Comments:
Breaking : ochs und junior AG - A message from the Board of Directors
| |||||
|
I just received the above sad news from Ochs & Junior
Beat has been an important part in founding this very interesting independent brand. Also, those of you who have had the pleasure to meet him, knows what a very talented and sympathetic person Beat is!Apparently Beat, as well as 4 other people on the team have decided to leave. At this point it it unclear why.
I just wish them the best of luck for the future.
When pratically all leave
It shows it was not peaceful....
Left in the dust are the customers, at least for the time being.
Hope UN will take the reigns fast.
Yes, my friend. True!
I can understand your concern. Lets see, when the dust settles. There is so much quality in their product.
the only one staying is Oechslin
who had 0 interaction with customers and their special watches. And is not the type to do this in the future. Yes, the inventions came from there but the debugging of the customer's watches was not him.
Even if they put in a new CEO/customer liason, a couple of good watch makers from UN etc. The brain drain is enormous! The lost experience will be difficult to be recovered.
In the end it's a new start, not from scratch per se but almost.
While I have known for quite a while that this would happen I'm still completely and utterly shocked!
Black Friday indeed.
Even if they put in a new CEO/customer liason, a couple of good watch makers from UN etc. The brain drain is enormous! The lost experience will be difficult to be recovered.
In the end it's a new start, not from scratch per se but almost.
While I have known for quite a while that this would happen I'm still completely and utterly shocked!
Black Friday indeed.
That is going to be tough.
When the whole team taking care of the brand leaves, mmm, that's not good at all.
I was in the middle of a transaction to acquire one of my fav watches ever, I guess my chances are gone till new notice.
Vte
I was in the middle of a transaction to acquire one of my fav watches ever, I guess my chances are gone till new notice.
Vte
Ah, so the brand is dead for the moment.
When it comes to these small brands, I would like to know more when things seem to implode like this. It's none of my business, but it would give me a better sense of the world and workings of independents.
For us who love and admire independent watchmakers it is a risk we have to consider.
We are dealing with such fragile business setups in most cases.
I don’t think (hope) this is the end of Ochs & J.
On a more general note.
We have discussed it before in other posts. But. What happens when the founder retires, dies, go bankrupt ect.?? What about servicing? resale value ect? I really think AHCI (the brands behind) need to begin to address these issues. I think they owe it to their costumers and collectors. Honestly!!! Being an independent watchmaker today is very different from 20 years ago. There is a lot more money involved, a much bigger production and a lot more attention. With that - also big responsibility to be taken from the small Companies.
I Would love to see AHCI used as a platform for this. To keep and preserve technical documents and drawings so spare parts could be manufactured many years from now. To advise owners where to take their watches for service. Make service manuals. ect. In short - make some kind of setup that ensure the longevity of their product.
Those are excellent suggestions!
I remember Mr.Journe has prepared technical manuals for his watches for exactly the idea of making sure they can be serviced in the future.
Yes - With FPJ I am not worried.
We already know Chanel own 20% and one day, probably most/all. And we know Chanel own other artisan workshops ( of all trades) and they are well known for taking very good care of these.
FPJ has a professional setup, like a real brand/Maison.
It is the smaller shops Im very concerned about. They manufacture watches that cost one or two annual incomes of a middle class working person. (in some cases much more) I think they need to show us where to take our concerns if they should disappear.
Yes, FPJ is a mini-Maison!
For independents, I am looking more seriously at those who use a classic or vintage movement type and then highly finish and give bespoke dial options. Watches from Atelier de Chronometrie, the American one worked on by Joshua Shapiro, or one of the others along a similar line will be serviceable no matter what.
yes, this is a wise strategy to follow.
I also THINK, Kari´s setup is beginning to resemble a "mini-Maison".
So sad to hear
Hearing what others are saying in this thread, I can only hope that customers aren’t left holding the bag if this is the end of O&J.
They were easily one of my favorite manufacturers, creating unique watches with a philosophy of design I admired for its originality and honesty. Hopefully this isn’t the last we hear of them, but either way I’ll be wearing my O&J annual calendar today with my fingers crossed.
From the website of O&J
"Ulysse Nardin became a partner in ochs und junior in spring 2012, and has the exclusive right to patent and use wristwatch concepts created by ochs und junior."
Lets hope UN also honor this partnership and bring the brand in to the future in a good way.
Total shame,
To loose Beat and his team is significant. I visited Beat in Lucern several years ago prior to Basel, and found the whole experience brilliant.
I’ve known Marc Bernhardt a long time, he’s a good guy, but I don’t see him being a “Beat Weinmann” character.
O&J was Beat from conception to handling the clients with a brilliant personal touch, rarely found at any independent watchmaking house. His depth of knowledge and superb inter-personal skills will not be easy if even possible to duplicate.
I hope the owners & O&J board know what they’ve done...
I hope to hell it wasn’t some bean counter decision, as O&J contributed massively to the Horology world.
Cheers,
Tim
Agreed entirely
Just his vision and conceptualization would be a massive challenge to replace.
Rumor has it that
Mr. Weinmann will be at Chronoswiss in the very near future. I can't imagine Ochs und Junior without him, frankly.
Really???!!!
But why did 4 more people leave. There must be something wrong!?
I agree Ochs without Beat🤔
I heard that
he was forced out and the team left in support of him. The Chronoswiss job, I assume, came after he was forced to leave. He certainly would not leave OuJ to go work at Chronoswiss. But then this is all secondhand information that I was told and I cannot vouch for its veracity.