Jean-Claude Biver and his son Pierre on co-founding a watch brand

There’s a new duo in watchmaking, and it offers an intriguing peek into the father-son dynamic. The patriarch in question needs no introduction. He is industry titan Jean-Claude Biver, widely lauded for resurrecting Blancpain, revamping Omega, and invigorating Hublot over a stellar 50-year career.

Last year, he emerged from retirement armed with a new business partner, his son Pierre. Seated side by side, the juxtaposition is delightful: Jean-Claude’s larger-than-life personality versus Pierre’s picture of stoicism at just 22, with five decades separating the two. It’s an interesting combination that promises to deliver some surprises as Jean-Claude embarks on his latest chapter in the industry.

“I was with both Blancpain and Omega for 11 years, and then nearly 20 years at Hublot. Remembering those long periods at Omega and Hublot made me quite often nostalgic of the past with Blancpain, and I said to myself that I would like to finish my professional life as an independent, so I am back full circle,” muses the 74-year- old veteran.

Related: 20 top timepieces from Watches & Wonders Geneva 2023

Setting the bar high

Jean-Claude now sets the vision for the year-old Biver Watches, while Pierre takes care of the day-to-day operations of their eponymous business. The pair’s first outing together is the Carillon Tourbillon Biver, which is limited to just 30 pieces and was unveiled in March.

“After 50 years of being a veteran in the watchmaking business, I could not have started with the minimum. I have to start close to the maximum,” Jean-Claude offers candidly. Indeed, expectations run high when one of the Swiss watch industry’s most recognisable names decides to put his on a watch dial.

And so the Carillon Tourbillon Biver, priced at over half a million Swiss francs, features a tourbillon and a carillon minute repeater, one of the most challenging of complications to attempt. The movement was developed by Le Cercle des Horlogers in Les Hauts-Geneveys in the Swiss Jura near Neuchatel.

The brand also works with Dubois Depraz for the development of other movements, signalling the Bivers’ intention to eschew the route of vertical manufacture but rather, establish what is known as an etablissage, where components are outsourced and then assembled centrally.

“We are trying to showcase to the world our philosophy of watchmaking,” says Pierre. “What we’re bringing to the table is a new way of approaching complicated watches. We try to avoid having any gimmicky complications. We're attempting something that is very subtle, sophisticated, and complicated — to bring a level of mechanical engineering and finishing that pushes the art of watchmaking, while keeping it very accessible in terms of size and understated design.”

For the younger Biver, this is the next phase in niche watchmaking. He observes, “We’ve just come out of a 20-year cycle where we've seen the rise of brands like Hublot, Richard Mille, MB&F, Urwerk, and De Bethune, which are known for very modern, disruptive innovations. But 20 years is very long for a trend. I personally think we're going to go back to smaller, understated high-end luxury watches [that reflect] stealth wealth.”

Dialling it up

For the Bivers, it was a priority to approach their new undertaking with a view to complexity. This also explains their choice of stone dials — silver obsidian and sodalite — which are “dream” materials that Jean-Claude has always wanted to work with due to their rarity as well as their challenging properties.

“Every sodalite dial is different, but they’re all blue. And they all have some shades of white in them, but it’s not the same. So it makes every watch look different,” he explains. Pierre adds, “We chose these stones for their spiritual attributes — for the energy they radiate.”

Sodalite is said to confer courage and confidence, while silver obsidian signifies rebirth and is believed to promote dynamism and optimism. Not that the founders need any help on those fronts.

For Jean-Claude, what keeps him moving forward is a lack of complacency. He demurs at the notion that he is a living legend in his field. “I don't feel like a legend,” he says. “Because I still have all my doubts. But as long as you have doubts, you are safe. Doubt is a friend. Because thanks to doubt, you think twice. It is dangerous when the doubt has disappeared, because you don't see the dangers coming anymore.”