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WatchesFeb 03, 2016
Rudy Chavez Leaves Baume and Mercier
He’s moving over to another Richemont-owned brand while Audemars Piguet’s Frédérick Martel steps in to head Baume & Mercier’s North American business.
New York--After nearly 13 years with Baume & Mercier, Rodolfo “Rudy” Chavez is moving to another Richemont-owned brand, Cartier.
Chavez, who started with Baume & Mercier in April 2003 and became president of the brand’s North America operations in 2006, has been named vice president of specialist retail for Cartier North America.
He will be replaced by Frédérick Martel, who spent the past four years working as the vice president of sales and marketing in North America for Audemars Piguet, which is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world still owned by its founding family.
Before that, he did marketing for IWC Schaffhausen, another Richemont-owned watch brand, and also held roles at Vacheron Constantin and jewelry brand Fred.
Martel will be based in New York and will be in charge of growing the watch brand’s business in the United States and Canada. His appointment is effectively immediately.
Founded in Geneva in 1830, Baume & Mercier is one of the oldest watch brands in the world. It sells both men’s and women’s automatic and quartz timepieces and some of the brand’s most well-known collections include Capeland, Hampton and Linea.
Martel said in a news release announcing his appointment that his first mechanical watch was a Baume & Mercier Hampton and that he is “proud to be part of the next chapter in the brand’s history and future development.”
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