For Ketterer (54), watchmaking is in the blood. In fact, the cuckoo clock is attributed to Franz Anton Ketterer. For the past 15 years, Ketterer has been doing white-glove work for a number of brands, following a 20-year career that included ten years at Girard-Perregaux as Director of Creation and Product, and similar roles at Tissot, Jean Richard, and Valgine, following his early beginnings as a watchmaker at Zenith. Even before that, while in school at WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program), Ketterer studied alongside Kari Voutilainen, the Grönefeld brothers, and Stepan Sarpaneva.
About three years ago, while studying his family history, Ketterer came across a distant relative, George Ketterer, who had served as President of Vacheron & Constantin and was once involved in Niton. It was at that time that Ketterer realized the brand’s registration had lapsed, ownership was up for grabs, and he quickly got to work to secure the historic brand in their hands.
Mark Kauzlarich
2026-02-05 18:43:00