BOVET’S Next Generation
Talking with Audrey Raffy
Audrey Raffy, the eldest child of Pascal Raffy, owner and CEO of BOVET 1822, joined the company in 2020 after graduating from the Northwestern University Law School. A powerful woman with a strong educational and operational background, Audrey has loved BOVET since she was a young child.
Renowned for her grace and elegance, Audrey fulfills a number of roles at BOVET 1822 — as the company’s Vice President, spokesperson, digital and social media creator, presenter, and partnership manager.
Audrey is relishing the opportunity to work side by side with her father to take BOVET 1822 into the future.
How old were you when you really got interested in BOVET?
I was eight when my father bought Bovet, so I could understand what he was doing. His work is his life, he doesn’t really separate the two. Since he bought the House, BOVET has been an important element of my life. During my second or third year of college, at the University of Miami, when I was 20 or 21, I wanted to go to law school. I understood that I could add value with this law degree. I know my father has a lot on his shoulders, and I believe he needed an extra person he knew he could trust. I also started understanding the US market, being in the US, and I knew it needed to be developed further.
What is your role with the company? What are your responsibilities?
I don’t really have a title; I really do whatever is needed. I do sales, I help with the communication and marketing, and I expose BOVET on my own Instagram account. I represent the House. I do whatever my father needs me to do.
I am not so focused on my role; I am focused on where I want to help my father take BOVET. What my father has done in the last 21 years has been incredible, but there is so much more we can do. I am young, but I am old enough to know that things change all the time.
I want to people to realize how special BOVET is. What we do, what our artisans do, has to be recognized. We will never be a brand that caters to everyone, but I want people to know that BOVET is at the pinnacle of high watchmaking.
What is it like to work so closely with your father?
Working with family is never easy. Maybe it’s because I am not physically with my father 24/7, we both do a lot of traveling, but it is easier than I expected it to be. My father has a strong personality and BOVET is his baby, but he is understanding and he sees my point of view.
I really enjoy working with him. I have a law degree and I have experience, and I know I offer real value, so I really want to contribute.
How old were you when you really got interested in BOVET?
I was eight when my father bought Bovet, so I could understand what he was doing. His work is his life, he doesn’t really separate the two. Since he bought the House, BOVET has been an important element of my life. During my second or third year of college, at the University of Miami, when I was 20 or 21, I wanted to go to law school. I understood that I could add value with this law degree. I know my father has a lot on his shoulders, and I believe he needed an extra person he knew he could trust. I also started understanding the US market, being in the US, and I knew it needed to be developed further.
What is your role with the company? What are your responsibilities?
I don’t really have a title; I really do whatever is needed. I do sales, I help with the communication and marketing, and I expose BOVET on my own Instagram account. I represent the House. I do whatever my father needs me to do.
I am not so focused on my role; I am focused on where I want to help my father take BOVET. What my father has done in the last 21 years has been incredible, but there is so much more we can do. I am young, but I am old enough to know that things change all the time.
I want to people to realize how special BOVET is. What we do, what our artisans do, has to be recognized. We will never be a brand that caters to everyone, but I want people to know that BOVET is at the pinnacle of high watchmaking.
What is it like to work so closely with your father?
Working with family is never easy. Maybe it’s because I am not physically with my father 24/7, we both do a lot of traveling, but it is easier than I expected it to be. My father has a strong personality and BOVET is his baby, but he is understanding and he sees my point of view.
I really enjoy working with him. I have a law degree and I have experience, and I know I offer real value, so I really want to contribute.
How is your impression of your father’s work now that you are inside the company?
Now I am inside, I appreciate more what he has done. From the outside, it’s hard to see everything. He never brings negativity at home and he never explained all the challenges he has had. Now, I see what he has overcome and I appreciate it more than I ever did before.
Do you agree with your father on most things?
No, definitely not. Six or seven years ago, I would have said that we don’t agree on most things. Back then, he was focused on the classical side of watchmaking. Now, the BOVET team and I have managed to move him toward modernity and expanded what elegance is. The world and people are evolving, a lot of people want to have a sporty, cool timepiece. My father is much more open-minded now, so we agree a lot more. It was a struggle at the very beginning.
How is your impression of your father’s work now that you are inside the company?
Now I am inside, I appreciate more what he has done. From the outside, it’s hard to see everything. He never brings negativity at home and he never explained all the challenges he has had. Now, I see what he has overcome and I appreciate it more than I ever did before.
Do you agree with your father on most things?
No, definitely not. Six or seven years ago, I would have said that we don’t agree on most things. Back then, he was focused on the classical side of watchmaking. Now, the BOVET team and I have managed to move him toward modernity and expanded what elegance is. The world and people are evolving, a lot of people want to have a sporty, cool timepiece. My father is much more open-minded now, so we agree a lot more. It was a struggle at the very beginning.
What do you think makes BOVET so unique?
When I talk about BOVET, I have so many things to say. Especially now, with the partnerships with Automobili Pininfarina, Pininfarina, Rolls-Royce, Daniil Medvedev, the new materials, new complications, new designs, and new colors, there is so much that has happened over the last five years. The most precious thing is our watchmaking and our decoration — very few brands do what we do. We are really unique in what we do.
What is your go-to timepiece?
I’m really not picky. I usually wear what I have. I am just as happy wearing a 19Thirty as I am wearing a Recital 22 Grand Recital. The 19Thirty collection has really started to become the iconic timepiece for Bovet.
How do you feel having a collection named after yourself?
It is really… interesting. I am a reserved, shy person, but it was amusing to read a headline that said, ”BOVET 1822 pours sugar on Miss Audrey.” My father is all about family, he wants to do things with meaning. It’s almost like it’s not named after me, when I see it, I don’t think it’s about me, it’s about the collection and the House of BOVET.
You are a big fan of tennis. Why do you think the partnership with Daniil Medvedev works?
What I love about our partnership with Daniil is that for a partnership to work, it has to start when the person is on his way to the top. We have been with Daniil for a long time and we appreciate his success even more. When we started with Daniil, he wasn’t highly ranked, and I feel that he has grown with us. We believed in him and we feel loyal to him. We are also growing, we haven’t reached our full potential, just like Daniil.
Of what are you proudest?
I am proudest of the respect that people have for my father. When I meet someone in the watch industry, a partner, a journalist, a distributor, a CEO of another brand, a collector, I see how much respect they have for my father. It’s a lot for me to live up to.
What are your greatest strengths?
I am a citizen of the world. I have lived in so many different places and I think this has allowed me to understand people and things differently. I understand the differences and the similarities. As a result, I think I deal with people very well.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I am working for my family and father’s legacy. I could be working for a law firm in New York, but when you are working for your family, it’s an entirely different commitment. I really enjoy working with the BOVET team, and I am learning so much about so many different things. There is a lot of pressure on me, because I just started and I never know what to expect. I am shy and down to earth, very casual, but when I represent BOVET, I have to maintain a certain image.
Last year was the 200th anniversary of the House of BOVET. What were you most excited about?
I know it’s a special year, but I don’t think it really excites me more than the day-to-day work we do. I am so excited about the future of the brand. The younger generation is not that concerned about 200 years, I am focused on what we are doing now and where we are going.
What are your greatest strengths?
I am a citizen of the world. I have lived in so many different places and I think this has allowed me to understand people and things differently. I understand the differences and the similarities. As a result, I think I deal with people very well.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I am working for my family and father’s legacy. I could be working for a law firm in New York, but when you are working for your family, it’s an entirely different commitment. I really enjoy working with the BOVET team, and I am learning so much about so many different things. There is a lot of pressure on me, because I just started and I never know what to expect. I am shy and down to earth, very casual, but when I represent BOVET, I have to maintain a certain image.
Last year was the 200th anniversary of the House of BOVET. What were you most excited about?
I know it’s a special year, but I don’t think it really excites me more than the day-to-day work we do. I am so excited about the future of the brand. The younger generation is not that concerned about 200 years, I am focused on what we are doing now and where we are going.
