Challenge Proud To Be Russian Gérard Depardieu Limited

THE TIME KEEPER
Named after the Latin word for Guardian (or Custodian), CVSTOS
was founded in 2005 by CEO Sassoun Sirmakes and Chief Designer
Antonio Terranova to represent a new way of preserving time while
being always one step ahead of time, focusing on a distinctive cutting
edge approach to high-end watchmaking.
Sassoun Sirmakes, of Armenian ascendancy and born in
Geneva (1983), has since his childhood been immersed in high
watchmaking, as the son of Franck Muller Watchland Group coowner and chairman Vartan Sirmakes; he dominates every aspect
of the watchmaking industry and from early on was set to create
his own independent brand – a brand that could exude an avantgarde definition of the traditional art of watchmaking through ultracontemporary technique and aesthetics.
Antonio Terranova provided the look that has been defining CVSTOS
since the inception of the brand; born in 1967 in the very heart
of the Swiss watchmaking industry (La Chaux-de-Fonds), he has
embraced watch design and worked for several top-notch brands
such as Cartier, Piaget, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Ebel and Zenith –
until moving on to fulfil the dream of launching his own company
with Sassoun Sirmakes, inspired by the innovative aerospace and
automotive industries.
The CVSTOS headquarters are based in the historical SaintGervais quarter in Geneva, complemented by a production site
close to Ferney-Voltaire and the Swiss border. Average price of the
timepieces range between 8,000 and 30,000 CHF.
CHALLENGE JET-LINER GERARD DEPARDIEU
THE ADVENT OF A PARTNERSHIP
CVSTOS, a high-end young company founded in 2005 by Sassoun Sirmakes and Antonio Terranova, has developed an exclusive open-worked dial concept
based on various coats of arms representing several countries. When Sassoun Sirmakes met Gérard Depardieu in Paris last March through mutual friend
Frederik Mahler and showed him a timepiece with the Russian imperial eagle, the renowned actor was immediately seduced by the concept and the idea of
expressing the Russian pride through a highly symbolic timepiece. A friendship between the two flourished and with it the ‘Proud to be Russian’ collection
that also carries a collateral project: to rediscover and revive the glorious Russian watchmaking heritage through limited editions featuring historic calibres,
set up a movement decoration studio (first in Geneva, then in Russia) and eventually ignite a Russian watch manufacture.
“ I was immediately attracted to the watch, I loved the two-headed eagle and the use of the screws on the case ”, says Gérard Depardieu. “ I like the size, I like the
architectural tonneau case, I like to ‘drink the time’ from it and I have been using the watch non-stop since I first got it on my wrist, except when I am filming and representing
a role that is not supposed to have it on ”. And he also fancies a watch that shows more than just the time: “ I love the idea of a watch that means something that
is our own. CVSTOS has managed to conceive a timepiece that is close to my heart, that illustrates some sort of flagship and makes me feel like home when
I’m travelling around the globe ”.
Sassoun Sirmakes says the empathy was there right
from the beginning, when he first met the famous
actor: “ Gérard loved our watch straight away and
had an immediate grasp of the symbolic value of the
coat of arms concept. Since he likes to underline that
he is proud to be Russian, the first pictures of him
wearing the inaugural ‘Proud to be Russian’ watch
caused quite a stir around the world and it became
obvious that we had to develop a dedicated range
of timepieces that now comprises two distinct sizes,
four different types of cases, jewellery versions and
also more complicated models featuring a tourbillon
and a minute repeater. Being passionate, nonconformist, iconoclast and independent just like us
at CVSTOS, Gérard is the perfect ambassador ”.
The actor concurs: “ I am proud of this association
with CVSTOS, as I am proud to be Russian. Besides,
the partnership soon evolved into a friendship and
I have been happy to work with the CVSTOS team –
I foresee several new projects in the near future! ”.
THE LEGENDARY GÉRARD DEPARDIEU
Probably the best-known French male actor around the world, Gérard Depardieu
has participated in almost 200 movies throughout a career spanning five
decades and crowned with multiple awards. He has also been a director, a
producer and an entrepreneur developing various businesses. His larger than
life personality granted him a massive aura; as CVSTOS ambassador, he has
been totally invested in the ‘Proud to be Russian’ project.
Born in Châteauroux on the 27th of December, 1948, Gérard Depardieu built
an eclectic résumé based on strong characters that fit his charismatic figure
and passionate acting. Some of his most notable movies are ‘Going Places’/’Les
Valseuses’ (Bertrand Blier, 1974), ‘1900’ (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976), ‘The
Last Metro’ (François Truffaut, 1980), ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’ (Daniel
Vigne, 1982), ‘Danton’ (Andrzej Wajda, 1983), ‘Under the Sun of Satan’ (1987),
‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ (Jean-Paul Rappeneau, 1990), ‘Green Card’ (Peter Weir,
1990), ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’ (Riddley Scott, 1992), ‘Asterix & Obelix’
(various, 1999-2012).
Having received Knight honours in France (National Order of Merit; Legion of
Honour) and collected Cesar, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, Gérard
Depardieu also received the Stanislavsky Award at the 2006 Moscow film
Festival for “outstanding achievements in the acting career”. After his role
as Rasputin in a 2011 TV movie, he proclaimed: “I love Russia, its people, its
history, its writers, its art”; in January 2013, Russian president Vladimir Putin
signed an executive order granting Russian citizenship to the French-born actor
and delivered the passport himself. Gérard Depardieu is nowadays viewed as
a hero in Russia and surrounding Republics such as Chechnya, Uzbekistan or
Mordovia.
An art connoisseur and watch collector, Gérard Depardieu has recently opened
a restaurant in Moscow; as a reputed vineyard owner he also has an interest
in developing Russian wine. He embodies the CVSTOS spirit; furthermore, if
CVSTOS motto is ‘The Time Keeper’, Gérard Depardieu also played a role on a
1992 movie by Jeff Blyth called… Timekeeper.
THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL EAGLE
Antonio Terranova, co-founder and chief designer at CVSTOS
GENÈVE, is the author of the design that defines the ‘Proud
to be Russian’ collection – and underlines the manufacturing
complexity of both the coat of arms dial and the open-work
mechanical movement: “CVSTOS is a brand driven by the latest
technologies and we’ve been developing extreme skeletonizing
as a result of our on-going research into lightness. The
base calibre was entirely rethought, redesigned and then
skeletonized without compromising rigidity and reliability”, he
says.
The creation of the coat of arms dial also represents a thorough
and complex process, reveals Antonio Terranova: “a plate of
2mm in height is cut by a 5-axis, multi-level machine; then the
eagle is sculpted through an electro-erosion procedure by an
extremely thin laser beam; finally, the surface is sandblasted”.
The CVS 350 automatic calibre and the CVS 2600 handwound tourbillon also require a lot of skeletonizing and
galvanic sandblasting to protect the micro-mechanical parts.
The finalized crest is stunning, with the Russian imperial eagle
shining in all its splendor.
A STATEMENT AND A COLLECTION
A statement on the wrist! ‘Proud to be Russian’ is a new collection conceived by
independent luxury Swiss watch manufacturer CVSTOS GENÈVE and endorsed
by Gérard Depardieu – the French-born superstar actor that carries Russian
citizenship since 2013 and who, as an ambassador, embodies that pride.
Jet-Liner Gérard Depardieu
Automatic Bicolor 5N Pink Gold
Every timepiece in the ‘Proud to be Russian’ collection is highlighted by an
open-worked dial featuring a finely cut 3-dimensional double-headed eagle
representing the Russian coat of arms. Gérard Depardieu has been wearing
the ‘Proud to be Russian’ timepiece and that inaugural ‘Proud to be Russian’
watch has evolved into a range that now includes four automatic timepieces,
a tourbillon watch, a minute repeater tourbillon watch and jewellery versions.
The see-through sapphire crystal on the case-back bears Gérard Depardieu’s
signature and CVSTOS plans on further expanding the collection with
chronographs, complicated masterpieces and special series.
Jet-Liner Gérard Depardieu
Automatic Black Steel PVD
Jet-Liner Gérard Depardieu
Automatic Grey Titanium
Jet-Liner Gérard Depardieu
Automatic Blue Steel PVD
TECHNICAL DATA SHEETS
‘PROUD TO BE RUSSIAN’ COLLECTION - LIMITED EDITION GERARD DEPARDIEU
Automatic watch, Tourbillon watch & Minute Repeater Tourbillon watch
CHALLENGE case Tonneau-shaped, 53.70mm x 41mm x 13,35mm
or
CHALLENGE GT case Tonneau-shaped, 59mm x 45mm x 15,45
Case Materials: Grey Titanium, Black Steel PVD, Blue Steel PVD or Bicolor
5N Pink Gold; polished and satin-finished; diamond versions
Caseback: See-through with sapphire glass; Gérard Depardieu signature
Crystal: Sapphire, scratch-proof and with anti-reflective treatment on both
sides
Water-resistance: 100 meters
Screws: Polished titanium grade 5 or pink gold; CVSTOS TECHNOLOGY
profile
Crown: Screw-down, polished titanium grade 5 or red gold with Nitril insert
Dial: skeletonized, 3-dimensional eagle representing the Russian coat of
arms
Indexes: Super-LumiNova© treated
Hands: Pierced, chromed or gold-plated and Super-LumiNova© treated
Calibre: Skeletonized. Automatic-winding movement CVSTOS CVS350.
Black Plasma treatment, rhodiated treatment or black rhodium treatment
for grey titanium
Functions: Hour, minute, seconds; date (skeletonized disc)
Power-reserve: 42 hours
Jewels: 25
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour
Calibre: CVSTOS CVS 2600 hand-wound openwork tourbillon movement
Functions: Hour, minute and 3x20 seconds indicator; flying tourbillon
Power-reserve: 60 hours
Jewels: 21
Frequency: 18,800 vibrations per hour
or
Calibre: CVSTOS 7650 hand-wound openwork minute repeater and
tourbillon movement
Functions: Hour, minute, 3x20 seconds indicator; flying tourbillon on a
12mm cage; minute repeater mechanism that chimes the hours, quarters
and minutes on demand; chime mechanism function indicator
Power-reserve: 60 hours
Jewels: 32
Frequency: 18,800 vibrations per hour
Bracelet or Strap: Rubber (Nitril-NBR©) or alligator skin
Buckle: Folding clasp or buckle
Swiss made
or
CHALLENGE JET-LINER GERARD DEPARDIEU