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June 2019

Carzo & Lieutier

  • Watchbuilders
  • From hands and dial down to screw heads, the timepieces designed by this Niçois partnership derive their personality from the world of motorcycling.

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Philippe Carzo et Guillaume Lieutier partagent la même passion et sont les cofondateurs d’une marque de montres « Made in Nice ».

From hands and dial down to screw heads, the timepieces designed by this Niçois partnership derive their personality from the world of motorcycling.

Driven by an enduring passion for motorbikes, Philippe Carzo, bike builder with 21 Grammes Motorcycles, and Guillaume Lieutier, the man behind the Ateliers Smokey Joe fashion brand, have cofounded their eponymous "made in Nice" watch brand, its DNA and signatures drawn directly from the biking world. "It's inspired by a specific idea of elegance, that timeless, individual French touch whose codes and values are passed down from one generation to the next." No facile nod to biking, these timepieces are conceived like custom motorbikes. The St-Luxeuil series, named for Saint Columbanus of Luxeuil, patron saint of motorcyclists, comes in quartz and automatic versions; then there are the one-off Unorthodox creations. "Each of these timepieces is customised in our workshop then cold-stamped on the back with a serial number guaranteeing it is unique. We make just one watch at a time and never the same model twice." Their latest baby is the elegant Turini sporting a red-white-and-blue lightning bolt on its dial to remind us these watches are assembled in France. The name refers to the Col de Turini mountain pass behind Nice, a favourite pilgrimage for many a European biker. Carzo & Lieutier got their project off the ground by crowdfunding it through Kickstarter, building a community that now follows the two fanatics' project with unmitigated interest, on social media.

Style statement
A touch retro and distinctly classy, these timepieces reveal many a complicit detail. "There's the knurling around the dial, like on a brake pedal, and the bolt-inspired logo," Carzo points out. Details that demanded hours of meticulous work in order to obtain the desired result. This autodidact with a passion for mechanics has put all his considerable draughtsmanship and knowledge of watchmaking into the project. What started as a simple friendship between two bikers segued into the idea and then the reality of creating timewear together. The first stage was choosing a name for their brand, and after some brainstorming they plumped for their own surnames. This might seem an easy way out but as Lieutier explains, it's particularly meaningful: "Back in the day, design studios were always known by the designer's name." Last but not least, their watches come with a choice of wristbands to suit all tastes: leather, steel or coloured NATO. The only problem is deciding!

En vente à
L'Atelier du croco,
1 place Charles Félix, Nice
Tél. 04 93 80 00 90
et en ligne
www.carzoetlieutier.com

Par Caroline Stefani

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