LVMH has purchased Swiza, owner of L’Epée 1839, a Delémont, Switzerland–based manufacturer of high-end clocks.
No terms were disclosed.
L’Epée’s CEO and creative director Arnaud Nicolas will continue to run the company, which will become part of LVMH’s watchmaking division, run by Frédéric Arnault.
Founded in 1839, L’Epée originally specialized in watch components and music boxes. While it now primarily produces clocks, it has recently forged several partnerships with watchmakers and other luxury brands. In 2017, it created Destination Moon, a “torpedo-shaped clock,” with watchmaker MB&F. Last year, it joined forces with jewelry brand Alex Moss to create a diamond-studded clock called the EXO Grenade.
Also in 2023, it worked with LVMH-owned Tiffany to produce a carriage clock in the shape of Formula 1 cars from the 1950s. The collaboration was timed for the reopening of Tiffany’s New York City flagship.
An LVMH statement said the acquisition is “further proof of [its] determination to preserve and develop historic savoir faire, and to ensure that it is passed on and cultivated over time.”
“L’Epée 1839 is a brand of mechanical objets d’art with an unrivaled and unique expertise,” said Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH’s Watches division, in a statement. “I am excited by the untapped creative potential of the various LVMH Group maisons associated with this exceptional expertise.”
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Photos courtesy of LVMH
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