Watchmaker Schnyder dies of complications from acute pancreatitis

PETALING JAYA: Well-known watchmaker Datuk Rolf W. Schnyder died on Thursday of complications from acute pancreatitis. He was 76.

Schnyder, a Swiss national who lived in Malaysia for many years, was the president and owner of the 165-year-old watch brand Ulysse Nardin.

He was diagnosed with hereditary acute pancreatitis two weeks ago.

He underwent medical tests in Switzerland and returned last Friday to await the test results when his health took a turn for the worse.

He died at 4.15pm in Assunta Hospital here.

Schnyder, who bought Ulysse Nardin in 1983, was regarded as an innovative leader in the highly competitive watch industry whose complicated timepieces, like the Astrolabium and the Freak, won many prestigious awards.

For his 75th birthday last year, he issued a special edition of the Freak called the Diavalo.

Schnyder built a Swiss factory in Thailand, the first in Asia, in 1968 to produce watch parts and later set up a dial factory in Kuala Lumpur to make components for the Swiss watch industry.

He was awarded the Darjah Datuk Paduka Tuanku Ja'afar in 2007.

Schnyder married Malaysian Chai Oi Fah in 1992 and they had three children, Ulysse Matt, 17, Timur Flores, 16, and Enzia Nardin, 14.

His funeral will be held at his Bangsar residence on Monday. His remains will be cremated and the ashes taken to Switzerland.