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    Watches that last: how ID Genève is transforming luxury watch-making by embracing the circular economy

    Watches that last: how ID Genève is transforming luxury watch-making by embracing the circular economy

    Globally renowned for its artisan skills and technological innovation, the Swiss watch-making industry is the undisputed leader in the sector, generating annual revenue of more than CHF 50 billion1. Today, over 90% of watches retailing at more than CHF 1,000 are produced in Switzerland2. The sector nonetheless faces unprecedented challenges, with several NGOs, including the WWF3, pointing fingers at the industry for its reluctance to embrace sustainability within business models and across supply chains. Breaking with tradition, innovative players are now opening the way to more circular and environmentally-friendly watch-making. We met Nicolas Freudiger, co-founder and CEO of ID Genève, the leading luxury Swiss watch brand to have embraced the circular economy.

     

    Nicolas Freudiger – could you introduce yourself and tell us why you started ID Genève?

    I’m Nicholas Freudiger, a Genevan, like Cédric Mulhauser, co-founder of ID Genève. We set up ID Genève with Singal Depéry in 2020, three complementary co-founders – a watch-maker, a designer and an entrepreneur – who all came together with the same aim, to create a different identity of luxury and of watch-making. Three pillars are essential for us: sustainability, of course, transparency and traceability. These are at the heart of a brand which can be described as ‘impact native’. Creating a brand with a circular business model was paramount for us.

     

    What role does sustainability play at ID Genève?

    Instead of sustainability, I prefer to talk about the circular economy, which for me is the ‘Super League’ of sustainability. It goes far beyond just the product or only one aspect of sustainability. It enables us to switch from a linear to a circular business model, focussing on the value proposition in a holistic way. This involves using materials that are already in circulation and keeping a flow of materials, closing the loop to achieve a virtuous circle that can drastically reduce consumption of new raw materials.

    Circular economy enables us to switch from a linear to a circular business model, focussing on the value proposition in a holistic way

    Why did you choose not to use the ‘Swiss Made’ label and instead create your own label, ‘Circular Swiss Made’?

    We are Swiss Made. All three of us, we love this industry, but we wanted to go further, particularly when it came to finding materials. So we put ‘Circular’ before ‘Swiss Made’ to show that we have a lot of respect for the Swiss Made industry.

    Today, 90% of watches retailing at more than CHF 1,000 are Swiss Made. It’s really quite hard to believe. But we wanted to go further and to include the challenges associated with climate change. I think the circular economy is a huge economic opportunity and this is what we wanted to highlight.

    Read also: How can a company reduce its carbon footprint ?

     

    Is this understanding of the circular economy’s importance part of your clients’ buying criteria?

    On the one hand, there are environmental activists driving change in society. We also appeal to people who are now questioning their consumer habits and want to change them.

    To do this, the product needs strong aesthetics and an appealing story. I think the people who buy our watches could have bought another brand, but what they want most of all is for the efforts they make in their own lives, in terms of circularity and the environment, to be recognised.

    I often say that to achieve major change you don’t need five people to be perfect. You need millions of people to improve step by step. Then the impact will be much greater. This is the message we want to get across with ID Genève. We want to be seen as an environmental marker. And for this approach to be a credible alternative, circular products have to be desirable too.

    This is the message we want to get across with ID Genève. We want to be seen as an environmental marker

    Your watches are designed to be 100% repairable. How did you overcome this technical challenge?

    At ID Genève, we talk about eco-design, ensuring that our watches have one of the fundamentals of the circular economy, Design for Disassembly (DfD)4. This means taking a modular approach right from the design stage. This happened with our first collection, Circular 1, where all the parts are easily interchangeable. This conviction is part of our initial proposal for every collection.

    For example, we are working with the famous ETA 2824 watch movement5, which we are reconditioning. When we have to replace it in one of our watches, we use unsold stock. And everyone knows that any watch-maker can repair it. In this aspect our brand is perhaps less ‘exclusive’, but we concentrate on repairability and modularity – factors that are close to our hearts.

    Conversely, creating our own movement from scratch would be an aberration because it would create a major carbon footprint, going against our motto and values. We currently even offer a cashback option for our clients. We buy back our watches at a non-speculative price, completely recondition them and put them up for sale on our e-commerce site. It’s another way of gradually increasing circularity in our business model.

    Read also: The 10 principles of circular economy

     

    You were the first watch brand worldwide to offer ‘solar’ steel using recycled and recyclable steel for your watch boxes. Can you tell us more about this material?

    Of course. From the start, we have been working with a company called Panatere which specialises in 100% recycled steel. Together we created the ‘Circular S’ collection – ‘S’ is for solar. This is actually the first time that the watch-making industry has used solar steel. Our recycled steel is melted down in a furnace that uses convex mirrors to concentrate the sun’s light on a narrow area and generate heat of up to 4,000 degrees Celsius. The carbon footprint of this steel is 165 times smaller than industry standards. Another solar furnace project will soon start in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and be used for our collections in future.

    In October 2023, you secured CHF 2 million in funding with the notable involvement of actor Leonardo DiCaprio. How did this meeting come about and what will you use the funds for?

    This goes back a long way, to our crowdfunding in December 2020. We knew that we would be raising funds in the following three years. In November 2021, I said in an interview with the New York Times6, “My big dream is to have Leo DiCaprio [among the investors] within three years’ time. We recognise him as a real leader in terms of climate change. So if he’s reading this article, that’s perfect.” The IPCC had just published its report7, which is why we mentioned a timeframe of three to five years, a crucial period for change. It was in response to the IPCC report that we formulated the ambitious goal of working with him. I think the interview with the New York Times helped us, but from the start we had a vision, creating a project that encouraged ambassadors like Leonardo DiCaprio to want to wear our watches.

    ...from the start we had a vision, creating a project that encouraged ambassadors like Leonardo DiCaprio to want to wear our watches

    After some lengthy work, we started fundraising. We contacted his family office and everything went very well. We are really happy and we didn’t expect everything to go so quickly and smoothly. The fundraising means we can speed up our development. Series A is our objective by 2025. The best is yet to come.

    Like Lombard Odier, you are a member of the B Corp™ community, after obtaining certification last November. What does this mean for you?

    We have wanted B Corp™ certification since ID Genève was created. It took 18 months from submitting the application to obtaining certification. We are now very proud and happy to be the first B Corp™ certified Swiss watch-making brand.

    Read also: How Zalando is moving the fashion industry towards circularity

    We want to inspire other brands to do this and be part of the community. We really appreciate the holistic framework of the certification, and also its community side, which is very important for us. We like the fact that the B Corp™ community includes established corporate enterprises alongside start-ups. In order for the environmental transition to succeed we need everyone’s commitment. All players need to be on board for the change to be systemic.

    Admittedly, not all companies are perfect. But the main thing is to move forward by setting a good example, improving our business models and processes and helping one another. The Swiss B Corp™ community is also very active and we are proud to be a part of it.

    Things are starting to change. Reports like those of the WWF Switzerland show the current state of the sector. In addition, IMD Business School publishes the E4S Luxury Transparency and Traceability Index. This is a great idea, documenting transparency initiatives in the luxury industry

    Is the luxury industry doing well in terms of sustainability? Where is improvement needed?

    Things are starting to change. Reports like those of the WWF Switzerland show the current state of the sector. In addition, IMD Business School publishes the E4S Luxury Transparency and Traceability Index. This is a great idea, documenting transparency initiatives in the luxury industry. There is also the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 20308 launched by Kering and Cartier. It aims to strengthen climate resilience and save resources in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    At ID Genève, we decided not to use mined diamonds, stones or precious metals, so as to avoid supporting the mining industry. This sector needs to decarbonise urgently as it represents 28% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 3 emissions9.

     

    Personally, how do you support sustainability on a daily basis?

    I don’t have a car in Geneva – I only use public transport or I cycle. Public transport networks are well developed in Switzerland, so we make the most of them. At ID Genève, we also promote flexibility and working from home, which helps reduce emissions. We are improving every day, for example by using public transport, or by choosing rail instead of flying for long-distance travel.

    In terms of our international development, we ask ‘how’. How can we reconcile international development and circularity? This is a major challenge and we can’t wait to meet it.

     

    What will be the development milestones for ID Genève in the coming months?

    Although we love talking about our projects, quite a few of the things we have coming up are confidential. In the next 24 months, we will launch a partnership with a very well-known brand. The idea is to throw out the competitive rulebook and focus on what we can do together for the environmental transition.

    Right now, we are at the Watches & Wonders show in Geneva in April, where we will unveil a completely new collection. This will be an exclusive collection, genderless and with a new design.

     

    Horlogerie : qui sont les milliardaires du Swiss Made en 2024 ? (lepoint.fr) (not available in English)
    Les huit choses que vous devez savoir sur l’horlogerie suisse - SWI swissinfo.ch (not available in English)
    Evaluation du WWF dans les secteurs de l’horlogerie et de la joaillerie | WWF Suisse
    Design for Disassembly: La construction circulaire du futur (circularhub.ch) (not available in English)
    Caliber Spec: the ETA 2824 - Automatic for the People - Worn & Wound (wornandwound.com)
    A New Watch Brand Says It’s ‘Circular Swiss Made’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
    IPCC-AR6_WGI_SPM_Stand_Alone_WMO_FR_06.indd
    Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (wjinitiative2030.org)
    Decarbonization: The Requirements for—and Role of—Mining Companies | Insights | Mayer Brown

    Important information

    This document is issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd or an entity of the Group (hereinafter “Lombard Odier”). It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a document. This document was not prepared by the Financial Research Department of Lombard Odier.

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