Alex Frei’s name may be relatively unknown outside Swiss football circles but, with 85 outings for the national team, during which he scored a record 42 goals, he is a national treasure, particularly around Basel where he played for five years at FB Basel and later joined the management team.
Now, aged 44, he is entering the Swiss watchmaking business by taking a directorship at DuBois et Fils, one of the country’s oldest firms.
DuBois was founded in Le Locle in 1785 and today produces three lines: dive, pilot and classical three-hand automatics using refurbished movements from the 20th century.
The company also registers each of its watches on the blockchain, so that they can be traced and authenticated throughout their lifetimes.
It is this combination of history and modernity that appears to have attracted Mr Frei to take a role with DuBois.
“I am fascinated by the way they combine traditional watchmaking with modern technology. These watches have that certain something,” he says.
This not the first time DuBois has worked with famous footballers.
For the past year, the company has been compiling what it calls NFT diaries, where famous faces chronicle how a month of their lives look.
These diaries are private, but are opened up to a DuBois customer buying a special edition watch.
It is a bit like paying for a personalised celebrity video message, also known as cameos, from a famous face.
João Cancelo from FC Barcelona and Cristian Romero from Tottenham, have both taken part along with Alexandra Kosteniuk, world chess champion, and Amandine Albisson, prima ballerina at the Paris Opera.
Currently, a DuBois DBF007-03-17 that includes an NFT diary by Cristian Romero is up for auction. Online bidding ends on January 18, and currently stands at CHF 6,200.
