FOB Paris
Watchmakers
Sari Hijji, Aurélien Caron, and Laurent Aziz met in high school; more than a decade later, they founded Fob Paris together.
“The three of us all studied engineering,” explains Sari. “We always wanted to create something together, and watch-making appeared to be the perfect way to combine the technical and the creative.” They describe Fob Paris as a “French watch-making studio”, and approach the work artistically, starting with moodboards and aiming to design something that’s far more evocative than the average timepiece. They have shown their products at Paris Fashion Week; while the watches are stainless steel, they can also include unconventional materials like feathers and fur. “The prime concern is really the design.”
Laurent, Sari and Aurélien design every watch together. “We have to agree 100% at each step, so it takes a bit more time, but I think that’s what makes our brand strong,” says Sari.
Once the concept is in place, they work with a team of engineers to adapt the design to any technical constraints. It’s a painstaking process. “From the design to the technical drawings takes maybe six months.”
They work with 15 different partners around the world to make the intricate parts of the watch. Assembly is done in France, via a more traditional method: “The watches are handmade one by one, with basically just a desk, a lamp and a screwdriver.”
“What inspires us is really this idea that we studied as students of physics: that time is not just a line, but it’s a dimension in which you can travel. "Fob Paris
