The independent watchmaking world has lost one of its most visionary figures. The watch collecting community is mourning the loss of Jean-Marie Schaller, the founder and CEO of Les Ateliers Louis Moinet, who passed away peacefully on May 16 at the age of 66, following an illness that had kept him from attending Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026.
Born in Switzerland in 1959, Schaller came to watchmaking through commerce rather than craft. He trained in advertising and marketing before discovering the industry while working for the trading company Siber Hegner in the 1980s. He eventually led the relaunch of Perrelet as its CEO before joining Lacoste Watches as marketing director—a career trajectory that gave him an unusually clear-eyed view of both the business and the culture of watches. It was a rare combination, and one that would shape everything he built in the decades that followed.
The founding of Les Ateliers Louis Moinet in Saint-Blaise, Neuchâtel, in 2004 was not a conventional brand launch. Schaller had spent years quietly researching one of the most overlooked names in horological history— a 19th-century watchmaker, astronomer, and author who had been all but erased from the record. Louis Moinet, the man, had trained under Abraham-Louis Breguet, authored the most comprehensive watchmaking treatise of his era, and crafted a remarkable clock for Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806. None of that had stopped his name from falling into complete obscurity. Schaller set about changing that.
The most consequential moment in that effort came in 2012, when Schaller acquired a Moinet pocket watch at auction in Geneva. Subsequent research confirmed it to be the world's first chronograph, predating the instruments previously credited with that distinction by several years. The discovery rewrote a foundational chapter of horological history and gave Louis Moinet something no marketing exercise could manufacture: a story that was entirely, verifiably true.
From that foundation, Schaller built a brand with two distinct creative identities. The Mechanical Wonders collection pursued complications with rigor and invention, while Cosmic Art—perhaps his most personal expression as a maker—drew on his own decades-long passion for meteorites and celestial objects. The Cosmopolis, a unique timepiece incorporating inserts from twelve different meteorites, remains one of the most singular objects produced by any independent manufacture. Schaller understood that a watch could be a vessel for something far larger than timekeeping, and he pursued that idea with consistency and conviction throughout his career.
He was also, by every account, a singular presence in person. His love of color was well known—he was rarely seen at industry events without a boldly patterned suit—worn not for effect, but with the ease of someone entirely comfortable in his own skin. In an industry that can default toward a certain studied conservatism, Schaller's warmth and individuality stood out.
He is survived by his wife and children: Micaela, Raphaëlle, Dominique, Christopher, and Nathanaël. The family has asked that those wishing to honor his memory consider a charitable donation in lieu of flowers, and has invited attendees to reflect his love of color in their choice of dress. A ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 p.m. at the Temple d'Auvernier, 2 Chemin des Rochettes, 2012 Auvernier.
Jean-Marie Schaller spent twenty years proving that a forgotten name could become one of independent watchmaking's most distinctive voices. That work stands on its own.
Watch Collecting Lifestyle extends its sincere condolences to the Schaller family and to all who had the privilege of knowing him. Rest in peace, Jean-Marie.
More info on Louis Moinet here.
