Biel
“2022 is the record year in Swiss watchmaking history”
Jean-Daniel Pasche was director then president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry for three decades. This future retiree retraces his career and outlines prospects.
Published
Appointed in 1993, Jean-Daniel Pasche will leave the presidency of the FH on 31 December next, but will ensure a transition during the first half of 2024.
lematin.ch/Sébastien Anex
For three decades, Jean-Daniel Pasche embodied the defense of the watch industry, working tirelessly to improve the framework conditions of this essential sector of the Swiss economy. After the announcement of his retirement, lematin.ch met him at the headquarters of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, an institution he directed, then also chaired: “We no longer need a watch to tell the time”, he smiles at smartphone time.
His designated successor for January 1, 2024 is the current director of the federation’s legal division, Yves Bugmann, subject to the approval of the general assembly. Jean-Daniel Pasche is leaving in a very favorable context for Swiss watchmaking. Interview:
With your duty of neutrality, what watch do you wear?
I have several and I change… I can’t have one watch per member!
Per member…
…of the FH! For emotion, I own the Omega watch given to me by my father.
Is a watch emotional?
Absolutely! Anyway, you no longer need a watch to tell the time! It’s a product you wear for fun, like nice clothes. With the engine as a bonus, the mechanical watch is in vogue, it was seen disappearing with the arrival of quartz in 1980!
You, in 1980…
I was not in watchmaking! My legal career began in Bern in 1981 at the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. Nobody knew what it was regarding: my friends asked me if I practiced spiritualism… But intellectual property has taken on importance in economic policy: protecting one’s values is a notion that is gaining momentum. One of the first files that my director placed on my desk was the “Swiss made” watchmaker. When the FH looked for a new secretary general, I knew this federation well.
Is it to protect technical innovations?
Yes, there are always, but patents also protect aesthetic innovations: design. And brands have protected names!
The FH is located in a heritage-listed building, in the Bienne station district.
lematin.ch/Vincent Donzé
How to fight once morest copies?
The fight once morest counterfeiting is a constant fight, with destruction in recycling plants or under a steamroller to create buzz, but we are also fighting once morest the abuse of “Swiss made”, a widely copied label, and once morest the abuse ISO standards on watertightness, antimagnetism, antireflection… We know that counterfeiting will never be eradicated: the goal is to reduce its visibility and ensure consumer confidence in our products. In a world filled with copies, the public would no longer buy the original. But our task is broader…
That’s to say?
The FH defends the interests of the branch in Switzerland and throughout the world. With other economic players such as chemicals, we intervene in Swiss economic policy and we participate in campaigns before votes concerning us. At the global level, we intervene in free trade to facilitate exports by simplifying regulations and lowering taxes and duties.
With how many employees?
There are 45 of us monitoring new regulations that might affect the watch industry all over the planet. Climate, health, materials, competition: it is regarding identifying legislative changes and informing our members.
Who have the same interests?
We work in what is unifying: thus, we have succeeded in exempting watches from a very intrusive new Indian law on precious metals. However, we do not intervene in competitive areas, such as product distribution. We are not a cartel!
What regarding employment, working conditions?
This is the business of the Employers’ Convention in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
What have you seen change in 30 years?
Digitization, which allows more direct contact between the supplier and the consumer, via social networks.
With what advantages?
In direct contact, you know what the customer wants, what he likes and what he doesn’t like. What has also changed is distribution, with major brands now having their own subsidiary, without intermediaries. Some even have their own shops to control the chain from production to sale.
Do we sell a lot of watches on the internet?
This channel grew during the pandemic, since it was the only way to generate interest and sell a product, with stores closed. At the entry level, it’s multi-channel: a brand sells on the internet and in stores. But past a certain investment, the customer wants to see the product and touch it. The Internet has also helped in the training and education of now well-informed customers.
Does the Chinese customer buy his watch in Zermatt or in Shanghai?
For the past three years, he has been buying it in Shanghai instead, since he no longer travels! This is why the Chinese market was so strong in 2021: the Chinese bought from China. But this country is opening up once more.
Does the war in Ukraine have an impact?
Sanctions and ethics mean that we no longer export to Russia, but this small market hardly weighs more than 1%. For watchmakers as for other manufacturers, the effects are more indirect, with the increased cost of energy.
Is the No. 1 market Chinese?
No, it’s the United States, with its 24 months of uninterrupted growth! The watchmakers are doing a good job of prospecting, but there is still potential in deep America.
A Swiss watch, is that still a must?
Listen: 2022 remains the record year in Swiss watchmaking history with 24.8 billion francs. China remains the largest manufacturer in terms of volume, but with an average price of a few francs. Switzerland holds more than 50% of the world market in terms of value.
Serving 440 companies, Jean-Daniel Pasche refrains from posing with a watch for the sake of neutrality.
lematin.ch/Sébastien Anex
A beautiful mechanical movement, is it a good investment?
It is an object inscribed in durability that never becomes obsolete. It does require maintenance due to friction, but a watch lasts longer than a car, even though it is supposed to run seven days a week, 24 hours a day! To my knowledge, no car does that…
Is a mechanical watch eco-friendly?
Yes, since it is reassembled manually. Operation without electricity is an attractive and durable aspect: a watch can have several lives and can be acquired as a second hand. There is no planned obsolescence…
Are you confident?
It is believed that 2023 will be a positive year. Despite the uncertainties and the war that does not stop…
What will your successor do?
Protectionism will always be present! For a branch that exports 95% of its production, it will be necessary to open up markets like India and Brazil. The task is to simplify the rules and protect our values, in a world where nations wish to close their borders to sell only their own products.
Switzerland, is it still cheese, chocolate and watches?
Out of sheer chauvinism, I would put watches first…
