[Akteo interview] Imagination in the service of French watchmaking

Watchmaking takes centre stage with an exclusive interview with Jean-Christophe Mareschal, the inventor of the thematic design concept behind Akteo watches! Imagination, poetry and an obsession with detail are the keys to his artistic language. Here are the secrets of a designer quite unlike any other…

Smoking > Who are you? // Introduce yourself to our readers.

Jean-Christophe Mareschal > « I come from Franche-Comté, and I grew up in Besançon, the watchmaking capital of the world, with parents who were joiners and cabinetmakers. They passed on to me a love of work well done and their passion for craftsmanship. Without much conviction I joined the Lycée Jules-Haag, known for its watchmaking course, and I spent a few years at the back of the class drawing houses, furniture, suitcases… anything but watches.
I finished my studies in mechanics and then turned to advertising and marketing. I produced promotional watches and rounded off my education with sociology, which allowed me to explore that vast world that is consumption.
After a close look at the watchmaking sector, I found myself in search of innovations. After a great deal of thought, the Akteo concept began to take shape: playing with hands in motion against a fixed backdrop, like a piece of theatre. »

Smoking > What made you want to create your own watch brand?

JCM > « In France, watchmaking was falling apart, and some brands were growing abroad. We still have a core of historic French watchmakers, but at the time I held the firm conviction that something new had to be invented, and that is what I did. I wanted an international audience, because I pay tribute to arts, passions, trades, feelings and cultures. The Akteo concept allows for an endless range of themes. The concept was born in 1985 (editor’s note: JCM whispers the date to us like a secret). I create identifying objects the way a poster artist would: I try to understand a passion and render it in the form of a watch. Having worked in watchmaking techniques and in advertising, creating Akteo was a chance for me to bring those two skills together. Working with signs, symbols and symbolism lets me get to the heart of things and convey a strong message. »

Smoking > What sets Akteo apart from other manufacturers?

JCM > « Akteo is a brand that makes its own models. An Akteo thematic watch is not a tool of social advancement, but the emblem of a genuine interest in culture. Akteo customers are sometimes students of modest means, sometimes wealthy billionaires, sometimes stars of show business… but one thing brings them together and makes them want to collect these watches: their passion for art.

In manufacturing we use high quality techniques with the best components, the ones found on very high-end watch models. What is distinctive about us is the hands. Creating all these original hands was a wild gamble, involving a major investment and a manufacturing process unique to a human-sized company like ours. Our audience is very broad and spans generations, which is what allows us to shoulder that investment.

All our watches are entirely assembled in France. The finest artistic components are made in the Besançon area. »

Smoking > Which Akteo watch would you say is the essential one?

Editor’s note: the piano model, the writer, the painter, the golden ratio, the cinema and the couture models were all named by the designer, who admits that he sometimes wears several at once on his wrist, so hard is it to choose.

JCM > « The witch is an emblematic model, and we have sold more than 100,000 of them. The idea came from Carole, who is none other than the company’s co-founder. I also like painting; in fact I like the arts, people and passions a great deal, and I enjoy playing with their trades. I find it great fun to present a trade or a passion with three hands and a dial, and to have it understood instantly whatever the country or language of our buyers. The power of the language of images is universal. »

Smoking > How do you see the future of Akteo? Sustained international growth?

JCM > « We are working on our international development and opening up our network around gift, design and art and decoration themes in China, Australia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
Even though we sell genuine watches, I would say that we distribute objects.
Buying an Akteo is, before it is a need, above all a pleasure, whether shared or personal. We are, incidentally, very well received in concept and design stores. I like the idea of walking into a shop with no particular idea or need, just for the pleasure of being astonished, surprised. It is a bit like love: it is not something you plan. Our products are not sought out, they are discovered.
In the coming months we will be bringing a whole new momentum with new products on themes that do not yet exist, and about which I can reveal nothing, but one thing is certain: we are going to surprise you! »

Smoking > Which anecdote or quotation would you like to share with us?

JCM > « A Japanese customer once told me « that an Akteo watch on your wrist is like an open window onto the heart ». These objects are genuine bridges between people, allowing connections, encounters and the sharing of a passion. »

Smoking > If you were an object, what would you be?

JCM > « without wanting to sound pretentious, since I love art, and with a little humour of course, I would have liked to be mistreated by Pablo Picasso or Pierre Soulages as a tube of paint or a brush. I would have liked to be the violin of Jean Ter-Merguerian, the pen of Ernest Hemingway or Albert Camus, the guitar of John Lennon, or Galileo’s telescope.
If I have to be an object, I might as well be one that was useful to an artist. »