In Conversation With Cédric Joos: Hautlence's Bold New Chapter

The Swiss watchmaking landscape has always been defined by those willing to challenge conventions. Few brands embody this spirit quite like Hautlence, the avant-garde manufacture known for its distinctive rectangular cases and groundbreaking complications. After years of relative quiet, the brand is experiencing a renaissance under the leadership of Cédric Joos, who left his comfortable position at H. Moser & Cie. to take the reins as Brand Manager. We sat down with Joos to discuss Hautlence's relaunch, its strategy in an increasingly competitive independent watchmaking sector, and what collectors can expect from this storied name.

A Watchmaker's Origins
Joos's journey to Hautlence began, perhaps inevitably, in the Jura region. Growing up in Switzerland's watchmaking heartland creates certain gravitational pulls. "In our region, if you don't go the academic way, you always end up in the watch industry," he explains. "A lot of friends ended up in that industry, so that connection was already there." But it was golf, not academics, that first drew Joos to watches. "I was fortunate to grow up on golf courses because I was a young golf player, and watches were always there. First, the clocks you have around the golf course, and then obviously the members who wear beautiful pieces. That's where I got very close to the products and felt there's a connection between me and the mechanical piece." That connection would simmer for years before materializing into a career shift eight years ago when Joos joined Bucherer as a salesman. The move from stability to the uncertainty of luxury retail was calculated. "It was always on the back of my mind to one day be able to work in that industry," he says. "I took all the risks to go into that industry, and so far it's quite a journey."

Telling the Story Right
When Joos assumed leadership of Hautlence, he inherited a brand with considerable history but an unclear narrative. Founded in 2004, Hautlence had accumulated 21 years of evolution, ownership changes, and design shifts that needed contextualizing for modern collectors. "I think we were quite unclear what we did in the past," Joos admits candidly. "Our first goal when I took over the brand was really to tell the story right. What were the changes, like the Melzi family taking over the brand in 2012, then in 2020, when we changed home? That was where we felt there was a drive again when we made the strategic decision to move home." That home is now Schaffhausen, where Hautlence operates under the same roof as H. Moser & Cie. The synergies extend beyond facilities. "We try to create an image, a culture around the brand, which is important because it's a human business," Joos explains. "It's not only the watch that is important. It's as well what you create around the brand. We have a very good example with Moser, where they created the Moser family, where the community is very strong, and we're definitely using those synergies to build that image around Hautlence."

Design and Function: The Twin Pillars
Ask any collector familiar with Hautlence to describe the brand, and two elements emerge immediately: distinctive case architecture and the mesmerizing Sphere complication. These remain the foundational elements of the brand's DNA.

"We have two points," Joos confirms. "One is the case design, and the other is obviously the function with the Sphere, which is very iconic and unique." But rather than rest on these laurels, Hautlence is evolving. "Next year, as a sneak peek, we are bringing out a new design, a new shape. Still rectangular, but playing a little bit more with the three-dimensionality of a shape. There's always a case or function that we play with."

This balance between innovation and heritage presents a delicate challenge. The early HL pieces featured what Joos calls "the locomotive arm," a hallmark design element the brand is working to reintegrate. "To innovate is one thing, but we need to keep as well a constant with what we represent as a brand. We cannot always jump ship. That's the risk when you try to have way too many movements." The strategy reflects maturity and restraint. "You devalue the products in the past if you always bring new functions out," Joos notes. "Let's imagine we bring a new Sphere out in the next coming months. That would not be the right thing to do. So we need to focus on what we can do, and that's obviously those creations that we have. We have strong creations, and we need to work a lot on communication."

Navigating a Crowded Field
The independent watchmaking sector has grown remarkably competitive, with established players like MB&F and Urwerk commanding significant collector attention at similar price points. Rather than view this as threatening, Joos sees opportunity for coexistence. "All these brands, and as well us included, we don't produce so many watches a year," he points out. "That gives the collector that journey to basically collect from each brand something if he has the capacity to collect these pieces." The limited production philosophy, which Hautlence maintains at 28 pieces per series, ensures scarcity without artificially constraining the brand.

Moreover, shared production facilities with Moser have enabled Hautlence to dramatically reduce entry pricing. "We were able to push down those prices due to the synergies with Moser, as we are under one roof and utilizing the same machines and the same watchmakers." As for differentiation, Joos sees clear distinctions. "MB&F is, for me, more like a sculpture. It's very unique. Urwerk is very conceptual on how to show time, where we have a little bit of both those universes. So I think we can coexist very well, and there's no competition."

A Measured Approach to Growth
While sister brand Moser has found success with a direct-to-consumer model, Hautlence is taking a more traditional retail approach. The production targets reflect this measured strategy, with plans to scale toward 500 pieces annually depending on market reception. "It really depends what we create in the future to define that line where the production is," Joos explains. The brand recently hired a production chief from IWC who brings a pragmatic perspective. "He says we don't need to produce anything that is not awaited, and I fully agree on that." For 2024, Hautlence is introducing its first non-limited piece, an entry-level offering around 30,000 Swiss francs that the brand hopes to produce 100 units of in the first year. "Producing 100 more watches means like for us nearly double," Joos notes. "So we need to adjust our processes inside. We need to keep up with quality. And there we have our big brother, which is Moser, that went through that already and is a very good guideline for us."

The Narrative Beyond Complications
In contemporary watchmaking, technical prowess alone rarely suffices. Collectors seek emotional resonance, stories that connect timepieces to broader human experiences. Hautlence is recalibrating its approach accordingly. "For us it's very important that we made the Sphere more known," Joos says of the brand's signature complication. "We only did now three series since we are in Schaffhausen, so that means three times 28. That's not much." Rather than simply proclaim the Sphere's technical merits, Hautlence is building narrative around shared values.

"It's not by someone saying, 'Wow, Hautlence is great, Sphere is very incredible as a function,'" Joos explains. "It's by having people who share the same core values as we do and telling their story. Because at the end, it's about them. It's not only about the watch. You buy the watch because you have a lot of things that are connected to that world, and you feel that this watch represents that." This approach has already yielded results. A recent video featuring René Schmitt, a gallerist from Berlin discussing what it means to be an artist today, garnered 3.1 million views. "This is a narrative that we can really connect with because it's not just from above or like a brand pitch," Joos says. "It's really the true statement: what does it mean to be an artist today? Why are they special? Why do they see things differently?"

Building the Right Team
Joos is refreshingly candid about his own limitations. "My father, who was an entrepreneur too, always said to surround yourself with people that are better than you in their own specific way, where they are strong." In the past six months, he has assembled a team, including Johnny Craig on communications and Marcus Heilinger, who designed Moser's Streamliner, on design. "That's very important, that we create the environment around the watch brand with strong personalities and strong people, and we already see the result of that," Joos notes. "You need to be very focused. What can you do personally? Where are you strong? And where do you need help? The best way is by being fully transparent to the people you meet on a daily basis, because there's so many amazing people who will, and are happy to, help you."

Defining Success
When asked about key performance indicators for the next three years, Joos resists fixating on pure sales figures. "I feel like just aiming on sales numbers is not always the right approach. It's like a gathering of a few projects. If you do a right base, the result will show. So we focus more on the processes before. It's important to have a target, but I think it's better to make the base right, and then everything else follows." The ultimate measure, he suggests, is independence. "When we know that we can stand alone without being fully under that wing of H. Moser here, that was really one goal that we have."

Global Expansion with Purpose
Hautlence's international strategy prioritizes quality over quantity, seeking markets with established collector bases rather than chasing volume. India represents a particularly interesting opportunity, one Joos is approaching methodically through partnership with Ethos. "Obviously we're very niche," he acknowledges. "When we approach a market, it's more the collector who maybe has already a journey, but I think mainly it's people who are looking for something that is characteristic and they don't want to follow trends. They want something that is unique and represents more of their personality." The strategy emphasizes presence and engagement. "For us, it's very important that we own the market. If we open a market, we cannot just open a market and not be proactive. Our goal now with India especially is at least visit once a year and try to do events, be active in that way, show our face. That helps already a lot to build a brand on the market and meet the collectors, the right collectors."

What's Next
As our conversation draws to a close, Joos outlines what collectors should anticipate. "We are going to be much more communicative. We are much more active on social media, Instagram. We had a goal of videos that we want to put out there, and we went over that number." The content strategy will continue featuring what Joos calls "interesting collectors, people maybe you never heard about but are very interesting. Like architects who had buildings or were involved in buildings that you know, but you didn't know who was behind it." On the product side, expectations should be high. "We have a very exciting project, which is a new shape. It's still rectangular, smaller than what we use right now, and thinner as well. This is going to be the future of Hautlence: to go to a new trajectory, what is design and as well communication based."

The shift toward smaller proportions reflects broader industry trends. As Joos notes, "There was a trend for large dials, bold designs, but I think now everyone is drifting more towards minimalism, more smaller, sleeker designs that fit well for every wrist type." It's a fitting summary for a brand in transition. Hautlence is threading a careful path between heritage and innovation, between niche appeal and broader accessibility, between technical prowess and emotional storytelling. Under Joos's leadership, the brand seems determined not just to recapture past glory but to define a new chapter entirely. For collectors who value independent thinking and distinctive design, Hautlence's renaissance warrants close attention.