Sylvain Supposedly Snapped

The delicate balance between art and artist in the world of independent watchmaking

I’ll save you the preamble, because if you’re reading this you’ve probably heard about this story already. If not, this won’t take long. Let’s get into it.

Approximate reading time ~ 7 minutes

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Sylvain Berneron supposedly cut his teeth under the tutelage of industry titan Georges Kern at Breitling - but Berneron dared to dream bigger. He mortgaged everything, poured his entire net worth into a vision that would bear his name, and for three gruelling years, worked tirelessly to bring that vision to life.

The result was a watch that sent ripples through the watchmaking community. Berneron’s creation was celebrated as a triumph of independent watchmaking. Nominations for the GPHG followed, and it seemed Berneron was poised to take his place among the pantheon of newly celebrated independent watchmakers.

But this is the real world… where reputation matters, and a single misstep can sometimes unravel years of hard work.

During Geneva Watch Days, Berneron, seemingly under immense pressure, seemed to have snapped. Two well respected figures in the watch community - Ken from Delugs and Johnathan who runs the Horology Club in Hong Kong - arranged a last-minute appointment to view Berneron’s watches. What should have been a moment of triumph - potential customers admiring his life’s work - instead became a powder keg of emotions and misunderstandings for Berneron.

Here’s how it started, as Ken arranged an appointment:

A 20-minute slot was offered for 3:45 PM, but was then changed to 4:45 PM. Ken and Johnathan arrived late. By then, the viewing time had been reduced to 5 minutes due to the next appointment arriving early.

What allegedly happened next, in Ken’s words:

“Sylvain came to buzz us all in. Johnathan and I went into the lift with Sylvain, and he kept grumbling that we didn’t make an appointment and he didn't appreciate that we were trying to crash the appointment to view the watches.”

As Ken got into the apartment, he reached out to have a look at one of the prototypes on display; This is his recollection of what allegedly happened next:

“Sylvain immediately shouts ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing’ and tells us to get out of the apartment. I was quite stunned tbh, can’t quite remember the last time anyone ever yelled at me. From what I remember, he said things like ‘Do you think this is a joke? This is my life’s work! Do you know how many hours I put into this? You don’t come in here and disrespect me’.”

The incident obviously left both of them shaken and bewildered. Johnathan, reflecting on the event, added:

“Look, we’re all adults, all we required was just some better communication.”

As for Ken - he sent a message after this incident, to apologise to Sylvain:

After this story got out, someone asked about it on Berneron’s Instagram page, and he responded as follows:

The comparison with a home invasion is interesting, because this conflicts with Ken’s recollection above (which has been corroborated by Jonathan). They had an appointment, and clearly did not ‘sneak’ in. Sylvain has since deleted all these comments - which perhaps indicates some remorse and perhaps a desire to conduct some damage control. He’s undoubtedly overwhelmed right now, and struggling to manage his actual work alongside this PR nightmare.

Whether justified or not - Berneron obviously felt aggrieved, which is perhaps a failure on the part of his brand representative who made the appointment in the first place. To imply Ken and Johnathan had trespassed or forced their way in is, to me, a stretch!

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Someone who knows Sylvain offered further context which might explain (not excuse) his emotions being on edge:

“The guy mortgaged EVERYTHING on the project. At W&W, a collector dropped a prototype watch after handling it without permission and broke it. He’s worked for Georges Kern for a long, long term and learnt this behavior from him. Since departing Breitling, there’s been something else going on … that’s been incredibly stressful...”

After sharing the above video on my Instagram story today, a handful of people have come to Sylvain’s defense, explaining how “everyone makes mistakes”, and how “this behaviour is not representative of his true personality.” One response was someone who owns one of Sylvain’s watches:

“I’ve gotten to know Sylvain pretty well over the last 2 years; he is a self effacing and humble guy who loves what he is doing. He is an artist and feels very strongly about his work. He is particularly protective of his prototypes, for both business and personal reasons. That said, he looks beat in some of the pictures I have seen. Perhaps he is trying to do too much at GWD.”

This is all very interesting, and I suppose this post is for anyone who wanted the full story - I’ve done my best not to present this as a one-sided witch hunt. Some have argued this issue should be left to die down, others have been angered to the point of demanding destruction of the brand as payback for this arrogance. Intense.

On the one hand, I think the guy made a serious mistake, and on the other hand, his decision to double-down in the comments on Instagram today were perhaps an even worse decision. Maybe he will learn from this, maybe not. As a wise collector reminded me: “Once is a fluke. Twice a coincidence. Three times a trend.”¹ Let’s hope this is not going to become a trend.

I once posted a story about Ming’s terrible customer service a few years ago, and they actually went on to improve. They learned from it. I wish Sylvain every success, and honestly hope he finds a way to manage the obvious stress he’s under. That said, an apology would be nice and he’s promised to send one, but perhaps that ship has sailed.

Better late than never, I suppose.

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What’s the takeaway for us, collectors? Gossip is amusing, but I think this sort of incident actually leaves us with an interesting question:

How do we reconcile the art with the artist?

Our hobby is not just about watches at all. It is about emotions, as my friend Horst reminded me today. Every time we look down at our wrists at an independent watch, we’re checking the time, sure… But we’re also connecting with a piece of someone else’s vision, passion, and often… their life’s work.

So what happens when that connection is tainted by an unsavoury encounter? When the memory of a watch is marred by a memory of its creator’s meltdown, or its creator’s misdeeds?

For some, this might be a deal-breaker. As someone in our chat group said:

“Someone’s temperament is a material fact in deciding whether or not I am confident enough to extend an unsecured interest-free loan spanning several years (which is what any watch deposit is).”

It’s a valid point. After all, if looking at your watch reminds you of being mistreated or witnessing others being mistreated, perhaps it’s not the right watch for you.

On the other hand, there are those who can separate the art from the artist. For them, the watches might still hold their appeal, because they’re untarnished by any external incident.

So, the next time you find yourself salivating over a new independent creation, remember: behind every watch is an actual watchmaker, complete with their own quirks, pressures, and yes, sometimes, their own spectacular ability to lose their cool faster than you can say “appointment.”

Choose wisely, wear happily, and maybe - just maybe - think twice before reaching for a prototype without permission. You never know when you might encounter a “mountain guy” having a very, very bad day 😂✌

Update: 5 September 2024: Today Berneron posted the following update as a comment on this Instagram post - All’s well that ends well. 😉

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Pls hit the “❤️ Like” button on your way out, and thanks for reading!

1. You know who you are… Although you’re also a Berneron customer, so I smiled wondering whether your willingness to be so understanding would be different if this was another brand you didn’t care about (I concluded you would still be as understanding, fwiw!)