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Laurent Ferrier: Refined Classicism, Pure Mechanical Perfection
Born into a family of watchmakers, Laurent Ferrier decided to begin his career in horology. Ferrier graduated in 1986 from the revered École d’Horlogerie de Genève and worked with Patek Phillipe to devise the famed Nautilus.
With time, Ferrier realised he was drawn to automobile racing. Soon, he left his watchmaker’s bench to join the automotive community, by selling automotive parts for monetary resources. Eventually, he bought a second-hand Lotus 18, and soon after took part in the prestigious Le Mans, a 24-hour endurance race that tests the limits of both machine and man.
While spending time inside the pitstop, he met a fellow petrolhead, François Servanin. An industrialist turned professional race car driver, Servanin quenched Ferrier’s precocious thirst for speed with relentless practice sessions. After practising for three years, Servanin and Ferrier came third in the 1979 Le Mans in a Porsche 935, after Hollywood actor and fellow race driver, Paul Newman. This feat prompted Ferrier and Servanin to dream big. Like launching another pursuit—cofounding a watchmaking brand.
This dream, however, did not materialise till 2009, when Ferrier and Servanin co-founded their watchmaking brand, Laurent Ferrier headquartered at Plan-Les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. With his experience in the watchmaking world, the watches Ferrier created gained instant traction. A sense of déjà vu grabbed the duo when they won the coveted ‘Best Men’s Watch’ at the Grand Prix de d’Horlogerie de Genève for their very first timepiece—Classic Tourbillon Double Hairspring fitted with a renowned in-house movement, the LF 619.01. Since then, Laurent Ferrier won two more GPHG awards and has become renowned for exquisite timepieces such as the award-winning École Annual Calendar which features a semi-instantaneous calendar. In 2015, the brand was recognised for its ‘Horological Revelations’ at GPHG for its Square Micro-Rotor.
Driven by three core values—simplicity, precision, and uncluttered beauty—Laurent Ferrier timepieces merge traditional Swiss watchmaking with modern technical advancements to produce classic dress watches with intricate movements.
Timepieces
Laurent Ferrier has divided its watches into two categories— by Case or by Movement. Under the Case, the brand offers Classic, Square, École Annual Calendar, Grand Sport, and Sport collections. The Classic collection brings out timepieces with round cases featuring complications, such as a tourbillon and second-time zone. The Square collection features cushion-shaped watches with elaborate lines, symmetry, and aerodynamic curves.
Apart from École, Sport and Grand Sport pay homage to the brand’s automotive roots.
Under mechanical, Laurent Ferrier offers Micro-Rotor, Traveller, Origin, Sport Auto, and Tourbillon collections.
The timepieces under the Micro-Rotor collection feature cleverly placed micro rotors winding the movement providing a better view into the movement such as the Classic Micro-Rotor and Square Micro-Rotor.
Another feature that defines Laurent Ferrier is the placement of a tourbillon displayed at the case back. This placement achieves a perfect balance between aesthetics and mechanics for which the brand is known for.
For the wanderers, Laurent Ferrier crafted the Travellers movement also known as the LF230.02 which features a second time zone.