REPORTS REPORTS iñigo s. roces patrick uy

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2 Cover story R EPORTS The Next Chapter At a hotel room in one of Manila s newest casinos, Steven Holtzman is poring over drawings of bamboo leaves, moving from one to the other to find the perfect one that could serve as a hand for his next watch. Words iñigo s. roces Photography patrick uy 50 51

Roma Finissimo Tourbillon in pink gold T he founder of independent Swiss watch-maker, Maitres du Temps, is working on his next chapter, though not necessarily the next eagerly-anticipated collection.

Maitres du Temps, as the name suggests, brings together masters of horology to collaborate in creating unique collections, each one called a chapter. Holtzman is no neophyte in the industry either.

I started 30 years ago, Gruen Watch Company, family business. When I started in the 80 s, Gruen was a US$30 watch. They made the Tank watch that was later bought by Cartier.

After some decades in the family business, Holtzman decided to venture on his own, starting with distributing midlevel brands and 52 working his way up to become a major distributor for high end

3 Roma Finissimo Tourbillon in pink gold T he founder of independent Swiss watch-maker, Maitres du Temps, is working on his next chapter, though not necessarily the next eagerly-anticipated collection. This particular piece is only for one discerning customer. Maitres du Temps, as the name suggests, brings together masters of horology to collaborate in creating unique collections, each one called a chapter. Holtzman is no neophyte in the industry either. His experience with watches dates back far into his youth when he joined the sales team at his father s company, the Gruen Marketing Corporation. I started 30 years ago, Gruen Watch Company, family business. When I started in the 80 s, Gruen was a US$30 watch. They made the Tank watch that was later bought by Cartier. We were pretty big in the 80s, making 6% of all watches in the US, six or seven million watches. After some decades in the family business, Holtzman decided to venture on his own, starting with distributing midlevel brands and 52 working his way up to become a major distributor for high end Swiss brands like Roger Dubuis and Jean Dunand. The Richemont group would later buy a controlling stake in Roger Dubuis SA and buy out Holtzman s distribution rights. Newly liquid, Holtzman then decided to create his own watch company. I m not a watchmaker. I had to do something, not about me, but about the guys that made it themselves. So I thought, if I could call it anything, it would be Masters of Time, and I d travel with the watchmakers. So I contacted Mr. Dubuis, who was my first and longtime friend, and we met watchmakers. Then came Holtzman s idea, which seemed ludicrous at the time. I thought I d get two or three watchmakers, put them together and make a movement. At the time, I never heard of anyone else doing this. I asked them if they would work together and they laughed. He admits there were difficulties getting them to work together on the first two but they seem to have found the stride later on. I m not a watchmaker. I had to do something, not about me, but about the guys that made it themselves. So I thought, if I could call it anything, it would be Masters of Time, and I d travel with the watchmakers. 53

Every watch is a chapter and every chapter is a different group of watchmakers. I decided to stop at Chapter Three and make all the new watches either a Chapter One, Two, or Three.

It featured a tourbillon, Monopusher Chronograph, Retrograde Date, Retrograde GMT, and two rolling bars at 6 o clock and 12 o clock, indicating the day of the week and the phases of the moon,

The triple calendar wristwatch, with a big date and rollers indicating days and months, was much simpler, intended for a broader market.

Chapter Three was really hard, because I don t 54 believe in classic watches. The Chapter One and Two are not a shape people are comfortable with.

Finally, the Chapter Three Reveal was introduced at BaselWorld in 2012.

Three years since the Chapter Three, observers are beginning to wonder, Where is Chapter Four? I was afraid if I did chapter 9, 10, or 11, Chapter One wouldn t be relevant anymore.

4 Every watch is a chapter and every chapter is a different group of watchmakers. I decided to stop at Chapter Three and make all the new watches either a Chapter One, Two, or Three. Maitres du Temps first wowed the world with the Chapter One, in Geneva in 2008, with a grand complication developed by Christophe Claret, Roger Dubuis, and Peter Speake-Marin. It featured a tourbillon, Monopusher Chronograph, Retrograde Date, Retrograde GMT, and two rolling bars at 6 o clock and 12 o clock, indicating the day of the week and the phases of the moon, respectively. The Chapter Two followed after, developed by watchmakers Daniel Roth, Peter Speake-Marin, and Roger Dubuis. The triple calendar wristwatch, with a big date and rollers indicating days and months, was much simpler, intended for a broader market. By the third, we started from scratch, defined what each one could do and all go back and put in a little of everyone s experience, style and technique. Chapter Three was really hard, because I don t 54 believe in classic watches. The Chapter One and Two are not a shape people are comfortable with. I needed to have a classic watch and I needed to have rollers. In the end, we ended up with exactly what the brand was intended to be. It s an alchemy of different styles and tastes. Finally, the Chapter Three Reveal was introduced at BaselWorld in Developed by watchmakers Kari Voutilainen and Andreas Strehler, it was a round watch which still featured the marque s trademark rollers, hidden beneath windows at "12" and "6". Three years since the Chapter Three, observers are beginning to wonder, Where is Chapter Four? Every watch is a chapter and every chapter is a different group of watchmakers. I decided to stop at Chapter Three and make all the new watches either a Chapter One, Two, or Three. I was afraid if I did chapter 9, 10, or 11, Chapter One wouldn t be relevant anymore. At this level, every Chapter has to be good forever, not just for Baselworld So how does Holtzman continue to keep the brand top-of-mind among buyers eyes despite the distinct lack of new products? Bespoke work. I do dinners, maybe five to six times a month, where I have 1020 people. I show some slides and videos. Every time, I can confidently leave knowing two to five will pull me aside after dinner and ask me if I can do something for them. He s been flying around the US and Asia to personally meet clients at dinners to get to know them and consult with them on custom work. He recently completed one in Manila with high hopes for another set of orders. In the past three months, I sold in custom watches as many watches as I sold in the past year, Holtzman notes. I needed something different, Holtzman explains of the decidedly new route for his business. It s put a whole new spin. I was getting worn out from every year, doing new things, new launches. Instead of being a commercial guy, I m now really getting a personal feel for my business, which makes it fulfilling and enjoying. Now it s added a personal touch to it. Most importantly, I m really selling. With this custom work, I ll be fully busy with my maximum capacity. It s taken me ten years to get to that point. The bespoke work Maires du Temps offers can be anything as simple as changing the color of the hands to as complicated as engraving the casing or even inserting diamonds into the movement. I spend up to 50 hours in work to price something out, find suppliers that can do things, find out if it s possible. It takes a lot of time, money, man hours just to research all these requests. In the end, they might not even buy it. I ve never put a diamond in a certain place in a case. So I have to research. There are also things like, How deep can I make the engraving? Can I put a diamond here? I don t make money 55

on these little extras. A lot I do for free, or I do at cost. It s a pain, but in the end, I sell a watch. Steven goes on to explain the process he goes through when making bespoke components.

The guy that wants bamboo hands, there s only one guy that wants that, so he s paying 2500. When I make a roller for a client, I have to make three. Two might not end up correct.

A dial with overprinting, I ve never done that before. I d have to lose three dials, 6-700 a dial, to get a fourth perfect one. I may get it right on the second, I may get it on the fifth.

Nonetheless, it s brought him a more elite clientele base, counting among them, the physician to the King of Thailand, heads of multinational companies, the Sultan of Oman, and many more discreet yet

5 on these little extras. A lot I do for free, or I do at cost. It s a pain, but in the end, I sell a watch. Steven goes on to explain the process he goes through when making bespoke components. Some of the things they asked, making hands for example, it costs 2500 Swiss Francs to make 10 hands. I have to make 10, I can t make one. I try to group them together and just charge them 250. The guy that wants bamboo hands, there s only one guy that wants that, so he s paying When I make a roller for a client, I have to make three. Two might not end up correct. If something is 98% right but not correct, I can t put it on a watch. When I change a color, I have to make three rollers, 850 a roller, to get one good one. A dial with overprinting, I ve never done that before. I d have to lose three dials, a dial, to get a fourth perfect one. I may get it right on the second, I may get it on the fifth. I understand it s really true because I pay the bill. Nonetheless, it s brought him a more elite clientele base, counting among them, the physician to the King of Thailand, heads of multinational companies, the Sultan of Oman, and many more discreet yet nonetheless serious collectors. From determining what designs and changes they want, Steven then gets to work on a rendering. Yesterday, there were five from the 20 or 30 that went to the dinner. Last night, I was getting all the details. Today, I will have the pictures and they ll say yes or no. 56 A king would summon a watchmaker and make these requests. This is just a bunch of metal. You make these components and put all this time into it, and it becomes alive and personal. You put it on, you re with it for 12 hours, if it s something you chose, you designed, it s personal. Most of the time, it will be no. These guys have come up with so many nicer things than I ve come up with, Holtzman confesses. The hands, the dial choices. They re really sophisticated so they have a lot of choices because they see the best. They re courted by the brands. He can go back and forth with a client as much as 20 times, just for one custom piece. Nonetheless, he soldiers on, keeping the client s satisfaction his top priority. I hope no one else does this. It makes me special, he jests. This is the way watches were made 200 years ago, Holtzman relates. A king would summon a watchmaker and make these requests. This is just a bunch of metal. You make these components and put all this time into it, and it becomes alive and personal. You put it on, you re with it for 12 hours, if it s something you chose, you designed, it s personal. This personal touch is the key to keeping his watch far more loved than the many others in his clients collection. They don t buy my watch as their first watch. They buy it as their 20th or 30th. I think I m making something that s really important to them. They will wear mine two days a week instead of once a month. With success in the bespoke business, Holtzman is looking into finding a more permanent home for his unique brand of service. I haven t figured out how to do what I do through a store. I think these guys like meeting the maker. The way it could work is to do it in a boutique. They come in, there s a room they walk into to see all the different colors. Then, the store calls me up to come in. He s already found a few places to set up shop. I m opening in Vietnam and Bangkok. I will find a good home for this in London and Paris which have a lot of bespoke demand. If I can anchor in the UK, the Middle East clients can shop in London. As for Manila, Holtzman has high hopes as well. If I can get five interested parties on the first dinner in Manila, that s huge. I have a feeling I ll be coming back to Manila more often. 57

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