Neither a watchmaker nor a designer.  Just a magician.  Born in southwest France in 1971, for Frédéric Garinaud the road to watchmaking and Opus 8 had an interesting and unlikely origin. Neither watchmaker nor designer by trade, Garinaud got his start in the French naval academy where he specialized as an on-board mechanic.  In 1999, Garinaud attended the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Lyon, France, to formalize his graduate studies.  He began working as a development manager for special machinery in a galvanoplasty laboratory, and in 2001, he joined Audemars Piguet (Renaud&Papi) as a technical office manager.

In 2005, paving the way for his current role, Garinaud founded the watchmaking specialties unit La Cellule des Spécialités Horlogères (CSH). Aiming to bridge ultramodern training with watchmaking tradition, the unit combines all of the trades involved in watchmaking -- from drawings to timing, to development and construction, and even micromechanical manufacture, decoration and product assembly.  Garinaud wanted to bring to high-quality watchmaking some of the product developments that have enriched and advanced our consumer world, including: microelectronics, clothing design, ecology and innovative materials.

At the heart of Garinaud’s work is unbridled creativity and pure emotion, which he hopes will resonate within the future owners of his remarkable designs.  A modest man with extraordinary talent, Frédéric Garinaud’s passion and visionary style has already made an impressive impact on high-quality watchmaking.  Known as a “Magician” by those he has worked with, Garinaud’s avant-garde designs challenge traditional precepts within the industry.