At CLUSE, we care about how we produce and how our products reach our customers. And we realize that each product has an end-of-life date, therefore we must also care about what happens next.

How it’s made has always been a key part of our brand’s DNA. Before we started CLUSE, we were active in the watch industry as retailers. There were a lot of things we liked about the fashion watch industry, but there were also parts that we thought could be improved. Quality was the key word. And this is how we decided on the name for our brand. CLUSE is named after the town of Cluses in France, just over the border near Switzerland. Cluses used to be known for its watch making institute. We wanted to honor the craft of watch making by naming our watch brand after this renowned watchmaker’s town.

We believe that a qualitative watch should have the potential to last for generations. And once its ‘life’ is no longer sustainable, the product should be recycled as much as possible. When it comes to our packaging, we have a similar approach.

Here are some of the steps we have taken in our ongoing journey to produce responsibly.

When we started CLUSE, we selected our partners carefully. We were determined to make sure that manufacturing and our products comply with the international regulations for our industry. In addition independent third parties test our products both mechanically as well as chemically.

CLUSE is an Amfori member. As such, we require our suppliers to comply with the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) standards. We had to postpone our 2020 audits, but in 2021, provided the Covid-19 restrictions allow it, we will hold independent third party BSCI audits at our manufacturers.

As with our products, our approach to logistics is pragmatic. We don’t like failed delivery attempts. It means another ride by the delivery van, and it means a longer wait for our customer. The delivery success rate is therefore a key element when we make our choice for a carrier. And where possible, we try to work with carriers who can safely deliver our products to our customers directly in the letter box or at a carrier drop off point.

We try to limit the amount of returns from our end consumers. From the start, we’ve done this by trying to avoid over-promising. This means that while our product looks beautiful in our pictures, we’re not overdoing the editing. We don’t like returns because the product didn’t look as nice in real life. Furthermore, we try to help customers as much as we can by clearly communicating our product specifications, such as the exact size of the product, which is key when ordering a watch, a jewellery piece or a new watch strap. In 2021, we introduced the ‘paperless return option’ for our customers in several markets, which enables the customer to return an item without having to print a return shipment label at home.

Our watches are sold by retailers worldwide. A customer of an official CLUSE retailer may return a product purchased at that retailer for service. In case of a warranty issue, we try to limit the number of watches returned by the retailer to us for service purposes. Instead, we opt as much as possible for local repair or exchange, allowing for higher service levels and avoiding back and forth transportation of our products.

At times, we donate our products to causes we believe in. We prefer to connect directly with those we support. For example, during the Covid-19 lockdowns in France and the Netherlands, we showed our support to the staff of nursing homes. In 2021, we donated products to an organization that helps people, to make a great impression during a job interview. In 2023, we provided support to an orphanage in Cluj, the city that is home to one of the core members of our IT team.