Cut For Time: Discover The Winner Of This Year’s Factory Of The Year Competition, A Bejeweled Pistol, And Other Watch Industry News

This week’s “Cut For Time” covers new partnerships, timepieces, anniversaries, awards, and more. Discover the latest news from IWC, Breguet, Corum, The Unnamed Society & L’Epée, and Schwarz Etienne.

IWC opened its latest factory in 2018, consolidating the production of its movement parts as well as housing its movement assembly and case making operations. This new manufacturing center contains an innovative production layout for greater efficiency and a more coordinated process. There are also shop floor areas where employees can regularly meet and exchange information. In particular, the competition’s jurors appreciated aspects such as quality control and sustainability when giving IWC the prestigious Global Excellence in Operations (GEO) “Factory of the Year” prize.
 

"We participated in this competition in order to precisely benchmark ourselves against the best industrial companies in Europe and to allow us to learn from this,” said Stefan Jung, Lean Advisor of IWC Schaffhausen. “After all, as engineers of the art of watchmaking, we want to constantly scrutinize our procedures, continuously develop our processes further, and sustainably increase the quality of our products. Winners in the last few years have included some of the most famous industrial companies in Europe, including our long-standing partner Mercedes-AMG. We are therefore especially pleased that we are now the first luxury watch manufacturer to have been awarded the GEO Award for operational excellence."
 

Breguet recently announced its new role as patron of the French National Navy Museum in Paris. Breguet’s connection to the navy dates back to the early 1800s when France’s King Louis XVIII awarded Abraham-Louis Breguet with the official title of Watchmaker to the French Royal Navy. Abraham-Louis Breguet was also made a member of the prestigious French scientific institution called the “Bureau des Longitudes.”
 

As part of this new partnership, Breguet will also be helping to create a room devoted to the scientific resources for navigation at sea used throughout history. This 150m room will showcase objects from naval, scientific, and watchmaking history, including the rare Breguet Chronometer No. 5072. The museum is housed in the famous Palais de Chaillot, on the Place du Trocadéro. It is currently undergoing a full renovation and will reopen in 2022.
 

Following on from the Colt Revolver Clock unveiled last year, The Unnamed Society and L’Epée are back with another mind-blowing one-off creation called The Diamond. This ultra-exclusive revolver clock is set with 2,518 diamonds (totaling 78 carats) that took over 300 hours to set and completed by six master setters from the Salanitro workshop in Geneva, a leader in the field of gem setting for the Swiss watch industry.
 

This unusual work of art reinterprets the concept of time measurement and offers a new kind of gift that takes creativity, aesthetics, and craftsmanship to a whole new level. The Diamond is being presented in Monaco at the ART in TIME gallery, the perfect showplace for this outstanding horological object.
 

Schwarz Etienne unveils its latest new release for women, the Fiji Floral Seconds Joaillerie. Designed by a woman for women, this elegant new 38mm ladies’ model comes in an 18-karat rose gold case adorned with 512 diamonds and a further 236 diamonds set into the dial.
 

The Fiji Floral Seconds Joaillerie features the company’s animated floral seconds display that looks like a blossoming flower thanks to a rotating gray disc covered by an openworked lattice cover. The timepiece is powered by the Schwarz Etienne ASE 200 automatic movement with micro-rotor and 86-hour power reserve and comes with two straps – a glittery black alligator and a metalized chocolate brown leather. Instead of coming in a box, it comes in its own burgundy python purse for two gifts in one!