Behind Serica's Design Philosophy with Co-founder Jérôme Burgert

Ever wondered how a boutique watch brand rises to prominence in a saturated market? Join us as we sit down with Jérôme Burgert from Serica, who shares the captivating journey of creating a watch brand that fuses vintage inspiration with modern precision. Discover the genesis of Serica, co-founded with Gabriel, and their fascination with tool watches from the 40s to the 70s. Jerome offers his intriguing take on encountering counterfeit Serica watches on platforms like Alibaba, considering them as an unintentional nod to Serica's design influence and impact.

We explore Serica's unique design philosophy, which emphasizes simplicity, elegance, and practicality. Jerome details how Serica differentiates itself from brands like Rolex by innovating with distinctive hand shapes and thoughtful design choices. Get an insider's look at their current lineup, including the 6190 field chronometer, the 5303 diving chronometer, and the 8315 travel chronometer, each crafted with a keen eye for originality and functionality. Jerome also shares the challenges and triumphs of sourcing reliable movements, culminating in a successful partnership with Soprod, enhancing both the performance and aesthetics of Serica watches.

Dive into Serica's future aspirations as Jerome discusses plans for expanding their collection to include dress watches, chronographs, and women's watches, all while maintaining a focus on sustainability and timeless design. Reflecting on the emotional connection watch enthusiasts have with their timepieces, we ponder the sentimental value of a "daily beater" versus a "Grail watch." Jerome also shares insights into Serica's global vision and the importance of storytelling in creating a deeper appreciation for their timepieces. Whether you're a watch aficionado or just discovering the allure of finely crafted timepieces, this episode offers a compelling look into the artistry and passion behind Serica watches.

Check out Serica: https://www.serica-watches.com/en/

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Episode Transcript

Blake Rea (00:01):
Hello everyone, Welcome to another episode of
Lonely Wrist Today.
Every time I say this, we havea very special guest.
I always kick off with this,but I truly mean it every single
time, and we have arguably oneof my favorite watch brands out
there crushing it Jerome fromSerica Welcome.

Jérôme Burgert (00:24):
Hi Blake, thanks for having me, oh sorry, phone
that's okay, you're a busy guy.
Thanks for coming on no, thanksfor having me.
Really, uh, I appreciate anyquestions.
You might have any.
Anything I could tell you aboutserica watches, I'll be.
I'll be happy to share it withyou and your audience.

Blake Rea (00:40):
We've got tons of stuff.
Let let's kick it off proper.
Let's start with the originstory of Serica.
What inspired you to start awatch brand?
You and Gabriel.

Jérôme Burgert (00:52):
It's rather simple really.
I mean every possible, everybrand has its own story For us,
without going back to ourrespective backgrounds, because
what we did before obviously ledus to creating Serica today,
because without meeting theproper people, without trying
the proper watches on the wrist,you cannot create what we are

(01:16):
creating right now.
You know it's thousands ofwatches on the wrist, historical
designs, studies, vintagepieces that fed us and fed me my
eye, because I do design thepieces.
But if it had to be summed upinto a very simple way, I'd say
the true will to really givebirth to, you know, to what I

(01:39):
consider to be the real toolwatches.
In a nutshell, you love watches, I do love watches and I'm sure
we will agree, not only you andI but many other people around,
that the golden age ofwatchmaking is not 2024.
It was basically between theearly 40s to the late 60s,

(02:01):
mid-70s to be fair, and duringthat era some people worked
really well.
They gave birth to what we stillconsider today to be among the
most amazing PCs in watchmaking.
And if we talk about toolwatches, to me these tool

(02:21):
watches and we're talking late60s, obviously, or early 50s to
late 60s had something that hasdisappeared for a long time and
that is very, very hard to comeacross a modern piece.
But I'm not talking just today,I'm talking about for the past
20 years, and that magic thingis blending the true

(02:43):
characteristics of an instrument, meaning precision, meaning
reliability, meaning waterresistance, all of this but
combining it with a beautifulobject of design, because beauty
means everything and it makesour daily lives much better,

(03:05):
much better.
So if it's not beautiful orrelevant, or if it doesn't have
a personality, obviously youwill be, I will be, you will be
less eager to to crack a smilein the morning and put it on
your wrist.
So it was truly about having anew dive watch, field watch, gmt
watch that does not try to looklike or embody anything else
but serica watch and that blendsthe highest standards of

(03:26):
performance with the beautifulfinishing, with the most
beautiful finishings, materialsand and design.
And we're struggling to combineall these together and give
birth to very unique pieces.

Blake Rea (03:38):
That's that was a core motivation and still is I
wouldn't say you guys arestruggling to do that because,
um, I was talking to some of myfriends say you guys are
struggling to do that because Iwas talking to some of my
friends about you guys coming onthe podcast and yeah.
So essentially they brought itto my attention that there is on
Alibaba or DHgate or some ofthese.
Chinese websites copies clonesof Serica watches out there.

Jérôme Burgert (04:03):
I know what, what can you do?
You know the very first day,the very first morning, when you
hear and see about those,because you receive tons of
messages, hey, hey, do you knowabout that?
You know about that.
It's um, it's not fun, it's notpleasant.
Uh, because basically the hardwork and the heart we put into
serica watches every day is notopen source, it's not open bar

(04:24):
for those people to steal ourwork and make a quick bug out of
it.
You know.
But in another way and friendsof mine helped me realize that
option one, I mean we can't doanything about it.
Those guys hide in China, inAustralia, wherever, and if I
wanted to fight them it wouldmean a lot of energy, a lot of

(04:48):
time, a lot of money, and I'drather spend these on building
something than fightingsomething else.
But it's also proof that we'recreating something that stands
for itself.
When you do create a design andyou have a very minimalistic
branding approach, like we do, Imean you can't see serica

(05:08):
written big on the dial andpeople are copying these and
branding them as homage.
5303 serica watches.

Blake Rea (05:17):
There was like, okay, I mean rolex has homages, like,
if it's not relevant design,people won't try to steal it
anyway, so you know I try to, Itry to relax with that kind of
mindset yeah, that's like thecertification that you are going
down the design history booksright there hopefully fingers

(05:38):
crossed tell us the 5303 is oneof my favorites.
I currently now, thanks toGabriel, I have the entire
Serica collection.
You have one of each in yourpossession right now.
Yes, yes, for now, and I'mlooking forward to doing some

(06:00):
content about them.
Obviously, by the time thispodcast releases, it will
probably already be out, but Ihave enjoyed my time with the
5303.
The Field Watch is amazing, the5303, the GMT is such a I don't
know how to describe it.
I get this experience that nota lot of people are going to get

(06:22):
.
I don't know if all of yourcustomers have all three watches
Probably not, right, quite afew, but not all of them All
right.
Yeah, there you go, but somehowthe designs I'm trying to think
of the best way I can describethis.
I'm at a loss for words.
Sure, sure, sure, take yourtime.
But they're so integrated butthey're so different at the same

(06:44):
time, like it feels like atorch is being passed from piece
to piece.

Jérôme Burgert (06:51):
It's exactly that.
Because it's you know, when youbuild a brand from scratch,
it's not playing watches and tryto, it's the opposite of homage
watches.
Because you try to expressyourself with the language that
you did not.
Well, I did not invent thevocabulary, because the
vocabulary to me is what hasbeen passed on to me, passed

(07:12):
down from previous generation ofwatch designers.
I did not invent the black dialor the rotating bezel, did not
invent the GMT complication, orI did not invent any of this,
but I'm trying to.
I'm trying to, yeah, to usethose words and create my own
language, my own poetry.
It's, you know, the watch designis something that is extremely

(07:34):
fragile.
We're working on a very smallscale and every tiniest hundreds
of a millimeter that you changewill affect the entire feel,
look and feel of the watch.
So once you understand that,even if you use a vocabulary
that dates from the 50s or the60s, I mean, you can write

(07:55):
something entirely different.
It's, for example, what I didwith the GMT coming up with a
lollipop GMT hand.
It's never been done before.
These two-time 12 hours withthe anti-meridian, post-meridian
indexes never been done before.
It's those tiny little thingsthat it's just like asking

(08:20):
yourself.
I read that not long ago aboutoriginality.
Originality is not trying to bedifferent.
Originality is actually goingback to the origin and that's
what it is about.
You go back to the origin ofthe the question that's been
asked and you answer thisquestion with your own design,

(08:41):
language and approach.
Uh, building a GMT watch is notpopping a Pepsi bezel on the
diver's case.
It's not playing with an orangehand or a red arrow hand.
It's no.
You go back to the origin.
What's the origin of a GMTwatch?
It's displaying a second timezone with a day-night indicator,

(09:04):
and you can do that any way youwant.
You have a plethora of handshapes for hours, for minutes
and, surprisingly, for GMT hands, people stuck most brands stuck
with a Rolex approach.
But that's precisely what it isthe Rolex approach.
It's not for what it is theRolex approach.

(09:25):
It's not for Serica to use,it's not for me to use, it's for
me to create my own.
So it's a very simple answer tothat question.
I did not.
You read 12 hours on the dialoops, sorry here and 24 hours on
the bezel.
So if you want something that'seasy to read, you need those

(09:47):
hands to be different, becauseyou don't read it with the same
scale.
It doesn't have to be red, itdoesn't have to be orange, it
doesn't even have to be adifferent color, it just has to
be distinctive, slightlydifferent.
So I just changed the infill,which is not even super luminova
, because the 24-hour bezel doesnot glow.
So having a hand that points tonothing in the dark doesn't

(10:07):
make sense.
And it's just by by askingmyself those questions that I
found the most simplisticpossible answers, and it gave
birth to a watch that looks,hopefully, nothing like a 1675.
Hopefully.

Blake Rea (10:23):
I would say it's very distinctively Serica.

Jérôme Burgert (10:25):
I hope so.

Blake Rea (10:27):
Speaking on the design language, I mean as a
designer, I'm sure you'regrounded by concepts and
strategies.

Jérôme Burgert (10:38):
What kind I don't get the question, sorry.
What kind of strategy?

Blake Rea (10:44):
if you could just if you could describe serica's
design philosophy.
Yeah, if you could bring thatto words, is it possible, uh?

Jérôme Burgert (10:52):
I tried not long ago working on on describing
the brand and what we're tryingto achieve in the fewer possible
words you, because noteverybody has a podcast of an
hour, podcast to hear what Ihave to say, sure, and so,
basically, what we're trying tocreate and that's why every

(11:13):
single watch we're creating didevolve for the past five years.
So, as you know, everything nowis automatic.
Obviously it's Swiss, it'schron, obviously it's Swiss,
it's chronometer, certified,it's waterproof.
That's for the specs, basically.
And now for the design language.

(11:34):
What we came up with is, if Ihave to tell you what a Serica
watch is in one sentence, it's asingular and sophisticated,
waterproof, swiss chronometer.
That's what it is and that'swhat we built basically.
So, in terms of design language, I would say singular as
different and sophisticated,because we don't want something,

(11:56):
we want to answer the questionwith design, but we want to
answer the question in anelegant way.
You know what I mean.
But we want to answer thequestion in an elegant way.
You know what I mean.
Designers often say that themost simplistic answer is always
the best, and I tend to agree.
But at some point, when youhave an answer that is simple,

(12:17):
then you still need to give itbirth.
You still need to give thatidea and that answer a tangible
form, and there are manydifferent ways to do that and we
try to make sure that theSerica ways have always that
little extra knack of ooh.

Blake Rea (12:35):
I did not think about that before, but it's a classy
touch let's talk about.
First of all, we can go throughthe lineup right.
You have a very simplecollection.
Congratulations on the new6190s, thanks.

Jérôme Burgert (12:50):
Do you have one of those in your possession?
I do not.
I have the, well, actually Ihave the California I would have
very surprised, because we havevery few of those.
Even I don't have any.

Blake Rea (13:00):
That says a lot.
Yeah, yeah, that says a lot.
Um, yeah, yeah, I saw at windup uh, gabriel had showed me the
polar uh of the 6190 I think hehad.
I think he had the polar or thestorm gray or something with
him in his possession, one ofeach, I think yeah and uh, he
was like yeah, this, you know,this is the new 6190, this is
where we're headed, you know,and I was like man, you know,

(13:22):
and we featured the 6190,california, in our best of show
article.

Jérôme Burgert (13:28):
Thank, you very much.

Blake Rea (13:29):
Which, yeah, was impressive because that was the
first time I'd ever seen yourbrand.
And, yeah, you have a verysimple collection.
You got the 6190, the fieldchronometer.
You got the 5303, the divingchronometer, the the 6190, the
field chronometer.
You got the 5303, the divingchronometer, the 8315, the
travel chronometer.
Um, I don't want to push you,but I'm sure you're going to

(13:55):
expand the lineup soon.

Jérôme Burgert (13:56):
Um, it's um, yeah, the thing there is there.
There are many reasons to that.
You know it's a.
I always build everything onestep at a time.
I mean rushing, especially inwhatever you do, but especially
in watchmaking, especially indesign, it takes time, it needs
time to grow up.

(14:18):
You know, when you bring,especially in watchmaking, when
you bring new designs to thetable and we experience that
because what we do is differentso it needs time to be, I don't
know to be understood, to beaccepted to be.
If I, if we go about designingmany different things, if we go

(14:40):
into 10 different directions, ifwe go into 10 different
directions at our very early age, then how could I have the
pretension of asking anyone toknow and understand what a
serica watch is?
So it's.
I mean, it's obviously for usto send a message out there.
This is our proposition, thisis a serica watch, this is what

(15:01):
we do.
But then you know, and I, thata message gets lost in
translation in the process and,like you can send 100 and maybe
10% will get to you.
So I need to make sure that Idon't send too much, because I
want this message to beextremely relevant and clear and

(15:24):
, as a designer, my approach todesign is extremely
purpose-driven, as you mighthave understood, and if tomorrow
you ask me, or today, becausetoday's the day if you ask me
any question about the relevanceand the reason of any hundreds
of a millimeter of one of mywatches, if I do not have an
obvious, clear answer, then thatwould turn me into a very sad

(15:47):
person.
So I try to think about ourlineup as something that will
last in time.
It's like watches, I mean, theyevolved but they did not change.
For anyone who bought a Sericafield watch five years ago, they
still own very much a Sericafield watch.
Of course, now we have a fewdire variations.

(16:10):
The case has evolved slightly.
It's now automatic, quartermeter certified.
It's thinner.
It's the material evolved.
It changed, but it's not adifferent watch.
I can no, I don't have any herebut if you put them side by
side it's still very much aSerica watch and that's what I'm

(16:31):
trying to create.
You know, a design languagethat will last in time and is
easy to understand, and it'staking off slowly.

Blake Rea (16:43):
I mean, it feels like your watches are literally like
pulled from a time machine.
You know, and dropped in modern.
You know modern day, you know.
So in theory, you're inspiredby timeless design and you're
creating timeless watches.
So in theory, you know yourwatches have already been out

(17:04):
there for 50 plus years.

Jérôme Burgert (17:06):
You know your designs, yeah of course, of
course, plus years.
You know your designs.
Yeah, of course, of course, butuh, and it's uh.
I mean, obviously it would beextremely cocky and pretentious.
Yeah, I'll be something tiny,that's not what I'm saying at
all.
But if you do not design withthe ambition of creating
something truly special andtruly timeless, it does not

(17:26):
happen by mistake, it's amagical thing, but it just
doesn't happen by itself.
You need to be self-aware.
I think, as a designer, thatevery choice you make will have
an impact on the life of yourwatch, and you know, I've been.
We created the company fiveyears ago with Gabriel, but

(17:49):
designing watches and owning myown watch company and offering
what I do believe is a greatwatch has been on my mind for
the longest time.
And I started designing,drawing watches when I was what?
12, 13, 14 years old.
So fast forward 20 years later,when I finally had the guts and

(18:10):
the right associates to do so,I I did take it very seriously,
and I still do.
You know, creating something tome is truly a responsibility.
I'm it's funny my, my brotherjust just, uh, just just bought
me a book recently and uh, it'sa small book, but I do design.
Why beauty is key to everything.

(18:32):
By alan moore, I think, and byreading the book I was yeah,
obviously, I mean that's thethat the drum conversation I
have with my friends.
You know it's a, but it is.
I mean, beauty is key toeverything and as a designer,
your responsibility is to bringto life an object of beauty.
Of course we're talkingmicromechanics, we're talking

(18:53):
purpose-driven instruments, butit still needs to be a thing of
beauty and when you put thatinto people's lives, starting
with mine, it makes the world alittle bit of a better place.
I don't want to flow intosomething too philosophical out
there, but that's the veryreason why it's not just a tool
watch.
It's much more than that.

(19:14):
Of course I'm still a15-year-old kid, deep down
wanting to be James Bond.
Of course, when I put my watchon a wrist in the morning, I
feel a bit more like it.
People will find it funny,probably, and then I hop on the
metro and I go to work, but itdoesn't matter, you know,
because that's the idea.
A mechanical watch is notsomething that will save our

(19:37):
lives.
It's something very it's not.
I don't want to say it'soutdated, but it's not the
instrument it used to be,obviously.
So why do we wear watches?

Blake Rea (19:48):
Because it brings us joy.

Jérôme Burgert (19:50):
Yeah, Makes us happy, maybe reminds us of a
time where internet was not somuch present.

Blake Rea (19:59):
Simpler, you know.
Probably and it's an expressionof individuality at this point,
you know.

Jérôme Burgert (20:07):
It is, it is, it is at this point.

Blake Rea (20:12):
You know it is, it is , it is, and, um, and yeah, you
know something that I've noticedtoo.
I mean it's just the small, thesmall details that you can
clearly tell, like when I'vebeen wearing the diver, um, I
mean just the way that thebracelets design, I mean it's
super comfortable.
But then you have the highpolish chamfer on the lugs and
then it, it goes straight downto like a brushed gradial

(20:33):
pattern, like right to where thebracelet meets, and I was like
you know, that's just, it's just, it's just clean, it's just
unique, it's, it's refreshing.
You know, I mean you, everybodywho's listening, you have to
get hands on one of these thingsto see what I'm talking about.
But, um, you know you, you cantell, like, just the everything

(20:54):
was thought out and um that arather obsessive mind did the
work.

Jérôme Burgert (20:59):
Yeah, exactly yeah and that's okay.

Blake Rea (21:01):
I mean, we're all obsessed, I'm obsessed to shape,
to shape yeah, I'm, I'm thesickest person you'll ever meet.
I have over 150 watches in mypersonal collection I'm curious
about.
So.
Gabriel and I had talkedbriefly about the transition to
Soap Rod.
Yeah Right, we didn't talk toomuch about the reason behind it,

(21:25):
but it was my understandingthat you guys started off and I
mean now you're all in on theSoProd train.

Jérôme Burgert (21:32):
Yeah, so the reason is rather simple really.
So when we started the companyfive years ago, it was a first
original batch of 500 watches.
And you're no one 500 watchesyou cannot even knock the door
of ETA or SoProd.
If I go, who are you?
I don't know you.
Okay, you will have yourmovements in a year or two.

(21:56):
And obviously we were ratherinexperienced with the
manufacturing of mechanicalwatches.
So we purchased actually fromfriends who had another brand,
we purchased a batch of 500 ETA2801 movements and we started
working with that.
But then, at the very end ofthe very same year, eta, which
is part of Swatch Group,announced sorry guys, not

(22:18):
selling to anybody outside theSwatch Group.
So it didn't really help, right,yeah, so then we worked briefly
with STP as well, which is partof the Fossil Group in
Switzerland, and it did work.
Don't get me wrong, butpartnering with someone it's
obviously about what they canoffer and the quality of their

(22:38):
product, but it's also aboutrelationship, about how you get
along with the human peoplebehind it and how easy and nice
it is to work with them.
And we did meet the Soprod teamand their owner, mr Rodriguez,
which is a very nice guy whoappreciates very much what we do

(22:59):
.
And having Soprod Calibrehoused in Serica watches and
working with them it's been abreeze and it truly felt like
partners, not just a provider,meaning when something goes
wrong, they're here to help andwe work together, and that I
like very much.
And the caliber we used in theentire collection right now is

(23:23):
the M100.
So it's a caliber that's beenaround for a long time.
It was previously named the A10, a10 II, then evolved, like
many evolution, until the M100.
But the bottom line is thismovement is great for many
reasons in my opinion.
It's chronometer, certified,it's automatic, it's been around

(23:46):
for, yeah, 20 plus years, soit's reliable.
And, most importantly, years soit's reliable.
And, most importantly, you knowwhen you design sports watches,
you want something that's tough, that's reliable.
You want a workhorse of amovement, especially for us.
I mean, we go with theelaborate finishing, then code
de genève and everything, but wehave solid case back.
So it doesn't, you can't, youcan't see the movement anyway.

(24:07):
So this is not a Westminstercarry-on, it's just a workhorse
of a mechanical movement.
And the M100 is thinner thanmost Meaning.
If you take any 11.5 linemovements, that's the diameter,
wide on the caliber, that's whatis used usually for sports

(24:29):
watches, and if you go to ETA orif you go to Sellota, these
movements will be 4.6 millimeterthick.
If you take the M100, it's 3.6millimeter thick only and one
full millimeter in watchmaking.
It's a mountain actually whenyou do design everything around

(24:49):
the movement.
So it allowed us to work onthree different directions for
the three collections that youhave in hand.
Obviously, I discovered the M100when we did the GMT, because
the M100 is the base caliber forthe C125.
So it's basically M100 with theGMT module on top of it.
So it's basically M100 with theGMT module on top of it and
even with the module, it stillenabled me to design a 12.3

(25:15):
millimeter thick GMT watch,which I enjoyed very much
because it made for a very, verypure and very sleek case
profile.
Then I was wait, wait, wait,wait, wait.
What happens if I put this in adiver?
So it was not an easy thing,because you know you want to
keep the same case, well, thesame thickness.
You don't want to make it anythicker.

(25:36):
You need the crown to remainperfectly centered.
And I was like but can I workon an anti-magnetic cover?
And it still took us time andpeople don't realize, oh, this
new movement, and there is, butit's, it's a lot of work.
I mean, I, I did thosetechnical drawings maybe 10
times, sending them to the guys.

(25:57):
I'm not an engineer, I'm the,I'm the poet with the pen.

Blake Rea (26:02):
That's who.

Jérôme Burgert (26:03):
I am.
So it still goes back to guyswho tells me this we can do,
this we cannot do, and ninetimes, do this we cannot do, and
nine times they told me wecannot do.
And the tensile, what about ifwe do that and that and that?
I can be rather persistent andI was like, okay, this works.
And so we could manage, bykeeping the 12.2 millimeter

(26:26):
thick case to add the magneticcover.
But it's not just the cover,right, it's the cover, it's the
inner case ring and the dialitself that are now manufactured
in what we call people call itsoft iron, but it's or mu metal,
it's basically iron and nickel.

Blake Rea (26:47):
Yeah, it's like a blend.

Jérôme Burgert (26:49):
Yeah, exactly, and for the new 6190, we
transitioned as well.
It was like whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa.
What can we do?
Because, obviously, when youalready offer automatic Swiss
chronometers for your dive watchand GMT, I mean having a
mechanical hand-wound fieldwatch in the mix.

(27:09):
It's still beautiful, but itdoesn't make much sense.
We said it earlier.
I like the message to be cleanand relevant.
So it's like okay, now it'stime for the field watch to get
the COSC treatment in a way, andthis movement being thinner, we
could actually add the rotorupgrade to the new M100 caliber

(27:30):
and still manage to chop downalmost an entire millimeter and
a half of the case profile,including the crystal.
So we dropped down from 11.8down to 10.4 millimeter thick
and I mean you have it on theother side of the screen.
So, you can tell people, you putit on the wrist and it's I mean
, it's a 200 meters waterresistant watch.

(27:51):
It's a beautiful watch and it'ssuper thin.
So it's again.
It embodies everything I loveabout watches the robustness and
the elegance.

Blake Rea (28:00):
Yeah, something that I've noticed and you know,
obviously, before Wind Up SanFran this past year, you know I
hadn't had much experience orgetting hands-on with your
products.
You know, obviously there's alot of great watch brands that
are direct to consumer.
You know, you guys.
You know, because of your pricepoint, I'm assuming you have no

(28:22):
choice but to stick in thatmodel.

Jérôme Burgert (28:25):
Um for now or invent new models.

Blake Rea (28:28):
Yeah, yeah, I we'll talk later about that.
Um, but something that wassuper surprising is is just how
like compact I would say thepackage is.
Um, I've noticed it very muchso with the field chronometer,

(28:49):
um, how it wears, how compact itis.
Um, you know, I I have arelatively I would consider
small wrist, you know, belowseven inches um, but it's it
still feels like it has a bigpersonality, it does, and that's
something that's so, is so it'sso different to me.

(29:12):
Um, and you know, obviously,the way that I worked is I got
the, the field chronometer, andI got the gmt, the travel
chronometer, and then, after I,I said to gabriel, I was like
dude, like I'm missing one watchhere, like, just send me
another one Because I want toshow the entire brand, the

(29:37):
entire portfolio.
It's much more challenging todo with other brands than it is
for a brand like yours, where Iget three watches out of the
entire portfolio.
Correct, but ever since the5303 came in, this, one won your
heart.
Yeah, I just haven't took theother ones out.

Jérôme Burgert (30:00):
Okay, sorry, I'll be sorry.

Blake Rea (30:03):
And I thought it would be different.
Like I was like, all right, youknow, aesthetically, the 6190,
the field chronometer was likethe right, you know,
aesthetically the 6190, thefield chronometer was like the
one that spoke to me like okay,like I see it online, like this
is the perfect watch for me.
Um, but then you know, the 5303, just I mean just swooped in

(30:24):
like overnight and put, put thechronometer, the field
chronometer, to sleep for me forsome reason, um, but I have
different personalities for sure.
Yeah, yeah, and I mean I likethe practicality, like the hours
and minutes on the bezel, likesomething that like I had never.

Jérôme Burgert (30:42):
I have never seen that before um, it's been
done before but to knowledge,not on two different materials.
You know what I mean.

Blake Rea (30:52):
Yeah, yeah.
And just I mean the way thebracelet integrates into the
case.
I mean it's still compact butit still feels like it has wrist
presence.

Jérôme Burgert (31:03):
It does.
It's surprisingly enough.
I mean, all these watches, theyhave different sizes, different
dial openings, different strapintegration, but when you put
them on a wrist, I think theyall have a very similar presence
, despite the fact that thefield chronometer is just 37.7

(31:24):
millimeter wide and 10.4millimeter thick.
The other one is 39 versus 12.2.
But the fact that the, theratio and the, the game of
proportions that stay withineach watch makes each time an
ensemble that's very easy towear on the wrist and with a
similar presence, again, it'sit's a very, very fragile thing

(31:49):
yeah, it's.

Blake Rea (31:50):
It's something that was very apparent for me is, and
so I I don't think we talked to, I mean, my background.
Right, I sold 30 of the mostluxurious brands, okay in the
world, right, and me and justjustin my partner, um, who's not
here, unfortunately.
Okay, we kind of came from wecollecting together, but we came

(32:12):
from different sides of theindustry.
Okay, like, when we got intocollecting, like I was always
had my sights set on, like youknow, the big boys, the Pateks
and all that and JLC andVacheron and all that.
But he actually went into themicro brand space, okay, and

(32:32):
like he was like I mean he lovesmicro brands, so we kind of
meet in the middle, um.
But but something that I meanis so surprising to me is is the
functionality?
I mean, it's simple but it'sfunctional.
And you could tell that I don'tthink this is understood by a

(32:55):
lot of designers.
They're just like okay, thislooks good on paper right?

Jérôme Burgert (32:59):
No, this has to feel good on wrist.

Blake Rea (33:02):
Yeah, I mean they maybe incorporate a little bit
of that.
But something that was apparentto me, having a vast knowledge
of watches, is you designed thiswatch for an archetype, for a
persona like you had your endconsumer in mind how they were
going to use the watch beforeyou designed it, I could tell no

(33:24):
, actually, yeah, I, I knowpeople lately.

Jérôme Burgert (33:28):
They talk a lot about their persona who is your
like?
Who's a Serica man, for example?
But very, very honestly andvery selfishly, the very first
and only person I was trying andstill is, still am trying to
convince when I design watchesmyself.
You know I have a rather broadwatch culture myself.

(33:50):
I used to.
I used to be a watch journalistfor for some time as well.
So I've been, and that's how myI got educated as well.
You know I, from the early watchfairs in switzerland at the age
14 to the auction houses at age23 or 40 or 30, I had the
opportunity and the chance toput on the wrist so many of

(34:12):
these watches.
I've seen a lot, I put a lot onmy wrist, I owned a few and
that gave me the knowledge of it.
That's what a proper watchshould look and feel like, and
to me, it's the only way tounderstand how it should feel.

(34:34):
I mean, you can learn aboutwatches online and you read and
you see pictures, but the weightof the watch, how light
interacts with differentfinishings, how curved lugs
makes a watch feel on your wrist, and so on, it's something that
needs to be experienced, andyou said earlier I don't think

(34:57):
that's something every watchdesigner thinks about or is
aware about, but the reality,from my experience, is that not
every designer who gets asked todesign watches is a watch
designer.
I mean, you said it looks goodon paper but not on the wrist,
and that's something that only awatch person can know and

(35:20):
experience and know howimportant it is.
I don't know if I had tocompare with architecture,
because it is some kind ofarchitecture.
We talk about the architectureof a movement, of a case, and
it's something of beauty, wesaid earlier but it's something
actually functional in the firstplace.
So if you can't read time in asplit second, if it doesn't feel

(35:44):
comfortable on the wrist, thenit's not good enough.

Blake Rea (35:49):
You know what I mean?

Jérôme Burgert (35:50):
yeah, and chasing greatness exactly and
just like you know, when thereis one architect that I love is
ando talo, japanese architect.
I don't know.
You probably know the guy.
No, maybe you can check it.
Check it up later.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
It's, uh like.
He's been known for designingwhat appears from a distance

(36:11):
very simple houses, concrete,blocks of concrete with wooden
floors sometimes.
And at the end of the day yousay, yeah, sure, I mean, any
five-year-old kid can draw asquare, sure, but you cannot
draw the perfect square untilyou know everything about the

(36:34):
Roman architecture, theRenaissance, until you stepped
into a church, see how the lightgo through, feel actually step
into the space, becausearchitecture is designing a
space.
And it's the same for watches.
I mean, that might seem simple.
Yeah, of course, you put around instead of an arrow, a

(36:59):
circle instead of an arrow forGMT hand, sure, but it's not
that easy.
It's like you cannot do thatunless you've done all the work
and the journey that leads youhere?

Blake Rea (37:08):
Are there any specific instances or maybe
design cues, that, like you'reproud I mean you're clearly
proud of your products, right?
We see that I am is.

Jérôme Burgert (37:21):
Is there any like pieces that you could give
us where you were?

Blake Rea (37:22):
like you know, let's just say it was like 2 am.
You were drawing something, youhad a hunch.
You went with us where you were.
Like you know, let's just sayit was like 2 am.
You were drawing something, youhad a hunch, you went with it
and you're like, oh shit, likethis this is the way yeah, this
is perfect.
You know like not to to tootyour own horn, of course, but

(37:43):
something something from an ideathat you're, that that, like
you're so proud of, that, nowexists beyond the finished
product.
Sure, sure, sure.
But it's.

Jérôme Burgert (37:54):
And and we're going to talk about the gmt
again, because it took me a longtime to get to that gmt I'm not
a trained designer, I'm aself-taught designer, sure, and
my process I cannot talk aboutany other designers process, but
my process into creating awatch is I I have a lot on my

(38:14):
mind, I think about it a lot,and then, only when I know
exactly when I want to go, Istart drawing.
And then I start drawing, I putsomething on paper, on the
computer, and then I need tostep away for a few days,
sometimes a week, sometimes twoweeks, and then open it again.
And then I see differently andI was like, okay, this can be

(38:35):
improved, this can be better.
And until I step away from thedesign, come back to it and I'm
just like a little kid with myeyes, like, okay, that's going
to be great, that I want on mywrist, that I see harmony in
this design From the firstsecond.
It strikes me as harmoniousdesign and it answers every

(38:58):
single question that needed tobe answered.
That's the only time like whenI have that, then I will go.
I will move forward into theproduction of a sample, for
example.
I will move forward into theproduction of a sample, for
example.
And designing the GMT watch issomething rather difficult
because obviously Rolex didcreate something in 1954 with a

(39:22):
very strong design language.
We talked about it earlieragain the Pepsi, orange and red,
blah, blah, blah.
So it was about finding theanswer.
But even I, like right now I'mbragging about yeah, you need to
go find the origin of thequestion, but I did not at first
and for the longest time, likeI could see, like quickly, I had

(39:45):
the idea of the two times 12and the entire meridian plus
meridian.
So that appeared on my watch.
I was like that's great, it'ssingular, it uh, it answers the
question, it's easy to read,it's great.
But then the, the uneven split,was not there from the start.
The uneven splits of the, ofthe bezel, you know the day
night indicator.

(40:05):
And for the longest time Itried to do something.
I want to do something veryrefined and elegant.
So I was like maybe we can justwork on different finishing.
Polish ceramic and circularbrush ceramic could work.
I tried that, but it was not,not, not easy to read, not easy
enough to read, uh.

(40:25):
And then I couldn't get throughthe fact that when you split the
sixes into two parts, then youneed a third color, right,
because you need something thatcontrasts with, for example, in
our case, the black and thewhite.
So you need to add somethinglike Rolex that it was gray, I
think, is it gray or white withthe GMT Anyway and I did not

(40:51):
want to add a third color.
I just wanted the dash ofearthy orange for the GMT hand,
but I did not want to add anybecause I didn't want, I was
afraid for the watch to lookquirky and like too much
information.
Then you don't understand, likeyou miss the entire point, you
don't see the whole song.
So then I was okay, what about?

(41:11):
We do not divide the sixes?
What happens?
So you have the choice betweenmaking a longer day or a longer
night, and we all busy men, weall live in 2024, where
everything goes way too quickly.
It was like, yeah, my day ismuch longer than my night.
I look tired, I know I don'tsleep enough, nights are short.

(41:32):
So, okay, it's a positive thingto have a longer day segment,
because when you see your day on24 hours, like I have more time
, that's daylight, that'sactivity time and anyway, the
transition from day to night isnot a switch at 6 am and 6 pm.
It's very subjective, dependingon where you live, where you

(41:52):
reside in the world, what day ofthe year it is.
So having an even split, if youthink about it, it doesn't make
much sense anyway to start with.
And then for the longest timethe GMT hand was an arrow and it
looked okay but it didn't lookSarah kind of, and for a month I

(42:15):
was it's great but it's not it.
It's good but it's not it.
I need my own shape, but I didnot want to add any quirky shape
that comes out of nowhere,because I'm here to build on my
own design language.
I'm not here to find anothersolution out of the blue when I
need one.
After many, many weeks andmonths about not seeing it, I

(42:41):
looked at the 5303 and I saw theshape of the index linked to
the minute track.
You know those satellite hourindexes and if you just rotate
this 180 degrees then you have alollipop hand.
So that big, broad lollipopdesign was already present in
the 5303.
And then I put it on my designand I was like I giggle, like a

(43:02):
little child.
I was like fuck, that was it.
You know, as simple as it seemsit was here.
It was here all the time and Icouldn't see it.
So that's a tiny little designthing that I yeah, that I'm very
happy about, for sure, becausenow it looks like a serica how?

Blake Rea (43:20):
how do you see the future of the brand evolving?

Jérôme Burgert (43:27):
um keep chasing the great, obviously but my my
idea is to like our very ourreason to be is to offer the
serica proposition to all thetypes of watches that we love.
Obviously, I fell in love withwatches, with tool watches.
That's what made me, oh, wow,like the, the instruments.

(43:49):
You know, james bond, the jamesbond watch.
I like it.
I'm still a kid.
That's what got it all started,you know.
So, obviously, when we startedthe company, you always start
with what you love most, and westarted with the Field Watch and
the Dive Watch, the GMT, andright now Serica obviously looks
very much like a tool watchbrand and that's what we do.

(44:10):
That's who we are, that's forsure.
But in the future, obviously,I'd like to show people that
Serica does not only know how tomanufacture two watches.
I mean, we make sports watchesbecause even if tomorrow we set
ourselves on designing a dresswatch, a shaped watch, a super

(44:32):
slim watch, I still would wantthis watch to be somehow
waterproof, somehow life-proofin a way.
But are many, many, yeah,there's so many directions, of
course I want, I want to buildwomen's watches like smaller,
smaller watches.
I want to have a chronograph, aserca chronograph.
I'd love that.
Dress, dress watches, I lovethat too.

(44:56):
So there's still a long way togo.
You know, like that, to me thefuture is already full of so
many things that we can do andthat still will be very Serica
Before I run out of ideas intobuilding Serica.
That's a long way to go.

Blake Rea (45:17):
Yeah, and something that I've noticed that maybe I
haven't seen that you guys do,but a lot of other micro brands
are very collaborative.
Yeah.

Jérôme Burgert (45:28):
Right.

Blake Rea (45:29):
This is I mean.
Forgive my ignorance, but Ihaven't seen anything like this
from Serica yet.

Jérôme Burgert (45:38):
We don't because it's well.
I'm not saying that it's nevergoing to happen, but if it
happens it needs to be relevant,it needs to be something, it
needs to make sense.
That's it.
You know, to me, like you'venoticed, we're not into limited
editions, we're not intocollaborations, as you said,
because too often it looks to mefrom the outside like very,

(46:03):
very artificial ways to drivesales and to tell people this is
not going to last long.
There are just a few of them.
If you want one, you need to buyit quick, and that's not the
way I want to sell Cericawatches.
I know selling a watch tosomeone who will realize the
next day like, oh, I shouldn'thave because this watch is not.
Wow, this watch is not offeringanything special value-added.

(46:24):
And finally the watch is in thedrawer.
It goes back to the market, tothe secondhand.
He wants to ditch it.
I'm not interested in that.
I want people to come to usbecause they understand the
quality of our watches.
They understand what is it wedo, how relevant it is, the
quality of our watches.
They understand what is it wedo, how relevant it is, and just

(46:45):
how joyful little mechanicalobjects can get into their lives
and keep ticking for thelongest time.
And once you understand that,then don't rush, because a
Cerica watch today will still bea Cerica watch tomorrow and the
day after.
So there is no rush thereshould be no rush into
purchasing a mechanical watchanyway.
It's not a t-shirt, it's notfast fashion, it's not instant
gratification is choosingsomething very intimate that

(47:08):
will remain with you for thelongest time, saying that we all
have more watches and wrists,obviously, but uh I don't know.

Blake Rea (47:17):
I've never heard a watch brand say anything like
that.
Because they're taking.
I guess they want to grow asquickly as they possibly can.

Jérôme Burgert (47:30):
And rightfully so.

Blake Rea (47:32):
Without sustainability, I want to last
long, that's the thing I want tocreate something truly relevant
again and and you see, um, yousee them kind of like dipping
their paint brush in noveltyreleases.
You know where they just donovelty after novelty, after
novelty after novelty.

(47:53):
And what that does, I'venoticed, at least in my opinion,
is it takes the attention awayfrom their core offering, of
course, and yeah it, I would say.
More often than not you havepeople purchasing watches for
the wrong reasons like you said,you know all this is limited

(48:15):
250 pieces.
I gotta buy it like.
I'm not sure if I like it.
It looks good on the internet.
I'm not sure I'm just gonna buyit, you know um, and then, yeah
, they get it, and for whateverreason, it just it doesn't get
worn you know, not as appealingas in pictures and oh too bad,
but it's uh, yeah, it's not.

Jérôme Burgert (48:36):
I think when you I mean a novelty, of course
it's a way to to attractattention when you don't have a
big picture.
And I was like, yeah, talkabout me, talk about me, I'm you
, I'm you, it's okay.
I mean, I get it, but that'snot what we're trying to create
at Serica at all.
It's the big picture, thelongest possible run.
And again, you know, as long asI work and design something and

(49:02):
it's not shared with the world,it's mine, I can still correct
it, I can still, change it, Ican still.
But once it's out there, thereis nothing I can do.
So if I put anything out therein a hurry, if I rush, and it's
not exactly as good as I onceenvisioned, then of course I'm
not going to be the only one whonotices it.

(49:24):
You will not that someone elsewill.
And it was like, okay, serica,now they try to sell us watches,
and of course I enjoy sellingwatches, because if I do not
sell watches, the dream ends andI cannot keep on creating.
And it's at the very economicalgame in which any entrepreneur

(49:46):
and company owner has to face,but it doesn't give birth to the
same watches or to the sameanything really.
If you create something, ifyour drive is I need to sell
watches, I'll make a watch.
It's not the same watch, as Iwant to create something special
and I will put it in the lifeof someone and it will make him

(50:09):
happy.
It's not the same, not at all.
I got interviewed recently by astudent.
She was at business school andshe was asking me questions
about my approach, the market,the needs of blah, blah blah,
and I was like the answer is thequestion is wrong, but I'm

(50:30):
going to give you my answerstill.
Something, a service, a product, anything, really.
Do not think market, do notthink profit, do not think like,
of course it's part of thething, but you cannot start with

(50:51):
that.
Think about what will thisobject, how will it impact the
life of someone?
Because when you give life toan object, you make it for
people, for someone that willadopt this idea, this object, in
his daily life.
How can it impact positivelyhis life and why would he come

(51:13):
to me to get it?
And if you think like that, youdon't make the same choices
Because when it comes to okay, Ican do that it's cheap and I
make more money.
It was like whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa.
What about this way?
Of course it's way moreexpensive, but it will be funded
on the long run.

(51:34):
What difference will it make tothe final product in the life
of the wearer?
Oh, it will make like very,very simple, very simple example
here those do you have any ofthose Serica's ball straps?
Yes, on the GMT right.
Yeah, yeah, I do, I have it on.

Blake Rea (51:50):
Actually, I also have it on the field watch as well.
Okay, I don't know why theysent it to me on that one.
I was looking forward for thebracelet on that.
One sent it to me on that one.
I was looking forward for thebracelet on that one, but that's
okay.

Jérôme Burgert (52:03):
You don't have a bone clip.
No, I don't.
Oh shame.

Blake Rea (52:05):
Shame, shame, shame.
We'll take that, I know.

Jérôme Burgert (52:07):
But see people say, okay, a serica just made a
rubber strap.
Yeah, sure, it's just a rubberstrap, but 99% of the rubber
straps out there are not of thatquality.

Blake Rea (52:27):
It's a weird strap, not not weird in a bad way, but
it it is so thin and it's socomfortable and it's so
resistant.
Yeah, like I.
I just feel like it's so roughyou know what I mean, because
usually like to to get that sameeffect.
Like, like, like I.
I have panerai, like I have apanerai watch, and I mean my
rubber strap is like 10millimeters alone.
You know like uh, thick and andyeah, you know it's, but it also

(52:51):
looks so unique.
It looks like um I don't reallyknow how to describe it like,
because it's textured in the inthe most unique way, like it
looks.

Jérôme Burgert (53:02):
It's trying really hard to look like leather
.

Blake Rea (53:05):
Okay, okay.

Jérôme Burgert (53:07):
That's the idea, like the shape of the bracelet,
the heavy tapering, the grainsurface, like how thin it is.
That's all stolen from leatherBecause we wanted something
extremely good looking andelegant and refined.
But again, we did not invent itbecause Tropic Star did it in
the 70s.

Blake Rea (53:28):
Sure sure.

Jérôme Burgert (53:29):
But this quality nowadays is extremely hard to
achieve because instead ofcompressed rubber they used
injected rubber, and that's whatwe did.
Again, it's way more expensive,of course.
It's uh.
It's very tough to find the, tohave the right grain and
everything, but it's the onlyway to be able to, to like to

(53:51):
work on the strap that that isthat thin and yet rugged and
resistant.
If you don't do that, itstretches and gets fragile.
So that's why usually peopleokay, I want to sell a strap
that doesn't come back, so I'mgoing to do a thick layer of
rubber or FAM or siliconewhatever, and I'm going to make
sure it's stuff.

Blake Rea (54:12):
No, no, no.
And we try to think otherwise,I also hate when brands, when
they're producing their rubberstraps, they'll scent it with
the vanilla.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, when brands,when they're producing their
rubber straps they'll scent itwith the vanilla.
Yes, yeah, it's like.
And then, and then you goaround the whole day and you're
smelling like vanilla on yourwrist, like like a baking show.
It gives me the worst headache.

(54:34):
Um, thank you for not doingthat, by the way, it's like, not
our thing, not our thing, notour thing.
I think I already know theanswer, but I'm going to ask it
anyways what is your favoritewatch release and why?
And I think I'm just going toguess that it's the 8315, the

(54:55):
travel chronometer.

Jérôme Burgert (54:56):
I mean, obviously I love all of them,
because if I do not love all ofthem they never get shown to you
guys.

Blake Rea (55:04):
They're your babies, right?
I mean, how can you say youhaven't helped your child?

Jérôme Burgert (55:09):
Yeah, I couldn't tell you, my favorite song is
definitely the latest.
No, I could not tell.
I cannot say that.
But for the longest time, theCalifornia Dial, the Field Watch
, has been my deal, perfect.
Yeah, longest time, the thecalifornia dial, the field watch
, has been my deal, perfect.
Yeah, then the 53 has been mywatch.
You know, I'm not, I'm not thekind of guy who changes watches
every day or two or every weekor every month.

(55:32):
I, I like to spend time with mywatches, I like to, to create
memories with these watches,otherwise it's, I mean, it's not
really my watch until I've beenwearing it for a long time.
That's how I feel.
Um, then I, I wore, I wore the5303 for the longest time as
well, but for the past year, forthe past year, year and a half

(55:53):
since the first prototype ofthis one arrived, um, it's been
very well, like the.
The camera is camera is reversed, it's a bit I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, okay, here it is.
It's a.
Yeah, it's been very, very muchmy watch.
But I, I tend to, I tend towear garments in a like earthy,
organic shades of Browns, uh,whites, uh, greens.

(56:15):
So this really goes well withmost of my outfits anyway, and
it got this subtle different.
I don't know it's.
I like the H-15 a lot, plus, Iget to play way too much with
the 24-hour bezel.
But my twin brother lives inColombia, in-laws are in Vietnam

(56:36):
.
We work with the US a lot.
My mates from university are inJapan, so you know I always
want to know what time it is allaround the world like calling
them working.
So to me it's very I don't knowpart of the GMT.
Complication has always beensomething I've been fascinated
with.
It's long distance traveling,it's different cultures.

(57:02):
It's, uh, different cultures.
It's uh, yeah, you have, it'sthe world on your wrist, and how
could that be not cool?

Blake Rea (57:08):
yeah, yeah, yeah, um, yeah, I don't, I don't know um,
like, personally, I'm veryfortunate that I'm able to
experience your entirecollection.
I'm very grateful that you guys, you know, sent me some some
press watches.
Um, I love his chair.
Yeah, yeah, something that waslike a turning point for me.

(57:33):
I mean, obviously, I've hadthem for a few weeks now and
hopefully I'll have them foranother few more weeks because
I'm taking.
I'm taking a a trip next weekand I wanted to take the entire
Serica portfolio because I'mgoing to a watch club meetup.
So, I was just going to sayeverybody wants to see your
brand, everybody wants to seehim.
How could I say no to that?

(57:54):
Yeah, yeah.
So a lot of people are going toget to see them, and so last
week I'm working on a video forglashuta original.
Okay, yeah, great and and theysent me a cq for press right.
So I've got like an eleventhousand dollar, twelve thousand
dollar cq divers watch sittingthere and I have it for like uh,

(58:19):
like five days or something or,like you know, like four days,
like a small period of time.
But you guys have essentiallysent me your, your entire
portfolio.
I'm like here, just send itback whenever and you would
think, based upon the time Ihave with the cq versus the time

(58:41):
I have with your watch, is youthink logically that I would
wear the cq right to experienceit while I have a shorter period
of time with it.
But you know, here I, here I am, you know, with the 5303, like
and I I just I haven't, Ihaven't taken it off and the
best compliment ever man, it'ssomething that I do.

(59:04):
I change watches all the time.
I literally change watchesbecause I have every dream watch
Not to toot my own horn, but Ihave every little boy's dream of
watches, so I can grab any ofthem, you know, at any point,
and uh, and I keep everything inmy safe, right so, but there's,

(59:27):
there's a watch that I willsleep next to right and and yeah
, since this has came in, likeit's very rare for me to wear a
watch for three days in a row,like it's impossible, it never
happens.

Jérôme Burgert (59:41):
This is the best .
This is the ultimate test.
Way too often on forums orduring conversations with watch
guys, people always talk aboutthe Grail watch, like you just
did, and then, oh, that's mydaily beater, and I tend to
disagree the way that, okay,that's just my daily beater.
No, I tend to disagree the waythat, okay, that's just my daily

(01:00:02):
beater.
No, no, no, no, no.
What's at the end of the dayand the end of your life,
because tomorrow we'll all getthere Like what watch will be
more important?
The one you choose to wearevery day or the one you wear
once a year, like at New Year?
You know, is it the watch thatyour friends and your family,

(01:00:23):
and maybe your sons anddaughters, have seen you wearing
during your entire life Likethe most?
Or is it that great thing thatstayed at the safe and, for me,
the ultimate?
That's what it is.
I mean, I might not have everylittle child's dream watch in
the safe, but, uh, but I have afew.

(01:00:44):
I have a few sure, sure, sureand I mean I do not feel that as
they're at the safe and I donot feel the need to.
I don't feel any better wearingan old sub or an old speedy or
even something like.
And I do wearing these becausethey tick all my boxes in a way.
You know, and that's theultimate test, because the daily

(01:01:07):
beater, the so-called dailybeater, is the one you pick in
the morning and put on yourwrist.
It's the most intimate watch,it's the most important to me.
So making that daily beater areal beautiful watch you know,
it's just, it's a sentimentalvalue is everything.
But when the sentimental valueapplies to a real nice,

(01:01:28):
beautiful thing, that isfireworks man, it's just, it's
just too good, you know.

Blake Rea (01:01:34):
It's a weird, it's a weird feeling to me and it's a
weird thought process, becauseso I have so many watches that
are so sentimental to me, like I, like I have a speed master
that I love, but I, I don't, Idon't wear it because it's so

(01:01:55):
sentimental.
I know that sounds so weird tosay but that, that, like you
know, obviously when I gotmarried I was like I'm you know.
I can only get married in onewatch.
Right Like so yeah, yeah.
That was a speedy Um and and soyeah, like I like if, if
anything were to happen to thatwatch, like I would just be
devastated because it not onlywas it the watch that I got

(01:02:17):
married in, but it was the firstluxury watch purchase that I
made.
So you know, like, I had thisone.
Yeah, like the like, it was myfirst grail acquisition, right,
um, and then I've just spiraledfrom there like into a crazy
abyss.
But, um, it's a challengingthing because I want to wear a

(01:02:44):
lot of these watches that I have, but I don't want to lose that
importance that comes withowning them you know, does that
make?

Jérôme Burgert (01:02:54):
any sense at all like I hear you, I mean I'm.
My relation to watches is verydifferent, obviously because I
always bought.

Blake Rea (01:03:00):
You should be, I hope so.

Jérôme Burgert (01:03:04):
I mean, there are as many different reasons to
like watches as people who likewatches anyway, and it's a
healthy thing From my point ofview.
I never so much enjoyed owningsomething I do not wear.
As a collector, some people sayI want every single Speedmaster
on the planet and I get joy outof knowing that I have the

(01:03:26):
entire collection.
Why not?
Good luck, good luck with that.
Some of them are like yeah, Ilike to go to my museum
sometimes as in the safe I openand that's nice.
I clean them.
I like to wear them.
I like to wear them.
That's nice.
I clean them, I like to wearthem.
I like to wear them.
And if I don't, I feel thatthis beauty, this instrument, is

(01:03:46):
kind of like wasted.
No, it's like it could have avery adventurous life, and it's
actually already in a nurseryhome.
That's how I feel about thewatch.
Of course, I would not swim anddive and I would not travel to
Brazil with a Patek.
I'm not stupid either, sure,but if I, yeah, I don't know it

(01:04:09):
needs to get some wrist time,otherwise it gets lonely.

Blake Rea (01:04:14):
Yeah, I'm trying to figure that out because and that
was kind of the concept like ofthe brand, like our brand name,
right, like no matter how manywatches you have, no matter how
important they are, like your,your wrist like can't have

(01:04:35):
enough, you know, if you're, ifyou're, if you're obsessed, like
like we are um 360 days, twowrists, that's it yeah, I know
I'm gonna start putting watch onmy ankles and necks and stuff
now.
You know, like rihanna and stuff, um, but but no, like there
there's.
You know I'm not.

(01:04:55):
I'm not just saying thisbecause you're on the podcast,
but I'm trying to toexpressively say what I've
thought about for over a weeknow.
You know how to bring to words,you know, I knew you were
coming on the podcast and youknow we've been planning this
for a while.
Um, but how I could explainromantic and charming and

(01:05:22):
familiar about your watches?

Jérôme Burgert (01:05:28):
that I can't really place.
The word you used is veryinteresting to me because when
designing the watches and whenexplaining it to some of my
friends back in 2019, you know,you notice how there is no sharp
edges on my watches like I likethe warmth of the design, the,

(01:05:49):
the dome, crystal, the fonts,even even the fonts.
There is no sharp angle in anyfonts and when trying to explain
that back in 2019, I wastelling my friends, like yeah,
because a functional instrumentis not good enough, I, I want
romance, and you said the wordromantic and the romance is to
me that's what it is, becauseit's a very special emotion and

(01:06:14):
feeling that you get out ofwearing this watch.
It's, it's not just a tool thattells time.
It's, of course, it is a toolthat tells time, but it also
carries I don't know, a dream,an era, a story, something that
is yet to be created and livedwith the watch, but it's ready
to take it on.
You know, it's like give me,give me memories, I can take

(01:06:35):
that.
You know, in a way, I don'tknow if it makes sense.

Blake Rea (01:06:39):
And I was explaining to my wife, you know, because
obviously she knows I'm obsessedand I'm a sick person.

Jérôme Burgert (01:06:48):
I'm sure she does.

Blake Rea (01:06:51):
But you know, had I acquired a Serica sooner like,
it probably would have saved mea lot of money.
you know, a serica sooner likeit probably would have saved me
a lot of money, you know,because I I'm like, I'm peace,
I'm like piecemealing theselittle designs that I like from
this.
You know, okay, I like thepanerai, I like the, the, the
arabic, you know the loom, likethe sub-second boom.

(01:07:13):
You know I like the crown guardand then, okay, I like the, the
um.
You know the uh the date.
Just you know, I have a datejust with the fluted bezel,
jubilee and the cyclops and the.
You know the uh the date.
Just you know I have a datejust with the fluted bezel,
jubilee and the cyclops and the.
You know the green romans, the,the wimbledon, and like um, and
so I, I find I find littlethings that I appreciate about
watches, but there's never, like, after I wear a watch, like I

(01:07:39):
don't generally get full, youknow what I mean, like I'm
trying to bring that so it'slike you like you get like,
after a while it fades, like theemotion kind of fades.

Jérôme Burgert (01:07:48):
Yeah, that's what you're trying to say, or?

Blake Rea (01:07:49):
it's like um, it's like here in america, right,
like once a year.
Like you go to thanksgiving,right, and you stuff your face,
you know and and you don't, andyou don't, you don't move for
like two days.
You know you, just you.
You plop down, you sleep in thesame place that you, you fell
into um, and so all the watchesthat I own are like snacks you

(01:08:16):
know like I'll pick up a snackbecause I'm, you know I want to
feast, you know I want to put,you know I want to eat a little
something right I hear, but but,but something that's weird and
I can't believe.
I'm comparing your watch to ameal um but but, but no, like I
I feel like full, you know um,when I'm wearing I mean

(01:08:38):
specifically the 5303 um Because, like I said, I mean it's just
I don't know it.
Just it satisfies me inmultiple different ways that I
haven't been satisfied before,especially like the way the
bracelet integrates to the case,like and just the comfort of

(01:08:58):
the bracelet.
I mean the bezel, I mean it'sjust so good.
And yeah, I mean the casearchitecture, like how robust it
feels while still being acompact package, arguably.
And yeah, I just I don't know,I didn't know it's so.

(01:09:20):
That's my rant.

Jérôme Burgert (01:09:24):
No, I'm the worst like making comparisons
most of the time.
So I've, I must have said, wayworse than comparing the watches
to a meal myself, so don'tworry about that one bit.
And again it's coming back towhat we said earlier beauty it's
like beauty.
An object of beauty is a workof love.

(01:09:47):
It starts from a vision, itstarts from a will, and then
it's like doing your homeworkand doing the work like till the
very end, till you're verysatisfied in each and every
tiniest little detail that willcompose the entire thing.
And, and again it's like we'retalking watches, obviously, but
it works just as well for a meal.
You want a beautiful meal oryou want a crap one.

(01:10:09):
You want a beautifulrelationship or an ugly one.
You know, it's the same thing.
Really, it comes back to beauty, because those values, this
love, that's what has been putinto the design, into the
watches, into the brand, intoeverything that we're trying to

(01:10:30):
get out there.
And I'm happy that people feelit and see it, because it's my
job to think about all thesetiny little details, it's my job
to choose and to send themessage out there.
But there is absolutely noguarantee that it will be
understood, you know, becauseit's so intangible.
I mean, obviously the designchoices are tangible, but what's

(01:10:55):
behind the, the intentionbehind it?
It's, it's in, it's into thinair, it's not, it's not printed
on a page, you know it.
It's just something that isfelt.
We talked about the romanceearlier.
The fact that people can feelthat and the fact that it echoes
louder and louder and that thisnuance, these subtle little

(01:11:19):
things because a serica watch isnot a loud watch that it's
recognized in a way, it makes mereally, really happy.
You know it's, and right nowwe've been doing not
collaborations, but we I met somany amazing people since we
started Serica, people that Iwould have never met otherwise,

(01:11:40):
for sure.
We we make watches for the, theUS Secret Service in Paris.
We did watches for École deGuerre.
We're working on some specialprojects, but the fact that
those guys from intelligenceagencies and high-end government
protection departments they seethat when I design a watch

(01:12:06):
again, we're going back to JamesBond.
But that's who I wanted to be asa child and I was like, yeah,
what would James Bond wear today?
I mean, if you want toimpersonate elegance within
action, you don't think JasonBourne, you think James Bond,
right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And that's what I'm trying toconvey with the watches as well.
But the fact that these guys Idid not knock at any door, I did

(01:12:29):
not go there trying to sellthem, my watches.
They all came into the shop.
I was like that's what we want,that's why we want.
So it's kind of a full circleand it's uh, I mean it's great.
I couldn't be happier aboutthat what?

Blake Rea (01:12:39):
what watch do they wear like?
Which one sells the best in theintelligence community uh
secret service is the the 5303okay, uh, it called the gear
with the intelligence communitySecret Service is the 5303.

Jérôme Burgert (01:12:50):
Okay, école de Guerre with the 6190, but that's
also a matter of how can I saythe École de Guerre.
It brings together the AirForce, the Navy and the police
force, kind of.
So you cannot choose achronograph or a dive watch.
It needs to work with all ofthe cops.

(01:13:11):
You know what I mean.

Blake Rea (01:13:12):
Yeah, and going back to James Bond, do you think
James Bond would wear the 5303?
I think he should.

Jérôme Burgert (01:13:21):
Okay, no, no, I think he totally would.
I mean it's a tool watch, it'sa proper instrument and it's
very, very elegant.
I mean the sub he used to wear,that's what it used to be, you
know.

Blake Rea (01:13:36):
Yeah, he's been wearing a lot of Seamasters
recently too.

Jérôme Burgert (01:13:39):
Yeah, but I'm not talking partnerships with
brands who originated in the.
It started with Pierce Brosnanand Omega, if I'm correct.
But I'm talking before.
I mean in the books.
I know you've read the books,but in the books it's a Rolex,
but it's not a Submariner.
No, no, no, in the books it's aDatejust.

Blake Rea (01:14:01):
Really, I thought it was a Submariner.

Jérôme Burgert (01:14:02):
No, no, no.
Then in the movies he's wearinga Submariner and then,
Submariner.
It remained because those guysthey love the Submariner.
I don't know if you heard thestory about George Lazenby
popping into the casting tobecome the next James Bond after

(01:14:23):
Sean Connery and the guy he saw.
He bought a Rolex because ofJames Bond and he showed up at
the casting with his ownpersonal watch.
It was a Rolex.
So that's the power of such atimeless character that still
makes every little boy fantasizeabout his life.

Blake Rea (01:14:39):
Yeah Well, we are encroaching nearly a short
feature film here, so let'sstart to try and button things
up.
Uh, two questions that I willleave you with, sure?
Um, obviously the future forserica is bright I'm a huge fan.

Jérôme Burgert (01:14:58):
I'm a huge fan.

Blake Rea (01:14:59):
We keep working for that sure you know how, if you
could paint a perfect picture ofthe next decade of your brand.
I'm sure you have milestonesthat you want to accomplish.
If you would, you know, sharesome of those with us.
That would be amazing.

Jérôme Burgert (01:15:18):
What we would love to see, and it's not only
me, it's also Gabriel and thepeople we work with.
I mean, right now we have abrand that stands by itself with
a narrow lineup of wonderfulwatches.
Right now, we have only oneboutique in Paris and we sell
watches online, obviouslyworldwide, but not so many

(01:15:39):
people, as you said, have theopportunity to feel the watches
in a medal and pop them on thewrist, and I think it's a shame.
So in the next decade, yeah, ifI was to see Serica boutiques
worldwide where people canactually get in, hear the story,
spend a good moment, get toknow firsthand and see and touch

(01:16:01):
and feel the wonderful watchesthat are yet to be created, that
would be a very bright futurefor us, for sure.
And it's not so much about Iwant to make more watches.
No, it's true, I want to sharethe love with more and more
people, because, of course,there are a lot of relevance in
this offering, into what we'retrying to create, but most

(01:16:22):
future Serica owners do not knowthe brand just yet.
But most future Serica ownersdo not know the brand just yet.
So I think the next decade andthe next, it's about keeping
working equally hard in order tokeep on producing like, staying
true to our vision basically,and never to compromise with
this, but then also to make theworld know more about Serica

(01:16:46):
watches, and that will gothrough making them actually be
able to see the watches for real, for sure.

Blake Rea (01:16:57):
Final question, and we touched on a lot.
I mean, I think, as of now, weunderstand your design
philosophy, we understand whatpowers you.
You're fueled by creativity,perfection, and, yeah, so we
touched on a lot.
We've been having great successwhere, essentially, we turn our

(01:17:22):
platform over to you, right,and so we touched on a lot.
Is there anything you feel likewe did not talk about that you
want the listener, the audience,the customer to know that we
did not talk about?

Jérôme Burgert (01:17:37):
Interesting?
Not really, because, as yousaid, we covered a lot and
you've been a great host in theway that you pass the ball and
that you let me speak.
So maybe sometimes I did notanswer exactly your question,
but I did say what I wanted toshare with the audience.
Um, now we covered.

(01:18:00):
You know, it's very importantfor me to share the very reason
why we do things, because that'sthat's how you understand more.
You know, like a watch, likeanything else, is only
understood by the knowledge youhad of it.
Like, of course, you have thefirst visual contact with it.
I like it, I do not like it,but sometimes, like I don't

(01:18:24):
really like it, but maybe I I'mmissing something, maybe I don't
understand it.
And then when you know thereason why it was born this way
or what fueled the creativeprocess that gave birth to such
a thing, then you start likingit.
I don't know if you're intomusic as well.

Blake Rea (01:18:39):
Do you like music, Music film, all that.

Jérôme Burgert (01:18:42):
All that that great.
You know, sometimes you hearsomething and it can be powerful
, and then you learn abouthistorical context, about
biographical detail that makesyou understand.
And then you hear somethingelse.
And the example I usually takewhen I'm at the boutique with
people it's you know, and ithappened to me, you know, for

(01:19:06):
the longest time, because my dadwas, and still is, a really big
jazz fan.
I was fed with jazz music formy earliest days and it's a
music I still listen to a lotthese days, and so I used to
listen to Billie Holiday, forexample, and Lester Young.
And you can listen to my man andit's a great tune and you can

(01:19:27):
hear suffering.
You can hear it's likeplaintive, it's very deep, it's
very powerful, and then, likewhere did it come from?
Is she just like a greatinterpreter?
Like what did she go through?
And then you learn about herlife, and then you learn about
the relationship she had withLester Young, which is the very
guy blowing the horn in the backwhen she sings my man.

(01:19:49):
And then you hear somethingelse entirely.
So I think back to the watches.
I like seeing a Serica watchonline as okay, it's pretty fine
, and then you get to learnwhat's behind the passion that
was fueled into a watch.
You get to learn what's behindthe passion that was fueled into

(01:20:10):
a watch, the work that wasnecessary to achieve something
as great in the metal that itonce was in my little head.
And when you know all thatprocess, I think you see
something differently.
It's not just oh, it's quirky,oh, it's different, oh, I don't
know, it was like it can turnthat into oh, but it actually
makes sense, and that's thereason why it's important to

(01:20:32):
tell the story.

Blake Rea (01:20:33):
I think Oops sorry, that's why we do it.
I mean, that's exactly why wedo it.
When I sold watches, you know,like you can go into a vegas
boutique because I live in lasvegas and um, and you get a very
atypical experience.
Oh well, this watch has 300meters of water resistance, it's

(01:20:56):
a 40 millimeter case, uh, it'sgot super luminova and it's
seven thousand dollars, you know, or whatever, right um and and
beyond that, um it.
It doesn't do the consumer any.
It's like you know.
It's just like a white, a whitesheet, right like.

(01:21:17):
You can go online and look atyour favorite car and see, oh,
it's got this size engine, it'sgot that, uh, but until you
drive it like you don't know andyou, you do get a lot of
driving, you know, at theseboutiques, right, getting
hands-on, um, but you know a lotof the.
The stories about cars get lostwithin the manufacturer, right,

(01:21:40):
because the manufacturingprocesses are so vast there's
there's so complex, right?
Um, I mean, I can't interview,like the, the owner of audi,
like the original owner, likethe original out.

Jérôme Burgert (01:21:54):
You know like longer nature, longer yeah yeah,
you know.

Blake Rea (01:21:58):
So you know, we, we want to encapsulate the future
of the watch industry, while wecan, you know, we want to, to,
to bring you know, I meanideally, if, if, if a future
Mozart, you know, speaking ofmusic, will be on our podcast,
right, like we can, you know,cement this in in in culture,

(01:22:21):
right and uh, and so,understanding why you do it, why
you exist, why you're unique,how your approach is different,
seeing your passion, seeing yourcreativity, getting to
experience that with you throughoutlets like ours, is very

(01:22:43):
important to us.

Jérôme Burgert (01:22:45):
And to us Big time.

Blake Rea (01:22:48):
Yeah, big time.

Jérôme Burgert (01:22:49):
Yeah, big time.
No no it's a I mean it's true,it's a true opportunity and a
true chance, because I obviouslynot everybody get the chance to
travel to Paris and meet up inthe boutique and get a chat and
have a coffee and see thewatches, so giving us the
opportunity to deliver ourmessage and explain why it is
that we are doing things.

(01:23:09):
Thank you very much.

Blake Rea (01:23:13):
You're very welcome.
That is the best note we canend on right there.
Thank you so much, my absolutepleasure, I wish.
Gabriel could be here too,because it would be a fun little
trio here.
And you know again, thank you.
Thank you so much for coming on.

Jérôme Burgert (01:23:32):
He's covering the store right now.

Blake Rea (01:23:34):
Yeah, yeah, that's okay.
Um, you know, of course we willlink Sarica and the podcast
description.
We have a ton of content thatwe're looping, sarica and on.
Hopefully that'll be out by thetime you guys are listening to
this.
And, uh, wear your watches andif you have a serica, wear that
you can try it.

(01:23:54):
Thank you very much everybody,thank you so much, bye.