Luxury giant Richemont has announced the appointments of two new chief executive officers at its luxury timepiece brands Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin, respectively.

Jérôme Lambert, currently Richemont’s chief operating officer, has been promoted to the role of CEO at Jaeger-LeCoultre, effective January 1.

A veteran of the Swiss luxury group, Lambert has previously served as CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Richemont group.

“It is with profound honour and genuine pleasure that I return to the grande maison, the place where I first set foot into the magnificent world of Swiss watchmaking. This opportunity is both a privilege and a homecoming to the craft and heritage that have shaped my career,” said Lambert.

In a separate press release, Richemont also announced the appointment of Laurent Perves to the role of CEO of Vacheron Constantin, effective January 1.

Perves succeeds Louis Ferla with whom he worked closely for the past eight years.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Perves joined the luxury watchmaker  in 2016, serving first as chief marketing officer, and as chief commercial officer since 2021.

The executive began his career at the LVMH group as change manager within its perfumes and cosmetics category, before working ten years in the prestige products’ division of Procter & Gamble, and then serving in a global brand leadership position on Gucci Parfums.

From here, he joined the watchmaking industry in 2014 as head of brand communication for Audemars Piguet, building specific capabilities in digital platforms and trade marketing while reinventing the brand communication campaign, according to a press release.

Richemont’s luxury watchmaking division has suffered from a sales blow in recent quarters, hit hard by the industry-wide luxury slowdown affecting most luxury firms including Kering and LVMH.

In its most recent trading update, Richemont said sales at its specialist watchmakers segment fell by 17% at actual exchange rates (-16% at constant exchange rates) to €1.7 billion with a 9.7% operating margin on a weakness in the Chinese market.