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The first spark
of intuition
As so often in all the best stories, there was some sort of alchemy at work right from the outset: a blend of intuition, passion, perseverance, talent and serendipitous encounters that together gave birth to a project which to all appearances could have been nothing more than a wild idea!
“They did not know it was impossible – so they did it”
This well-known adage offers a good tongue-in-cheek summary of the ambitions and chutzpah of Maison Alcées founders.
It all began with a young female engineer’s hunch as she pursued a career in the field of traditional high-quality craftsmanship. Alcée had just left her job with a leading watch manufacturer; still in thrall to this universe of talent and passion, she allowed an idea that had been running around in her head come to fruition: re-thinking the luxury experience as a high-end version of do-it-yourself – and thereby nurturing the concept of excellence in craftsmanship by introducing it to an ever-expending circle of enthusiasts. With this in mind, she naturally turned to watchmaking.
Her instincts were borne out by the astounding rallying effect of her original idea. The project proved so compelling that it instantly caught the imaginations of leading figures in the world of watchmaking, including one of France’s ‘Best Craftsmen’ (Meilleurs Ouvriers de France), a horology teacher specialising in microtechnology and several specialist designers. Even Benoît, Alcée’s engineer husband, was on board right from the start. Fuelled by their conviction and a growing sense of synergy, the group embarked on the adventure together with infectious enthusiasm.
An immense challenge
Our promise is to pass on all the beauty of watchmaking expertise to anyone with an interest, with no particular skills required, and achieve the highest quality standards.
Actually practising watchmaking is a must if the learning process is to be truly educational. This observation led us to develop our own timepiece, including its mechanical movement, in such a way as to ensure it could be brought to life by any novice. We were more than ready to take on such an ambitious undertaking!
Every step of our creative process represented an opportunity to learn and journey into the heart of horology, with our aim being to surpass conventional norms – and so the adventure began.
Turning an idea
into a design
The first step before embarking on advanced design calculations was to make the creative idea more tangible. It was in October 2020 that Maison Alcée’s luxury table clock first saw the light of day – when our team absolutely fell in love with the drawings produced by specialist watch designer Antoine Tschumi.
Antoine hand-drew several concept sketches of the Persée desk clock based on our specifications. One in particular embodied the essence of an hourglass, featuring an entrancing view of the movement – just as we’d envisioned – as well as the possibility of displaying the piece horizontally or vertically.
The designer then carried out in-depth technical studies to investigate how this luxury timepiece could be brought to life.
For the launch of the Persée, he suggested three initial types of finish: Persée Azur, Persée Douce and Persée Nuit.
The birth of a prototype
Winter 2021
By this time, Maison Alcée had committed to developing a proprietary watch movement that could be assembled by the uninitiated. This technical challenge called for exceptional skills as well as educational talent, with the latter supplied by horology teachers who lent their support to the project. The expertise of watch construction expert Jean-Marie Desgrange was to be the starting-point of the adventure.
Working on the basis of the specifications and the sketch drawings, a detailed design study including mechanical feasibility calculations was completed.
The technical and design plans and the digital model were carefully put together, serving as the crucial link between the design stage and the manufacture of actual components.
Partnering with watch construction teachers proved to be an invaluable asset in developing the daring concept of a DIY timepiece.
Students’ typical mistakes offered relevant insights, informing technical solutions to anticipate and overcome potential pitfalls. This educational input allowed Maison Alcée to keep ‘preassembly’ to an absolute minimum and hold true to the goal of passing on every aspect of the relevant knowhow.
December 2021
When the first Persée desk clock prototypes arrived, Alcée and Benoît both assembled one, bringing the exceptional timepiece to life. Each tiny detail took shape, reflecting the Maison’s characteristic attention and passion – right down to every individual component.
January 2022
Benoît drew on his background as an engineer to launch a first limited edition of Persée timepieces, carefully coordinating some thirty manufacturing partners throughout every stage of the process. Each step was carried out with the greatest of care, thus ensuring the quality and excellent workmanship of each Persée table clock.
Finishing and inspection was carried out by Meilleur Ouvrier de France watchmaker Thierry Ducret – a meticulous and highly complex stage. Every major milestone in the process includes a number of steps including polishing, straight graining, circular graining, and sand-blasting.
In the expert hands of Thierry Ducret, inert components gradually come to life as pre-assembly and assembly proceed. Thierry’s work includes retouching, adjustment, inspection and quality control of each component before it takes its place in the presentation box. Each clock is then handed over to our engineers for a two-week mise en lanterne test phase; this constitutes a second verification and a final expert inspection.
We love it when a plan comes together…
Today, Maison Alcée’s Persée timepiece has come a long way since that initial sketch drawing. It’s the fruit of a painstaking process, a shared passion, and the constant quest for horological excellence, leading to the creation of an exceptional prototype that paved the way for what is now a prestigious timepiece.
