Founded in 1839 by Auguste L’Epee, the brand began as a specialist in music boxes and high-precision watch components before becoming synonymous with luxury table timepieces and carriage clocks. For almost two centuries, L’Epee has been the go-to clockmaker for royalty and governments and is frequently commissioned to create bespoke gifts for elite guests worldwide.
“L’Epee has always been tied to power and prestige,” Nicolas explained. “For decades, its clocks were presented as official gifts by the French and English governments, so many influential figures from around the world own a L’Epee clock.” The brand’s history of creating customised masterpieces for heads of state underscores its reputation as a purveyor of the extraordinary. But sadly, even a maison as illustrious as L’Epee wasn’t immune to challenges. By the early 2000s, traditional clocks had fallen out of favour, and the future looked uncertain for the manufacture.
A BEER AND A CRAZY IDEA
Nicolas didn’t set out to be the saviour of Swiss clockmaking – the opportunity arose almost by chance. He recalled: “We were at a bar having a beer when my business partner mentioned that L’Epee, one of Switzerland’s last independent clockmakers, was at risk of fading into obscurity. We went silent for two minutes, looked at each other, and said, ‘Let’s buy it!’” What began as a spontaneous decision would become a 16-year journey to reinvent the very concept of a clock.
However, Nicolas’ journey to revitalise the brand was far from smooth. “In the beginning, retailers hung up on me the moment I mentioned clocks. No one wanted them,” he admitted. Undeterred, the former aerospace engineer leaned into his vision, rethinking every aspect of clockmaking to transform the functional objects into evocative works of art.
What ultimately changed minds was when Nicolas decided to stop pitching and let the clocks speak for themselves. “When I placed one of our timepieces in front of the distributors, they’d stare at it in disbelief and ask, ‘Is this is really a clock?’ That’s when they began to understand what I saw and I knew we were on to something.”
When asked if he ever imagined making clocks cool again after acquiring L’Epee, Nicolas confidently replied: “Yes. When we purchased L’Epee in June 2009, I’d been looking for a clock for my home for some time, but I never found anything. They were all somehow boring, standard square objects… Nicely made, but not appealing. Something was missing.” That “something” became Nicolas’ mission to rediscover and with this vision, transformed L’Epee into a playground of creativity, transitioning from traditional clockmaking to becoming the leader of kinetic horological art today.
