For example, the 2005 Tourbillon Differentiel Academia by the masters of De Witt won the Innovation nomination at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve, the world’s premier watch award. Together with Jerome de Witt, an excellent team creates a unique watch. From the very beginning, he worked with former Vacheron Constantin president Claude Daniel Prollox, the energetic Pascal Brand, who previously worked in Officine Panerai and Vacheron Constantin, as well as prominent specialists from the Patek Phillipe watch manufactory. Moreover, the history of the Count family of Witt leads us into the intricacies of biographies associated with the Russian branch of Witte's ministers, who faithfully served the tsars and the Fatherland, and the French branch of the descendants of Napoleon Bonaparte. "
Less than four years after our first meeting with Count Jerome de Witt himself at the jewelry and watch exhibition in Bahrain, the company again began to attract attention by introducing new collections in the countries of the region. DeWitt Global Sales Director Mr. Thibaut Jowen kindly agreed to meet with us and talk about the latest DeWitt brand achievements.
Mr. Thibault, how did the DeWitt house go through a financial crisis, and what do you imagine now in Dubai?
I always said that if we continue to think about the crisis, we will never get out of it. Therefore, I believe that now is the time for moving forward and new discoveries. Of course, I will not deny that the crisis has affected many world markets, including the Emirate and Russian. On the other hand, the crisis gave us the opportunity to think about the products that we produce, about the customers we are counting on, and about the partners with whom we work. Review many relationships and understand what was done wrong. For example, in Russia before the crisis there were many people who were ready to buy watches for any price. Today the situation has changed, the luxury market itself has become a completely different one. Therefore, we decided to start the release of the collection, which was called Twenty-8-Eight. This is a more classic watch than DeWitt has produced so far. Of course, we remained faithful to the elements of our corporate identity, leaving “columns” on the sides of the case and a characteristic bezel, but the new models are much thinner than the first DeWitt watches, and their prices have become much more affordable.
I hope this does not mean that DeWitt does not produce more complicated watches?
Of course not. For us, the release of the new Twenty8-Eight tourbillon, magnificent in design, was very important. The inspiration for its creation was New York in the 1920s. The dimensions of the case were increased to 46 mm, compared with previous models with a diameter of 43 mm. In several new models, we used a unique combination of pink gold and tantalum. This, if in general terms, is about our latest developments, which also include the first collection of women's watches.
Finally! We no longer hoped that the DeWitt brand would turn its attention to the weaker floor.
Yes, and today we are proud to showcase our first models created specifically for women and presented in four versions. We had to completely redo the watch case under them. Pay attention to how delicately decorated the dial is made of natural mother of pearl. All flowers on it are made by hand, and instead of numbers, words. An automatic mechanism is installed inside the watch.
Sorry for the question, but do you really think that women need to point to indicators of the exact time in words? The numbers are not enough?
It seems to me that this was done for decorative purposes, and not on all models. We want to convey to all buyers that women today are an integral part of the business community. In any case, DeWitt is convinced of this, so in the future we intend to develop complex models and mechanisms for the fairer sex. Indeed, today ladies drive expensive cars with sophisticated mechanics inside. So what prevents them from becoming owners of beautiful, but mechanical mechanical chronographs or tourbillons?
What is the purpose of your current visit to Dubai? Is it just the presentation of the new DeWitt watch collections?
The main purpose of my trip was to meet with Levant management. It is in its branded boutiques that we will sell our watches. And this is for DeWitt - a new era in development, and a new, hopefully fruitful, partnership in the Middle East region. We are currently developing a joint strategy for promoting the brand in the region, and in the future, perhaps, we will talk about the opening of DeWitt monobutics in Dubai. In the meantime, we are talking about the presentation of our watches in four Levant boutiques, since we again want to draw attention to the brand and give it a rebirth.
What are the positions of the DeWitt brand in Russia and the CIS countries? What, as an international sales director, are you most concerned about today?
DeWitt collections are presented in Russia by our partner, Mercury. Today, our products are sold in five specialized departments in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg, and we feel confident. I visit Russia quite often, but I believe that the more we communicate, the more motivated the sellers will be and the indicative results of our joint work. Therefore, I plan to soon meet again with my Russian partners and develop new ways of interacting with our customers and regular customers, for example, organizing dinners for collectors or private shows. These are my immediate plans and goals.
Thanks for the conversation, Mr. Thibault. We wish you the implementation of all plans and hope to meet again.
I am also grateful to your magazine for promoting the DeWitt brand. Once Jerome de Witt said: “My watch is always one company producing it from A to Z, and one master is completely responsible for each hour unit. He polishes, assembles, and all the other necessary operations. Behind every watch of mine is a dream and a whole story. " I would like to add that today DeWitt is creating new legends that will become part of the Swiss watchmaking heritage. It is good if Russian-speaking customers appreciate them. See you again.
