Interview with Celsius X VI II Co-CEO Edouard Meylan

TechHaze: Dear Edouard, Tell us more about Celsius X VI II: What is the story behind its foundation, and where does the name come from?
Edouard Meylan: Celsius X VI II was created in 2006. The founding concept behind Celsius X VI II was born in 2005 in the mind of Thomas Pruvot, a mechanical engineer specialised in industrial design, during a flight from Paris to Hong Kong. Frustrated at losing the time display when he had to switch off his cellphone, he had the idea of adopting a mechanical solution inspired by watchmaking. Please refer to the “Genesis” document for more details.
The name Celsius X VI II has a secret meaning that only the 4 founders know… we don’t want to reveal it.

TH: You studied engineering at the EPFL and have an MBA from UPenn. Tell us how this led you to Celsius X VI II. Did you study watchmaking? What is your role at Celsius X VI II?
EM: I came across a first draft of the Business Plan in 2007. I got seduced by the creativity of Thomas and Romaric. I got in touch with them. We met early 2008 for 1 hour , we had a great discussion, realized that our ideas and vision were aligned and ours skills complementary. We decided to work together on raising funds and that’s where our partnership started.
I did not study watchmaking, but grew up in a “watch valley” in Switzerland. Most of my family and friends are involved in the watch industry.
I am Co-CEO of Celsius X VI II, focusing on the front line: Sales Marketing and Finance. Romaric André, the other CEO, focuses on the operations and administration, but we work hand in hand on all aspects.

TH: LeDIX is your flagship creation, yet very few know what it’s all about. What exactly is a mechanical phone ? Can it truly be 100% mechanical? Where did you get the idea from?
EM: The dream vision of Celsius X VI II is to create a micromechanical phone. A phone in which every function will operate mechanically solely through human energy.
Every creation of Celsius X VI II will get us closer to our dream.
Our approach is 2 fold:

• Reducing the energy requirements of the phone by:

1. Focusing on the key essential functions: Calling, messaging, managing contacts and taking pictures.
2. Mechanizing those functions (displays, ringtone): The screen of a phone requires a lot of energy to keep the information, by creating simple yet mechanical displays, we reduce the amount of energy required.

• Optimizing the efficiency of kinetics energy gathering system: We have patented different systems to gather kinetic energy from the user, we are now working on improving the efficiency of those systems so we can use them to power both the mechanics and the platform of the phone.

It is the convergence of those 2 streams of research that  will allow Celsius X VI II to reach it’s dream.

TH: Like Apple, you aim at fusing aesthetics and technology, and like Apple, you keep a fair amount of secrecy regarding your products. How much inspiration do you draw from them?
EM: While we are going in the completely opposite direction in terms of technology, we drew a lot of inspiration from Apple:
The product innovation is just a small component of their model… innovation must be everywhere: Business model, process, network, brand, distribution channel, consumer experience. Only Apple has truly been innovative in all aspects: from the Business Model (ITunes) to the consumer experience (Apple store).
In a different way, that’s what we want to achieve… behind LeDIX we have created what we call the Celsius X VI II Ecosystem, including everything from accessories to services, to provide what we hope to be a truly holistic approach to our partners and customers.

TH: Richard Mille is said to be involved in the project, and your father, if we’re not mistaken, is the former CEO of Audemars Piguet. How much watchmaking knowledge is involved in LeDIX’s creation? Do you think that luxury phones will one day attain the status of luxury watches?
EM: My father was indeed the former CEO of AP, but he is not involved in this project, but obviously that helped me open many doors.
A lot of watchmaking knowledge is involved, we work with the best watchmakers. A product like LeDIX was a real challenge because of its size and because of the interferences created by the combination of metal parts and antennas.

TH: What other technologies did you have to develop for LeDIX?
EM: As mentioned earlier, we had to develop a telecom platform for our product. It was extremely complex because of the amount of metal and moving parts involved in LeDIX, but we had the chance to work hand in hand with Sagem Wireless, our sister company (Sagem Wireless is owned by Sofinnova Partners, one of our main investors)

TH: In addition to LeDIX, does Celsius X VI II have other products coming up?
EM: This is our first product it will be in the market in September 2010. We have many other concepts in the pipeline. The next one will be revealed by the end of 2010… it’s another innovative product, in line with the first one but getting us one step closer to our dream…

TH: How does the luxury market stand out from other sectors?
EM: Luxury is a term that has been over used, to a point that it has lost its true meaning.
At Celsius X VI II we call the top the pyramid, the Prestige Segment. It follows different rules from any other segment, especially in terms of marketing. In the prestige segment you don’t talk about positioning, a prestige brand doesn’t compare with the other brands, it sets its own rules and codes… and this simple principle impacts all the rules of marketing.
For anyone who wants to learn more about the luxury market and how it differs from other markets I recommend the amazing book from Jean-Noël Kapferer: The Luxury Strategy, break the rules of marketing to build luxury brands.

TH: Did you encounter challenges during your transition from working for DESCO in Asia to running your own company in Europe?
EM: The main challenge was to accept that you have to do everything yourself, even the most tedious tasks… but as an entrepreneur you know why you are doing this.

TH: Do you have any advice for high-aiming young entrepreneurs?
EM: Create an environment around you that will bring you “luck”… I believe that people that tend to be lucky have created around them an environment that favors the surge of opportunities. How do you do that?

• Active networking… not just gathering addresses
• Choose interesting fields (knowledge, location, skills, etc.) where you can grow and that will set you apart
• Listen and be proactive

General features

• Clamshell mobile phone with Sagem, 2.75G Platform/ integrated watch movement
• Around 600 mechanical parts, including 330 in the watch movement alone
• Weight ~245g
• Structure entirely milled from a block of grade 5 titanium
• Some parts of the structure require more than 8 hours of individual milling, within an overall process involving more than 40 hours for the structure alone
• High-end watchmaking finishes: polishing, satin-brushing, Clous de Paris hobnail pattern, shotblasting
• Dedicated Celsius X VI II screws with indents at ten, six and two hours recalling the Celsius X VI II logo
• LeDIX is available in two limited editions:
• LeDIX Origine, limited edition of 18 in grade 5 titanium with ebony inserts
• LeDIX Sport, limited edition of 28 in black PVD-treated titanium with carbon fibre inserts
• Inserts in solid ebony wood (LeDIX Origine edition), exclusively treated to resist to temperature differences and humidity, while maintaining a natural look and feel; or carbon fibre inserts (Le DIX Sport edition) with 3D effects

Mechanical movement

• Patented mechanical hinge (Remontage Papillon), serving to harness and store the kinetic energy generated by the user. On this specific model the energy is then used to activate the mechanical system
• Hinge with clicks and bevel pinions
• 100-hour power reserve indicator positioned at 7 o’clock and displayed over a 200° angle
• Each opening and closing of the clamshell phone generates an additional 3 hours of power reserve
• Flying Solitaire tourbillon visible on both sides
• World’s most off-centred tourbillion (36 mm)
• Regulating organ mounted on shock-absorbers (4 springs)
• Barrel disengageable by a slipping spring
• Steel hands coated with Superluminova
• Time-setting via the crown at 12 o’clock
• Labelled: “Manufacturé en Suisse”
• Movement integrated within water-resistant box in aluminium treated with GL coating of titanium and ceramics to ensure extreme resistance
• Dial featuring black gold finishing with three-dimensional logo and hour-markers
• High-end watchmaking finishes: satin-brushed black gold, rhodium-plated and bevelled bridges, circular graining

The phone

• Mechanical battery-ejection system, Clous de Paris hobnail pattern
• Main connector protected by a mechanical-locking flap
• Mechanical screen-cover shock-absorbing system ensured by spring-mounted beads
• 7 main sapphire parts, some much larger than conventional watchmaking standards and featuring two radii of curvature
• Camera lenses and flash protected by sapphire lenses
• Volume buttons designed like chronograph pushbuttons
• Mechanical engraving
• Logo featured at the back of the phone and on the dial

Technology

• Technology developed in cooperation with Sagem Wireless, renowned for the high quality and reliability of its platforms. Every platform is tested to meet the Sagem standards.
• User interface deliberately simple, user friendly and designed to optimize the understanding and the ergonomics. It’s been proven that the global perception of a human being doesn’t go beyond 7 elements, therefore the main menu includes only 7 essential features”
- 2 functions: validate and back,
- 4 applications most used: Call, messaging, camera and address book,
- 1 direct access to a sub-menu that includes internet, email, agenda and other additional applications
• Phone Sagem 2,75 G GSM-GPRS-EDGE : Triband 900/1800/1900MHz
• Screen AM-OLED : 2.2” QVGA 320×240 262k colours
• Photo / Video : 3.2Mpix camera, Autofocus, Flash, Digital Zoom
• Music : MP3, AAC, AAC+, Music Player. Stereo, 3D sound
• Video streaming, video capture and playback, progressive download
• Bluetooth 1.2 Profile : AADP, AVRCP
• MMS, Java application, 2Go internal memory (SD card)
• Browser open source
• Battery: Li-Ion 770mAh, >3.5 hours of talking time, 240 hours of power reserve in standby mode
• Multi-lingual interface, including: French, English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Arabic
• Simple data transfer system. By transferring the SD card and the SIM card from one device to another all private data is deleted from the original device and transferred to the new one.

Ecosystem of accessories

• Minimum of 3 hand-stitched leather accessories per set. All items are designed by Celsius X VI II and made by specialized craftsmen
• Mechanical Hands-Free Kit in leather and polished /satin-brushed metal. This “tie pin” accessory includes an ingenious system ensuring the wires do not tangle
• Mechanical Docking Station in wood, leather and polished and satin-brushed metal to recharge and synchronize the phone. A mechanical system enables easy docking and undocking of the phone
• Mechanical presentation box crafted in noble materials

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