Hervé Laniez: A Tribute

On 18 November 2009, I met Hervé Laniez for the first time. He was then President of Seiko France. I had travelled from Marseille to Paris especially for an evening launch of a new model at the boutique we still called “the Seiko Center”. Passion Horlogère had just been born as a club of watch enthusiasts, and we had got to know the Seiko brand at a watch day held on 16 May earlier that year.

A first meeting in Paris

Frédéric Blond had suggested that I invite some Passion Horlogère members to the evening, and he told me I would meet Sandra Clerc-Vernerey, from the brand’s communications team, and Hervé Laniez, its President in France.

Knowing this, I prepared for the trip by jotting a few questions down on a sheet of paper. I had never done anything like it before, and I planned to publish the result on Forumamontres, the watch forum run by Joël Duval, alias “Zen”. At the time, Passion Horlogère as a media outlet did not yet exist, and nobody, not even me, could have imagined what it would later become.

So it was on that very day that I met this man: tall, elegant, plain-spoken, with steel-blue eyes that literally scanned you, yet never icy. Quite the opposite, Hervé Laniez always had a kindly, even amused look in his eyes. At least, that is how I always felt it…

The interview at the Seiko Center

When I suggested the interview to Frédéric and then to Sandra, neither of them knew whether he would accept. Hervé Laniez was not a man who liked to put himself forward. He always wanted to step back behind “the products”. He wanted people to talk about Seiko watches, not about him! But knowing I was an enthusiast and not a journalist probably amused him… So we slipped away during the evening, together with Sandra. It was only supposed to last a few minutes… but we took quite a while. The conversation was frank, with no hidden agenda on my part. Above all, I had no interest other than talking about Seiko to the watch lovers who followed me at Passion Horlogère and on FAM (Forumamontres).

The interview was published on FAM in the days that followed, and republished a few years later on Passion Horlogère once the media outlet was created.

Read the interview here

From that moment on, everything sped up! A relationship of trust took hold. Hervé Laniez appreciated the article, which respected the conversation we had had. Beyond the purely professional side, we were able to talk about all sorts of subjects, and we got on really well. I admired the seasoned executive he was, with a global strategic vision of the market. I was learning from him!

Basel, the ritual and the start of a friendship

We met again in Basel on 25 March 2010. The appointment had been arranged with Sandra, who welcomed me along with five other enthusiasts, all members of Passion Horlogère. Hervé had blocked out that slot so we could talk. Once the presentation of the new models was over, he invited me to join him for what would become a ritual: a “cigarette break” on the side emergency stairs of Hall 1. With the Seiko stand upstairs and far from the exit, Hervé took great delight in breaking this Swiss taboo and enjoyed my knowing amusement. From that day, and that cigarette, he asked me to address him informally! And every year after that, we would share this friendly moment in Basel after the presentation of the models, which he always attended. He regularly asked me “Isn’t that one beautiful!?”, and I can still hear his intonation. He always wanted to know what I thought of his watches. And yet I sometimes said some enormous nonsense. Like at the launch of the Seiko Astron. When he asked me what I thought of it, I remember replying: “I don’t know who you’re going to sell that to. Maybe the Vieux Campeur outdoor shops!?” He was right not to listen to me and to place a huge order! The model was a smash hit!!!

The invitation to Japan

After Baselworld, in May 2010, I was at a family gathering one Saturday when my phone rang. It was Hervé Laniez. He asked how I was, gave me his news, and set out an idea. But it began with a question. In fact, he rarely started a conversation by laying out everything he had in mind. He always kept a few cards up his sleeve…

“Thierry, do you speak English?” he asked me. “Yes, well, I get by…” I replied. “Could you attend an event in English and possibly do an interview in English?” he went on. “I don’t know, I’ve never done it, but honestly it doesn’t scare me!” I answered. Deep down, I could barely remember my lessons as an average pupil in advanced English, but I also remembered that I had enjoyed them.

And it was from that answer, that “it doesn’t scare me”, that he moved on. His idea was to send me to Japan to visit Seiko’s facilities. To visit the “Manufacture”, as they say in Switzerland. Except that here we were talking about another dimension altogether…

I did not say yes straight away. I asked for some time to answer, claiming I had to clear it with my employer. What he never knew is that I was not at all worried about getting my employer’s permission: I actually wanted to talk it over with my wife before deciding anything. I think that would have made him laugh! I had the green light 10 minutes after hanging up, but I waited until the Monday to call Hervé back. He also had to confirm things with Sandra. But it already seemed settled between them, even before his call.

Hervé was a man who respected the work of his team. He never took a decision outside his remit without bringing them into the process. How many times did we discuss things for which he told me (amused) “OK, but sort it out with Sandra”. He knew his head of communications well and thought highly of her. They made quite a duo, both with strong personalities…

The trip to Japan, a turning point

The trip to Japan took place at the end of September 2010. It was as much a revelation for me as it was a springboard for the watch industry professional I would become a few years later. I came to appreciate Grand Seiko, which was announcing the globalisation of its sales strategy, and I met remarkable people. First of all Shinji Hattori, who became an Honorary Member of Passion Horlogère, just after Jean-Claude Biver on 26 June that year. I met renowned international journalists such as Jack Forster. And I also met a collector who would in turn give my watch adventure a real boost. Dr Bernard Cheong invited me to sit on an international jury in Kuala Lumpur in December of the same year. This later gave me the idea of suggesting to Bucherer that they create the Bucherer Watch Award alongside Belles Montres in Paris…. But that is another (lovely) story.

Hervé Laniez’s offer to invite me to Japan turned my passion for watches from that of a watch enthusiast into that of an enthusiast and observer of the whole watchmaking world. After this wonderful experience, we met again in Paris. I told him about the invitation to Kuala Lumpur and offered to wear a Grand Seiko there if he agreed. I had ordered one (which I adore) after my visit to Japan, but it still had not arrived. So he unbuckled the one on his own wrist and put it on mine: “Here, wear it. I really like this one, and it’ll be perfect for the hotel pool,” he said with a smile.

A relationship of trust, beyond business

So ours was not a relationship driven only by “business”. Of course, we went on to do many things together. A limited edition watch for Passion Horlogère, a raffle for the victims of the 2011 tsunami, and many other things afterwards. There was a special bond. An emotional one on my side, because just like Jean-Claude Biver, I know that without Hervé Laniez’s support I would never have been able to make a living from my passion. I owe it to the support of these two men that my passion became my profession. It is their trust, and their willingness to bet on an unknown with no experience at all, that gives newcomers a chance.

The last conversation

Hervé stepped down as head of Seiko France in 2019. But we never stopped talking. We would phone each other now and then. His last call was a few months ago. He was asking my advice about nice spots in the south of France, where he was thinking of buying a house. I told him about the Alpilles, the Camargue and the Pic St Loup. With the prospect of meeting up for lunch when he decided to go and view some properties.

A few days ago, I was thinking that I had not heard from him in a long time. I was planning to give him a quick call, as we used to do, every now and then, whenever we felt like it… But I received a different call. It is sad, it is very sad… but that is how it is…

Tribute

Hervé Laniez passed away on Wednesday 9 November. I wish to express all my affection to his wife Raphaëlle, to his children, and to all the Seiko staff who worked with him in Besançon and elsewhere. With these few lines I wanted to honour his memory, but above all I wanted to convey the depth of my gratitude to him. Thank you, Hervé. The next time I break the rules in Switzerland, I will be thinking of you.

Thierry Gasquez

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