Press
Cait Bazemore - May 5, 2023
This New Watch Retail Concept Is Launching With Daniel Roth’s Rare Timepieces
Back in 2018, renowned collector and watch industry veteran William Massena founded Massena LAB, a creative studio for independent watchmakers to design and develop timepieces all with the goal of enhancing the future of watchmaking. The “LAB” most obviously stands for the “laboratory” in which these creations are birthed. However, it also stands for “collaboration,” with community being at the core of Massena LAB’s mission.
Today, the brand further emphasizes the importance of community in the watch sphere with the launch of Massena HOUSE. This all-new community and retail concept aims to bring the world of independent watchmaking into one central hub. Here, independent artisans can connect with enthusiasts in an authentic and meaningful way through their individual talent, creativity, and imaginative spirit.
The retail component of Massena HOUSE is an added bonus for the collector community to discover and purchase unique and innovative models from independent watchmakers. Massena HOUSE will be an authorized retailer for a select number of leading independent brands, beginning with Daniel Roth.
Daniel Roth’s legacy was revived earlier this year with a new spin on the watchmaker’s signature tourbillon: the Tourbillon Souscription. The goal of the brand remains the same as it was when it was first founded in 1988: to draw on the expertise of the world’s finest watchmakers, constructors, and specialist suppliers to create beautiful and artisanal timepieces. This mission perfectly aligns with those of Massena LAB, so it comes as no surprise Massena HOUSE will be one of only a few retailers worldwide to sell Daniel Roth watches.
ZACH KAZAN - May 8, 2023
William Massena to Sell the Upcoming Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription through the Newly Created Massena HOUSE Retail Concept
The latest news to come from our friends at Massena LAB doesn’t actually concern a new watch, but rather an entirely new retail operation. Last week, William Massena, the founder of the NYC based creative studio that has produced a string of popular limited edition watches over the last three years, announced Massena HOUSE, which he describes as a new community and retail concept that will focus on independent watchmaking. We seem to be heading toward a period where interest in independent brands across the pricing spectrum is at a fever pitch, so the timing here would appear to be ideal on Massena’s part. What’s more, the first brand announced to be sold through Massena HOUSE is a real coup.
Daniel Roth, having recently been relaunched, is the first brand Massena has announced will be retailed through his Massena HOUSE operation. To paraphrase a quote that is sometimes heard in the political realm, this is a very big deal indeed. Daniel Roth’s eponymous brand is one of the origin points of the modern independent watchmaking movement that is currently flourishing worldwide. It’s been owned by Bulgari for years, and thus wrapped up in the LVMH corporate structure, but earlier this year after a great deal of speculation it was confirmed that the brand would reappear with an assist from La Fabrique Du Temps, Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking arm. It would be a mistake to write La Fabrique Du Temps, or Louis Vuitton for that matter, off as part of a larger “fashion brand” style of watchmaking. La Fabrique Du Temps is involved in some cutting edge stuff, while also celebrating traditional, historic watchmaking.