Why the name SevenFriday for a watch brand?

‘‘It is such an ice-breaker, this name,” says Daniel Niederer, clearly used to the opening question of any interview—What’s SevenFriday? It means ‘Sieze the Day’. But, as per the founder, it is a modern way of saying it—Friday being the happiest day of the week, the name makes sure you have seven happy days. 

Having been in the industry for over a decade, he’s seen the ups and downs of the Swiss watch and luxury industry with a ringside view. Having lived and travelled to Australia, Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok, “I got to learn about watch brands. It was interesting and challenging, but I began to dislike how the industry functioned”. He claims it is corrupt and ego-driven. “And when you know the real numbers versus the large claims made, you know that it is all about ego and image. I grew tired of its hypocrisy and double-standards.” Then he had a mid-life crisis and thought, “I’d like to do business my way. I decided that if I did and it didn’t work, I wouldn’t blame anyone. But if it did, good.’’

Daniel Niederer, Founder, SevenFriday

So here we are—five years after SevenFriday was launched and sold in about 90 countries and 700 points-of-sale. His stake in the design house ensures unlimited creative innovation in his watches. When he started, he had a few definite ideas in mind: “No.1 It shouldn’t have my name. That’s a dangerous thing to do. The ego gets in the way. No.2 I didn’t want a French name, implying we have history. I’m Swiss German. And we’re a young brand.” To build a Swiss brand, you have to have history and tell a story, he says. You need ten years and ten million. He had none of these. “But I have learnt from the history of this industry, how it works in Switzerland, China and India.”

At every point he and his team began challenging the Swiss standards. “Standards need to be dynamic and must change with the times. What does ‘Swiss-made’ mean to the world?” While he concedes on quality and assembling, he feels the industry pushed the phrase ‘Swiss Made’ too far. SevenFriday makes it clear they are a Swiss brand, but they don’t produce in Switzerland. They buy the movements from Japan, production comes from factories in China, “where we keep a stringent eye on manufacturing and quality control”. The assembling is also done in China. To avoid confusion, each watch states what it does where. He shows me a large watch with so much scribbled on the case that it requires a microscope to read.

SevenFriday watches are large to begin with. And while they give an illusion of being very complicated, they are not. It’s just an illusion and a different way of seeing time, Daniel assures us, showing me the Punk Watch which was a limited-edition piece celebrating punk history in London. The first year, he produced only 1,000 watches and said to himself if he sold them, he will survive. He did. In fact, he sold 12,000. The shortage of the product pushed the demand for it. The first year they sold in the US and the Philippines, then expanded to the Middle East, South East Asia, parts of Europe and at times he had to stop, as production couldn’t keep up. Now production has stepped up to 40,000. Priced at $1,000 to $1,500, he once walked with two prototypes at the Basel Show and asked a few insiders what they thought the watches cost. He was happily surprised when they estimated the range between $3,000 to $15,000. That perception helped a lot.

The watches have more visual complications than mechanical ones. They do elaborate dials, with different levels and finishes, which makes the watch look pretty rich; the kind that attracts people with a creative flair—architects, musicians, designers and a young target audience, because as he says, “we almost exclusively built the brand on social media”.

SevenFriday prides itself on the cushion-shaped watch, which is not exactly proliferated in the market. You are not going to find a round one yet in their collection, because as he says, what use is it to do the same thing that everyone else does? “Playing safe doesn’t build a brand,” he says.

So, for all of you who may not be designers, musicians, architects or fall into the 7Friday TG, take a look and see if a conversion to a timepiece that looks good and fits well with the pocket,  could happen.