Camille Fournet - Background

In 1945, Camille Fournet started the business that was to become an international company. He was born in 1915 and spent part of his youth in Romans, in France's Drôme department, a region traditionally devoted to the leatherworking trades.

Having always been attracted by the essence of things, he naturally chose to work leather rather than wood, stone or metals. His attention to details allowed him to achieve undeniable technical perfection but also to de sign objects that moved people. From his hands emerged the first watchstraps imprinted with the passion of their designer.

Guided by his taste for perfection, Camille Fournet perpetuated the techniques of the master leatherworkers and enriched them as he himself gained experience. His demanding standards led him to develop exactly the right procedure for each production operation. An operation consists of a number of stages, each requiring consummate skill:

• Selecting the material
• Cutting out
• Adjusting the thicknesses
• Embossing
• Incorporating the stays
• Making up the linings
• Matching the colour of the stitching and edges

Camille Fournet trained the craftsmen himself, teaching them the delicate art of hand stitching. In order to be closer to Paris he opened his first workshop in the Picardy region, specializing in custom-made hand sewn watchstraps. As a true originator of craft, his style leads the way today more than ever.

Convinced that the beauty of his creations came from the material, Camille Fournet sought out the finest leathers. In his hands, exotic skins such as alligator, caiman, ostrich and lizard were fashioned into objects of refinement. He transferred his aesthetic sensibility to the feel, texture, grain or scales of the materials he used. He came up with an infinite number of shades, daring to use colour at a time when black and brown predominated.

A pioneer, he ignited a spark of inspiration that spread to the most traditional circles. This desire for refinement and rarity is reflected in the trend book published by the Camille Fournet Company today. Over the years, it is this "haute couture" quality that has won over the finest watchmakers and retail jewelers.

1945	Founding of the first custom-made leather watchstraps workshop
1989	Opening of the first sales office in Switzerland. Others were to follow in Italy, Germany, Japan, Hong-Kong and the United States
1995	Organization of the production into workshop dedicated to orders from watchmakers and the other to custom-made orders
2000	220 craftsmen produce 3.000 handmade watchstraps a day
2002	The company extends its network to the Internet www.camillefournet.com