The presentation was attended by Roman Deso, brand manager of Baume & Mercier in the Middle East, Alexander Peraldi, design director of the manufactory, and Daniel Brailleard, technical director of Baume & Mercier.
The collection was presented at the Park Hyatt Dubai five-star hotel, after which we could exchange our impressions and talk with Alexander Peraldi himself, the head of the design team of this old Swiss watch factory. At first glance at Alexander, it becomes clear - in front of you is an artist and a creative person. He does not wear an office suit, instead of him is a long and wide skirt. He shaves his head and enjoys kendo, the art of Japanese sword fighting. He expresses his attitude to the new Hampton collection in a nutshell - this is an “exercise with style” performed by the design studio Baume & Mercier.
Alexander, you did not immediately become a watch designer, and for some time worked at Cartier. What connects you today with Baume & Mercier?
You are right, I was a regular designer and first started working on new watch designs at Cartier House. It was a very serious school. There I developed a design formula for myself - these are aesthetics and industry combined. The most important element for me has always been aesthetics. Therefore, I was fascinated and carried away by my work at Baume & Mercier, where we must remain a classic brand, not without, however, a creative component. It was complicated. But I like this kind of challenge to myself. This allows you to be precise and very concise in design, but at the same time, a lot to say to the buyer. Today it is very simple to be an extravagant designer, but to keep the taste and sense of proportion is incredibly difficult. I think this brings my views to the philosophy of Baume & Mercier.
Nevertheless, it’s a rather strange choice - after three years of work in a company representing the French luxury segment, you choose the brevity, if not simplicity of Baume & Mercier. What is the secret?
I will allow myself to compare my work with music. If a person wants to become a good musician, he must study classical music at the conservatory for 10 years. And only after that he can masterfully play jazz. Cartier has become my conservatory, and now I am “performing jazz”, leading the design studio at Baume & Mercier.
Over the past few years, management, and indeed the general concept of the Baume & Mercier brand, have repeatedly changed. How did these changes affect your work? How difficult was it to adapt to each new head of the company?
For me, of course, the company's strategy has changed a lot. Today we try to take a fresh look at historical and family values. However, we did not change the brand, I both worked and continue to do so at Baume & Mercier. Today I really like that the design studio has the opportunity to constantly interact with the marketing team at all stages of creating new watches. I think this helps us all better understand our future customers and the message that we are trying to convey through our new collections.
Alexander, where did you get ideas for revising and rethinking the well-known Hampton collection?
As with our other lines — Linea and Capeland — the inspiration was the “territory” of Baume & Mercier — life on the ocean in Hampton. We specially went to Hampton, from where we returned with thousands of photographs and films captured there. My team spent several weeks with these archives to identify designer codes for all of our new collections.
What was the new Hampton watch collection after deep thought?
Hampton watches are classic in nature, they are timeless. This is our classic, this is a great mechanism, it fits easily into any case. But we come up with a different case. This time we needed a calm and warm Hampton, we had to give it the features of modernity, at the same time, conveying new brand values - a lifestyle on the coast. We just wanted it to reflect the calm elegance that characterizes Hampton residents.
What do you like most about the new Hampton watch?
I consider the main distinguishing features of this new collection - crystal and clean, well-perceived curves of the body. First, crystal is a new word in the technical equipment of watches, and its shape resembles a prism, therefore, looking at one’s watch from different angles of view, a person will perceive it in a new way every time.
Please tell me why the shape of the straps on women's models is different from men's?
At the prototype development stage, we conducted a series of tests to understand what the most elegant way to place a watch on your wrist should be. Therefore, for Hampton female models, we chose a special form of strap - “jodhpur”. And it fits perfectly with the world of Baume & Mercier.
Last question. Do the watches that we see today at the presentation in Dubai look like your very first sketch for the new Hampton collection?
Over the course of the year, we drew sketches in pencil, then worked them out on a computer - first in two-dimensional, and then in three-dimensional. Work on the collection, as I said, took place in conjunction with the marketing team. Therefore, as a result, we got a watch with complex elements, such as crystal, covering the dial. He is fat, but visually very delicate. Having solved all the technical issues, we moved on to a new aesthetic. Ultimately, this led to the appearance of watches, which, perhaps, are not particularly similar to the very first sketches, but definitely, much better. This is extraordinary.
Do you have any favorite watches, among all, created under your leadership at Baume & Mercier?
Today I wear a new Capeland, they are only a year old. I am glad that we again returned to the release of this collection, which was suspended for several years. I like this watch. They are large, but very very comfortable. I don’t feel them on my hand and I wear them with pleasure every day.
Thanks for the conversation, Alexander. Until new meetings and new collections.
