Ulysse Nardin

It was a great honor, and I felt that the world of my small hobby, had come a full circle, when Edipiresse invited me to give the speech for UN and Rolf Schnyder's Lifetime Award. With much care, I reflected on my own POVs and how UN and Rolf, had come to this point in time.

In my study room, I carefully recounted and edited the speech to last less than 5 mins (my alloted time), and it was difficult.

The speech for Mr Rolf Schnyder, when I delivered it on the 30th September 2008, the night of the GPGH awards:

Rolf Schnyder was an adventurer with a capital A.

 

Rolf’s values and sense of self were already fully constructed when he enterd the world of watchmaking. Which is another way of saying that he wasn’t going to take any BULLSHIT---from anybody.

 

While he was in no position to force the industry to accept his views, he always let the industry know what his rules were. And this is by and large reflected in the work of his company Ulysse Nardin

 

An athlete of Olympic standards with skiing in his much younger days, and the founder and resurrector of Ulysse Nardin in his middle years, Rolf Schynder turned the world on its industrial head just 8 years ago when he invested a considerable sum of his money in making the legendary Freak.

 

This wristwatch remains the only watch that requires a silicium material for its function.

 

Rolf Schynder had brought about the dawn of the silicium age for watch making.

 

My teachers came in a wide variety of forms and in a great variety of characters , nonetheless, Rolf is the picture of humililty. In the cold morning of winter in Neuchatel, I will always recall the Chairman and Head of Ulysse Nardin waiting at the economy class railroad platform for my  economy class train and to carry my luggage to his car, and to drive me to his home for a warm breakfast.

 

Ladies and Gentleman, I wish to invite Mr Rolf Schynder to receive one of the most honored and desired accolade from the world of watchmaking…The Lifetime Award.

 

 

 

Emcees

Member of the Jury, Dr. Bernard Cheong

Ms Michelle Yeoh

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Mr. Rolf Schnyder, CEO of Ulysse Nardin & Bernard Cheong

(L-R) Marco Cattaneo, Gilbert Cheah,Rolf Schnyder, Bernard Cheong

Seated (L-R): Massimiliano Landi, Tan Sri Dato’ Francis Yeoh, Mr &  Mrs Rolf Schynder
Standing (L-R) : Francesca Landi, Oliviero Bottinelli, Bernard Cheong, Dolly Cheong, Audric Haryanto, Teh May Wan

Tan Sri Dato’ Francis Yeoh

Lisa Lau, Bernard Cheong, Suven Young, Irin Gan

Mr &  Mrs Rolf Schynder, Dolly Cheong, Bernard Cheong, Wei Koh, Lisa Lau, Marco Cattaneo.

Audric Haryanto, Rolf Schynder  & Bernard Cheong

The jury team with guest-of-honor, Minister Lee Boon Yang (sitting, second from left), Mr. Tan Soo Khoon (standing, fourth from left) and Mr Rolf Schynder (sitting, right).

The Winners (from all catergories) with their awards, flanked by members of the jury and event organizing team





This message has been edited by bernard cheong on 2008-10-20 17:18:56

This message has been edited by Kong on 2008-10-20 22:23:49

Mr Schnyder really  deserves  such an Hommage!

As you said , he was a pionner when he introduced Silicium in watches, and spent a lot of time and money to do what the Freak is..;A Cult Watch.

And let's not forget the Pepetual Calendar and the Sonata, which are, IMO, the 3 Watches ( With the Freak ), that perfectly sum the Talent and the Originlaity of Ulysse Nardin!

Thanks for sharing this great moment, and these nice pictures!

Best.

Nicolas

nt

NT

to have the full transcript of Rolf's acceptance speech?

I found it quite interesting and even if it will be a long read, I think it would be worth it.

Massi

See you soon!!!

Here you go... Rolf is happy to let me post his speech here.  Noni

 

Dear Bernard , dear Wei

Dear Members of the Asian Chapter of Judges, Management of Edipresse and Singapore Tatler,

Watch lovers and connoisseurs

 

I am deeply touched to receive this award.  Ulysse Nardin is in fact the sacred fire burning in my heart and soul.  My rather long career in watch making started in the marketing department in JLC in Geneva. From there I went to the Far East just over 50 years ago, at the age of 22 to distribute and market various Swiss watch brands in Thailand .

 

In 1968 I began to set up the first watch component factories in Thailand and Malaysia to produce high precision components for some of the big names in the Swiss watch industry. 

 

 But Ulysse Nardin was the true challenge of my life and the cherry on the cake.

 

My wife Chai every so often claims that Ulysse Nardin is my first love.  True, to some extent.  I spend obviously more hours on refining this jewel than on showing my appreciation to have such a wonderful supporting wife and family,  who  lets me indulge in this creative and redeeming hobby job of mine.

 

I bought Ulysse Nardin in 1983, when mechanical watchmaking was hit by a tsunami, the Quartz technology. It was a gamble but I had strong believes that mechanical watches would come back one day. To come back with a bang, we worked on a multifunction timepiece that had not existed before, The Astrolabium Galileo Galilei. The Guinness Book of Records featured it on its cover and this marked the beginning of the Renaissance of mechanical timepieces in the late eighties.

 

Innovation has been the hallmark of Ulysse Nardin.

 

 The Freak hailed by Wei's Revolution as the first Impressionist timepiece, both in terms of aesthetics, and mechanical concepts came with a new escapement made entirely in silicium. It  inspired the watch making fraternity to think out of the box ever since.  The Freak changed the landscape of watch making.

 

 

To avoid that the big groups monopolise new production technologies , Ulysse Nardin invested in a new facility – Sigatec – to produce high precision movement components with the LIGA and DRIE techniques, not only for Ulysse Nardin’s own consumption but to make this technology available to others in the Swiss Haute Horlogerie. This will ensure that creativity and independence will not be stifled and more novel and interesting timepieces will continue to thrill watch aficionados the world over.

 

However for me, this evening is also an event of great importance for another reason.

 

The Asian chapter of judges has made a giant step forward to make the Grand Prix de Haute Horlogerie a true transparent award - to the judges themselves - and to the fraternity of watch lovers and collectors. 

 

This guarantees credibility and a meaningful and respected long term future for the Grand Prix.

 

Edipresse should be congratulated for having had the foresight to include the Asian chapter of watch lovers to express themselves especially since it is headed by the Singapore chapter.

 

Singapore is the most knowledgeable watch community I know in the world over.  Timezone, the Purists and Horomundi all started in Singapore. 

 

Even the creative independant watchmakers like Philippe Dufour, Felix Baumgartner or Greubel Forsey are household names in Asia’s watch communities.

 

I thank the Asian chapter of judges headed by Bernard Cheong and Wei Koh for their integrity and diligence. 

 

I congratulate Edipresse which has recently acquired the GPHH as this event will no doubt become a permanent feature.

 

Most of all I thank the watch enthusiasts in attendance tonight.  Your appreciation inspires us all to test the watchmaking limits and for me to indulge in my hobby job.

Last but not least, thank you Singapore Tatler for a very enjoyable evening.

 

Rolf W Schnyder

 

 

And thanks to Rolf. Getting to know and talk to him was an honor and a real pleasure.
Massi

Noticed the dark burgundy colors, cool, what material is it? -MW

Yes..S*#&..I am probably the ONLY heterosexual guy you will find at fashion shows..front row!

This was the ONLY time in my life that I could actually wear /buy a Cavalli off the runway series in 2006, when he did a over the top oriental collection (the Last Samurai)...normally the guys are too tall and I wear a size that is too small. As you can tell, these are all one off pieces. I have a total of 7 of these..in different materials..as AHCI as one can get...I would say Opus for Harry Winston.

The materials are leather, suede, cotton, silk, and many cuts of kimono fabrics as the main structure.

The damned thing is that these jackets can only be worn "once"...figuratively speaking.

Well done Bernard!

In this world, rolf is one of the most revered figures in the industry, and he has led an amazing life.

I had much to say about his perspectives and wisdom gained from his memories of his earlier life as a much less financially endowed person.

There will be time. Thanks!!!

That tuxedo is very chic, Bernard. Congratulations!