The Legacy
< In Person >
Chai Schnyder, president of the board of directors, Ulysse Nardin speaks to Hiren Kumar Bose about brand’s legacy and her husband Rolf
Every time I met Rolf Schnyder, I felt that there was something unerringly romantic, a perpetual inquisitiveness about him. He was a person who was infected with wanderlust. Could you share with us your memories of Rolf ?
Rolf was a wonderful person who was always bursting with ideas. Whatever he did he shared with the whole industry. I would often ask him why he would tell the world what he was working on. And he would say, “Chai, we need to be one step ahead of others.” Rolf was very courageous and full of energy. He was always looking for adventure and our kids while in Switzerland indulged in lot of adventure sport activity.
He spoke several languages. In which language did he converse with you and your kids?
He knew lot of languages, namely English, German, Mandarin, Thai and others but he conversed in English with me and our kids. My three kids also know Mandarin. In fact, it is their first language.
Rolf resurrected a brand from scratch and today, Ulysse Nardin is known as a Manufacture with immense possibilities. What do you think is Mr Schnyder’s legacy?
His legacy is too precious to be forgotten. I do come across young watchmakers who tell me about their interest in horology due to the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei. It was a watch which entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989 as the world’s most functional watch. Who could’ve thought of a watch without hands, the Freak Blue Phantom which boasted an impressive 7-day power reserve with a carrousel tourbillon? He was the first to use Silicium technology in Freak Diavolo. This time at BaselWorld we saw so many brands using the Silicium technology. We have been able to create excellent and a challenging working environment. This augurs very well for the Manufacture.
Ulysse Nardin’s Genghis Khan won the maiden Watch World Watch of the Year award in 2010. There will be many who will win the award in the coming years but no one can take away the credit of being the first…
We feel honoured. We will be remembered for times to come for Ulysse Nardin being the maiden winner.
Do you think initiatives like the Watch World Awards help in fuelling the growth of the luxury watch industry?
The Awards is an honourable initiative. This helps watchmakers like us reach newer audiences. We are touched by Watch World’s gesture of recognising Rolf ’s contribution to the watch industry. It generally happens that once one is dead, his/her contributions are forgotten but Watch World has remembered Rolf ’s contribution and we’re happy about it.
Where do you see Ulysse Nardin five years down the line?
You may be aware that we launched five new movements this year. This is the fruit of 12 years of work. You will see more of such work in the coming years.
