourbillon," smiles the founder of Ba111od.

Original text - Fanny Noghero - french - Le Temps

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