With your extensive experience in various fields, including the luxury fashion industry, what motivated you to create ID Genève Watches, and what are your long-term goals for the company?
Nicolás Freudiger: We were motivated to create a new identity of luxury. In December 2020, when we launched, we felt it was time to provide a credible alternative to traditional luxury. Our long-term goal is to make this alternative available worldwide. This vision drives our expansion, including our presence in Oman and upcoming openings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Alongside the remarkable design and prestigious brand, ID Genève Watches is also a sustainable brand. How do you ensure luxury products are sustainable while maintaining their quality?
Nicolás Freudiger: There’s an opportunity here. Typically, luxury products face a trade-off between quality and recyclability. However, with ID Genève Watches, we’ve demonstrated that recycled materials can match the quality of luxury items. We aim to change public perception of recycled materials and play an active role in the ecological transition.
There’s a high demand for your products. Can you share some stories behind the materials and design process?
Nicolás Freudiger: Absolutely. We follow a holistic approach to sustainability called circularity. It’s not just about the product but also how it’s built. Our eco-design for timepieces is both evolutive and modular. For instance, the watch cases in our Circular 1 collection are made from 100% recycled stainless steel. In the collection Circular S, we go a step further and use steel melted in a solar furnace, reducing the environmental impact by 165x compared to the industry average. This process is marked on the back of the watch case, symbolizing our commitment to recycling and sustainability.
In a New York Times interview, you mentioned ID Genève Watches started as a dream. What motivates you to continue elevating the brand?
Nicolás Freudiger: It’s about providing a credible global alternative to traditional luxury. We want to reshape how people perceive and are influenced by luxury. Luxury is powerful in our daily lives, and we aim to transform its underlying narrative into a better proposition. We respect our industry’s heritage but aim to positively impact it. Being the only watch brand that is impact native, we were born with sustainability in mind. Our goal is to grow sustainably and make this alternative accessible worldwide.
What is your interest in the middle eastern market, do you have any expansion plans?
Nicolás Freudiger: We are present in Oman and planning expansions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Despite initial skepticism, the resonance in Dubai Watch Week was incredible. We also see opportunities in India and Asia. Our customers are those who want the world to be different and better, and we see a strong potential market in the Middle East.
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