Ulysse Nardin, Stephen Silver Open Tech-Driven Boutique In Menlo Park

Forbes

20-03-2025

Francois-Xavier Hotier, Jared Silver and Patrick Pruniaux lead the ribbon cutting ceremony at the ... [+] Ulysse Nardin boutique opening at The Villa Menlo Park
Ulysse Nardin officially opened its first boutique in North America on Tuesday at The Villa Menlo Park in Silicon Valley, owned and operated by Watch and jewelry retailer, Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry.
'It was very obvious that we needed to be in the center of gravity when it comes to innovation, worldwide,' said Patrick Pruniaux, Ulysse Nardin CEO. 'Also, we realize that there are a great number of watch enthusiasts in the tech industry that have an interest for our watches. And they are becoming more enthusiastic and more interested of luxury watches. They want to understand why some brands are more innovative than others. Why some brands leverage their heritage and their expertise in horology.'
The location also served as a bit of a homecoming for Pruniaux, who received a Master's degree in business from Stanford University, just a few miles away.
The new Ulysse Nardin boutique does provide an expression of its heritage and its history of innovation.
The new Ulysse Nardin boutique at The Villa Menlo Park
The long, narrow space of approximately 1,000 square feet is designed by architect Bertrand Fairerol, a long-time collaborator with Ulysse Nardin. 'I wanted to create a space where time becomes tangible,' Fairerol said in a statement.
It combines both the high-tech nature and entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley—the home of many start-up and global technology companies—as well as the essence of the watch brand. It pays tribute to the Ulysse Nardin signature timepiece, The Freak, its uniquely innovative approach to watchmaking, and its nautical heritage. To create this environment the space employs neutral metallic shades, a long mirrored wall and a sea-inspired blue highlights.
There's a space on a wall dedicated to a brief history of the company. From its founding in 1846, the creation of its groundbreaking marine chronometers in the 19th and 20th centuries, through its revival in the 1980s when businessman, Rolf W. Schnyder, took over the company, and its groundbreaking invention of the Freak timepiece, which redefined how a watch measures time.
The mirrored wall in the Ulysse Nardin boutique at The Villa Menlo Park correctly reflects the ... [+] reverse phrase "Silicon Inside"
The boutique's location in Silicon Valley allows the watch brand to boast about its use of silicon for the escapement of the first Freak timepiece in 2001 and for nearly all their watches since. To emphasize this, a light installation inside the boutique spells out 'Silicon Inside,' in reverse, so it can only be viewed correctly through the mirrored wall on the opposite side. There's silicon in its raw form below the lighted sign and examples of silicon semiconductors.
The brand's historic ties to marine chronometers are represented in the boutique's blue carpets, resin floors and the smooth finishes of its furnishings inspired by rocks polished by ocean waves.
Layered, diffused lighting represents the sky while the horizon is symbolized through reflective surfaces and textured materials that blend transparency and depth.
The new Ulysse Nardin boutique at The Villa Menlo Park in Menlo Park
In the back of the store is a digital screen with brand images. An image of the Freak movement is on one wall near the front of the space.
Pruniaux stresses that the space isn't just a place to make transactions, but an environment that encourages community among those who have a passion and interest in high horology.
'When you come here, maybe you want to chat. Maybe you want to buy, or maybe not. Maybe you buy later. Maybe you buy in a year from now, maybe two years,' he said. 'It doesn't matter. I think it's a long-term view that is very much aligned with what someone may want when discovering the brand.'
Details of the new Ulysse Nardin boutique at The Villa Menlo Park include a sketch of the Freak ... [+] movement, a pictorial history of the brand and a digital screen in the back of the store
In addition to being in the center of Silicon Valley, Pruniaux said that the environment being built by Jared Silver and Stephen Silver president and founder of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, respectively, aligns with Ulysse Nardin values.
'Stephen Silver has proven over the years that it is skilled in providing a unique expertise, explaining great watch brands and promoting independent watch brands. And I think the fact that we are independent is a very strong point. We've been around for almost 180 years, and we have a very long-term view. We work with partners who know how to talk about our watchers. That know how to explain our brand. Who are driven both by educating the consumer and sharing the passion. It is not just transactional. I think matters a lot. It's the best part of working with Steven Silver."
For Ulysse Nardin, it is about the 20th boutique worldwide and the first in North America since the company closed its two U.S. boutiques in 2022.
Ulysse Nardin is the third independent watch brand to open a boutique in The Villa Menlo Park. H. Moser & Cie opened a space next door in February and MB&F opened the first space in January. Pruniaux views the other two watch brands as good company.
Freak watches on display at the new Ulysse Nardin boutique at The Villa Menlo Park
'When you look at the three watch brands that are here, they're very different from one from another, but they display the variety of what the independent watch industry stands for,' he said, adding that the environment in the Villa Menlo Park is 'the perfect alignment of partnership, location and brand messaging. It cannot be better than that.'
The approximate 36,000-square-foot, three-level retail and lifestyle space is still under construction. In addition to the three watch boutiques, it houses the newly located Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry store and an upscale restaurant with a Cal-Indian menu focused on wood-fire cooking. Under construction is a retail space for the German luxury watch safe company, Buben & Zōrweg. All the businesses are located on the first floor.
The upper floors will include a private high jewelry space for Stephen Silver and an event space.
Jared Silver describes the complex as a 'cultural center' in an affluent suburb that has very few places for residents to gather. 'If people call it a luxury mall, then we have failed,' he said.
The crowd attending the Ulysse Nardin boutique opening on March 18th at The Villa Menlo Park
When completed sometime this year, it will host a weekly farmer's market, concerts and other community and cultural events on a plaza outside the building. Inside may be used for rotating art collections, and certainly the event space and restaurant.
'What we want to be is a place for the community to come and discover new things and discover the rare things in life. The rare things in life aren't just a rare watches or rare jewels. It's creating moments where people can connect with others,' Jared said. 'We want this to be a place where people can come and gather and as a place for discovery.'
Jared and his father Stephen are longtime owners of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry in Silicon Valley. Jared said the community is the most underserved in Silicon Valley and is ripe for growth so when the building was available, they saw its potential.
'There's an incredible amount of wealth generation being created here compared to other parts of the world. So, when we got the opportunity to move into this building we jumped at it,' Jared says. 'There's just such limited real estate in this community that comes available that it was something that we had to jump on.'
Jared says that by partnering with important independent watch brands like Ulysse Nardin, the store has the potential to be center of a watch community within the residential community.
'The experience is important. The experience of coming into a place, sitting down at a table, looking into the eyes of someone that is a representative from that retailer or that brand, and having that experience makes it special,' he said.
Jared says some of the most fun he has as a watch retailer is when he helps a client find a special watch, sharing the passion they have for unique timepieces.
'The watch community is a super passionate community. Sometimes it's because it's technical. Sometimes because they're just drawn to the design and the beauty. Sometimes it's because it's truly a social hobby for people. They appreciate being able to hunt down that one watch or that one variant. Sometimes it's access to that new watch. Sometimes it's hunting for an old one that's out of production. We're like consultants for people.
'We're like treasure hunters. Growing up, I always thought my dad was a treasure hunter, like Indiana Jones. And occasionally I get to hunt down a watch for a client.'