The Formex Story: Acquisition, Evolution & Reinvention with CEO Raphaël Granito

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]So I am at the heart of BN to check out a brand that has been around for more than 20 years. The brand is called ForX and I'm here to chat with the CEO of the brand, Mr. Rafael Granito. Look at his manufacturing capabilities and also a brand new watch that is launching very very soon. So follow me here with the CEO of Formax, Mr. Rafael Granito. How are you, man?

[00:00:25]>> I'm good, thanks. Thanks for having me in this manufacturer. I'm great. Um I we just did a um a tour before this conversation on the manufacturing capabilities of what Formax or rather Dexel has as well before we go into the watches. Maybe tell me a little bit more about you know your start you know Dexel you know the some some maybe historical milestones of this company and you know how how it came about. You know >> since I was a kid I was able to kind of wander the halls of uh of the production. So I got a really early start. Even at at 6 years old, I I could already >> dabble a little bit in in watch manufacturing or components manufacturing mostly. So I got a very early interest and um when I was uh when the opportunity came to take over FormX, I was working in product development uh for Dexile. So developing compon components um developing and then also uh manufacturing components for for a lot of different watch brands.

[00:01:20]>> Nice. So you mentioned Forex of course today we're talking about a brand that uh now currently you own this brand now.

[00:01:26]So uh I um as as far as I know Forex was founded in 2000 right more than 26 years this year right?

[00:01:33]>> So you took over in like what year? We relaunched a brand. I took it over a little bit earlier, but since I didn't have uh really any idea about, you know, distribution or uh what it means to actually have own a watch brand. Uh the opportunity came because one of the founders um offered us the brand because the brand was kind of laying dormant uh since a couple of years already. So they they never really got a good start out of the the after the financial crisis of uh 2008.

[00:02:02]>> And so that was in 2016. And I took a few years where I kind of not put it to the side, but you know, made a a little did a little bit of thinking and then also sold off some of the old stock that was still available.

[00:02:17]>> And then with my best friend from college, Marcus, who is uh today our global brand director, we kind of set up a Kickstarter >> uh because we didn't have any outside financing. Uh we set up a Kickstarter and launched our first real new Formx 2.0 know model uh with the essence and so with the Kickstarter we got about >> 600 pieces on wrists which was the the main exercise there is to to get it out there >> basically created the revival for forex is the is this the essence >> exactly so we launched it at 43 mm because historically form was like 46 mil cases and uh very large and industrially designed pieces >> also I think at the time the trend was bigger watches you know it's it's fine and and we kickstarted restart we started it with 43 mm I mean it's still a great tribute to the old right but this new formax itself is very interesting because the size is amazing.

[00:03:09]So what is the new size of this current collection?

[00:03:11]>> This one is the 39 mil uh still our top seller and then we replaced the 43 with a 41 last year and we did a couple of updates like a screw down crown which we didn't know how to do before because of the case suspension the the whole crown.

[00:03:24]>> I need we need to talk about that. Yeah.

[00:03:26]One of the the key things about the I think the essence itself is the very interesting suspension system. Right? So what what I'm talking about is basically as as you can see the case is like this.

[00:03:36]It feels like a solid one piece two-piece case but when you push it out and you find that the inner case does allow some flexibility up and down you can actually feel it's kind of like a car suspension.

[00:03:49]>> Exactly.

[00:03:50]>> So tell me a little bit more about this system man. So this is a a system that was patented and I think it was a genius idea by by the founders of Formix. So the the Gretle brothers, they actually filed this patent before they launched the brand and uh it was a wink to the high octane world of of car racing motorsports. So they were really into uh four-wheel racing, two wheel racing and this is kind of a nod, you know, a lot of companies made racing inspired watches. This actually has a car suspension built in.

[00:04:18]>> Yeah. And nowadays uh we kind of market it less as a shock absorber which was the the basic idea of it. But when you wear it especially on a metal or the ceramic bracelet when you move your wrist it will actually flex and make it much more comfortable because ergonomy and and um comfort is something that is very uh very high uh or very highly regarded at Formex. So when we come up with new models uh one of the main points uh except for design and other specs is it needs to be very comfortable to wear. It really does flex, you know, when when during hot days, especially when, you know, your skin kind of expand.

[00:04:56]>> It does allow some flexibility. And I think that's I think what you're saying is right. Exactly. And on a steel case is great, but on a ceramic case is going to be amazing because the the the weight of ceramic is lighter. It's more it's it's kind of like harder and smoother.

[00:05:12]>> Yes.

[00:05:12]>> But with that kind of flexibility is is actually cool. So tell me about the process of um um of of this case construction, man. I think many people will be interested how it's actually made.

[00:05:22]>> Yeah. So, um, for the patent, I had to take over the existing technical specs of the of how it's made, but we did some modifications. So, back in the days, you literally had pistons that sometimes were visible on the outside of the case.

[00:05:36]So, a suspension pistons uh, with the essence and also that's where the name came from. We wanted to go back a bit to the essentials of a of what makes a great watch. And also we choose chose this name because it had to become the new essence of the brand when we relaunched it. Um and so now we we kind of put the whole suspension system inside the outside case. So the the case middle and the four screws you see on the front uh with the hexagonal uh Allen uh screw.

[00:06:07]>> Yeah.

[00:06:07]>> Uh they actually house a spring each and it really literally has four springs that work like a car suspension in there. and everything. When you put the case back on, it actually sits on top of the floating um I see uh springs. And then when you want to push it down or when you want to assemble the case back, you have to push it down and then screw the screws in.

[00:06:27]>> Got it, man. Wow. That's really cool.

[00:06:29]What's amazing about this is that it's a core collection yet has been evolving over time.

[00:06:33]>> So many iterations.

[00:06:35]>> So, one of the easiest way, the easiest tell of the evolution is the dials, right? So, we have a couple of beautiful dials here and the one I'm holding especially is really beautiful. It comes with a very difficult stone to work on >> called the right >> kiselenzel German uh German word and translates into iron pebble.

[00:06:55]>> So pebbles like kiesel and eizen because it's actually a ferris quartz stone that is extremely brittle and has these beautiful um patterns inside uh tints of orange, white, red and this is actually the the the iron oxidation you see inside the quartz. See? Wow. Other than just using different gemstone dials and hot stone dials, I would say that another thing that's very interesting is that I realized that Formax is also starting to do gem setting.

[00:07:24]>> Yes.

[00:07:24]>> You know, and I have two beautiful pieces here. Of course, uh this is a great segue into this because this is a combination between a gemstone and a severite um bezel, right? Seite set bezel.

[00:07:35]>> Very rare uh gemstone.

[00:07:36]>> So tell me about this, man. Why suddenly gem setting, you know. So as many things at Formexy came by organically because uh one of our uh our co-workers here uh her partner is actually working for a company that does gemstone setting and he has a nautilier where he does as uh in his free time he does gemstone setting for for uh for um people who make jewelry or also for watch making.

[00:08:02]So I sat down with him and now we offer this bespoke gemstone thing. So this is uh this is kind of a pave cert with round diamonds, but we're now working on the on the baguette diamond setting as well. Uh so you can just shoot us an email at bespoke atformxwatch.com and and tell us your ideas. Right now we're not doing custom dials yet because uh we're set up for industrial manufacturing a bit more. Uh but I'm working on some solutions to to get uh also baguette indices on the on the dials.

[00:08:31]>> Very cool. Uh so it's really fun because for me it's a new completely new uh a new way of doing product development because I wasn't into gemstones at all before. So I'm learning as we go every day and it's it's really uh been rewarding to to get this new branch of our business.

[00:08:48]>> That's that's cool. I I can sense the enthusiasm. I think it it it is a great position to be at you know where you are you know like uh having a brand that you can you can kind of kind of do what you want you know to be honest uh within the you know um the DNA of the brand or what you believe in but having a manufacturer you know at the back like you can just like you know 5 minutes this 45 minutes that and then you can get a prototype by the end of the day you know things like that it's it's inde quite amazing and you know it's it's it's a dream position to be in and I I think uh that reflects a lot of on the form pieces that is very very creative and is built with amazing quality. I think that's one thing I would say.

[00:09:24]>> We talked about the essence a lot and um some iterations we did because people are ask were asking us for a black version of the essence, but I I don't really like coatings uh on the exterior.

[00:09:35]Uh so I I didn't really want to use PVD because we wanted to make things that don't chip off. So we came out with um with the the essence that is carbon fiber and ceramic. So, inherently black materials that will never scratch off or chip off. To get this nice finish that you can't get on the carbon fiber, uh the brush finish on the bezel, I chose to to go with black ceramic. And this makes it really bulletproof as well for scratches.

[00:09:59]>> Crazy.

[00:09:59]>> Uh extremely light. So, this watch weighs only 65 g. Uh you have a full carbon fiber clasp.

[00:10:07]>> And I'm explaining this because we did a lot of development work. We also came out with the full ceramic essence with a you know micro adjustment in a ceramic clasp and >> things we played around with and so the next natural step for us was to dabble in movements. So we did a complicated movement with Dubai Pro for the Stratos.

[00:10:26]So you have a true GMT where you can set the local time forward by pusher >> backward by pusher.

[00:10:33]>> Oh wow.

[00:10:34]>> You have a day and night indicator at uh 9:00 >> and you have a a hand date at 6:00. So this is the this is a real GMT watch if there any ever was a true GMT that you never have to take off. So even if you travel west in an airplane and you go back over 12:00 midnight uh the day will actually the date will actually jump backwards. So um most of our customers who buy this are commercial pilots uh who need to change the the time zone multiple times.

[00:11:01]>> This is this is cool. So you got the you got the case, you got the dowels, you got a class, right? So, and this was our first foray into a more complicated movement. Yeah. So, the the base for this movement is Dubai Dupra, right?

[00:11:12]>> Yeah. So, the base is actually an ETA 2892.

[00:11:15]>> Okay.

[00:11:16]>> And Dubra Dubra made uh this module for us that allows for this functionality.

[00:11:21]>> Interesting. So, you first dabble into maybe slightly more complicated >> complication and now we go into something that is >> it's extremely interesting. But before I go into the uh the new watch, I would love to touch on something that I think it's is it's it's a lot of people will miss missed it if you don't um don't tell them, which is the the clasp. So the new improvement of the clasp is very very impressive, right? You're talking about on the-fly adjustment >> on the wrist.

[00:11:46]>> Yes. So it's it's real on the-fly adjustment that we came up with. It lets me adjust >> um micro adjust the clasp in seven uh millimeters. So, 1 2 3 4 5 six steps.

[00:11:59]>> That's insane.

[00:11:59]>> Uh, just like a kind of like a snowboard binding it binding. It just ratchets in.

[00:12:04]And if I want to release it, I press the left pusher. Pull. Releases. If I press both pushers, it opens the cl.

[00:12:10]>> Wow. Okay.

[00:12:11]>> So, this is the new clasp uh patented um on this integrated clasp for the steel bracelet. So, you can just pull on one side and it gives you 3 mm of extension without gap. pull on the other side another three. So that's six mill.

[00:12:28]And coincidentally, a length of a a link is 6 millm. So it's like a half link basically.

[00:12:33]>> And then when you want to put it back together, you can just pinch the two logo pieces back together and it's tight.

[00:12:39]>> So the all the integrated bracelet watches will start doing production will start to have this new >> integration. Yeah. And then we came up with a new system and it's actually the first ceramic bracelet with a micro adjustment where you can also do it on your wrist.

[00:12:55]5 mm and then release with this pusher >> and it's loose again >> on the fly adjustment. Huge upgrades. I think it's super important, man. And I think that, you know, um these are things that uh people often take for granted, >> but it is really something that makes a day-to-day life much easier for for whatever risk, you know, especially in Europe. Exactly.

[00:13:14]>> You know, with different seasons, right?

[00:13:15]>> Exactly. And then also all the straps always are interchangeable without having to use any tools. For the divers, you can just slide forward this pusher and it retracts the two pins. So, you can easily move from a nylon strap from uh from a rubber strap to contraction.

[00:13:34]>> It's a flat cam system that pulls retracts the pins and then the spring will make the pusher go back again and and uh and they come out.

[00:13:42]>> Wow. Well, honestly, you have uh done a lot in terms of this all all these um big upgrades in very minute details and I got to congratulate you with that. I think uh it's is a really great upgrade especially for the price of Formax itself. Giving all these values to the customers I think is great.

[00:13:59]>> But what we are here to look at is something that is entirely different from what I've imagined Forex will come up with and it's all thanks to you you know with your um strength of design and also your amazing amount of creativity.

[00:14:11]I think I think that's the reason why this watch has it's something that I have never seen before. It is a integrated sport chic watch but done in a way that is quite unique.

[00:14:20]>> Exactly.

[00:14:21]>> So maybe show our viewers what the watch is.

[00:14:23]>> Um so we we spoke about unstabling Yeah.

[00:14:27]>> uh with more complicated movements. So the next step was to actually have our manufacturer caliber. We worked with uh some of the best players in the area. So it's less than 2 km away from our HQ. Uh Haj. So Haraj has been uh making their own their own movements for uh quite some time now and especially interesting uh is they they really uh developed a really good technology to manufacture with silicone hair springs and escapements. So this is our first manufacturer movement. All silicon hair spring uh escapement, >> 72 hours of power reserve. Uh very good winding performance for uh one of the best in the market in terms of microtors, which is sometimes a challenge for a micro.

[00:15:10]>> Sure.

[00:15:10]>> Uh so you won't have to manually wind uh to to support the the automatic winding.

[00:15:17]>> Um then we designed the whole decoration of the movement. So everything is done by laser texturing which is interesting and also a way for us to get this really high-end movement um but not break the the bank in terms of uh you know when we put it into perspective. This watch is going to come out at around uh 5600 Swiss Franks.

[00:15:37]>> Uh it's chronometer certified. So you have a black gold treatment on the back >> and a very cool finishing that goes into different depths and levels and you we play with different finishings. So the the brushing on the on the edges of the bridges is still done by hand and everything inside you know this gray finish is actually done by laser texturing. It's cool because it's a mixture of like very industrial finishing but yet with very minute details and the specs is impressive 2.9 mm in terms of thickness full silicon escapement you know with a micro when I flip the watch to the front. Okay, let's before I talk about the dial, you know, integration squash shape watches is not something that I'm unfamiliar with, right? There's many in the market today.

[00:16:15]Let's just say it as it is. But what you have integrated here, okay, no, no pun intended, right? Is that this watch itself, it's a very organic, authentic, unique kind of execution on a sports cheek watch. I've never seen it before and I commend you on that because it isn't easy to create another integr and and to create integrated sport sheet watch that is just another integrated sport watch. And this one comes with very very interesting um design. We talked about the bracelet. We talk about the case. You know it's 6.7 mm in terms of thickness possible because of the movement is so thin. It's a 6.7 mm is insane. But what I really want to talk about is also the bracelet design. Tell me a little bit more about this.

[00:16:56]>> Yeah. So as you mentioned there's you know a lot of um watch brands have already come out with their iteration of a of an integrated bracelet model. Um, and for us it's always very important to start from a blank page. You know, we don't do mood boards with watch models.

[00:17:11]We do mood boards with things that are completely unrelated to watches. So, we keep our, you know, minds open to to to let them wander and let the creativity wander wherever uh it goes. Um, and what we wanted to avoid on this one is, you know, a lot of the integrated designs are very have very sharp edges, sharp angles, and are very, you know, almost architectural in design. And we wanted to create a mix of that. So, we wanted to we were inspired by natural shapes or or shapes that are made by natural movement. you know, water flowing, shaping pebbles in a in a in a stream or, you know, the the towers in the in the Utah desert or the Arizona desert that got shaped by hundreds of years of being sand blasted by wind and sand uh where you get these very organic shapes.

[00:18:03]And so we we blended these organic shapes with the very architectural design that is typical for integrated uh bracelet watches. And uh we used titanium grade 5 for the whole uh model because we wanted to put on a brushed finish but also play with with very very small surfaces that are also polished that catch the light nicely. So you see the inside actually of these uh bracelet links are polished >> and they just come alive. Uh when you do a wrist roll, you will see that this part looks like a disco because the lights really catches >> reflection. It has a number of different finishing and it's all done in a very organic in a very organic way. The bracelet is not sharp at all. It's actually um a brush on the top.

[00:18:45]>> Each link has also a a slight radius on top.

[00:18:49]>> Yeah, it's crazy because there's so many polish and brush bevelings. And of course, when the links change, the light plays it just flows like water. Like I think that's the idea. And I have never seen this integrated bracelet design before as well, you know. And I like that it's really great that you not you didn't want to do it sharp, you know, with no sharp edges and it's it flows so nicely. It's very organic. It feels a bit like a armadillo back.

[00:19:13]>> Exactly.

[00:19:13]>> You know, so that's why I saw so the armadillo is a segment when it's straight is it's beautifully aligned and then when you bend it you you see the different curves, you know, all that.

[00:19:21]It's >> I don't know whether you've seen it, but to me it looks like armadillo sha which is really cool. Another thing that I would say is super I I really think is a great thing is that you didn't use any angled bezel.

[00:19:32]>> Yes, >> the round bezel I think is pure. It goes with the rounded um DNA of the case, right? And I like that, you know, this it creates a new language for a sportic watch for sure.

[00:19:42]>> You actually have a slight hint at a Kusan shaped um case, but we wanted to keep the bezel round. And then the when you look at the dial at the first glance, it's a very pure and >> oh my god uh clean design. And if you look at it with more attention to detail or if you zoom in a little bit, you actually see that the indices have this organic mix of shapes inside. And they're actually all sitting on a little heightened platform. Uh and then the dial platform underneath actually takes their shape. So it kind of looks like something that is also shaped by water.

[00:20:17]You know, if the water was flowing in from the backside of the indexes, >> uh it would actually give this shape and this shape is going to get flat on the dial uh base.

[00:20:28]>> Yeah.

[00:20:29]>> And flows towards the middle. We want to make dials that are alive.

[00:20:33]>> I I think it's more than alive. It's like it's kind of is minimalistic, beautiful, but yet it's kind of abstract as well, you know, because it is a kind of three-dimensional dial. Indexes is set in a way that is in an angle as well. So it all flows down to the center like like water. Basically, if you look at the pips of the hands and also the the indices, it's all in orange. So what was the reason of mixing minimalistic colors with orange?

[00:20:54]>> You know, we wanted uh the the five 5N goldplated hands and indices.

[00:21:00]>> And if we were to fill this with a white loom, which gives you the best uh glowing performance obviously >> uh for me it was a bit too sporty. And so we also chose the dial colors. It comes out in three dial uh three dial colors.

[00:21:15]>> Uh we chose the dial colors to really harmonize with this orange and red gold uh hints in the indices and hands. Our design took about 2 and 1/2 years just for the design.

[00:21:25]>> This is going to be priced around uh 5,600 right Swiss Franks. Right. And I I think for what it is um what it what it comes with the in intrinsic value that that this watch brings when an unique execution of a dial ergonomic shapes really really great on the wrist. Man, I tell you, I love integrated sports chic watches, but many of them don't fit my wrist. And to be able to have one doesn't cut my skin, really thin. I think is this is really going to be a very comfortable daily driver. And that's what an individual watch should be, a daily driver.

[00:21:55]>> Yes. All of our watches when we get a customer feedback and somebody told tells me I've been wearing this every day for the last 6 months, this is the biggest compliment we can get as a as a watch brand.

[00:22:06]>> It's definitely amazing, man. Uh and you know what Rafael you know thank you for spending so much time with us today. Uh I learned a lot and I'm very impressed with what um um Forax Beexel the manufacturing capabilities of this um this giant here uh started by your founder father of course but now you are you play a huge big part and I feel that for is what Formax is today because of you you know and your and your amazing team. I really want to congratulate you.

[00:22:31]Um it's really great on the wrist and I think it's very competitively priced. It is also the DNA of Formax as well which is accessible watches but amazing quality and I understand >> where the quality comes from man. So once again congratulations and Rafael thank you very much >> for spending your time. It's thank you guys for great man. Thank you and uh well this watch is uh when this video is out this watch is going to be live 100 pieces >> for the first launch. It's 100 pesos total of movements you know for making this manufacturer movement is a huge financial step for us. So we want to take it easy >> and uh and then we'll uh we'll see how it how it goes from there.

[00:23:10]>> Awesome. So stay tuned. If you want more information, please check out Formax website and they also they have their own IG page as well. Right. So >> right, thank you very much.

[00:23:20]>> See you guys next time.