Designing A Biver

Sometimes design can feel like a very esoteric thing – like alchemy, even – in which pure ideas are brought to life in the form of physical objects. But, at its core, it is the coming together of creativity and discipline to make things that are greater than the sum of their parts. Philippe Girard has designed many things in his career, from massive train cars to small hand-held electronics, but watches have always occupied a special place in his heart and his career because they offer a unique opportunity to work with both high technology and hand craftsmanship to achieve results unlike any other types of products.

Philippe has been a collaborator of Jean-Claude Biver’s for over two decades, having designed watches for some of the most prestigious brands in the world. Today, he works in close collaboration with Creative Director Pierre Biver to shape Biver’s watches and to build our brand identity in the process. His work and approach are the very essence of what we do, and it is a privilege to share some of his thoughts and philosophies with you here.

HOW DID YOUR CAREER AS A DESIGNER BEGIN?

I started by studying industrial design at the Swiss campus of the Art Center College of Design before finishing my studies at their main campus in Pasadena, California. After I graduated, I worked in many different fields, including designing computer equipment, household objects, trains and tramways, and even cellular telephones.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DESIGN A WRISTWATCH?

It was a coincidence, really. A friend told me that a design studio near where I was living in Switzerland was looking for an industrial designer, so I called them and that’s how it all started. The owner of that studio and I had a great personal relationship and he seemed to like the work I did on our first small projects. Immediately after that we worked on the Big Bang, which was my first serious watch project.

DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU LEARNED AS A DESIGNER IN THOS EARLY WATCH PROJECTS?

The scale is so different from everything I had worked on before. The biggest objects I worked on were trains, so we’re talking about huge things, and the closest one in scale were maybe the telephones. On a telephone though, you never have the sense of detail that you can have on a watch, which is especially true for high-end brands. The tiniest details are what make the biggest difference and the quality and care you put in the design process and the production have to be at the highest level. This is quite different from any object I had done before.

WHEN WORKING ON AN OBJECT LIKE A WATCH, WHICH REQUIRES A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF ENGINEERS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE, HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS A DESIGNER?

No matter what you are creating, the overall design process is always the same. The designer has to be the center of the process. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way, but the designer needs to understand the parameters from all the different departments involved, from production to marketing and everything in between, including cost and what can actually be produced. One exciting thing is that these parameters evolve so quickly, always offering new technological possibilities. There are things we can do today that were unthinkable just a couple of years ago.

DO YOU THINK THIS IS TRUE WITH THE HANDMADE ELEMENTS OF A WATCH IN ADDITION TO THOS MADE BY MACHINES OR WITH CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY?

Absolutely. In fact, working with handmade things, this is even more the case – there is a level of perfection you can have with a talented craftsman that you can never have with a machine. Years ago, I was speaking with someone at a company that makes CNC machines and measuring devices, and they mentioned that the finest sensor is actually the human touch. The tip of a human finger can detect things that even the most advanced machines cannot. It’s truly amazing.

WHEN WORKING WITH A NEW BRAND LIKE BIVER, HOW DO YOU CREATE A COHESIVE DESIGN IDENTITY, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME LIKE RIGHT NOW WHEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO PRODUCT FAMILIES AT VERY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY?

It’s true that in terms of complexity, the Carillon Tourbillon and Automatique are not shooting in the same range, but the spirit behind them and the aim for perfection is always the same. This is true whether we’re working with a super complex movement or a three-hand mechanism, because there is a shared complexity in the ways they are crafted and what they represent. This is what helps the brand stay coherent in terms of design. At least to me – and it seems for quite a lot of people – the family look is fairly obvious.

Whether we are talking about Biver or another brand, it is highly important for me to understand a brand’s DNA from the past and why it should exist today. Once you understand that, you can evolve it while keeping everything coherent and interconnected, whether it’s the hands, the indexes, the language for the architecture, the lugs, the bracelet, and so on. You need to be very rigorous in terms of design to keep building the identity of a brand. It’s so easy to say, “oh, I have a new idea today and I want to do this, and tomorrow I have another, and the day after I have another. ” All three ideas can be great, but they won’t come together and help you to build a brand. You always need to be very strict on yourself to keep on the right path.

YOU’VE ALREADY TOUCHED ON THE COLLABORATIVE NATURE OF DESIGN. WHAT IS THE DESIGN PROCESS LIKE FOR YOU AT BIVER?

It is always about teamwork and rarely is the first idea the best one. It is about a ping-pong of ideas back and forth, of building on each other’s good ideas, and figuring out how to push them further to deliver the best possible watch to the customer. I have known and worked with M. Biver for a long time and I have a fantastic relationship with Pierre now, too. We work very closely and we are always exchanging ideas on different subjects. He is very nice and very honest with me and I believe this kind of human relationship is the foundation of any good professional relationship. On top of that, Pierre has an amazing knowledge of watches and watch culture – probably much bigger than mine – and he’s also very creative. Whether it’s a blue sky request or something where he comes with sketches and examples, we always work together to get where we want to go.

AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DESIGN LANGUAGE THAT YOU TWO HAVE DEVELOPED SO FAR FOR BIVER WATCHES, WITH BOTH THE CARILLON TOURBILLON AND THE AUTOMATIQUE?

We use the word “neoclassical” a lot because we are inspired by the past while also wanting to do something genuinely new. The little details are what really make these watches special and connect them to one another. For instance, the cases feature concave surfaces on the bezel, the case itself, and the back. It gives them a very specific architecture and identity and it makes the volume look a bit lighter on the wrist (which was important since the first piece was the Carillon Tourbillon with a 42mm diameter and a deep profile). This also shows off the different surface finishes and how they catch the light. Similarly, the lugs have very long, sharp lines that create a sense of tension and dynamism. This kind of approach continues to the bracelets, the dials, the hands, and more. It is about a consistent approach more than any single detail.

WORKING WITH NATURAL MATERIALS SUCH AS GOLD, HARD STONES AND GEMSTONES IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE BIVER BRAND. HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT WORKING WITH THESE MATERIALS AS A DESIGNER TO RBING OUT THEIR NATURAL BEAUTY WHILE STILL ADDING SOMETHING NEW?

As a designer, I always want things to be real and honest – to be the thing they appear to be and to be the best versions of themselves. With Biver, we push this philosophy to its limit. Gold and stones are obviously precious materials, but even titanium, with the level of care taken to shape it, polish it, brush it, is elevated to a precious material. Especially on the dials of the Automatique you can see this in action, with the mixture of circular brushing, straight brushing, the applied gold rings, the chamfers on the indexes, etc. The level of detail is so fine and it takes each component and each material to a new level. The materials are certainly precious, but the work done with them is even more so.