CVSTOS has developed an exclusive open-worked dial concept based on various coats of arms representing several countries. When Sassoun Sirmakes met Gérard Depardieu in Paris in March 2014 and showed him a timepiece with the Russian imperial eagle, the renowned actor was immediately seduced by the concept and the idea of expressing the Russian pride through a highly symbolic timepiece.

A friendship between the two flourished and with it the ‘Proud to be Russian’ collection that also carries a collateral project: to rediscover and revive the glorious Russian watchmaking heritage through limited editions featuring historic calibres, set up a movement decoration studio (first in Geneva, then in Russia) and eventually ignite a Russian replica watches for sale manufacture.

“ I was immediately attracted to the watch, I loved the two-headed eagle and the use of the screws on the case ”, says Gérard Depardieu. “ I like the size, I like the architectural tonneau case, I like to ‘drink the time’ from it and I have been using the watch non-stop since I first got it on my wrist, except when I am filming and representing a role that is not supposed to have it on. I love the idea of a watch that means something that is our own. CVSTOS has managed to conceive a timepiece that is close to my heart, that illustrates some sort of flagship and makes me feel like home when I’m travelling around the globe ”.

Gérard Depardieu.
© Cvstos

Sassoun Sirmakes says the empathy was there right from the beginning, when he first met the famous actor: “ Gérard loved our fake watches UK straight away and had an immediate grasp of the symbolic value of the coat of arms concept. Since he likes to underline that he is proud to be Russian, the first pictures of him wearing the inaugural ‘Proud to be Russian’ watch caused quite a stir around the world and it became obvious that we had to develop a dedicated range of timepieces that now comprises two distinct sizes, four different types of cases, jewellery versions and also more complicated models featuring a tourbillon and a minute repeater. Being passionate, nonconformist, iconoclast and independent just like us at Cvstos, Gérard is the perfect ambassador ”.

Antonio Terranova, co-founder and chief designer at Cvstos Genève, is the author of the design that defines the ‘Proud to be Russian’ collection – and underlines the manufacturing complexity of both the coat of arms dial and the open-work mechanical movement.

The creation of the coat of arms dial also represents a thorough and complex process, reveals Antonio Terranova: “a plate of 2mm in height is cut by a 5-axis, multi-level machine; then the eagle is sculpted through an electro-erosion procedure by an extremely thin laser beam; finally, the surface is sandblasted”.

The CVS 350 automatic calibre and the CVS 2600 handwound tourbillon also require a lot of skeletonizing and galvanic sandblasting to protect the micro-mechanical parts.

Challenge Jet-Liner Proud to be Russian, noir.
© Cvstos

Every timepiece in the ‘Proud to be Russian’ collection is highlighted by an open-worked dial featuring a cut 3-dimensional double-headed eagle representing the Russian coat of arms. Gérard Depardieu has been wearing the ‘Proud to be Russian’ timepiece and that inaugural ‘Proud to be Russian’ watch has evolved into a range that now includes four automatic timepieces, a tourbillon watch, a minute repeater tourbillon cheap replica watches and jewellery versions.

The see-through sapphire crystal on the case-back bears Gérard Depardieu’s signature and Cvstos plans on further expanding the collection with chronographs, complicated masterpieces and special series.