OK I would guess that many of you have seen this watch by now (it has received a fair amount of attention on the ‘Net in recent weeks) but for those of you have not, I am pleased to introduce you to the “Snyper One” by Snyper SA. As you can see below the watch itself is aggressively styled, with a “tactical” or “commando” type design, 100m water resistance and housing a Valjoux 7755S. ?Ǭ†Further, it is available for purchase through the Snyper SA website at a hefty 6’950 CHF. But enough about the watch already – what is more intriguing to me at the moment is the “who” of this young, Geneva-based brand.


Like a real-world sniper who operates under stealth and secrecy, so too has Snyper SA seemingly shrouded itself, seemingly by design, in secrecy. ?Ǭ†For example, there is no “About Us” section on the company’s website. ?Ǭ†If one reads the “History” section it does not offer much insight into the “who” of this brand, but it does in a sense beg the curious mind to dig deeper – if only to learn more about the vague references about an adventure?Ǭ†which “started summer 2008 on the French Riviera, when the so-called Snypers (they have been calling each other this way for years) decided to build a watch brand that is named after their friendship and offered to the people sharing their vision.”

Who are these so-called Snypers??Ǭ† What do they do??Ǭ† Are they covert operatives, wealthy guys with a lot of spare time on their hands, passionate watch enthusiasts, or all of the above? I admit, I’m curious.

So, just for fun I decided to embark on a little bit of counterintelligence on this “secret society” :-)?Ǭ† A la Snyper’s Official Facebook Group, we do learn more, but still not the full story. ?Ǭ†The Facebook group’s officers are listed as Laurent Reiss (Snyper 8), Jean-Francois Ruchonnet, (Watch Designer, Snyper 2), Snyper (Snyper 9), Joseph Hanein (Snyper 7), and Cameron Pahlavi (Snyper 4). ?Ǭ†This leaves “Snypers” 1, 3, 5 and 6 yet unaccounted for, at least for those of us “not in the know.”?Ǭ†?Ǭ† Further browsing reveals that aside from Snyper 2 (JF Ruchonnet), the eight other Snypers are “private investors in multiple sectors all linked by their taste of the international good life and a true passion for watches.”

Hmmm…now of course there are many watch brands today for which the “who” behind the brand is of little consequence or notoriety.?Ǭ† And there are other brands for which the “who” is an integral, even essential part of a brand’s success and identity.?Ǭ† So again I ask you, who is behind Snyper SA? Your insights are most welcome.

Kyle Stults is Founder & President of Perpetuelle.com, a new online community for watch owners, collectors & enthusiasts.
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