Our Editor-at-Large Isabelle Junod met Cédric Joos, Brand Manager of Hautlence, at Geneva Watch Days 2026, eighteen months after he took over a house that has since moved from Neuchâtel to Schaffhausen and launched the Kubera.
What the interview reveals: a return to the roots with co-founder Guillaume Tétu back as chairman; a first step into the brand, the Kubera, designed from scratch in a year; a Sphere re-engineered over almost three years in Schaffhausen, where Hautlence shares everything with H. Moser & Cie inside MELB Holding, from finance to the know-how of Agenhor; two kinds of client, the engineer and the aesthete; and a conviction that Gen Z, questioning the technology around it, is turning back towards the analogue.
Hautlence at a Glance
- Founded in Neuchâtel in 2004 by Guillaume Tétu and his team, the name an anagram of the town, with a single obsession: reinventing the way time is told, from jumping hours to retrograde displays and rotating spheres.
- Part of MELB Holding, the Meylan family group, since 2012, alongside H. Moser & Cie; operations consolidated in Schaffhausen in 2020 with the group’s component maker Precision Engineering AG; new collections from 2022.
- Two families: the HL Complications, Sphere, Vagabonde, Linear, Helix, Retrovision, in big and small cases, and the Kubera Series 1, the entry into the house, with jumping hours.
- Swiss prices before tax from CHF 30,000 for the Vagabonde and CHF 32,900 for the Kubera to CHF 69,000 for the Sphere Series 4 and CHF 120,000 for the Retrovision 64.
- Cédric Joos has been Brand Manager since March 2025; the house shows at Watches and Wonders, Geneva Watch Days and Dubai Watch Week, and counts the Middle East and South America among its active markets.
Hautlence, 2004-2026: The House in Ten Milestones
Back to the Roots, with the Co-Founder as Chairman
You took over in March 2025, a year and a half ago. What have been the biggest challenges and the biggest achievements?
First, it was very important for us to understand who we are. What helped enormously was having Guillaume Tétu back as chairman, to go back to the roots and understand why he started the brand, what the goal was, and what the DNA of the brand is, in order to build a new vision, which we are now living out.
And the Kubera, the entry point into the house?
The challenge was creating a collective journey. We had very unique complications like the Sphere, which is a great icon, but we needed a journey that lets a collector take a small first step towards the brand, something that represents what we have in our jumping functions, especially the Sphere, but goes more towards design. So we created Kubera, which was a major undertaking: in a single year we went from the first design to the full collection, a demanding process to get all those products out and to get the visualisation right for communication. Now we are in a very good place, and we are really on our way to building the brand in a new direction, which is exciting: Kubera, and the HL complications, which are out of the norm and very limited. We also want that spirit to come through in the pictures; they can be louder, a little more outgoing. The image must convey emotion, because it is all about emotions.
The image must convey emotion, because it is all about emotions.
Schaffhausen, and Everything Shared with H. Moser & Cie
Hautlence has been part of MELB Holding since 2012 and moved to Schaffhausen in 2020. How much do you share with H. Moser & Cie, in knowledge and resources?
Everything. We moved from Neuchâtel to Schaffhausen, which was a big step: I do not think any native French-speaking brand has ever relocated to a Swiss-German town like Schaffhausen. But for us it was the right step, because Moser is doing so well and has an ecosystem we can use fully to really make a difference now. We have the financial support of a big brand, which lets us invest in regions that would be impossible on our own. And there is the whole ecosystem of knowledge.
The Sphere arrived in Schaffhausen in 2020. What happened to it there?
One big thing that already happened in Schaffhausen: in 2020, when we brought the Sphere there, our engineers devoted almost three years to re-engineering it, and then we won the innovation prize. That was the first step towards a brighter future for the brand, and we are building on it. In-house knowledge is very important, and we look around too: Agenhor is in the ecosystem as well, and helped us develop the jumping hours. Many great things came with that move. Bringing both brands together made sense. It was a good move.
Gen Z Turns Back to the Analogue
Hautlence celebrates the jumping hour since 2004, in a world that reads the time on a screen. How important is Gen Z for you?
What I appreciate about Gen Z is that they are questioning the trend, questioning what is happening now. In the age of artificial intelligence they ask what their studies and their work will mean, and I like that they answer by celebrating things that are more analogue. We are all human, and we value human connection alongside technology. I feel watches bring you back to the roots. We have many customers on the Moser side who are deep into tech, and they love watches precisely because watches disconnect them from daily work that is so advanced we cannot even explain it. Gen Z is definitely interested in watches; they enjoy them because a watch is a lasting, tangible pleasure in a fast-moving world.
The Engineer and the Aesthete
The Sphere Series 4 costs CHF 69,000 and is limited to 28 pieces. Who is the Hautlence client?
Someone very self-assured, looking for their own thing, who knows what they want. We see two types. One is a little more engineer-minded, who loves functionality: the Sphere, something that moves, something exotic. The other is very refined and likes strong design. That is true all over the world: any customer ready to enter a world where motion matters loves our watches, especially the Sphere. Everyone smiles when they see it. Obviously the Sphere needs a certain budget, because it is a high-value piece, but I have never met a customer who loves watches and does not respond to it.
Would you say a Hautlence is never a first watch?
I do not think that is the rule. It is someone looking for something unique, and that can come at any point in the journey. Most of the time it comes later, yes, but it is about self-fulfilment. We have collectors who have only just started, who were introduced to us first and said: “I had never heard of this. I like the Sphere, this is what I want to buy as a first watch.” It is not the rule, but these are people looking for a new emotion, and we are definitely the brand that gives you that. Everyone remembers the emotion of buying a first watch; we are all junkies for that first emotion, and that is the feeling we live in.
Everyone remembers the emotion of buying a first watch; we are all junkies for that first emotion.
The Middle East, Dubai Watch Week and the Energy of a Distributor
Hautlence shows at Dubai Watch Week every two years. How important is the Middle East?
Every market is in development, with great potential. One market performing very well at the moment is South America, but it always comes down to who you work with. A young distributor with few brands and full energy for selling your watch will succeed, because we come with the same energy and he takes it to market. So we are looking to renew and to get that same energy across all our retail. The Middle East is a market we always invest in, especially Dubai Watch Week, which is one of the best fairs regardless of the region, because it is very open and very secure: you can travel with the most precious watches in complete peace of mind.
Two Fairs, Two Jobs
Between Watches and Wonders in April and Geneva Watch Days in September 2026, what does Geneva Watch Days give Hautlence?
As an independent brand at Watches and Wonders, we meet press and customers in a very large fair where time is precious. Geneva Watch Days is a second opportunity to meet them with more time. They are two different things: Watches and Wonders is more retail; Geneva Watch Days is more towards the end customer and lets you introduce people to a new world. What I like about it is how open it is: you decide what you want to see this morning or this afternoon, a brand near you, still with that connection. It is more relaxed, more easy-going, and a very good platform for every type of watch.
Interview by Isabelle Junod, Editor-at-Large, for WATCHESPEDIA, Geneva Watch Days, September 2026. Photographs © WATCHESPEDIA; product images courtesy of Hautlence.
