When I first came across On shoes, over a decade ago, I was living in Senegal and visiting the Silicon Valley for work. I was immediately struck by the unique futuristic yet comforting looks. I certainly did not expect that, half a dozen pairs later, I would be living in the town where the man behind the iconic Cloud design was born and raised. Even less that I’d be sitting with him, at the now megabrand’s headquarters, talking about watches, shoes and our favorite city, Bienne.

There’s a striking contrast between the cold, hard metals stocked by the thousands across infinite rows of the L. Klein SA’s high-ceiling warehouse and the warm welcome, cozy atmosphere and gentle tone of the Schiess family, running the firm since 1973. Facing the Jura hills, a few hundred meters away from where Rolex produces all its movements, the team of 20 plays a fundamental role in the Swiss watch ecosystem. Established 77 years ago, the firm not only imports and distributes over 50 types of steel and other metals across 4,000 offerings. It also harmoniously enables the deep, diverse and highly specialized industrial web of watch suppliers and brands across the entire watch valley. As such, there is a strong sense of responsibility here. Not just to do business, but also to keep alive the wonderful, complex and immensely diverse value chain behind every Swiss watch.