High Gastronomy and High Horology share dedication to expertise, excellence, and authenticity. Traditional values accompanied by a desire to explore, innovate, and create new objects of desire. Over recent decades, recognition of shared values and a mutually supportive approach have led many players in the luxury lifestyle sector to create partnerships, which also heighten their visibility on the world stage. Far from being poles apart, luxury watchmaking and high gastronomy enjoy a convivial team spirit embodied by friends, ambassadors, and a shared conviction that we must all keep an eye on the clock!

Among renowned chefs focusing on precision and representing luxury watch brands, the legendary Paul Bocuse wore the Rolex Datejust, proclaiming in a 1976 advertisement: “There is no fine cooking without perfect timing”. Known for her intuition and inventiveness, 3-star chef Anne-Sophie Pic wears Hublot’s Big Bang One Click, while Jean-François Piège, a great fan of watches, was once an Ambassador for Piaget. Cédric Grolet, Pastry Chef at Le Meurice in Paris, wears a Pasha Squelette by Cartier, Philippe Etchebest and Mory Sacko, “Top Chef” in France, sport TAG Heuer watches, while Cyril Lignac, owner of several fine addresses in Paris and an enthusiastic collector, has a soft spot for Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Yannic Alléno was given a Hublot watch by Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, when he won a third Michelin star for his restaurant in Courchevel.

A relatively young Swiss watchmaker, founded in 1980, Hublot stepped into the limelight with the world’s first natural rubber strap, then the Big Bang chronograph of 2005. Acquired by LVMH in 2008, it drew public recognition through its sponsorships of top football teams, as official timekeeper for championship events, and by enlisting Ambassadors such as Ayrton Senna, Usain Bolt, Mbappé, Pelé, Maradona…, but also in the arts, music, and gastronomy. Chef Yannick Alléno, for example, heads up Le Pavillon Ledoyen near the Champs-Élysées, a restaurant awarded the highest number of stars worldwide in 2020.

Switzerland’s oldest watchmaker, Blancpain started out in 1735, conjuring up top-quality technical innovations such as the automatic Rolls for women in 1930, and the ultra-reliable Fifty Fathoms for combat divers, commissioned by the French army in 1953. Now part of the Swatch group, the brand’s partnerships with chefs over almost four decades include Paul Bocuse, Glenn Viel of Baumanière, Julien Royer, Dominik Sato, Fabio Toffolon… Joined in February 2025 by a new “Friend”, Christophe Hay, owner of Fleur de Loire in Blois, and dedicated to responsible gastronomy, the local terroir, harmony between heritage and innovation, and an uplifting way of life based on sharing and conviviality.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s “Made of Makers” collaborations highlight creativity in different fields, recently that of Mathieu Davoine, an emerging talent in “chocolaterie”, and Indian chef Himanshu Saini with his 2-star restaurant in Dubai. Back in Geneva, very close ties between the ultimate in watchmaking and gastronomy are exemplified by the reopening of the historic Bavaria brasserie in 2023, now the F.P.Journe Le Restaurant thanks to Michelin-starred chef Dominique Gauthier and artist-watchmaker François-Paul Journe, creator of unique timepieces inspired by heritage masterpieces, but also an Epicurean and lover of fine wines.

Finally, the reality of time ticking by in the kitchen is highlighted by chronometered recipes and cooking times, timers, and clocks on the walls provided by TAG Heuer for Philippe Etchebest and Blancpain for Joël Robuchon. Visual reminders of shared determination to focus on passion for past, present and future, with precision and intricacy the order of the day.