Partnership between Vacheron Constantin and Ecole Boulle
Supervised by their teachers, the concerned students (about fifty) of the prestigious school for applied arts students in crafts and design are divided into two projects. One is to propose one or more watch boxes, and the other is the creation of visual dials (work on the crescent moon part surrounding the off-centered counter that displays the hours and minutes).
A first presentation of sketches will be proposed at Vacheron Constantin in mid-December that will make a selection, and the complete files of the selected projects will be presented to him in February 2015, then be made in the workshops of the manufacture, which will allow students of the Ecole Boulle to see their ideas come to fruition in the most beautiful way.
Students are constrained to respect the theme of the “Fabuleux Ornements”, specific to the collection, but also a budget. A budget from 8000 to 10000 euros maximum on the implementation of the dials was mentioned during the press conference in the presence of Christophe Hespel, Director of the Ecole Boulle, Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin and Samira Marquis, Human Ressources and Vacheron Constantin Institute Director.
Christophe Hespel welcomed this partnership “of a scale not ever seen for the school”, which translates “the true desire of education from Vacheron Constantin”. On his side, Juan-Carlos Torres as pointed out that this project, part of the Vacheron Constantin Institute, was based “foremost on human capital and crafts”, as are all partnerships of the manufacture. Transmission of gestures and perpetuation of crafts is a base deeply rooted in the history of Vacheron Constantin, Samira Marquis recalling, in fact, that “the founder of the manfacture, Jean-Marc Vacheron, after 10 years of training among a master watchmaker, hired an apprentice as soon as he opened his own watch workshop in 1755, to transmit his knowledge in turn. ”
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École Boulle, one of the largest European art and design schools and Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest watch manufacturer with an uninterrupted activity for nearly 260 years, have announced an unprecedented partnership agreement. On this occasion, Christophe Hespel, École Boulle Director, and Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO Vacheron Constantin, presented a programme entitled “Métiers d’Art et design: échange d’expertise et de compétence” (Artistic crafts and design: sharing expertise and competence) between École Boulle and Vacheron Constantin, which is scheduled to continue until 2017.
Through this partnership, the watch Manufacture wishes to pursue its commitment to passing on values and skills, as well as its determination to promote and guide up-and-coming generations.
This project highlights the close ties between the two institutions that are keen to maintain, preserve and develop artistic crafts along with their excellence and their creativity. This association is built around the transmission of these skills, the rigorous discipline of each operation, as well as profound respect for workmanship and for artisans. This joint endeavour will involve around 45 students being trained in the fields of design and artistic crafts.
The initial phase of this programme consists in two creative projects entrusted to students at École Boulle as well as the faculty members supervising them. The first involves designing one or several luxury presentation boxes for Haute Horlogerie watches, based on their diverse roles encompassing protection, presentation and stage-setting in boutiques. The second relates to visuals of watch dials from the Métiers d’Art Fabuleux Ornements collection. These two designs will be unveiled at the Manufacture Vacheron Constantin and then actually produced in the workshops of the Manufacture, a fine means of enabling École Boulle’s students to see their ideas take shape.
The confidence shown by the watch Manufacture in the students of École Boulle is a major challenge for the institution which, like Vacheron Constantin, has always given pride of place to the transmission of knowledge, along with innovation and showing trust in young generations.
This partnership with École Boulle is part of the Vacheron Constantin Institute for Human Capital and Crafts Development. Created in 2013, the Institute is designed to safeguard skills and attentively follow the work of the men and women who daily strive to perpetuate a name that has been writing some of the finest chapters in Haute Horlogerie for almost 260 years.
Presentation of École Boulle
Founded in 1886, École Boulle is one of France’s most important training centres for applied arts, artistic crafts and design. The school’s various departments, which have been gradually established over the decades, currently form a coherent whole built around two main divisions: artistic crafts, which trains designer-artisans via two-year training courses after their baccalaureate; and design, based on the BTS and DSAA diplomas.
The main professions, alongside those of object design, communication design and interior design, include cabinet making, marquetry, jewellery making, engraving, chasing, bronze sculpture, and many others. The school’s artistic crafts section encompasses 13 different professions. Over 1,000 students take their initial training there.
In addition, the school is also engaged in intensive further training activities and for several years has been developing experimental training programs dedicated to advanced studies for graduates having earned the artistic crafts diploma or the applied arts superior diploma.
One of its main current fields of development lies in international expansion, expressed through a number of agreements with other schools, with companies. This approach involves a variety of delegations and exchange experiences in Japan, South Africa and other areas, as well as partnerships with leading firms targeting specific creative objectives or design proposals.
It is within this framework that the connection with Vacheron Constantin was established.
Presentation of the Manufacture Vacheron Constantin
In 1755, a brilliant master watchmaker named Jean-Marc Vacheron set up his workshop at the heart of Geneva, a fertile breeding ground for Fine Watchmaking. That same year, he hired an apprentice, thereby affirming his determination to pass on his knowledge of the profession. This represented the founding act of the Maison.
Ever since, the Manufacture, now the oldest in the world with an uninterrupted activity for nearly 260 years, has assumed the responsibility of protecting these skills inherited from past centuries and the concomitant pursuit of excellence, while ensuring their transmission from one generation to the next.
Vacheron Constantin has always been involved in the world of art and culture and firmly committed to upholding artistic crafts that play a key role in contemporary creation, while highlighting the excellence achieved through combining these talents with design. The Maison is also a privileged partner of a number of cultural institutions such as the Opéra de Paris, the New York City Ballet, the French National Institute of Artistic Crafts, the Barbier-Mueller Cultural Museum and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
