Spotlight: Jean Kazès

I have thoroughly enjoyed recounting my journey in watches through Watch Affinity. I have found writing about my experiences and things I’ve learned through this forum a great way of sharing it with others, and it’s been great fun speaking with people about them.

In recent months you may have noticed that I haven’t written very often or posted on the   Watch Affinity Instagram account as much as I have previously. It’s fair to say I’ve been struggling a bit with writer’s block, and more generally I think a wider lack of inspiration. I like to write about things that aren’t what you find elsewhere, something different, and in my own way try to add a bit of value beyond the ‘normal’.

To that end it was always going to take something truly significant and something I believed worthwhile to get me typing again. And I am glad to say that on a visit to Geneva earlier this week, I finally happened across just what I had been looking for!

I was fortunate to be joining my friends at The Limited Edition to visit the atelier of independent watchmaker Cedric Johner (more to come on him in a later article!), but on the way out to the Carouge area of Geneva, we took a slight detour to visit the atelier of a clockmaker as suggested by Pietro’s friend Stéfane.

When we arrived at the unassuming atelier, we peered through the window, and sat at the back of the workshop we could see the clockmaker working away. That clockmaker turned out to be a man named Jean Kazès…

Who is Jean Kazès?

Before this visit, Jean Kazès was a name I had never heard before. However, after this visit and what I have learned since, I really feel like I should have done.

That in itself is a huge part of why I’m writing this article – I feel like his story and his work is something that should be talked about more. Despite many articles describing him as world famous and world renowned, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal out there.

Born in Bulgaria in 1930 (making him 93 years young and still working!), Kazès initially started his training as a precision mechanic and mechanical engineer rather than a watchmaker or clockmaker. His website biography says that it was only when a friend of his asked whether he might be able to repair his Morbier clock that he took his first steps into horology. And as we all know, it’s a slippery slope from there, and in 1972 he took the step of becoming an independent clockmaker.

Having mastered the mechanical aspects, his clocks very much focus on the aesthetic and creative presentation of his clocks, which are best described as sculpture clocks, and as I learned have earned him some very prestigious clients. They are almost architectural, and despite the fact that Kazès’ style is born of the 1980s, it looks modern and contemporary even today.

In 1988, Kazès joined Svend Andersen and Vincent Calabrese’s AHCI – a collaborative of independent master watch and clockmakers including the likes of George Daniels; today the AHCI counts amongst its members watchmakers such as Philippe Dufour, Konstantin Chaykin (who is of course also renowned for his clocks) and François-Paul Journe.

Visiting the atelier of Jean Kazès

After arriving at Kazès’ atelier, he warmly welcomed us in and graciously showed us around. There were two things which struck me in an instant: firstly the smell, this was a real workshop; describing a smell with words is notoriously difficult, but I think the best word I could offer is “metalwork”. It was as prevalent as I’ve ever experienced, and almost reminded me of a car mechanic’s garage. Secondly was the sound, a constant ambience of ticking clocks. This really was a treat for all the senses.

There were tools and papers across the desks, and shelves bursting at the seams. Everything you could possibly imagine a clockmaker ever needing and more. I learned that Kazès has worked in this very atelier for over 50 years, which both didn’t surprise me at all looking around, and also blew my mind.

He explained that given the size of his clocks, he has smaller models on display in the atelier for prospective clients to see how they might look. There were a great many that were around, but one in particular caught my eye thanks to a small sticker placed at the bottom. Patek Philippe.

At this point I learned about Kazès’ impressive client list. His sculpture clocks hang in the reception of Patek Philippe’s Geneva headquarters (a gift from Beyer in 1989 to mark the 150^th anniversary of Patek Philippe and to celebrate the partnership between the two companies), as well as in Chopard’s New York boutique in the prestigious Crown building that they moved into in 2021 from its previous Madison Avenue location.

Other clients include Cartier, The Hour Glass’s Ginza boutique, Unilever’s global headquarters, and the Kazès clock in the Hotel Cornavin near Geneva’s main central train station even holds the world record for the longest pendulum at 30 metres long!

When Max Büsser moved his MB&F team to the M.A.D House headquarters last year (also in the Carouge area of Geneva) a Kazès sculpture clock was proudly displayed on their central staircase – clearly anyone thinking these clocks wouldn’t look out of place in an MB&F M.A.D Gallery can count Max himself amongst them!

In addition to the sculpture clocks, around the workshop were also a variety of table and carriage clocks, similar in aesthetic to the sculpture clocks but obviously on a smaller scale and not requiring such a large wall space to enjoy!

We all continued to speak for the remainder of the visit, with one moment in particular standing out for me when Pietro and Stéfane explained that the night before, Svend Andersen and Vincent Calabrese had received their GPHG Special Prize for their contributions to independent watchmaking having founded the AHCI – the group Kazès joined as a clockmaker in 1988. Seeing the smile grown on Jean Kazès’ face at hearing the news was priceless.

I think that in the world of horology, clockmaking is making a resurgence with the likes of L’Epée 1839 and Miki Eleta, as well as the introduction of the Mechanical Clocks prize category in the GPHG Awards. Accordingly, it is important to also recognise and celebrate those that have contributed for many years as well.

In Summary

Jean Kazès’ clocks are truly wonderful works of art, with clients able to request the designs that have already been created and are displayed around the atelier, or even to create something totally unique.

There is something incredibly poetic about this humble and unassuming master of his craft, whose work is quietly recognised internationally by those in-the-know, continuing to quietly go about his business at 93 years young in the same unassuming atelier he has worked from for more than 50 years.

This hobby might be formed around the watches and clocks that we love, but ultimately, it really is about the people and stories behind it all.

You can learn more about Jean Kazès at Jean-Kazes.ch or you can check out his AHCI profile.

If you have any questions, please get in touch via our Contact page, or via our Instagram.

You might also be interested in:

• A Visit to the Clockmakers’ Museum, London
• Recommended Reading: ‘The Independent Spirit: Time makers since 1985’ by AHCI
• In Conversation with Svend Andersen
• Watch Stationery and Gift Ideas
• Watch Books, Watch Boxes and more at the Watch Affinity Shop on Amazon (commissions earned)

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