Our Story

2007: The Birth of Techné

While working on a team to turn around one of Europe’s largest watch distributors, the flailing Sector Group (now part of the Morellato Group), Francis Jacquerye (standing to the far right on the picture) envisioned Techné—a brand inspired by the Ancient Greek word τέχνη (meaning art, skill, craft, or technique). He registered the trademark in the European Union and the UK, laying the foundation for a brand of affordable, rugged and reliable watches, rooted in retro military aesthetics.

Techné’s philosophy should blend casual style with enduring quality, by emphasising bold and high-contrast designs with tactical materials and earthy tones. The brand should be rooted in Swiss precision and expertise, while maintaining affordability through strategic manufacturing choices.

2009–2013: Laying the Groundwork

Having joined the product team at Longines, a company of Switzerland's biggest watchmaking group in volume (Swatch Group), Francis honed his expertise in Swiss watch development. During this period, he prepared to launch Techné with two associates, designing and engineering collections from Neuchâtel and later Grandson, in Switzerland’s Vaud canton.

In a pioneering move, Techné became the first Western brand to use the Chinese-made Venus 175-based ST-1901 hand-wound chronograph movement (by Tianjin Seagull) in its SparrowHawk collection.

This collection paid tribute to Francis’s great-grandfather, a WWI war hero. Each watch was meticulously fine-tuned and visually inspected in Switzerland to ensuring quality, before reaching customers.

Since then, each new Techné collection has been christened after a bird-named military aircraft, to outline the brand's reference to military History.

2014–2019: Growth and Global Reach

After leaving his position as Head of Design at Longines, Francis established Vantgard Sàrl in Switzerland’s Vaud canton to drive Techné’s development. Like Swiss-based startups BA1110D and CODE41, Techné embraced a hybrid approach, by combining reliable Japanese movements from Miyota, Seiko Instruments and Epson with Swiss movements from ISAswiss, Ronda and more recently, Soprod.

Vantgard Sàrl expanded Techné’s presence to 80 brick-and-mortar stores across four continents and secured trademarks in the USA (2014), Japan (2016), South Korea (2016), Canada (2017) and Malaysia (2020) to solidify its global footprint.

2020–Present: A New Chapter in Sweden

Having relocated his family of four to Sweden, Francis transferred Vantgard Sàrl’s operations to Woodshores AB, a Swedish company that would oversee the management and distribution of Techné.

The brand continues to uphold its commitment to Swiss-engineered, military-inspired watches that offer durability, style and affordability.

Archives

		Techné SparrowHawk World's first Western watch with the Tianjin Seagull ST-1901.
		Techné GosHawk Automatic watch with synched Military Time (24h) display.
		Techné SparrowHawk II World's first Western brand with the Seiko Instruments VK63.
		Techné Merlin Quartz movement with small seconds register.
		Techné Merlin TwinTime Variant with day, date and independent time zone register.
		Techné Harrier Tactical watch for the French Brigades of Research and Intervention BRI.
		Techné HummingBird First Western watch with the quartz sweep seconds VH31.
		Techné SunBird Ranger solar watch with case in recycled fishing nets.
		Techné by SIDUNA, General Purpose Swedish made watch with Swiss Soprod P024 movement.