forzheim, in southwest Germany, is known for its jewellery-making tradition. When Gengenbach, a jewellery company founded there in the 1920s, decided to follow through on a longstanding ambition and branch out into watches, it asked Swiss jewellery designer Jean Marcel if he would put his name to a range of timepieces.

The inaugural collection of predominantly gold watches under the Jean Marcel label saw daylight in 1981. This is also when Jürgen Kuhn, a veteran of several watch brands, joined Gengenbach to co-found this new venture.

Marcel Kuhn, Jürgen’s son, recently took over as CEO of the brand. He picks up the story: “My father was hired as head of development for Jean Marcel. The first thing he did was to bring in his father, Horst Kuhn, a master watchmaker, to oversee production and after-sales service. This carried on a family tradition as my great-grandfather was also a watchmaker. Only we now had our own brand.”

The ultra-slim and ultra-precise Optimum with date display

This was back in the 1980s; the watch industry was in the thick of the quartz crisis but Jean Marcel wasn’t reliant on this technology. “We used several different movements, mostly mechanical ETA, some Soprod as well as Jaquet in La Chaux-de-Fonds,” Marcel Kuhn continues. “We cased them in gold but also brass. We put a lot of emphasis on design with almost jewellery-like watches and this finesse quickly became the hallmark of the brand.”

Europa Star published this presentation of Jean Marcel in 1993. The company recently appointed Marcel Kuhn as the new generation at the head of the firm

©Archives Europa Star

The encounter with Vincent Calabrese

At a time of immense uncertainty for the industry, the Kuhns knew exactly the direction they planned to take: produce watches with a timeless design, equipped with quality Swiss movements, at affordable prices. “Quartz wasn’t a priority but quality was, so we stopped using materials such as brass for cases and focused on more refined materials instead. In 2000, 80% of our watches were mechanical,” says Marcel Kuhn.

“Our collaboration with Vincent Calabrese was a key moment for the brand,” he adds. “He and my father had met in the mid-1990s and got on well. In 1997 we launched the Mystery range of automatic watches with no hands. The Musée de l’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds had one in its collection.”

The Mystery, developed with master watchmaker Vincent Calabrese, played a key role in the brand’s development

©Archives Europa Star

©Archives Europa Star

©Archives Europa Star

This would be the beginning of international growth. “The Mystery brought the brand to the attention of a wider audience and we were able to expand into international markets such as the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Exceptional media coverage put Jean Marcel firmly on the map.”

An early adopter of e-commerce

In 2005 the decision was taken to rethink the brand’s distribution in Germany. Marcel Kuhn, who had recently joined the business, recalls how “we decided to replace the traditional model of distribution partners and start delivering direct to customers and sell through e-commerce. We were ahead of the curve at a time when online retail was still in its infancy.”

The timeless style of Jean Marcel (Europa Star, 1995)

©Archives Europa Star

Apart from having its own collections, how has Jean Marcel succeeded in standing out from the competition in Germany, where it makes 60% of its sales? According to Marcel Kuhn, “we’ve consistently invested in quality procedures and in our watches’ precision. Our customers appreciate the fact we use only ETA movements for our watches which are known for their reliability and precision.” But didn’t ETA cease deliveries of movements to third parties? “We’ve always enjoyed good relations with ETA,” answers Kuhn, which is as much as he’ll say!

Marcel Kuhn

The CEO goes on to list some of the other factors which he believes explain the success of a brand that sells in the region of 3,000 watches a year, such as “timeless designs, finesse, excellent price/quality ratios and an innovative mindset. We have filed six patents for our calendars and are working on a seventh. Customers love our calendar watches.”

Jürgen Kuhn

The brand is clear as to what its next objectives are: “We plan to develop distribution in Asia. We were at the Time to Watches fair in Geneva this year and came away with some interesting leads. Towards the end of the year we’ll be launching a new collection of ultra-slim automatic watches with ETA 2892 TOP movements. Precision will remain a priority with a new collection that outperforms COSC standards. Our prices will be slightly higher but still very competitive at €1,000 to €3,000.”

The new generation at the head of Jean Marcel stays true to the brand’s original - and disconcertingly simple - premise to propose watches that are innovative, finely executed and timeless in their design at the best price. Sticking with the simplest formulas is often hardest, especially in an era obsessed with change!