PICARD CADET GENÈVE WATCHES
Founded in Geneva in 1910 by Jules Picard Cadet, the brand Picard Cadet Genève had been making masculine and feminine watches for nearly sixty years.
With the death of its founder in 1967, the brand remained dormant and in its place was silence. After a long sleep, in 2013 the brand was reborn by launching new collection entitled “Les Intemporelles”.
It all began in the city of Geneva at the dawn of the 20th century (1910), when a young man called Jules Picard Cadet decided to open his own watchmaking workshop at the corner of the Place du Molard and the Rue de la Croix-d’Or.
Being a designer by trade, he naturally gravitated towards watchmaking. Obsessed with detail and finishing, his first pieces were the result of a combination of his preferred field of jewellery making and something that was entirely new to him, the world of watchmaking, a world governed by strict rules and conditioned by a precise mechanical function.
Before producing his first wristwatches, he designed Art déco style miniature clocks and chronometer fob watches of a sober and sophisticated elegance. In the 40’s he also designed a ring set with diamonds and a tourmaline stone, a product of his highly fertile imagination in the pure spirit of the “fantasy watch” or “form watch”.
Thirteen precious gemstones clustered together to form a cover that flipped back to leave open to view a steel dial, a slim design with a diamond in its centre connecting the two hands to recall the original vocation behind this unique creation.
This is the perfect expression of Jules Picard Cadet’s work, the result of a unique marriage between a precious gemstone and the impotence of time in its face. With his talent for producing jewellery watches, Jules Picard Cadet belongs fully to the tradition of the watch-seen-as-object, harnessing time within a case that can take on any form or appearance.
His craftsman’s eye trained in fine detail, his constant quest for perfection and his search for sophistication and a unique style gave him a powerful ally in the field of fine watchmaking design.
After a long sleep, the brand was relaunched in 2013 thanks to the initiative of new investors, a family of jewelers and retailers impassioned by Genevan watchmaking. The brand leapt to life and the designers set about working on a unique collection entitled “Les Intemporelles”, which immediately found its place in the market.
To this day, the expertise and originality of the founder form an integral part of the work conducted by the new team, who strives to respect the past. Keen to preserve its heritage, Picard Cadet Genève designs, manufactures and assembles its watches in Switzerland, and more specifically in Geneva.
Featured Timepieces
Contact details
PICARD CADET GENÈVE SA
Rue du Mont-Blanc 17
CH-1201 Geneva
http://www.picardcadet.ch
