Page 49 - Puissance Euro 1

Juan Carlos Capelli, a Swiss with Italian and Spanish roots, grew up in the Jura Bernois area, the region par excellence of Swiss watchmakers. No wonder he was destined to make a career at Longines, one of the ab- solute top brands of the Swiss watch-making industry. Since more than 25 years he has been active at Longines. He made it to vice-president and head of the marketing department. The likeable Juan Carlos Capelli, a polyglot always in for a sparkling conversation, is travelling the whole world nowadays. He is a welcome guest at eques- trian events all over the globe. We ran into him behind the scenes of the Valkenswaard jumping event. It was an encounter of the fine kind.Mr Capelli, you grew up in an area pre-eminently renowned for its watch-making? Might that have had any impact on your later career?I originate from Tramelan, a village of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Bernese Canton. Saint-Imier, the hometown of Lon- gines, is very close. I was born in ‘watch valley’ as we call it in the Jura region. There are about thirty brands around there, topped by Longines, of course. It is every local kid’s dream to go and work there, and mine too. It was by no means a piece of cake though. Moreover, I used to be an amateur horse-rider as well and took part in many jumping events in our region. Both my work and passion can be combined now and that is very special.What makes you so passionate about watch-making?The precision of a clock. It entails an impressively fine micro mechanism. It is a piece of art work, in which some 300 upto 400 often quite small parts or even more are assembled, a miracle in itself. When I look at my watch, I am sure it exactly indicates the right time and runs correctly, a great phenom- enon. This passion for watches is also obviously related to my education, bien sûr.Why has Longines become so deeply attached to equestry?For Longines this is a long tradition going back to 1878 when we first started chronometry. Back in 1881 we were already the first timekeepers in the hippodromes of New York. So we actually do have a common past and share the same values, tradition being one foremost and precision for an other. That goes without saying for a watch, but it is also very important for a rider or a jockey. A jump needs to be measured very well, a jumper cannot jump too high or too low. And then there’s elegance. Watches should emanate elegance and so should equestry. Equestrian sports are the most elegant sports man can attend. Take Chantilly. That’s where the ladies shine in their glorious hats and men in their dinner jackets.We chose the equestrian sport because it appeals both to men and women alikeWould it not prove to provide more return to investin sports with a wider global appeal such as soccer or tennis?As I said, elegance is essential to us. Our motto is clear ‘El- egance is an attiude’.We chose the equestrian sport because it appeals bothto men and women alike. Soccer and Formula I are almost exclusively for men while the equestrian sport and also ten- nis address themselves to both genders. That is why we are present at the Grand Slam of Roland Garros as well. Both perfectly connect to our line of business. It is specifically typi- cal of Longines that we produces as many watches for ladies as for gentlemen. Both sexes are equally important as a target public. Moreover, horse-riding is the only olympic discipline to align both men and women in the same tournament. An ad- ditional argument.Longines has been number one in chronometry. There was more competition in recent years though, wasn’t there?Chronometry is synonymous with horlogerie and Longines has indeed been a tradition in the sector over the years. We have been into timekeeping ever since 1878, which is less than 50 years after our company was founded back in 1832. Remem- ber that the first keeping of time happened in the equestrian47