SKEMA’s new inter-school association for watchmaking enthusiasts captures students’ attention

​​​Paul-Antonin Chausse, a first-year master's student in the Master in Management (PGE), currently on a sabbatical year, is the co-founder of Watch Club Business School, along with Louan de Peretti, an IESEG student. Created in September 2023, the association already has 31 members from 15 of France's leading business schools.

Long​-term vision

The mission is straightforward: to disseminate, professionalise, network, and foster a community of enthusiasts around luxury watchmaking by promoting the sharing of knowledge and experience. "The watchmaking sector is thriving, and I believe it makes sense to establish this within the luxury sector. Our ambition is to become the go-to community within the academic environment and, eventually, a true recruitment pool," explains Paul-Antonin, currently working as a business analyst intern at Jaeger-LeCoultre in Geneva. With their new club, the founders aim to facilitate connections between students and major horology houses. This will be achieved through various activities such as after-work social events, boutique visits, and conferences with alumni and industry leaders.

Capturing the intere​st of watchmakers

"We are thrilled to see that our approach is attracting the interest of various watch manufacturers, who have been contacting us to offer tours of their manufacturing facilities and showrooms. The goal is to draw in all manufacturers, even the niche ones," says Alexandra Martel, a first-year PGE master's student on sabbatical at Richemont, where she is interning as a marketing analyst. Since its launch last September, the Watch Club Business School's page has already amassed about 1,000 followers on LinkedIn and 600 on Instagram. A website is also in the works.

For more information about this new association, please contact Alexandra Martel and Paul-Antonin Chausse on LinkedIn.​