REVOLUTION PUTS ERIC GIROUD (OWNER AND DESIGNER, THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS) AND JEAN-MARC WIEDERRECHT (FOUNDER AND WATCHMAKER, AGENHOR) UNDER THE LOUPE FOR SOME QUALITY Q&A

Eric Giroud and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht are no strangers to each other, having collaborated on projects such as the gem-clad Harry Winston Opus 9 and MB&F’s Horological Machines. Together or apart, the timepieces they create may be superficially dissimilar, but they all share that blend of whimsy and strength that captivates everyone and anyone fortunate enough to come across them. We asked them to field the REVOLUTION battery of questions (no peeking at each other’s answers!), so here we present, for the first time, Eric Giroud and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht having The Last Word.

What do you regard
as perfect happiness?

Eric Giroud: Emptiness. Silence.

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht: My actual life — my health,
my family, my professional life. Everything is okay.

What do you regard as perfect misery?

EG: The lack of love.

JMW: Social disparities — millions dying from
hunger while others suffer from obesity.

What does your watch know about
you that no one else does?

EG: My private life.

JMW: How many times, and when and with whom, I push the special pusher on my Hermès Arceau Le Temps Suspendu watch to live without a notion of the correct time.

Which quality, personally or professionally,
do you most value in yourself?

EG: Generosity.

JMW: My ability to trust people
I live and work with.

Which quality do you
most value in others?

EG: Loyalty.

JMW: Integrity and simplicity. 

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

EG: Thomas Edward Lawrence [a British war hero
and the subject of the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia].

JMW: If possible, I would like to have a small part of
Leonardo da Vinci’s talents.

Whose work do you admire the most?

EG: Tim Burton’s.

JMW: Abraham-Louis Breguet’s. He was probably
the most talented craftsman, technician, and
commercial and inventive watchmaker ever.

Who is one person you have not
worked with yet, but would like to?

EG: Roger W. Smith.

JMW: Giulio Papi.

What talent would youmost like to have?

EG: To be capable of composing music.

JMW: I would like to be able to draw in general, and in particular, to better express my ideas for new movements.

Which talent of yours do very
few people know about?

EG: I am an excellent cook!

JMW: I’m a joker. I prefer to keep that to myself!

Which quality do you most
dislike in yourself?

EG: My meticulosity.

JMW: I don’t have so many qualities
that I can afford to dislike any!

What is the one thing that you
cannot bear to see in a watch?

EG: A lack of coherence.

JMW: Poor quality and design, or false indications.

What do you consider to be your
greatest achievement?

EG: My relationship with my wife.

JMW: Succeeding, with my wife, in creating a
well-working, independent family enterprise.

 If you could create a watch for
anyone in the world, who would
it be for, and why?

EG: Anish Kapoor. For interest, and for the joy
of sharing time with such a great artist.

JMW: It would be for me (to avoid jealousy).☺

If you died and came back as any one of
the watches you’ve worked on, which one
would it be, and why?

EG: Badollet’s Ivresse. For its softness, its elegance
and its refinement.

JMW: The Pont des Amoureux from Van Cleef & Arpels. Because telling love stories is very important in
our troubled times.