Camille Fournet

The adjustment holes

These little holes, through which the buckle's prong passes, allow to adjust the size of the strap around the wrist.
Bullcalf leather

The leather of a bull, aged 18 to 20 months, tanned with a grained finish. A material that we truly love at Camille Fournet.
The backing

A secret in leather craftsmanship. A piece of material that is more or less rigid, placed between two leather parts to give them hold and resistance, reduce the natural suppleness of the skin and thereby create the more structured shapes of the bag or straps.
The backstitch

Backstitch is a generic term in stitching. Generally, it entails three stitches, doubled, which allows to end the stitch by blocking the thread. For a cleaner, more resistant finish, the threads are melted with a hot iron.
Burnishing

Done with the help of a heated iron, or filliteuse, this is the artisanal technique that allows to bring together all the different layers of leather at the edge, then underline it with a crease. Useful and esthetically pleasing.
The bar tack

This is a type of stitch, done by hand, which allows to hold the base of the buckle in place on the strap. It thereby limits its movement.
The calender machine

An indispensable machine, made of two cylinders that apply pressure to the materials. In leather crafting, it is used on two pieces of leather that have just been glued together, in order to reinforce their assembly and ensure the glue is evenly applied.
Calfskin leather with rubber touch

Calfskin tanned with a “rubber” finish offers the skin greater resistance to humidity. It has nothing in common with actual rubber, rather, simply offers a final appearance that can recall it. Ideal for watchstrap linings.
The chape

In leather craftsmanship, this indicates a piece of leather that is folded around a metallic piece or accessory to attach it to the bag.
The cutter

This is a noble profession in leatherworking. The cutter is the artisan in charge of cutting the leathers. His responsibility entails optimizing the cut of the skins and selecting the best parts to use on the handbags and watchstraps.
Cut strap

This is a type of leather watch strap whose edges are cut prior to being painted. There also exists an alternate finish: the folded-edge.
The cutting templates

Cutting templates aren't simply reserved for baking. They're molds with edges that cut, generally made of steel, which allow the artisan to perfectly cut a piece of leather into the desired dimensions.
Embossing

Highly present in traditional leather craftsmanship, embossing entails an imprint with a relief, created by heat embossing the leather. It can be used to imprint the brand name, the person's initials, or absolutely anything one desires.
The feel (la main, or “the hand”)

In leatherworking, leather always has a specific “feel,” or main (“hand” in French). It expresses the sensation one has when holding the leather is one's hand. A concise term that is both poetic and practical.
Folding the edges

This entails folding the leather over an interior or itself, thereby covering the raw edges at the ends of a piece of leather. One of the classic finishes of a watch strap.
The fold

For the watch strap in particular, the leather is folded onto itself to allow watch to be attached to the strap.
Folded-edge strap

This is a type of finish for leather straps. It entails enveloping the edges of the upper leather, which are folded under the lining. Instead of paint, we only see leather.
Hot embossing

Hot embossing is a form of embossing. It implies marking the leather by using a heated block and a hot stamp. Highly practical to apply one's initials!
The interior

As its name indicates, the interior of a bag or watch strap designates the internal parts. For a strap, the interior is that which is between the leather and the lining. For a bag, the interior more often indicates the lining itself.
The label

Featuring the brand's initials, this little block of brass, once heated, allows to mark the brand's logo on the leather.
Matte, square-scaled alligator leather

The square scales of an alligator are the most noble part of the skin. They are situated on the animal's stomach. The matte finish corresponds to a type of tanning technique that confers this visual aspect. Different finishes are possible: shiny, carbon fiber finish, sanded, etc.
The overcut

When skiving the different pieces of leather, then as they are assembled with glue, the initial dimensions of the cut skin may evolve. For instance, the edges of two pieces of glued leather will no longer be perfectly symmetrical. The overcut lets us restore the precise dimensions originally sought, without error.
Prong

The small, mobile, metallic rod that goes through the holes and holds the buckle in place. To punch the prong slits implies creating the holes in the leather that will allow the prong and buckle to be attached.
Plating

A simple technique that is to be repeated twice, plating with a hot iron allows to meld the paint of the edges with the leather.
Punching stitch holes

This is a stitching technique that indicates the places of the beginning or end of the stitching, and/or that implies pre-piercing the holes with a sewing machine but without thread, that allows to prepare and facilitate the manual labor of hand-stitching.
skiving tools

These are the small tools that allow to define the type of paring that you'd like to create - flat or beveled - depending on the item. The bevel form can take on many variations: pointed or angled, for instance.
The rod

In leatherworking, the rod is an invisible metallic piece, generally flat, that is placed under the leather to screw on the handle of the bag. It thereby ensures greater hold and resistance at the handle, faced with the weight it must hold.
The rings

Rings have specific purposes, in armory and horseback riding, for instance. In leatherworking, rings are the metal pieces that attach the handles to the bag.
We fold the leather of the handles around the rings. The rings are then screwed into the body of the bag.
The relief

Quite simply, the relief is the shape that we wish to give the strap: flat, rounded, squared, or other. The relief is obtained by adding a piece inside the strap, between the main leather and the leather of the lining.
Reinforcement (L'âme, or “soul”)

The element that gives form to a handle or leather strap. Like a person's soul, it is never entirely unbending. In leather goods, it is made of cardboard, cork, plastic, wood or resin. It is covered in leather, and provides structure to the object in which it is used.
Splitting

Splitting is an indispensable step for 98% of Camille Fournet's leathers. It entails, with the help of a dedicated machine, thinning the piece of leather laterally in order to give the skin its desired thickness, suppleness and feel.
The saddle stitch

In the realm of leather goods, stitching is predominantly represented by the saddle stitch. It is created by using two needles attached to the ends of the same thread. The hand allows the thread to alternate in passing one thread over and one thread under at each stitch. It's the most resistant stitch.
The small strap

The small strap is the smaller one of the two on the watch strap. In the case of a strap with a pin buckle, the small strap is the one positioned at 12:00 on the watch.
Skiving

To skive implies thinning the borders of pieces of leather to assemble, to avoid having parts of the leather that are too thick when assembled. An important technique when striving for perfection in every detail.
Scraping

Scraping the leather entails lightly scratching it to make it a bit porous to allow the leathers to better glue to one another.
The straps

These are the two strips of leather that, situated on each side of the watch, make up the strap once attached together.
Smooth calfskin

A calfskin tanned with a smooth finish.
The tip

The tip represents the longer strap of a watch strap's two leather pieces, on which the holes will be featured to adjust the size of the strap. In the case of a watch strap with a pin buckle, the tip is the strap positioned at 6:00 on the watch.
Tanning

Tanning the skin allows to convert a skin into leather, thanks to the use of plant-based or mineral-based materials. After the tanning process, the skins no longer will rot, and they will become supple and resistant, leaving them more resistant to everyday use.

Discover the beautiful story of Camille Fournet

For over seventy years, the house of Camille Fournet has created watch straps and collections of leather goods as it sees fit, which is to say a bit differently.

The story begins in 1945 with Camille Fournet.

When he creates his first watch straps in a small Parisian apartment, surrounded by his first few loyal artisans, Camille Fournet cannot imagine all that's to follow. These past seventy years, which make up what the house of Camille Fournet is today – one of the world's most renowned creators of rare straps, but not solely that… Since 2006, the House has developed its exclusive realm of leather goods, through collections of handbags and small leather goods.

Let us turn back to Camille. Early on, he decides to work with rare, exotic leathers, those which require the greatest care and which are, even today, a source of pride for the House. Working with rare leathers requires the highest degree of mastery and cannot be improvised.

It requires years of experience, extensive research throughout the world, and an unequivocal level of patience prior to mastering the secrets of leathers, wherein knowledge often gives way to intuition.

The artisan knows this better than anyone else. It requires heart, expert hands and a certain state of mind. It requires loving, as much as mastering, the perfect artisanal gestures. That is the price of excellence. It also requires possessing a rare savoir-faire, as well as understanding how to conserve this know-how over time, allowing it to evolve.

Here, it is a question of proximity and continuity. Since 1991, the factory in Tergnier, Picardy, has adhered to these two exigencies in order to define what constitutes the conditions of a product bearing the Made in France emblem that is inspired, playful and innovative.

Yes, innovative. Both in the eyes of its clients, who are passionate about made-to-measure creations and new ideas, as well as being innovative for the House itself, which in turn, serves as a personal challenge. We don't simply manufacture and create in France because it's fashionable. We manufacture in France because it allows us to reinforce the proximity between those who design and those who produce. Because the creative experimentation that is so dear to the House, with its play on contrasts, can only truly flourish by constantly being faced with new ideas and face-to-face dialogue.

To support the artisans in Tergnier, to enhance the beauty of their ideas and savoir-faire in leather goods that are progressively more advanced, we consistently choose to collaborate with object designers. They hail from Ecal and ENSCI, and work with our artisans and their descendants, who join us in larger numbers each year. It's a question of shared loyalty and a desire to progress, all together.

This dynamic also reveals the House's spirit, which has long called upon the eye of young artists. Following Éclats, the village festival created a few years ago by Jean-Luc and Françoise Déchery, the House has now launched the artistic program Equinoxes, a series of two annual invitations, the 21st of September and March, established in the form of mini residencies. A fresh perspective between artists and the House, which questions the meaning attributed to the gestures of the artist, the artisan and the designer.

The link between skillful hands, desires of the heart and creative impulse is never broken.

Jean-Luc and Françoise Déchery
The secret of our skins

Each skin is different and carries with it its own secrets. When these secrets pertain to exotic leathers, working a skin becomes an art, one that the house of Camille Fournet has long perfected.

Everything begins with la main, or the hand. A word which, in leather goods more than anywhere else, signifies many things. La main refers to the physical feeling upon contact with the skin. Its suppleness, texture, body and finish. Everything is embodied by this term, which evokes the contact of skin against skin.

With rare leathers, this contact is strangely even more intense.

For the last seventy years, Camille Fournet has worked with these rare leathers, seeking out the finest in the world. They come from the best farms – from Louisiana for alligator, South Africa for ostrich, France and Italy for calfskin and bullcalf leather.

FROM THE FARM TO THE TANNERIES

It requires multiplying these efforts, working with the greatest tanners, and continuously searching for the best leathers.
The greatest tanneries ensure, under our quality control of the skins, favorable conditions for both the animals raised and the people involved in the tanning process, adhering to the norms outlined by Reach when treating our leathers. A remarkable level of traceability and good practices are guaranteed, from farm to tannery.
The relationship with the tanner grows over time. Trust is built. With over 500 options of colors and leathers today at Camille Fournet, the requirements are tremendous. To understand to what extent, it simply requires imagining the difficulty it takes to obtain the exact same hue on two different skins, as each skin reacts differently to the treatments when dyed.

PRECIOUS, THEREFORE COMPLEX

Leather is not painted, but dyed. Which is a completely different process. The hue will mix with the natural color of the skin, reacting differently depending on the characteristics inherent to the animal in question.
An art in and of itself, practiced under the discerning eye and hand of our artisans. They enclose themselves in a dimly-lit room and, with the help of a light box, control the conformity of the hue, using a spectrocolorimeter to be absolutely certain that the color obtained is within the accepted range. They study the shine of the finish, which is never the same as each animal is different. Additionally, they examine the small flaws of the skin that must imperatively be situated outside the area that will be kept after being cut.
To work with rare skins requires technical competencies and the expert gestures of the artisans. It implies knowing how to handle a skin, foreseeing every infringement on its beauty, along every step of its transformation. The slightest error is unpardonable. It thereby requires perfect precision, extensive experience and the heart to do it well.

THE ORIGINS OF OUR SKINS

let us be precise in their traceability:
Ostrich = South Africa
Alligator = USA (Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Georgia)
Kid = India
Nile Crocodile (Niloticus) = Zimbabwe, South Africa
Saltwater Crocodile (Porosus) = Australia
Python = Indonesia
Bull = France, Spain
Calf = France, Italy

What Fethi Bahri, Camille Fournet's master of leather, says about la main (“the hand”):
“La main is what one feels blindly. It's something that one soaks up. The fullness of the grain, its suppleness, its transparency. The final result, with suppleness that maintains hold, yet isn't firm. The sense of having a second skin. Body, suppleness, hold, and folds…”

THE ASSOCIATION

The house of Camille Fournet is a founding member of the Association Assurance Qualité des Bracelets de Montre (Association for Quality Assurance of Watch Straps), which brings together five of the largest watch strap manufacturers in an organization that leads to continued improvement in traceability, information, and respecting environmental norms in the realm of leather production.
Praise for proximity

Rue Hoche, Tergnier, Picardy, France.

Camille Fournet's manufacture is a source of pride. Each profession seeks to express itself fully, each artisanal gesture strives to be mastered. The movements are learned over the years, but nothing is every fully achieved. We must constantly learn. Because the story of our House is nourished by savoir-faire and innovation, two entirely different qualities that must be aligned. It is essential that we be able to bring together ideas, stay closely focused on the hand work while giving it the space it needs, and time to reflect. Finding balance, in sum, between the perfect technical gesture and new ideas. Cultivating the fruits of the exceptional collaborative effort between experienced artisans and frenetic designers. For that, one element is essential: proximity. Our manufacture is located just outside of Paris, in Tergnier, France. There, we carry on and develop our demand for excellence, as we have since it opened, in 1991.

A FOCUS ON EXCHANGING

The manufacture is never set in stone. Year after year, it grows, welcoming new members and new expertise to progress, without varying in the resulting excellence. Today, the manufacture has over 280 members dedicated to creating unique watch straps and, since 2011, the House's collections of leather goods. The ateliers must share their skills and desire to work well. Their savoir-faire, precision, understanding of made-to-measure creations and artisanal creativity are encouraged daily. It entails mastering the subtleties of the rare leathers that Camille Fournet offers. Also, consistently searching new ways to do what we've been doing so well since 1945. And this requires space. 2000 square meters have just been added to bring us to an overall surface area of 6000 square meters. A space in which one can express oneself in the greatest conditions.

200 ARTISANS PERPETUATE EXCELLENCE

We ceaselessly seek a form of perfection, which is particularly difficult to achieve in the realm of leather, a living, surprising material. One skin is never identical to another. It is in this unbalanced equilibrium that we must create, and constantly progress.
Organization and adaptation. The House produces more than 100,000 made-to-measure watch straps each year, no two of which are ever identical. Camille Fournet's 200 artisans are at the heart of the project, those through whom the savoir-faire is passed from one generation to the next. They give their love for quality work. It is necessary to show them the greatest respect and trust. We therefore give them the keys to the factory. A form of self-management, which unleashes their energy and desire to progress. From one generation to the next. Many children and grandchildren of Camille Fournet's first loyal artisans carry on the House's tradition of innovation through the 21st century.
And it's only just the beginning…

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