There are people we meet through work who remain names in an address book, appointments in a calendar, familiar faces across a table. And then there are people who quietly cross that line, without announcement, without effort, and become part of our personal history. Jean-Marie Schaller was one of those rare people. His passing on May 16, 2026 is a profound loss to the world of independent watchmaking, but also to everyone who had the privilege of knowing the man behind Les Ateliers Louis Moinet.
Much will rightly be written about his creative vision, his role in reviving the name of Louis Moinet, and the extraordinary timepieces that carried his imagination into the hands of collectors around the world. He was founder, CEO and creative director, but titles never fully captured him. Jean-Marie was larger than any designation, not because he sought grandeur, but because he made everything around him feel alive.
Who was Jean-Marie Schaller of Louis Moinet?
I first met him through work. I was an agency head servicing his account, and he was already deeply immersed in the world he had built around Louis Moinet. Over the years, we met at watch fairs in Basel and Geneva, and later at Dubai Watch Week. Those meetings were meant to be professional, structured around appointments, press presentations, new launches, hurried coffees and the odd lunch/dinner amidst the busy rhythm of the watch industry. Yet with Jean-Marie, formality rarely lasted more than a few minutes.
He had an infectious smile. More importantly, he had warmth. The kind of warmth that did not feel rehearsed or strategic. The kind that made you feel welcome before a single watch was presented. He had the hospitality of a man who understood that relationships matter as much as craftsmanship, and that a conversation, when offered sincerely, can become a memory. Jean-Marie did not merely show watches. He shared stories.
How Jean-Marie made watchmaking feel human
In his presence, watchmaking was not a cold mechanical discipline. It was art, history, astronomy, courage, curiosity and emotion. He could speak about a material, a movement, a dial or a design idea with the excitement of someone discovering it for the first time, even if he had spent years bringing it to life. That was the beauty of his passion. It did not grow tired. It did not become routine. It remained bright, generous and deeply personal.
To call him a legend or a genius would be too easy. Those words are used often as buzzwords, and sometimes they flatten the person they are meant to honour. Jean-Marie deserves something more human. He was a man who gave time a soul. He understood that a watch is not only an instrument that measures seconds, minutes and hours. It can hold memory. It can carry imagination. It can remind us of who we were when we first saw it, who we were with, what we felt, and why that moment mattered. His creations reflected that rare instinct. They were not made only to impress. They were made to connect.
Why Jean-Marie’s kindness defined his legacy
But the Jean-Marie I will remember most is not only the creator standing proudly beside his work. It is the man whose kindness appeared naturally, without theatre. Years ago, when both my sons were still in school, they launched a charity initiative to support an orphanage. It was a modest effort, sincere and innocent, driven by the simple desire to help. When Jean-Marie heard about it, he responded in a way that revealed the essence of who he was. He offered a watch so that my children could auction it online and raise money for the cause. It was not a transaction. It was not publicity. It was not a favor dressed as business. It was generosity in its purest form.
His generosity became a family memory
He saw two young men trying to do something good, and he chose to support them. He did not make the moment about himself. He did not attach conditions. He simply gave. And in doing so, he gave my sons far more than an object to auction. He gave them an example. He showed them that success, when guided by grace, can become a source of light for others. That is the measure of a person.
Remembering Jean-Marie’s warmth and creativity
In the last few years, after I launched MENA Newswire, I became absorbed in building, working, surviving the demands of a startup. Like many people, I allowed time to pass. I thought there would be another fair, another message, another meeting, another chance to reconnect. Life deceives us that way. It makes tomorrow feel guaranteed.
There is an old saying that the bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. Those words feel painfully true today. I wish I had stayed in closer touch. I wish I had told him again how much I valued his friendship, his kindness, his encouragement and the many memories he left behind. But grief should not be allowed to erase gratitude. And gratitude is what remains.
Basel, Geneva and Dubai Watch Week memories
I am grateful for the meetings in Basel, Geneva and Dubai. Grateful for the conversations that began with watches and ended with friendship. Grateful for the smile that seemed to arrive before him. Grateful for his warmth, his hospitality, his generosity and his unforced humanity. Grateful that my children encountered, through him, a living lesson in kindness.
A spirit that will remain at Louis Moinet
The company he built will continue to carry his spirit. Les Ateliers Louis Moinet announced that Nathanaël Schaller, who worked alongside his father for the past six years, will continue the path shaped by Jean-Marie’s philosophy and creative vision, with Kurt Kupper serving as acting CEO. But for those who knew Jean-Marie personally, his absence will not be measured in business terms. It will be felt in quieter places: in the missing handshake, the missing smile, the missing conversation, the missing sparkle in the room when a new idea was being shared.
Happy memories from a life that touched many
Heaven, I believe, will be a happier place with Jean-Marie in it. For the rest of us, this world will continue to hold traces of him. In the watches he imagined. In the atelier he built. In the people he encouraged. In the memories he left behind. In every act of generosity done without noise. In every reminder that creativity matters most when it remains connected to kindness.
I will remember Jean-Marie with gratitude. His smile, his warmth, his creativity and his kindness remain part of the many lives he touched. For a man who understood time so deeply, his greatest legacy may be this: he made the moments he shared with others feel generous, human and unforgettable.
Author: Ajay Rajguru is the Founder and CEO of MENA Newswire, a multilingual newswire and content distribution network. He also oversees several media-tech companies including Newszy, Integrated Identity, ConSynSer, MEAPMP and CryptoWire.