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The history of DeWITT
The history of DeWITT
Jérôme de Witt is the founder of the DeWitt company and the creator of the 400 models built over the course of eleven years with the help of the R&D department's engineers and designers. In March 2012, his wife, Viviane de Witt, a former owner and manager of a Paris auction house and author of four art books, including two on jewellers, joined the firm. Today, the pair manages the business in line with men's ideals, always on the lookout for beauty, exceptional quality, and the most cutting-edge horological advances.
Montres DeWitt has been devoted to sustaining its passion for fine watchmaking, powered by a continually changing and inventive attitude, since its inception, building on an unmatched historical legacy. The noble watchmaking House is dedicated to conceiving and developing – in keeping with the finest traditions of Swiss hand craftsmanship – a range of highly exclusive timepieces imbued with a powerful identity blending refinement and the avant-garde. Its horological legitimacy dates back to the 18th century and to the heart of Napoleon Bonaparte's empire.
DeWitt inventions have achieved an unbroken level of worldwide success thanks to their distinguished aesthetics and incredibly original technology, which is supported by several patents filed to safeguard its revolutionary characteristics. This excellent reputation represents, first and foremost, a fascinating human journey and the resolve of men and women who are sincerely committed to their profession and who bestow individual and individualized care on each horological masterpiece, giving them genuinely remarkable value. At DeWitt, each timepiece is overseen by a single great master-watchmaker who serves as a defender of the Brand's unwavering commitment to its core values.
DeWitt nurtures a different, noble, and authentic breed of Haute Horlogerie by combining time-honoured know-how with exceptional technical expertise. Passion, tradition, creativity, integrity, and horological excellence are among the ethical values cultivated by DeWitt within a deliberately daring brand vision – that of nurturing a different, noble, and authentic breed of Haute Horlogerie by fusing time-honoured know-how with exceptional technical expertise.
For a long time, measuring devices were thought to be the sole domain of society's most powerful people. Emperors and sovereigns all over the world were desperate to find a means to measure time in order to control the unstoppable march of time. Jérôme de Witt, the creator of Montres DeWitt, is primarily responsible for the riches of the company's cultural history, which is a unique phenomena in the international luxury sector. Jérôme de Witt, the great-grandson of King Leopold II of Belgium, is a direct fifth-generation descendant of King Jérôme of Westphalia, Emperor Napoleon 1's brother.
The royal family has long had a passion for excellent timepieces. Prior to his departure for his Egyptian expedition in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte acquired three watches from Abraham-Louis Breguet, including a repeater watch, an almanac travel clock, and a perpetual repeater watch. When the future Emperor returned a year later, he took one of the clocks destroyed during combat back to the watchmaker and ordered a new one as a replacement. Breguet accepted right away, signaling the start of a long relationship with the royal family. In 1810, Abraham-Louis Breguet created the world's first wristwatch for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples and sister of Emperor Napoleon 1.
The imperial family amassed an outstanding collection of timepieces throughout the years, which was further extended by King Jérôme of Westphalia, a renowned watch collector, and later by Napoleon III. Jérôme de Witt is currently in charge of a portion of this historical inheritance. Jérôme de Witt has been captivated with mechanical horology since he was a youngster, just like his illustrious forebears. In the year 2000, he decided to pursue his passion by taking on a massive challenge: creating Montres DeWitt, a watch company.
Jérôme de Witt was committed to instill the virtues of his ancestors in this House. The entire spectrum of DeWitt clocks, from artistic conception to movement development, thereby embodies the Empire period's rules. The DeWitt watch collections combine heritage and modernity, with 24 miniature imperial columns gracing the bezel and the center area of the piece, producing a harmonic sense of depth and well-balanced proportions.
Jérôme de Witt has always been interested by mechanical watchmaking and is keen to share his enthusiasm with other fans of the Art of Horology. Inspired by his illustrious forefathers' cultural history, the founder of the brand that bears his name has a deep admiration for the watchmaker artists who have committed their expertise, skill, and patience to translating the passage of time into genuine works of art for generations.
Jérôme de Witt has made the pursuit of ultimate excellence one of his company's core goals.
Each model he creates is put through a rigorous and time-consuming development procedure.
DeWitt timepieces are endowed with an excellence of character that earns the brand its position at the very top of the range, as an acknowledged exponent of exclusive fine watchmaking. Technical sophistication, extreme concern for detail, high-end finishing, total respect for Swiss craftsmanship skills, and zero tolerance for any kind of imperfection: these are the lofty standards, backed by meticulous and constant scrutiny of the work in progress, that endow DeWitt timepieces with an excellence of character that earns the brand it's today.
DeWitt imagines and builds shapes with boldly lines and volumes, drawing inspiration from the great depth of its tradition. The finishing of DeWitt masterpieces, which combines historic and modern aspects, attests to the brand's relentless technical and artistic efforts aimed at putting exceptional value on each of the watches that emerge from its workshops. A DeWitt timepiece is distinguished by the meticulous attention paid to each and every detail. The House's master-watchmakers are known for their never-ending pursuit of excellence.
DeWitt established its artistic renown among the very elite group of avant-garde Haute Horlogerie companies in just five years. The firm has been based in Satigny, Geneva, since 2008, in the heart of the Meyrin industrial zone, which already houses a number of watchmakers. DeWitt, like many other watchmakers, wants to grow into a full-fledged watchmaker that is both autonomous and self-sufficient in terms of manufacturing. Satigny's headquarters are perfectly aligned with the company's ambition to fully verticalize its operations.
Bringing all aspects of the watchmaking process under one roof ensures a quick response to demand for the Brand's limited-edition masterpieces. The DeWitt craftsmen' watches are unique, inventive, and very exclusive, thus they must be made according to the strict conditions that come with limited series production. DeWitt is able to retain excellent control over the worldwide quality of its inventions by integrating the many processes leading from manufacturing to the end product.
All conventional watchmaking processes are housed on the 5000 square meter surface area distributed over three stories. The numerous novel ideas that develop linked to the movements or functions are conceptualized and given expression by a specialized Research & Development department. It is supported by complete command of all processes related to part manufacture, polishing, winding, finishing, and decorating, as well as adjustment and quality monitoring.
DeWitt is one of the world's few watch companies to continue practicing the technique of guilloché-work, which is done by hand engraving on authentic 18th and 19th century rose engines.
A collection of state-of-the-art ultra-modern gear placed on the first level also aids and abets the process. A team of very well-trained men and women specializing in the most complicated systems define fresh and creative micro-mechanical solutions, which is at the heart of the DeWitt method. They bring a diverse set of talents, experience, and credentials to the table.
DeWitt now has a 70-strong crew that is unified by a single-minded enthusiasm for Haute Horlogerie. Nathalie Veysset is in charge of the company's executive management, and she is working to optimize the growth of the DeWitt watch collections while placing the company's image in the exclusive bespoke model market.
The ultimate objective of the verticalisation process will be to establish a set of creative motions that will be totally generated in-house in due time. The production of "home-made" calibres symbolizes the pinnacle of a perfect watchmaking method. It is all the more important for DeWitt, a House whose avant-garde spirit is expressed in the technical content and aesthetic form of its watches, necessitating a highly individualized process to satisfy a clientele of connoisseurs and devotees of truly exceptional creations with genuine added value.
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