Old But New

The unlikely story of how one man's appreciation for mystery novels led to the revival of an old name in Swiss watchmaking: Charles Girardier.

-  Wei-Yu Wang

CHARLES GIRARDIER, THE contemporary independent watch brand founded only a few years ago that picked up an award at the 2020 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG), owes its existence primarily to two people: Patrick Ulm, a Swiss native whose career in wealth management exposed him to the finer things, and, strangely enough, Agatha Christie.

"What I found interesting was that the pocket watch was really showing the personality of Hercule Poirot," Ulm explains, citing the Belgian detective that was Christie's most famous character. "It shows he's meticulous, he's on time, he's precise. And every time he gets his pocket watch out, you know something's going to happen."