Louis Chevrolet was the son of a Swiss master watchmaker and he was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds (there is even a road named after him there) on Christmas Day 1878. His family moved to France in 1886 and it was there that Chevrolet started training as a mechanic. He worked for the Robins mechanic shop in Paris for several years, before moving to Ontario, Canada in 1900 and then to New York City in 1901. He first worked for Fiat then Buick, where he designed his own engine. In 1911, he founded the Chevrolet Motor Company with William C. Durant. He sold his stake in the company in 1915 to concentrate on auto racing. He competed as a driver in the Indy 500 four times and his younger brother Gaston, with whom he founded the Frontenac Motor Corporation, a company that designed and produced race cars, won the storied race in 1920. In 1992, Louis Chevrolet was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995.
For the first time, the connection between Chevrolet and watches is being capitalized on with the launch of the Louis Chevrolet watch brand. The watches in the first collection, called Frontenac after the race car company he founded, range in price from 1,000 CHF to 5,000 CHF, and include automatic, hand wind and quartz models.
I caught up with André Saunier, Director of the Louis Chevrolet brand.




FRONTENAC A-1100, FRONTENAC A-2100, FRONTENAC A-3100


Europa Star: How did the Louis Chevrolet watch brand start?
André Saunier: We had the opportunity to be able to buy the Louis Chevrolet brand, which was only registered in Switzerland, in class 14 (watches and jewellery). We extended it to the whole world. Next, we designed different models and put into place the first collection.

ES: Did Louis Chevrolet have any watch background?
AS: Louis was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, so he was originally from the watchmaking region. He was the son of a brilliant watchmaker. From a very young age, he had a great passion for watches and worked with his father at the workbench.

ES: Do the styling cues for the watches have anything to do with Louis Chevrolet or Chevrolet cars?
AS: We try to use the same materials as in the car industry, all with decoration, to bring out the mechanics on the watch side. Pearled appliqués on the dials evoke the metal forms on the old dashboards. The movements are also decorated in the same spirit - with the number eight on the back, which was Chevrolet's racing number, the circular graining, and more.




FRONTENAC A-5100


ES: What distinguishes Louis Chevrolet from other watches?
AS: A unique design, in very limited series, and personalization according to the wishes of the client (for unique pieces) - all this with an internal fabrication which is flexible enough to respond to the needs of the market within the philosophy of the brand.

ES: Where is the Louis Chevrolet brand being manufactured? What movements are you using?
AS: The watches are manufactured in Courgenay in the Swiss Jura. We are currently in the process of constructing a new building in Porrentruy and we will be moving there at the end of the year. For the movements, we use four automatic mechanical movements, one manual mechanical movement, two quartz movements (one chronograph big date and one GMT big date). We are using ETA and Ronda movements.





Louis Chevrolet is planning to distribute its watches in the traditional manner, using distributors in various parts of the world, with a goal of about a dozen countries in the first few years, with America being a major target. Currently, the watches are being distributed in Switzerland, France and Spain. The production target is about 5,000 pieces a year within three years.


Source: Europa Star June-July 2007 Magazine Issue