News 
On 2 September, at a press conference held at the Dürrenmatt Centre in Neuchâtel, Hautlence unveiled its new partnership with Eric Cantona, as well as a travelling exhibition called the Cross The Line World Tour organised with the help of the ex-footballing star. This return in style to the watchmaking scene marks the firm’s tenth anniversary.
Founded in 2004 in Neuchâtel, Hautlence - an anagram of Neuchâtel - quickly made an impression on the watch market with its avant-garde watch designs and proprietary watch movements. Hit hard by the crisis, the firm started experiencing serious difficulties in 2009. In 2011, the company Melb Holding, whose CEO is none other than Georges-Henri Meylan, took over the firm and its debts for the nominal sum of one franc, and the recapitalised Hautlence brand reappraised its approach in terms of product positioning.
The refashioned brand teamed up with former footballer Eric Cantona following a chance encounter. The latter, now a film actor, director and art enthusiast, readily admits his lack of watch industry knowledge but was greatly impressed by the meticulous work and immense professionalism of watchmakers during a visit to the Hautlence workshops. The idea of helping to design a timepiece also appealed to him. The fruit of this new collaboration is the limited edition Invictus Morphos. Radiating poetry and elegance, this timepiece displays on its dial the hues and iridescent reflections of a blue butterfly named Morphos. Mother-of-pearl inserts subtly enhanced by black transfers trace the motifs of the wings of this large butterfly. The intermediate sapphire dial, on which silvered hour numerals appear to float, adds a sense of depth, lightness and weightlessness which blends perfectly with the butterfly theme. The numbered caseback (250 pieces available) bears Eric Cantona’s signature and an engraving of his fingerprint.
The Cross The Line World Tour received its premiere in the house which was home to the Swiss writer and painter Friedrich Dürrenmatt until his death in 1990. Devoted to the brand’s iconic timepieces and the new Invictus Morphos model, this exhibition also features artworks drawn from the personal collection of Eric Cantona, more particularly examples of the contemporary «street art» movement. Future stopovers include Singapore in November and Hong Kong in December.
September 18, 2014