Maurice de Mauriac Zurich

It’s a risky manoeuvre, starting a watch company from scratch in a country with a long history of family run watchmakers, without a family name to pass the business on to you.  Daniel Dreyfuss, who runs the Zurich based Maurice de Mauriac, decided in 1997 to do just that.  The watches that have developed out of these humble beginnings are labours of love, not industry, and are designed to bring pleasure to the wearers.  They are more than a symbol of status; they are a symbol of taste.

The shop is small with a large window looking out over the street.  Passers-by can view the team of watchmakers assembling timepieces in the window. The team consists of only Dreifuss and 4 assistants, each of whom have backgrounds as unlikely as Dreyfuss.

Every watch can be fully customized, from the dial to the band, if the customer has an idea, the watchmakers are open to it.  Ideas brought to them serve as inspiration and new styles have arisen out of customer “tweaks”.

We caught up with Daniel, a White Line Hotel Collaborator, to find out just what it is that makes Maurice de Mauriac watches tick.

What did you do before becoming a watchmaker?

I was a banker on Wall Street, but I wanted to leave the industry.  My opportunity came when the SEC closed the bank in 1987 because of the banking crisis.

What drew you to watch making?

Watch making is like the fashion business but with wheels!  I’m a colour thinker, a colour sensitive guy; I was always better in design and technique than banking.

How big is your team?

The team is made up myself plus of 4 ex-IWC watchmakers.

Just what is it that makes Swiss watches so special?

Swiss watches have a long tradition and Swiss watchmakers have schooled eyes for watch design and function, they’ve developed a feeling for it.

How long does it take to make a watch by hand?

Normally a watch takes between 1-4 days to completion but others can take as long as a month to make.

What sort of music, art and architecture do you draw inspiration from?

I’m inspired by the old school – Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Karl Lagerfeld, Bauhaus, Michel de Montaigne, Proust, Corbusier, Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Miller chairs, Smoke (the movie) Harvey Keitel, Wong Kar Wai, and in Cineaste – Chris Doyle, Woody Allen and the Cohen Brothers.

Do you train watchmakers?

Yes, any good watchmaker needs at least 15 years of experience.

Where do you find inspiration in Zurich or abroad?

I travel a lot, but I find inspiration in my shop, I also learn a lot from my clients and am always interested to see how they dress; they stimulate me.  The shop has a huge window looking out onto the street and there I can observe the street outside and the people passing by.

You are very connected via social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.  Is this a way to stay in touch with your market?

I’ve only been on Facebook for a month, but I’m impressed, it’s huge!

There was an interview that was done by Olivier Muller with you a few months ago.  One enthusiast of your watches commented that your watches are “One of the safest investments (…) a lottery ticket without expiration!”  Thoughts?

This is a personal view, I’m not guaranteeing an investment; when you buy a pair of jeans the life of the jeans is how they get used, and what pleasure you take from them.  I love that my watches are in use, they should be a part of the daily life, the daily outfit, not something that’s put in a safe and thought of as an investment like money or yields.  My watches should give happiness, stimulation, joy, a yoga-like feeling of calm for each of the holders, not thoughts of money.  Money for me is in the 10th position and doesn’t occupy my daily thinking.  Money being in the 10th position is already too much.

More information about Daniel Dreyfuss and Maurice de Mauriac watches can be found on the White Line Hotels Collaborators page or at www.mauricedemauriac.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or You Tube.

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Categories: Zurich, Collaborators

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter