Vaucher Manufacture: A mutually beneficial new partnership
The alliance between Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier and the Hermès Group is based on strong shared values, and creates powerful synergies and offers considerable reciprocal benefits for both parties.
The Hermès Group, founded in 1837 and specialising in high-quality products in fourteen different segments, is a legend in the world of luxury goods – from saddlery and leather to silk and tie, along with tableware, jewellery, perfumes and… watches. In keeping with its strategy of bringing masters in their field within the group, Hermès is reinforcing its presence and legitimacy in the field of mechanical watchmaking by acquiring a 25% stake in Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation.
Converging interests
Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, based in Switzerland, is a modern industrial facility with a 150-strong personnel, specialising in the development, production and assembly of Haute Horlogerie mechanical movements. It is universally acknowledged for its innovative approach to movement making and significant R&D capacity, illustrated by a substantial project portfolio and reinforced by intense cooperation with the major technological training schools and institutes. Current annual production amounts to 6,000 movements per year, a figure that is expected to rise to 10,000 in 2007 and to 20,000 in the long term. Made for a privileged circle of prestigious clients, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier movements combine advanced technology and pleasing aesthetics. This impressive array of assets make it an ideal factor in Hermès ongoing strategy of extending its range of upscale mechanical watches, while also supporting and reinforcing Vaucher in its ongoing development.
A promising pipeline
Innovation, creativity and independence are the cornerstones of the corporate culture of both the Hermès Group and Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, making this a natural and inevitably profitable coming together of two partners with complementary expertise. With several Hermès watches already fitted with a Vaucher movement, including some to be unveiled at Baselworld, and other projects are in the pipeline, Vaucher Manufacture will continue to enrich the Hermès collections with its considerable technical know-how, while continuing to supply some of the other great names in the watchmaking arena.
