Kelton Inès de la Fressange, French elegance

Back in the glory days of Kelton, when the company created with the American giant Timex had 3,000 employees in its Besançon factory on Boulevard Kennedy, it was Sylvie Vartan who was asked to create a capsule collection of watches with the brand. Nowadays, as Kelton is relaunching itself, it is up to Inès de la Fressange, a symbol of French feminine elegance, to promote the brand’s new generation of watches designed and assembled in France.

Relaunching a legendary brand is not an easy thing. This time, it was Alain Foglia who bought the brand born in the 1950s on the initiative of Stéphane Boullier, then head of the watch brand VIXA. From 136,000 pieces produced in 1962 to 4 million in 1972, its success was phenomenal. In 1975, it was the turn of the young Brazilian F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi to become the brand ambassador. Then, as with all mechanical watchmaking, the quartz crisis would come along, crushing the French watch industry. The chic and inexpensive watches that were bought in tobacconists would not survive, Kelton would disappear in 1987. At the end of 1999, a first attempt at relaunch by Goldy, then the leading French network of watch stores, would last a few years. The 15-year European license provided for parts with a reasonable price-quality ratio, assembled in France. Alas, Kelton would hardly revive.

In 2016, Alain Foglia took over the brand and decided to relaunch it on the French market. The positioning: “a style combining modernity and a chic, very slightly vintage spirit.” As the brand specifies, if the production of the watch parts has changed continents, the assembly of the watches continues to be carried out in France. A first successful collaboration followed in 2018 with the French football team, on the occasion of its victory in the World Cup in 2018. Four watches bearing the two stars of victory were born. A collaboration with the FFF which relaunched the brand’s adventure in the world of sport.

Recently, it was with Inès de la Fressange that the brand imagined a chic and Parisian capsule collection. On the wrist, we find this time five models designed and assembled in France, starting at €195. The blue-white-red model, resolutely French, combines oval and tricolor touches. The Grande Colorama x Ines de la Fressange Paris has a Japanese Miyota movement, with date indication. The watches with aluminum cases Field khaki and Sand play the card of elegance and ecology, recharging in the sun, without battery. A diverted military and masculine aesthetic that suits Inès de La Fressange well. Last little thoughtful touch: watch cases transformed into diverted lunch boxes.