A two-day visit to the HAUTLENCE design and production workshop in La Chaux-de- Fonds at the end of April, followed by instructive sessions with a case-maker, a decorator and an external design workshop, sparked a flurry of new ideas. These insights resulted in the first sketches for the next episode in the story of watches that are recognised by connoisseurs as feats of mechanical architecture. The model was then finalised in a second meeting held in the equally inspirational setting of Paris.

Eric Cantona has its own art collection comprising over a hundred works, including a sculpture that inspired this first collaborative model. Commenting on this joint endeavour with an international personality driven by a strong love of artistic expression in its multiple forms, HAUTLENCE CEO and founder Guillaume Tetu enthused: “Eric is full of ideas and is very involved in this watchmaking adventure.  He was struck by the work of the master craftsmen he met and we can already say that blue will be a prominent feature of this piece, which was inspired by a contemporary art sculpture.”

In his capacity as exclusive partner to the brand, Cantona, will naturally be on hand to present the first opus resulting from his collaboration with HAUTLENCE at the brand’s 10th anniversary celebration in Neuchâtel this September – the kick-off event for a subsequent world tour.