Who's Afraid Of JCB?

Jean-Claude Biver hasn’t lost his knack for transforming contenders into champs

- Alvin Wong

There are not many like Jean-Claude Biver left in the watch business. Wise, passionate, bold, rebellious, with warrior blood coursing through his veins and a heart brimming with youthful affection for his work, Biver is a giant among legends; his patina of awe acquired from decades of experience that earned him the reputation of being a turnaround king.

Copies of Biver’s semi-autobiography, L’homme qui a sauvé la montre mécanique (‘The Man Who Saved Mechanical Watchmaking’), line a desk inside TAG Heuer’s cavernous and pop-art-furnished interview room at Baselworld 2017. When quizzed about the title of the book, Biver waves his hand coyly, as if embarrassed by the title. “But it is a correct description, no?” We ask. “Oh yes, of course,” he says, “that is true.”

A horological Coach Carter, Biver is behind some of contemporary watchmaking’s greatest success stories. Blancpain, Omega, Hublot, and now, TAG Heuer are just some brands that benefited from his resurrection-style Midas touch that is equal parts business acumen, strategic smarts, and gut-feel.

Blancpain, one of the many victims of the 1980s quartz crisis, was revived with Biver’s strategically positioned slogan that served as an iconoclastic rallying cry. ‘Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be’. As for his stint in Omega in the 1990s, Biver showed his genius with product placement, chiefly in James Bond flicks and capitalising on celebrity endorsements from the likes of Cindy Crawford and Michael Schumacher.