December 25, 2020
When fine watchmaking is paired with music, what you get is a Boegli. Driven by the passion for fine watchmaking and music, Francois Boegli, founded Boegli Watches in the year 2000 with aspiration to create a unique collection of musical wrist and pocket watches. From memories of yesteryear to renowned classical tunes, Boegli watches have exclusively paired musical movement with mechanical movement. Besides adding music to the wrist, the makers are also on a mission to revive ancestral crafts such as mesh, painting, sculpture and engraving to make customised and bespoke watches. This festive season, Vishawatch brings you an exclusive chat with Vitali Pavlov, the CEO of Swiss-made Boegli Watches, to get a quick peek into the world of Boegli, the brand’s journey so far and the future plans. Read on.
Vishawatch: What inspired the founders to create musical timepieces?
Vitali Pavlov: Francois Boegli – founder and namesake of the brand – hails from that line of distinguished artisans. But unlike his predecessors, he was consumed not by one, but by two passions: the craft of his family and classical music. His vision: to create designer musical watches that played refined melodies for people with refined tastes. Together with a small team that shared his passion for music and watchmaking, he founded Boegli Watches, Ltd. in 2000.
Vishawatch: How has the journey been since the start of the brand in terms of finding a niche space in the world of watchmaking. How has the brand been received by the community of watch lovers?
Vitali Pavlov: The Boegli family has always been ahead of their time: since 1904, they’ve been blazing the watchmaking trail, pioneering various clockwork technologies that have since led the world to the age of modern timepieces. Boegli – it’s more than a watch: it’s know-how; a piece of art – a concerto you can carry. It’s expertise and style in perfect harmony, designed for the modern renaissance man. Our watches leave no one indifferent. Collectors prefer to buy limited collections, while ordinary buyers choose various collections that are close to their hearts.
Vishawatch: In terms of customisation, it is very interesting to realise of the possibilities Boegli offers to connoisseurs who are looking for bespoke and unique pieces. Can you share some of the latest creations in this space?
Vitali Pavlov: Each of our models can be made to measure. For example, it is possible to get a custom engraving on the case of the watches, or create a custom dial, or even create your own model. Our latest custom work was the Nutcracker watches with Tchaikovsky melody, the dial was fully hand-drawn by our artist, moreover, they were assembled in a rose gold case. This project took us about half a year.
Vishawatch : Do you have any clients in India?
Vitali Pavlov: Unfortunately, not as many as we would like. However, we would love to expand our market and become known in India as well. We are sure that we will be able to create watches that will be loved by people.
Vishawatch: How are the watches priced?
Vitali Pavlov: For the pocket watches it depends on the model, the cheapest pocket watches we have cost 1100 CHF and the most expensive 2600 CHF, so I would say the average price is about 1800CHF, if we are talking about wristwatches, their price is 3500CHF. If we are talking about custom watches it depends on the client’s requirements and wishes, for example, our latest custom watches were sold for 10000CHF, so it’s really difficult to say the average price for custom watches, but I would say if you would like to own any custom Swiss watch, you should double your budget.
Vishawatch : How has the pandemic impacted the brand’s business and what’s the way forward in terms of strategy and experimentation?
Vitali Pavlov: Of course, like many others, COVID-19 has left its mark on our company. However, we continue to develop and used this time of easy downtime to create a new website that is still being finalised. We have also become more active in social networks and do not plan to stop. Probably, this pandemic was given to rethink a lot and start as if from scratch.
Ends
To know more about Boegli, visit the brand’s website http://boegliwatch.ch/ and follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boegliwatch/