Introducing the Horological Society of New York
Movado Group in the digital age To keep on track with new generations, the American group has just acquired millennial brands MVMT and Olivia Burton........................p.8
From survival to success, the story of the oldest watchmaking guild in the USA........................................p.6
Watches on Kickstarter, for better and for worse
Some lessons for watchmaking from the most popular crowdfunding platform.....................................p.11
WATCH.AFICIONADO
A EUROPA STAR GROUP PUBLICATION
USA VOL. 55 NO. 309 | CHAPTER 3/2019 | WWW.EUROPASTAR.COM
EDITORIAL
Mechanical, quartz or connected? by
Serge Maillard
The traditional mechanical watch may have lost its functional appeal, first with the arrival of quartz precision in the 1970s and then digital connection (and therefore atomic precision) in the 2010s. Nevertheless, technological innovation is flourishing in the world of fine mechanics. Just look at Bulgari's breakthrough in the ultrathin timepiece sector. The brand with its Italian-Swiss DNA broke another record this year with the world's thinnest automatic chronograph; the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT is only 3.3 mm thick. A fifth record in five years for Bulgari.
While mechanics dominates the contemporary watchmaking stage, some brands have never abandoned research into the precision of quartz. In this issue of Watch.Aficionado, you will find a selection of innovative watches released this year, classified by category (from p. 22). Bulgari's record is featured, as well as the new version of the Chanel J12 and the Yacht-Master 42, but also other lesser-known brands, which add their contribution to the watch industry. Alongside the "big names" – and further proof of the industry's good
health in terms of innovation – we saw an impressive number of startups presenting their novelties at the latest edition of the Baselworld fair (although the total number of exhibitors was reduced by half). For example, we saw the “evolutionary” watchmaking of French startup Hegid, which associates a "watch head" (capsule) with a multitude of choices of casebands, straps and bracelets. We also spotted the ultraelegant timepieces of Dutchman Michiel Holthinrichs, who uses 3D printing to design various components of his creations. You will find portraits of these new actors on our website www.europastar.com. While mechanics dominates the contemporary watchmaking stage, some brands have never abandoned research into the precision of quartz. A striking example is Citizen's Caliber 0100, which is featured on the front page of this edition. The result of several years of R&D and a heir to the 1975 Crystron Mega, it achieves a formidable accuracy of ±1 second of variation per year. The Japanese brand used its Eco-Drive technology to break this new record. At the same time, the smartwatch is becoming more and more comprehensive, as is the case with the new version from TAG Heuer's Connected, dedicated to the world of golf. It includes… 39,000 registered golf courses, more or less all the greens on the planet. Proof that mechanics, quartz and connection can live and evolve in parallel, each bringing different types of innovation and all converting more and more people to the art of watchmaking!
The Caliber 0100 by Citizen achieves a record accuracy to within ±1 second per year.
Citizen Caliber 0100, the one-second challenge COVER STORY
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT
In a world first, the Japanese brand is introducing three new Eco-Drive watches that achieve an accuracy to within ±1 second per year. They draw directly on Citizen’s long tradition of R&D in precision timekeeping: the Caliber 0100 is a direct heir of the Crystron Mega of 1975, which even then was capable of an accuracy of ±3 seconds per year. In this Cover Story we introduce this revolutionary technology, as well as the refined and elegant aesthetics of the timepiece, with the support of material on Citizen from Europa Star’s own archives (see page 2).
Citizen the one-second challenge When we met Toshihiko Sato, President and CEO of Citizen Group, last April in Tokyo, the Caliber 0100 was quite naturally at the centre of the discussion. With its world-record accuracy of ±1 second per year, it represents a milestone for the Japanese brand. “The Caliber 0100 showcases the high technology that Citizen can bring to the world,” sums up Toshihiko Sato. “We started this project several years ago, finally introducing it this year. The Caliber 0100 is a direct continuation of the history of Eco-Drive, which has
been around for more than 40 years.” Despite the current worldwide focus on mechanical watches, and the simultaneous rise of smartwatches, Citizen has never abandoned its research into the accuracy of quartz timepieces, always using the power of light with EcoDrive technology. As a reminder, the aim of this technology is to make up for the shortfalls of quartz watches, namely the relatively short battery life, the inconvenient process of replacing batteries and the environmental issues of battery disposal.
Heir to the Crystron Mega of the 1970s Back in 1975, the Crystron Mega succeeded in achieving recordbreaking precision of ±3 seconds, as we documented at the time in Europa Star (see below). So how did Citizen’s R&D teams achieve this new precision of ±1 second, without relying on data from radio towers or satellites? As the brand explains, the first step was to replace the traditional tuning fork-shaped crystal oscillators
generally used in quartz watches with AT cut type crystal oscillators. These oscillators vibrate at a frequency of 8.4 MHz (8,388,608 Hz), which is more than 250 times higher than tuning fork-shaped crystal oscillators. It ensures that this new mechanism remains resistant to outside influences such as temperature fluctuations and the effects of gravity, as well as age degradation. >
The new Caliber 0100 is heir to the ultra-precise Crystron Mega of 1975. These pages from the Europa Star archives provide some information about this pioneering timepiece, which achieved an accuracy of ±3 seconds.
CITIZEN’S WORLD FIRSTS
1967
World's first electronic quartz clock, "Crystron"
1972
World's first electronic watch with time signal time setting
1975
World's first accurate quartz watch, "Crystron Mega"
1976
World's first LCD quartz watch with alarm
1976
World's first analogue quartz watch using light as power source "Crystron Solar cell"
1978
World's first watch with movement under the one-millimetre barrier
1980
World's smallest ladies' analogue quartz watch
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WHITE GOLD MODEL (AQ6010-06A) The beauty of simplicity is reflected in this limited edition with ultra-precision accuracy of ±1 second per year. The case and crown are crafted out of lustrous white gold, with a crystal design motif suggesting ultraprecision and the crystallisation of Citizen technologies, as well as the “purity” of the individual seconds. The Caliber 0100, housed inside the white gold case, is made of a black discolouration- and corrosion-resistant ruthenium-plated material,
1982
World's first dive watch with 1300m pressure resistance, "Professional Diver 1300M"
1985
World's first dive watch with an electronic depth meter, "Aqualand"
1987
World's first voice recognition watch
1987
World's first light powered combination watch
1988
World's first digital watch with shock switch "Shock Sensor"
1989
with a unique striped finish visible on the back of the watch through the sapphire glass. The tip of the second hand and the edge of the ivory dial create corresponding arcs, enhancing the movement of the second hand, which aligns perfectly with the indices. The strap is textured black crocodile with subtle tone-on-tone stitching. An individual serial number is etched on the back, indicating the limited number of 100 units available for the worldwide market.
World's first professional climbing watch with electronic elevation sensor, "Altichron"
1989
World's first analogue quartz watch with a perpetual calendar
1992
World's first dive watch with analogue depth meter, "Analog Depth Meter"
COVER STORY
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The Caliber 0100 utilises AT cut type crystal oscillators that vibrate at a frequency of 8.4 MHz (8,388,608 Hz).
AT cut type crystal oscillators, however, require greater amounts of energy to operate. The brand explains that it was able to compensate for this by thoroughly vetting the materials used, utilising intelligent design, and refining control over its power-saving strategies. As a result, Caliber 0100 technology allows the Eco-Drive to run continuously and with significantly greater stability for up to six months on a single full charge (8 months on power save mode), even with-out the presence of a light source. What’s more, the Caliber 0100 maintains its greater accuracy by continuously monitoring and adjusting for frequency and temperature shifts once every minute. The optimal running temperature is between 5°C and 40°C, which is considered the most practical watch temperature environment for most regions of the world. A new circuit design also incorporates higher shock resistance, which automatically corrects the position of the watch hands, and an antimagnetic feature to protect the movement from the effects of magnetic forces. All these innovations combine to deliver an unprecedented ±1 second per year precision accuracy.
1993
World's first multi-band (Japan, Germany and Britain) radio-controlled watch
1994
World's first professional dive watch with a depth sensor and a data transfer system, "Hyper Aqualand"
A design stripped down to the essentials Beyond this technological innovation, it is very interesting – and revealing of the current transformations in Japanese watchmaking, which is tending more towards emotion and luxury – to note that the Caliber 0100 is housed in a very sober yet elegant case. At first sight, the external appearance of the watch gives no clue to the presence of the world-first technology inside. In accordance with the simplicity of each second, the design of the timepiece has been made pure and timeless. Or, as the brand puts it perfectly: “The Caliber 0100 expresses the beauty of individual seconds in their purest form: superfluous adornments have been minimised to produce the ultimate simplicity.” One of the most important characteristics of the dial is the fact that the second hand aligns perfectly with the indices when viewed from the front. The individual hand movements are the physical expression of “a second in its purest form,” achieved by adopting the
1997
World's first light powered watch with accuracy of ±10 seconds per year
1997
World's first analogue quartz grand complication watch
LIGA fabrication process (a manufacturing technology for making high-aspect-ratio microstructures) for individual components. Ordinarily, gears and springs are machine cut and pressed. With LIGA fabrication, more intricate components can be manufactured. Special components made by combining customised springs and gears produced by LIGA manufacturing prevent even the tiniest inconsistencies in the gears from affecting hand movements, thus ensuring that the hands align perfectly with the indices. Long, heavy brass elements, which ordinarily cannot be propelled by the traditional torque motors of quartz movements, are used for the watch hands. The simple aesthet-
ics of the exquisite brass hands featured in these new models reflect the design concept of “conveying the purity of every second with superb accuracy”. Citizen’s own skilled watchmaking “meisters” are responsible for assembling the Caliber 0100. These master craftsmen and women supervise the process and ensure the highest quality and accuracy. It’s also their responsibility to ensure precision alignment of the second hand with each of the 60 indices, once it is fitted. The price of the watch is $7,400 for the titanium version (limited to 200 pieces with mother-of-pearl dial and 500 pieces with black dial), and $16,800 for the white gold version (limited to 100 pieces).
According to Citizen, the individual hand movements of the Caliber 0100 are the physical expression of “a second in its purest form”.
1998
World's first light powered analogue depth meter dive watch
2002
World's smallest movement watch
2006
World's first Bluetooth connected watch
2011
World's first satellitesynchronised watch
COVER STORY
WATCH AFICIONADO | 5
SUPER TITANIUMTM MODELS (AQ6021-51E / AQ6020-53X)
2016
World's thinnest light-powered watch
2017
World's first light-powered saturation diving watch water-resistant to 1000 metres
2019
World's most accurate lightpowered watch
The AQ6021-51E comes with a rich and lustrous metallic black dial. The dial material absorbs light through an array of tiny apertures on the front, suggesting the relationship between light and time. The AQ6020-53X comes with a mother-of-pearl dial, evoking the never-ending passage of time in the natural world. The contrast between the sophisticated mother-ofpearl pattern, formed over many years, and the second hand that marks each precise second, makes this watch uniquely striking. The presence of moments in the pas-
sage of eternal time — highlighted by the ultra-precise accuracy of ±1 second per year — is symbolised by the design itself. Both models feature the “crystal” motif on the case, crown and bracelet. The evocative cuts at various angles provide a variety of expressions depending on the angle of light. Designed for longevity, these models are constructed from Super TitaniumTM with Duratect α. A serial number on the back of the case indicates the limited number of units available worldwide.
UNITED STATES
6 | WATCH AFICIONADO
Horological Society of New York: from survival to success What is the advantage of being based in New York City? It is a very interesting place for lovers of mechanical watches because every week there is at least one event related to their passion, whether in boutiques or elsewhere. But besides the commercial events, many collectors are also looking for something more academic and cultural. Our training courses, conferences and galas attract a large number of people. Does your audience go beyond New York?
Very often, it’s “standing room only” at the society’s horological lectures.
The oldest watchmaking guild in the United States, founded in the 19th century by German immigrants, has followed the ups and downs of the American watch industry. It reached an extremely low ebb but now, with the renewed interest in mechanical watchmaking, it is experiencing a new golden age and its training courses and lectures are very popular. We met its President, Nicholas Manousos. by
Serge Maillard
The roots of the venerable Horological Society of New York date back to the middle of the 19th century, when the United States experienced a wave of German immigration. Among the immigrants were many watchmakers. “If you were a watchmaker in New York at the time, then you were most likely German,” says Nicholas Manousos, president of the society.
In 1866 two German immigrants, George Schmidt and Frederick Ruoff, founded the Deutscher Uhrmacher Verein, a “guild” of watchmakers, in a New York tavern. The members supported each other on technical issues – there were no watchmaking centres at the time, so they had to find ways to obtain key components
– and set up services such as a library, training and life insurance. The ancestor of the Horological Society of New York was born.
Beyond the original frame At the time, everything was intended for a strictly German-speaking audience. But gradually the organisation opened up to a wider audience: Americans and more recent immigrants from England, France and Switzerland. In addition, anti-German sentiment was strong in the United States during and after the First World War. It was time for a change. In 1930, the organisation opted for a very “American” name: the Horological Society of New York. During the same decade, the Society launched its newsletter, The Horologist’s Loupe, which is still distributed today, making it one of the oldest publications dedicated to watchmaking (along with Europa Star, born in 1927!). “Our organisation has really followed the history of the American watch industry,” says Nicholas Manousos. “Like for the American watch industry, the Society’s golden age took place after the Second
World War. At that time, 500 watchmakers attended our monthly meetings. It was a strictly professional organisation.”
Hard times The quartz crisis, which destroyed the American watch industry, also provoked the rapid decline of the Horological Society of New York. The number of active members dropped to about 20 in the 1980s. “It was a period of survival and it is very important that the organisation never completely stopped its activities,” continues Nicholas Manousos. “Ed Hydeman, the former President and today Executive Director, and Charles Salomon, our
The quartz crisis, which destroyed the American watch industry, also provoked the rapid decline of the Horological Society of New York. The number of active members dropped to about 20 in the 1980s. Treasurer, really saved the Society. In the 1990s, we had almost no resources while continuing to operate in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Charlie provided a meeting room in his Manhattan church, free of charge, for nearly 20 years.” The Society finally experienced a rebirth through the renewed global interest in mechanical watches. It dissociated itself from the American watch industry and from
a strictly professional destiny, modernised its organisation and opened its doors to collectors and amateurs. The internet also allowed it to reach new members and broaden it horizons. “So much so that we are now overwhelmed by the level of interest in our training,” says Nicholas Manousos, who presides over an organisation that is now 500 members strong. We met him to discuss the current activities and ambitions of the Society. What is your fundamental mission? We celebrated the company’s 150th anniversary in 2016 and remain faithful to the basic mission enshrined in the company’s founding act: “To advance the art and science of watchmaking”. This mainly involves training and conference cycles. We are registered as a 501(c)(3) organisation, which is the American equivalent of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), therefore of public interest and non-profit. Donations are tax deductible. What types of training do you organise? We have different degrees of training, from basic mechanics to more advanced courses, which are taught at evenings and weekends. All events are free and open to the public, except for some classes where a fee has been set to better control demand. Who gives these courses? Today, we have seven instructors. They are members who teach the courses alongside their permanent employment. Most of them work in one of the watch service centres in New York. We also bring in speakers from all over the world.
Yes. People travel from all over the country and even from abroad to attend our training sessions. We recently decided to organise training courses in the rest of the United States and abroad, for instance in Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong. Do you also participate in watch fairs? We are not officially present at the fairs because we make sure that we remain faithful to our status as an NGO. We focus on our educational mission: sales pitches are not allowed and we therefore avoid trade fairs.
“Besides the commercial events, many watch enthusiasts are also looking for something more academic and cultural.” For a long time, your destiny followed that of the American watch industry. For decades, it has seen companies close doors and production move overseas. Is there any hope for a the rebirth of a Made in USA mechanical watch sector? I see clear potential for a rebirth of the American watch industry. There are certainly many obstacles, but I see such interest in mechanical watches among our American members today... Some of them are actually more than collectors: I would say that about 10% of them come to evaluate the possibility of embarking on a career as watchmakers. There is a cliché in the United States that watchmaking is a dying art. On the contrary, it is an increasingly popular art. Today, thousands of people work in the watch industry in the United States. We are contributing in our own way to the rebirth of this art.
Enjoy being different.
ProMare Go: Ready, steady, go! Whatever your active plans for the weekend, be it taking your sailing boat out onto the water or setting out on your bike to venture to the nearby mountain peaks, the ProMare Go is the ideal timepiece for people who take a particularly ambitious approach towards tackling sporting challenges. The sports watch helps its wearers to fulfil these athletic ambitions by providing them with a practical extra: a bidirectional bezel that enables them to quickly and easily mark the start of their sailing trip, mountain hike or cycling tour. For more information please see our website www.muehle-glashuette.de
The Patented Woodpecker Neck Regulation: Precision in even the toughest of conditions Wearers of our watches need to be able to rely on them at all times. This is why our team at MĂźhle-GlashĂźtte always goes above and beyond what is actually necessary. We developed our fine regulation in 2003 in order to ensure the accuracy of our movements in even the toughest of conditions.
ProMareGo_251x353mm_engl.indd 1
20.05.19 10:02
STRATEGY
8 | WATCH AFICIONADO
Movado Group: how to stay relevant in the digital age We make sure to help all of our retail partners to interact better with their consumers digitally. In this sense, we support them with content, advertising and all kinds of digital initiatives. For instance, we have equipped the stores in key markets selling Scuderia Ferrari timepieces with race simulators, and we supply digital tools to help you identify the best Hugo Boss or Tommy Hilfiger for you.
The American group is undertaking several initiatives to keep on track with new generations: it has just acquired fashion brands MVMT and Olivia Burton, it’s launching new smartwatches at Movado and going aggressively digital in communication and sales. What are the results so far? We met the group’s Chairman and CEO Efraim Grinberg. by
Ash Longet
The Movado Group held its annual “summit” last March in Davos, Switzerland, just a few days ahead of Baselworld. Some 500 representative of the professional watch community, aficionados and press from 40 countries (including Europa Star) attended the event. According to CEO Efraim Grinberg, the group spent around $2 million for the 3-day summit in the Swiss mountains, against about $10 million previously when it was an exhibitor at the Basel fair, which it left in 2017. Despite the waves created by the arrival of the Apple Watch, the Movado Group remains a key player of the industry in the mid-range as well as in the fashion watch segment (it operates a number of licences, including Lacoste and Hugo Boss). Movado is the best-selling brand in the $500 to $2,000 segment on the US watch market. The American group, headquartered in New Jersey, has a portfolio of 11 brands*, including its latest acquisitions, fashion brands MVMT (which it purchased for approximately $100 million in 2018) and Olivia Burton (acquired in 2017 for $79 million), both attractive to millennial consumers.
The fourth quarter of the 2019 financial year brought some good news, with an increase in net sales of 33.6%, producing a total of $199.4 million and an operating income of $17.1 million versus $13.3 million in the previous period. A comprehensive reorientation of the Movado Group towards connected technologies, digital sales and the acquisition of the next generation’s brands is intended to help it keep up with new buying habits and tastes or, in other words, to stay relevant. During the Davos summit, Movado announced the brand’s next generation smartwatch, the Movado Connect 2.0, featuring Google’s latest software, with new functionalities. “Fiscal 2019 marked another year of progress on our strategies – to deliver innovation across our portfolio of powerful brands in an omni-channel market, capitalise on our strong balance sheet and cash flow to acquire new brands and develop our digital presence,” said Efraim Grinberg. For 2020, the group anticipates net sales of between $750 million and $765 million, with operating income from $82 million to $85 million. We met Mr. Grinberg during the Davos Summit for an interview.
Movado Museum Classic 2019
You also operate higher-end classic watch brands, including Ebel and Concord. Many analysts see a strong divide today between a dozen or so very successful top brands and “the rest”, which are encountering more and more difficulties in terms of awareness and sales. How do you cope with this fierce competition?
Efraim Grinberg, Chairman and CEO of the Movado Group
Your market is very volatile; we see a constant stream of newcomers appearing on platforms such as Kickstarter. What is your strategy for staying relevant in the fashion watch segment? Despite this competition, our fashion brands did very well through the beginning of the year. Our partners are very advanced in terms of
“We acquired two brands, Olivia Burton and MVMT, to reach a critical mass of new consumers. We are learning a lot from them.” digital footprint and ambassadors, for instance with Hailey Baldwin, Gigi Hadid and Zendaya at Tommy Hilfiger. This helps us a lot with promoting the watches, as the connection with the consumer is really strong. At the same time, we acquired two brands, Olivia Burton and MVMT, to reach a critical mass of new consumers. We are learning a lot with the newest brands and we can still learn a lot from our fashion partners, as they are big brands adapting to a changing landscape. So we strongly believe we can achieve organic growth both with the licensed brands and with our newest brands.
Another big change in your segment is the arrival of the Apple Watch. Your strategy has been to develop your own set of smartwatches, and you’ve just released the latest generation of Movado Connect. Is your future with the smartwatch, or with the traditional analogue quartz watch?
We try to focus on the markets where these brands perform well. Ebel is particularly strong in the Middle East, so we put a substantial part of our investment in that region. Other important markets for Ebel are Germany, the UK and Switzerland. This year, we introduced redesigns of the Brasilia and Beluga lines and we extended the Sport Classic line for Ebel.
First, for us, it’s not about functionality; it’s all about emotion. Even in the smartwatch segment, it will always be products that primarily aim at connecting emotionally with the consumer. Apple has its own business, we are not in the same segment. This is why our first generation of Movado Connect was successful: it was a true Movado product. So I don’t believe that our future is in the connected world – it rather represents one side of our business. The analogue watch segment has always been the most sustainable part of our business. And we can create innovation in this segment too!
At a group level, which countries have the highest growth potential, outside of the USA?
A “hot potato”, especially in your price segment, is the future of watch distribution in terms of digital and/or offline sales. The brands you just acquired are very strong online. What is your vision of this critical aspect of the industry?
Before the addition of MVMT, Europe was our largest market overall. Now, we believe there are a lot of opportunities for us in China. It will not be a smooth ride, but in terms of e-commerce, there are a lot of opportunities for us.
My focus is omnichannel. I do believe that brick-and-mortar stores are essential, but they have to be conceived differently; they must incorporate the digital experience.
*The Movado group brands: Movado, Ebel, Concord, Olivia Burton, MVMT, Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Scuderia Ferrari, Rebecca Minkoff.
Ebel Discovery Chronograph
STRATEGY
WATCH AFICIONADO | 9
Timex Luxury Group: “I no longer believe in a universal watch” Timex Group’s luxury division, which is also in charge of Versace’s watch licence, has added a series of brands to its portfolio, targeting niche communities through specific themes: well-being with Teslar, environment with Vincent Berard and motorcycling with CT Scuderia. We met its director Paolo Marai.
Paolo Marai, President and CEO of Timex Group Swiss Luxury Division
you that watchmaking represents about 10% of Versace’s total turnover. In other fashion brands that make watches, it’s usually more in the 4-5% range.
“We have been present in China for the past year Teslar on the major e-commerce platforms, on condition by Serge Maillard Why do you no longer exhibit at What is the proportion of sales Baselworld? between Versace’s own stores and that there is no The luxury division of Timex Group retailers? discounting. We observed (which covers the American group’s We have not been present at an immediate effect.” Swiss made production), currently licenses the watches of Versace, Versus, Salvatore Ferragamo, Teslar, CT Scuderia and Vincent Berard. In a previous edition of Europa Star, we interviewed Timex Group CEO Tobias Reiss-Schmidt. This time, we give the floor to Paolo Marai, head of Timex Group’s Swiss luxury division.
Versace watches seem to be more discreet today than in 2005, when you took over the licence, and in the years that followed. What happened?
Baselworld for three years now, because the organisation accepted another company using the name Versace as an exhibitor! We prefer to organise our own event, which brought together 500 people in Dubai last January. There were only fashion brands, creating a coherent universe. In addition, our distributors now take orders before Baselworld.
“Today, it is necessary to address specific communities with The brand had some great mo- flexible and customisable ments from 2005 to 2008. However, timepieces.” it was positioned at a higher price point than today, exceeding 3,000 dollars, and the financial crisis hit it hard. Versace has therefore been repositioned in a more accessible watch segment, from $1,700 to $2,500. It took time to get back on track and regain market share, because it was about producing more volume in this more affordable segment. But 2018 was a record year for Versace, with sales up 30%, just like the previous year.
Versace was acquired in October 2018 by Michael Kors for $2.1 billion. What difference does that make to you? For the moment we are not impacted, because our license agreement runs until 2029. We remain on a Swiss made positioning. I cannot give you any figures, but I can tell
Today, the vast majority of Versace watches are sold by multi-brand retailers. We are still under-represented in Versace stores. The brand has focused on reviving its fashion business in recent years. Where are your main opportunities today?
Our primary market globally is Saudi Arabia. The United States is growing, ahead of France, Turkey and Japan. We have been present in China for the past year on the major e-commerce platforms, on condition that there is no discounting. We observed an immediate effect. Timex Luxury Group’s portfolio includes three new brands: CT Scuderia, Teslar and Vincent Berard. Can you present these projects to us? What they all have in common is that they all produce watches for very specific consumer segments. For example, CT Scuderia is aimed at fans of Café Racer motorcycles. We will create clubs around these brands. Today, you have to ap-
proach specific communities with flexible and customisable timepieces. Influencers are organised around communities. I no longer believe in the “universal” watch.
Versace
Teslar is a project with great potential: the brand offers a strong design associated with a chip that helps to protect against electromagnetic pollution. The effect is very personal, depending on the wearer. Watches cost between 500 and 2,500 dollars. Vincent Berard was created in 2005. The idea is to profile it in line with the concept of the “green economy”, with a product close to nature that must comply with a series of environmental standards. Part of the revenues are used to plant trees. The brand is now repositioned in the $800 to $2,000 segment.
Vincent Berard
WATCH INDUSTRY
10 | WATCH AFICIONADO
“Sell-out has been declining since the start of 2019” The monthly sell-out index, compiled by consultant Thierry Huron, reveals that watch sales are in a fragile state of health. In the first quarter, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore were in negative territory, while growth slowed sharply in China. Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom, is stagnating. by
Serge Maillard
It is one of the most important indicators when taking the pulse of the watch industry, alongside the monthly figures from the Swiss Watch Federation. While the federation provides data on watch shipments outside Switzerland, the “Sell-Out Index” records actual sales conducted by watch and jewellery retailers on the main markets. As such, it represents a true indicator of the health of the industry. Consultant Thierry Huron (The Mercury Project) is the author of this monthly index. The former senior manager at TAG Heuer began by taking note of the watch and jewellery retail figures provided by the Hong Kong authorities, the world’s largest importer of Swiss watches. He then extended the exercise to other countries, based on official sources, from the American Census Bureau to the French INSEE, in order to achieve a complete global overview. “Only a few countries do not specifically cover watch and jewellery retail in their statistics,” explains Thierry Huron. This is the case for Italy, where these figures are grouped under a broader category, and Japan, where watchmaking is classified with optical products. And of course, a third important country is missing: Switzerland! “The Swiss Federal Statistical Office only communicates this information annually and... very late,” the expert points out. “The latest figures available are for the year 2015.” All these countries record sales in retail – including those in the watch and jewellery category – in order to calculate their public accounts and GDP. They have different calculation methods. France, Germany and Switzerland rely on VAT declarations, which also allows local purchases to be isolated from those of tourists. The United States, China and Hong Kong use national surveys conducted by their official statistical institutes. We met Thierry Huron to discuss watch sales levels on the main markets. “The Sell-Out Index lists the performance of specialised watch and jewellery stores (independent retailers, chains, and brand stores),”
he emphasises. “The vast majority of retailers sell both watches and jewellery. A decline in their sales is therefore a very bad signal for watchmaking, with jewellery traditionally doing better.”
(+1.4%), the sell-out of watches has stagnated for several years. Only one country escapes this global trend: the United Kingdom, at +11.9%!
geopolitical context, deteriorating employment prospects and the pressure on middle class incomes have direct repercussions.
What are the reasons behind these disappointing figures?
How do you explain the very strong growth in the United Kingdom?
First, it should be noted that this deceleration trend intensified throughout the second half of 2018, and continues with negative figures. Last year was really divided into two phases. We saw a strong recovery in the first half of the year, which was marked in the main markets, followed by a decelerating second half, with a very poor month of December 2018. A major reason for this decline is the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States. The general economic context is therefore not conducive to an improvement in the situation.
This is undoubtedly a phenomenon linked to Brexit, as reflected by the shipment figures communicated by the Swiss Watch Federation. However, the figures in the SellOut Index also show that the sector of specialised watch and jewellery stores is very dynamic: in-store sales increased by 11.9% in the first quarter of 2019. There are several reasons: the jewellery industry is driving this upward trend, the depreciation of the pound favours shopping and local consumption remains sustained, particularly through e-commerce. Online sales represented 20% of the total retail sales in the United Kingdom in December 2018.
China has so far compensated for the slow growth or decline on the more mature watch markets. How do you see China’s watch retail situation developing?
Thierry Huron
What overall assessment can you make from global sales of timepieces in the first quarter of 2019? Sell-out of timepieces and jewellery declined almost everywhere from January to March. We see a marked decline in the United States (-5.2%) and a very strong deceleration in China, where growth remains positive (+2.2%). Singapore (-3.5%) and Hong Kong (-2.5%) are also down. In Germany (-0.4%) and France
It must be acknowledged that the situation in the watch and jewellery retail trade is linked to that of Chinese trade globally, and that’s decelerating. The current strategic move for watch brands is to assert their presence in mainland China, through the opening of numerous points of sale. Prices are being harmonised, the government is seeking to stimulate local consumption, and imports of watches are being more closely monitored at the border in an effort to crack down on “daigou” (retailers who buy watches abroad for their mainland customers). It is less attractive to buy abroad, which could benefit the domestic market. However, in this tense context, Chinese millennials, the main target of Swiss watchmakers and the luxury industry in general, remain fragile: the majority are not financially independent, and depend on the income of their parents, even their grandparents. In the current
“Chinese millennials, the main target of Swiss watchmakers and the luxury industry in general, remain fragile: the majority are not financially independent, and depend on the income of their parents, even their grandparents.” Even if these are not the latest figures, can you give some indications about the Swiss watch market? In 2015 (the latest figures available), the activity of watch and jewellery stores in Switzerland, excluding department stores such as Manor, Coop City or Globus, represented 3.3 billion francs. This figure is close to the size of the German or French markets.
The entry-level segment seems to be suffering more and Swiss export volumes are falling every year. Is this due to the arrival of the Apple Watch? Stock exchanges have punished volume brands such as Fossil and Movado when their annual reports were published. But the Sell-Out Index only reports retail trade figures in terms of value and not volume. The decline is probably amplified in terms of volumes, but it cannot be measured through our index. Watch companies have embarked upon a comprehensive reconfiguration of their distribution networks. This has a strong impact on the independent retailers that make up your index. Many brands, such as Omega, Bulgari and Zenith, have announced that they are reducing their partnerships. The Richemont Group, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille have already endorsed this principle in their commercial policies. The logic of the brands, in this changing environment, is to capture the retailer’s 40% margin by opening their own stores or selling online. This move is also linked to limited production capacities; the industry is making efforts to optimise each element of its value chain. Taking control of logistics and stock management, creating a direct relationship with the customer and the omnichannel model are additional reasons. How can retailers get by under these conditions? Several major players in watch distribution are moving towards managing monobrand stores. This is particularly obvious at Watches of Switzerland, Bucherer and Embassy. Their advantages are their considerable knowledge of the local market, and qualified staff. But they have to accept a lower margin than in their multi-brand stores. What we’re also noticing is that specialised retailers are now more inclined to develop their jewellery business than watchmaking. This is very clear for major players such as Bucherer and Gübelin, as well as smaller retailers. What other information does your index reveal? It also highlights the importance of the watchmaking and jewellery segment in relation to total retail trade by market. In Hong Kong, this rate is very high, at 18.7%. In Singapore, it is 11%, while it is only 0.9% in the United States, less than 1% in China and 1.7% in the United Kingdom (total excluding motor vehicles).
Quarterly results by market, compared to the first quarter of 2018 (YTD), show a general decline in watch and jewellery sales, with the exception of the United Kingdom. ©The Mercury Project
The Sell-Out Index website is available on: mercuryproject.ch/sell-out-index/
CROWDFUNDING
WATCH AFICIONADO | 11
Kickstarter, for better and for worse
Rebel GMT by LIV Watches
The crowdfunding platform is not just about success stories: less than half of the watch projects submitted reach their objective. But those startups who succeed can teach some lessons, at a time when the whole industry seems to be looking for its “community”. In Switzerland, we have heard a lot about Code41. In the United States, LIV Watches has established itself as a master of the genre. by
Serge Maillard
In his latest report, watch consultant Thierry Huron, founder of the Mercury Project (see his interview on the previous page), focused on one of the most significant disruptions in the watch industry in the last decade: the emergence of dozens of new watch brands each year on crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter. “Since 2009, Kickstarter has established itself as the most popular and respected crowdfunding platform for the watch industry,” says Thierry Huron. “Today, young creators, designers, but also established brands use it.” For example, Alpina, launched its AlpinerX model on Kickstarter last year, raising over 1.5 million francs. This project was nevertheless destined to remain a one-off, as the brand’s manager explained to us in an interview (read it here). We might also mention French brand ZRC, founded in 1904, which raised more than 500,000 francs from 300 contributors two years ago for its “North Adventure” project. The brand has thus achieved more than twice its initial goal.
More failures than successes These cases are pretty rare, however. According to Thierry Huron, failures are more frequent than successes on Kickstarter. By list-
ing all the watch projects submitted in 2018, the consultant noted that 51% of them had not achieved their initial objective. The proportion of failed projects reached 57% in the first quarter of this year. The success of a fundraising campaign is not necessarily a sign of great solidity in itself. Remember Pebble? The smartwatch brand raised over 30 million dollars in two campaigns on Kickstarter, before going bankrupt and being sold to Fitbit. The challenge for yesterday’s fashion watch brands, as well as for tomorrow’s Kickstarter brands, remains that of longevity.
Direct contact with customers Despite these warnings, the platform is a valuable tool for new watch projects. Those that take the plunge are forced to deal from the outset with a rather fickle community of buyers. While the industry as a whole likes to talk up the idea of direct contact with end customers, lessons can be learned here. Klokers, for instance, which has managed to find its niche with watches inspired by calculation rules, is a good example of brand building using the platform at its best. We recently met the creators of two watch brands that have managed to make the most of crowdfunding: Code41 in Switzerland (3 million francs raised in two campaigns) and LIV Watches in the United
States (3.8 million francs raised in four campaigns). North America remains the dominant market for crowdfunding. According to Thierry Huron, for the first quarter of 2019, more than a third of the watch projects on Kickstarter were generated from the United States or Canada.
In February 2017, the brand introduced its new collection, Rebel, with an unconventional rectangular shape. The project raised 1.7 million dollars from 3,000 contributors. “We produce 60% automatic models and 40% quartz,” says Sholom Chazanow. LIV Watches uses movements from Ronda, Sellita and ETA, with prices starting at $290. Since its inception, the brand has sold more than 10,000 watches, sticking to its niche of men’s sports watches. Some 40% of customers are Americans. LIV Watches also has a strong following in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, France and Germany. The brand decided to move up the range with its latest Kickstarter campaign, which has just ended. A series of automatic models in titanium and ceramic has generated a result of 800,000 dollars.
By listing all the watch projects submitted on Kickstarter in 2018, consultant Thierry The rise of LIV Huron noted that 51% of Watches them had not achieved Headquartered in Miami, Esti and their initial objective. Sholom Chazanow positioned their brand in the men’s sports watch segment from the very beginning. Their idea was to offer Swiss made quality at a more affordable price than what was available on the market at the time. That was in 2014. Sholom Chazanow already had a solid watchmaking background dating back to 1992. He began with fashion brand Daniel Mink, before leaving the warmth of Florida for Bienne, working at Roventa Henex, then Candino and Edox. It was after having contributed to the launch of another online brand that he decided to create his own watch company with his wife. “Nothing we do is traditional,” he explains. “We started by launching an online competition to find the best design for our watches. More than 200 designers from around the world participated.” Since 2014, LIV Watches has launched four Kickstarter campaigns amounting to nearly $4 million. The first project, LIV Genesis X1 Swiss Chrono, raised 191,000 dollars in 11 hours, while the second, an automatic model from the same line, reached 1.1 million dollars, over 30 days. “Kickstarter is a tough exercise, which really forces you to sell your concept, your idea,” continues Sholom Chazanow. “There are so many microbrands and so many ideas: the environment is ultracompetitive. Our first experience proved that the project was viable. It allowed us to prepare the second campaign as well as possible.”
A defining element in the success of the LIV Watches project is the collection of customer data. Forced to fight fiercely to survive, new brands often embrace practices that are destined to become widespread in the industry. This is the case here, at a time when major brands are looking for a more direct relationship with their customers and a better understanding of their profile.
“The data collected through Kickstarter, our newsletters and our website allow us to segment customers and make targeted offers,” says Sholom Chazanow. “For example, we notice that our customers are also very interested in brands like Breitling and Panerai.”
Code41 tackles luxury watches Claudio D’Amore is better known in the Swiss watch world, since his project to impose transparency in pricing has caused many teeth to gnash. A first campaign on Kickstarter enabled Code41 to raise more than 500,000 francs at its launch in 2016. The latest crowdfunding campaign, conducted on the brand’s own website, with the aim of “democratising Haute Horlogerie”, is the X41 project, a mechanical watch with a peripheral rotor. The 500 X41 Creator models launched have sold at a price of 4,000 euros, as have the 100 standard models, for a total of more than 2.5 million francs. To achieve this result, Code41 relies on the power of its community. The brand claims more than 200,000 “members” and has already sold 10,000 of its Anomaly timepieces. A key to success is building and nurturing a community, and keeping them engaged with regular teasers. We often hear that our planet is now functioning in “tribes”. For better or for worse, one of the tribes of today’s watch planet is Kickstarter. Like other social networks, this platform is complementary to online stores and to traditional retailers in the new omnichannel model being developed. If it’s going to stand the test of time, it must continue to inspire conviction in the strength of each project with sincerity and passion.
The new Code41 X41 timepiece with peripheral rotor
INTERVIEW
12 | WATCH AFICIONADO
Gucci: “The watch industry must move on e-commerce” What is your distribution strategy?
A major player in the watch industry, Gucci has just launched the Grip, a new collection based on the universe of its creative director Alessandro Michele. The brand is at the forefront of generational changes and the globalisation of luxury. Piero Braga, in charge of watchmaking at Gucci, shares his vision. by
Serge Maillard
During the last Baselworld exhibition, the bold new Grip collection was the focus of attention at a dedicated Gucci booth in the centre of Hall 1.0. Designed by creative director Alessandro Michele, this unisex watch, available in multiple 35 mm and 38 mm variants, leaves no one indifferent.
“The watch collections have undergone rapid changes over the past three years to align them with the rest of Gucci’s creations.” Its dial may remind us of a counter, a scale, a ruler or any other interpretation that comes to mind. The watch is intriguing. Gucci continues its exploration of a certain vision of watches, a journey initiated in 1972 – since the era of Severin Wunderman, the man who persuaded Aldo Gucci to launch the brand’s designer watches.
We want to work better with fewer partners, on higher-end products, while also increasing our presence, visibility and impact in Gucci stores. We have reduced our distribution over the past three years, but we still have a significant number of high quality points of sale.
Piero Braga is in charge of Gucci’s watch division, but also of distribution of the Italian company’s entire production in multi-brand points of sale and the travel retail sector. We met him.
“Gucci.com has been our largest storefront worldwide for a long time.”
What inspired the new Grip collection?
Where are your main markets today?
The inspiration clearly comes from the late 1970s, especially from the world of skateboarding. It is accompanied by a visual campaign symbolising an electoral victory, the rise of freedom of expression and new rights for minorities. This campaign dedicated exclusively to watchmaking highlights this year’s three main new collections at Gucci. What is the place of watchmaking today at Gucci? The brand has evolved a lot on the fashion side in recent years, under the influence of Alessandro Michele. The watch collections have undergone rapid changes over the past three years to align them with the rest of Gucci’s creations. In 2019, beyond the new Grip, we are focusing on the bestsellers G-Timeless and Dive, and eliminating refer-
Piero Braga is in charge of Gucci’s watch division
ences. We want to create fewer, but more identifiable pillars. The fashion watch segment is undergoing very significant changes, and today it seems to be somewhat “stuck” between the success of the Apple Watch at the bottom and the luxury mechanical watch at the top... As far as Gucci is concerned, I believe that our creations do not com-
pete directly with other brands, because we are targeting an audience that is a little different from the traditional customers in the industry. This sometimes gives our multi-brand partners a hard time when they see our colourful displays... We have two assets in watchmaking. On the one hand, we have been in the industry for almost 50 years. On the other hand, we have a particular point of view on the watch, which is reflected in our creations.
The markets are fairly well balanced. The United States, China, the United Kingdom, South Korea and the travel retail segment perform very well. The presence of Gucci stores also allows us to access a new generation of customers. Another strategic point is finding the right balance between the virtual and the physical worlds. Gucci. com has been our largest storefront worldwide for a long time. We also work with e-commerce partners such as Net-A-Porter and Farfetch. What is your vision of e-commerce? In my opinion, the industry should gather around serious e-commerce platforms such as Net-A-Porter and Farfetch, to prevent the parallel market. A convergence between the watch brands and these platforms could meet the expectations of both parties. It would strengthen the status of watchmaking among other luxury categories that are already very successful online. We are ready to participate in this move, but first the traditional brands have to get started. Are you also present on the major Chinese e-commerce platforms?
Gucci G-Timeless Contemporary
Gucci Grip
Gucci G-Timeless Automatic
No. This segment is evolving rapidly, with the alliance between JD.com and Farfetch on the one hand, and Alibaba and Net-A-Porter on the other. There is still a lot of uncertainty, so we are waiting to see how the situation will evolve. JD.com and Alibaba are two e-commerce giants but there are still many parallel actors and counterfeits on these platforms. They try to separate luxury on different platforms but the traffic is disappointing. The right balance between quality and traffic remains to be found. For the moment, we have made the choice to grow in China through our own platform.
E-COMMERCE
WATCH AFICIONADO | 13
Chrono24 unveils its plans for the future The German company has established itself as a global leader in watch e-commerce. The platform is now aiming to forge direct partnerships with well-established brands. Meeting in Karlsruhe with Tim Stracke, its co-CEO. by
Serge Maillard
Chrono24’s premises in Karlsruhe, in southern Germany, are a labyrinth in a post-industrial setting: a castle that used to house a brewery, and has now been converted into offices. More than 200 people are working there, in premises that could hold their own against tech giants like Google: game rooms and ecofriendly cafeterias, alongside glasswalled offices that embody the spirit of transparency so highly valued by the high-tech industry. Founded in 2003, Chrono24 lies at the junction of e-commerce and watchmaking. It has established itself as a leader in online watch sales. You just have to type the name of a watch into a search engine to see the site appear – very quickly. Today, it is a de facto digital benchmark, with more than 15 million visits recorded each month. The platform is used on average by 3,000 professional sellers and 20,000 private sellers at any given time. While watch brands are looking to make up for lost time by investing online to promote their second-hand market via takeovers, partnerships or the launch of their own dedicated services, we met Chrono24’s coCEO, Tim Stracke. How big is the secondary watch market worldwide? It is around €15 billion per year, in terms of trade volumes. This market is growing at an annual rate of around 10%. In comparison, the value of the world market for new watches, at retail prices, is approximately €37 billion per year. We estimate the total market value of all second-hand watches in the world (the majority of which are obviously not for sale) at €250-300 billion. More and more observers are referring to the second-hand market as a “new China” for the watch industry. Of these €15 billion, what is Chrono24’s share? In 2018, we recorded transactions of around €1.3 billion on our platform. Second-hand watches represent around 60% of Chrono24’s business, compared with 40% for new watches. The second-hand market is growing faster. The overall growth rate of transactions on our platform is around +30% per year. We are a profitable company.
The second-hand market seems to be much more developed in the United States and Europe than it is in the emerging countries such as China, which is now supporting the global growth in sales of new watches. Absolutely. Numerous studies attest to this distinction. However, while the second-hand market is already
identify and know all the watch enthusiasts in the world. We estimate that one in three aficionados currently uses Chrono24 on a regular basis. And through this data we have a precise picture of their specific desires and needs. How exactly are you working with watch brands? By supplying data? The only visible collaboration on your site is the merchant platform you have set up. We never sell personal data. We help brands build relationships with the groups they target. If a brand wants to invite collectors for a dinner in Dubai, we probably know the people who might be interested. If a brand wants to organise an event
regard Chrono24 as a gateway in terms of offering information, stories, background information and all kinds of services.
tion is that watches from brands that have been very active in drying up the grey market are attracting more users than before.
You appear very high up in search engine results, especially when looking for the price of a watch. Many brands still refuse to give this information online. Do you consider yourself a benchmark on the price of watches?
Brands are placing increasing demands on their partners, in terms of sales environment but also credibility. How do you control the “seriousness” of the professional operators using your platform?
Google likes what the user likes. And many users want to know the price of watches, first and foremost. It’s not our decision, it’s the users’ decision, via Google. With more than 15 million visits per month, we certainly play a leading role in this respect. Much more revealing is that
We have been very strict from the beginning about who can and cannot use our platform. This has been a key factor in our growth: without credibility, we would not be in our current position. We have only trusted, vetted dealers, in terms of quality and authenticity of the timepieces. In addition, we allow our users to take advantage of our free Trusted Check-Out system: the transaction is not authorised until the watch has actually been validated by the customer. If it’s not, we transfer the money from our escrow account back to the customer and the watch is shipped back. Where are your key markets?
Chrono24’s management in Karlsruhe, Germany
strong in Europe and the US, it is now growing faster in Asia. Chinese consumers are buying new watches now, but in a few years’ time we believe pre-owned watches could reach the importance that this segment enjoys in Europe today. The brands’ attitude to pre-owned watches is changing. Up to now, they have been mainly associated with grey and parallel markets, fed by oversupply. We have seen buyouts, and more and more brands are launching their own services in the second-hand segment. Do you have direct contact with brands? This is one of the great changes of our time: watch brands are now embracing the pre-owned market. At the same time, they intend to fight the grey market, while opening their own online stores. Where our own relationship with brands is concerned, we can play a role in each of these areas. Unlike when Chrono24 started, we are now in direct dialogue with most CEOs of established brands. We have an extensive database and plenty of information on consumers: our goal is to
“Google likes what the user likes. And many users want to know the price of watches, first and foremost.” in Tokyo with aficionados who can spend more than 50,000 euros on a watch, then we are certainly a good partner to talk to. What is your experience with millennials? In 2025, approximately 40% of sales in the luxury segment will be to millennials. Their behaviour in gathering information, interacting and conducting purchases has been sharpened by the internet. We see that this generation has a strong desire to be closely connected to brands. They have a keen interest in the background and the stories of a brand. Values like sustainability matter a lot more to millennials than to previous generations. We
many users are interested in comparing prices, but they don’t purchase a watch based on this element alone. In 2015, when prices for luxury watches were incredibly low, we realised that people stopped buying when discounts got too big. Everybody loves a discount, but they want to be the only person to benefit from it. In our experience, dealing with oversupply, and creating scarcity, really works in terms of bringing price stability to the market and making a brand attractive. More and more brands are interested in the second-hand market. Many are probably thinking that they have lost a lot of time, and perhaps gave you a lot of power by doing so. As they increasingly master this segment, are they not likely to dry up your own market? Not at all. We see it more as an opportunity for partnerships with brands. And we have already seen it in other industries. Most car manufacturers now trade pre-owned vehicles. This helped car trading platforms be successful and did not hurt them at all. An interesting observa-
Our position is very strong in Europe and the United States. We just launched a TV campaign in the US and we’ve noticed that American dealers are much more advanced than Europeans in terms of online marketing. In addition, the United States is by far our largest watch supply market. In terms of demand, Italy is in a leading position. We consider ourselves a truly global platform: in addition to Germany, we have an office in New York, and our Hong Kong office is helping to push our business in Japan and Asia even further. We support 9 currencies, our platform is available in 22 languages and our customer support can help users in 15 languages. What are the most important growth drivers for you? If I have to name just three: creating the best possible experience for our customers, building partnerships with the watch industry and expanding our activities in Asia. What is the average selling price on Chrono24? Around 8,000 euros. What are the top selling brands? The top three are Rolex, Omega and Breitling. We represent a true picture of brand desirability. I think our main advantage is that we are very close to the end customer, and the entire industry wants to know its aficionados better. They have been neglected for too long. We want to be as close to them as possible.
SWATCH GROUP 2019
14 | WATCH AFICIONADO
One giant leap for Omega For 50 years, Omega has been capitalising on the extraordinary adventure that made its Speedmaster the first watch to be worn on the Moon. In our July 1969 edition, we highlighted the historical significance of the event for the Swiss brand. by
Pierre Maillard
You would really have to live at the bottom of a cave, with a stalactite as your only means of marking the passing of time, to be unaware that 50 years ago, on July 20, 1969, men landed on the Moon for the first time, an Omega Speedmaster BA 145.022 watch on their wrist. Since then, Omega has continued to highlight its participation in this historic achievement, which is fair enough. And all the more so, now that the vintage wave has turned into a tsunami.
Omega Ref. BA 145.022, Limited edition, N°722 1970 ©Phillips
Re-creation
Europa Star, N°5, 1969
In the immediate aftermath, still in 1969, Omega produced a special series of its Speedmaster moon watch, in yellow gold with a burgundy bezel. Exactly 1,014 of these models were created between 1969 and 1973, 28 of which were offered to NASA astronauts. The rest were sold to the public.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this achievement, Omega has relaunched the famous BA 145.022. The case (up from 40 mm to 42 mm), dial, hour and minute markers and hands are now cut and shaped from a special alloy, Moonshine Gold, whose brilliance recalls “the colour of the moon shining against a deep blue sky”, as Omega’s promotional materials state. But the argument is not only poetic: this alloy is supposed to offer better resistance to fading and loss of lustre over time. The famous burgundy bezel is now made of ceramic, with a Ceragold tachymeter scale. The vertically brushed dial is marked OM, for “Or Massif”, and its indexes are carved in black onyx. Its hour and minute hands are also enhanced with black varnish, as are the hands of the chronograph central seconds and the counters.
The 2019 relaunch of the famous BA 145.022
laser-engraved and PVD-treated ring that shows a partial map of Cape Canaveral seen from the sky, set with a fragment of lunar meteorite.
A commemorative steel version While the gold version was released in 1,014 copies, 6,969 copies of the Apollo 11 Speedmaster are also available in steel. The steel model, with its grey and black dial, is more openly commemorative, with two special touches that dis-
tinguish it: a single number “11” in place of the corresponding index, and the minute counter decorated with a drawing that shows Buzz Aldrin descending the ladder to the lunar surface. The famous original footprint is reproduced on the back of the watch along with the well-known sentence, “THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND” – a slogan devised by NASA, which could now also be interpreted as: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for Omega”...
Change of movement
An astronaut’s Omega Speedmaster, as worn in space after NASA clearance Europa Star, N°5, 1969
These watches have become rare and highly sought after by collectors: the timepiece bearing the number 722 was sold in November 2018 in Geneva for CHF 68,750, compared with an estimate of between CHF 15,000 and CHF 25,000.
The first Speedmasters that went for a walk on the Moon were equipped with the 321 movement, a manual column-wheel calibre from Lemania. As early as 1969, it had been replaced by a new movement, the 861, also a Lemania, with a higher frequency and simplified mechanism, centrally controlled by cams and no longer by column wheel. Today its descendant, the 3861, equips the commemorative Speedmaster. This movement is still manual but now co-axial, with a stop-second function, high resistance to magnetism and excellent chronometric performance. It can be fully seen on the back of the watch, framed by a decorative
The commemorative Apollo 11 Speedmaster
SWATCH GROUP 2019
WATCH AFICIONADO | 15
Breguet’s unchanging codes
Of the watch often referred to as “probably the first wristwatch in the world”, we have nothing but written documents, the watch having disappeared in 1855. It was ordered in 1810 from Abraham-Louis Breguet by Napoleon’s sister Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, and delivered in 1812 (she went on to order no fewer than 34 watches and clocks from Breguet). In 2002, Nicolas Hayek decided to recreate it. It is true feat of reconstruction, carried out with the help of the few elements known about it, including the ovoid shape that is so particular and distinctive.
The imprint left by Abraham-Louis Breguet was so strong, technically and aesthetically, that the successive houses that bore his name have never deviated from the line drawn by the master, whether under the Chaumet brothers, Investcorp or, since 1999, the Swatch Group, as Europa Star witnessed during the 20th and 21st centuries. by
Pierre Maillard
In 1983, when Breguet had belonged to the Chaumet brothers since 1970 and was managed by François Bodet, who has repositioned the declining brand in the high-end segment, Europa Star presented the five stylistic codes that defined Breguet’s watchmaking style: the fluted cases, the delicately rounded horns, the hand-guilloché dials with the signature in a rounded and hollowed window, the “apple” hands and the pin buckle.
Breguet’s timeless codes, as presented in Europa Star in 1983. Breguet belonged then to the Chaumet brothers from Paris.
It must be emphasised that, despite all the ups and downs the company has suffered the Breguet style, so recognisable, has not changed much. This continuity is perfectly reflected in the new models recently introduced for 2019.
This policy proved to be a winner, as Hayek explained to Europa Star seven years later, in 2006, when the brand was launching two watches, the Tradition and the Queen of Naples, that deviated from these strict codes. But they nevertheless remained broadly within the lines.
The Marine collection In 1815, Abraham-Louis Breguet was appointed by Louis XVIII Horologer to the French Royal Navy. Since then, the links between the brand and the nautical world have remained strong. This is reflected in the long line of timepieces in the Marine collection. Stylistically, in 2019, the codes are still present, but with a more sporty appearance. The Marine 2019 collection includes three new models with a satin-finished and polished titanium case and bracelet (a metal that is particularly resistant to corrosion and salt air): a three-hand 40 mm, a chronograph and the Marine Musical Alarm Automatic. All three feature a gold sunray slate dial, “apple” hands and luminescent 5-minute markers, as well as thick Roman numerals, all giving priority to legibility and a certain sobriety.
A sleeping beauty awakes When Nicolas Hayek took over Breguet, the brand was a sleeping beauty. He awakened it vigorously by investing in the creation of a genuine dedicated factory, creating exceptional models, introducing silicon, filing 77 new patents, producing one new movement per year, and creating an unceasing buzz around the brand. With strength and determination, Hayek put the brand back in the central position that the historical importance of its watchmaker naturally conferred on it. But he did so while remaining true to the aesthetics and codes defined in previous decades.
The iterations of the Queen of Naples
Breguet Marine Chronograph 5527 from 2019. The watch has been “professionalised”: the famous “apple” hands are coated with luminescent material, as are the Roman numerals, which have are thicker, and alternate with luminescent markers.
The 2019 Breguet Classique 9068. It should be noted that the milled case, the specific shape of the lugs and hands, the layout and typography of the indexes, and the pin buckle remain in accordance with previous codes.
Legitimacy of the tourbillon Among Abraham-Louis Breguet’s many achievements, we find of course the tourbillon, of which he was the brilliant inventor. It is therefore quite natural that the Breguet brand has long made it a specialty, sometimes combining it with a skeletonised movement and/ or with a rare regulator display. As soon as Breguet was taken over by the Swatch Group, a very special effort was made in the legitimate field of the tourbillon. Thus, 2006 saw the introduction of the first double tourbillon and, in 2007, the Tradition 7047 Grande Complication watch with a tourbillon with rocket-chain transmission. In 2013, Breguet introduced its extra-flat automatic tourbillon 5377. This other Grande Complication is distinguished by its out-of-the-ordinary tourbillon, the execution of which has been the subject of several patents. The tourbillon cage is made of titanium and the hairspring of silicon, while the escapement is made of silicon and non-magnetic steel. It is this same Calibre 581 that we find today, now extremely skeletonised. The calibre 581, with its 3 mm thickness, is one of the thinnest automatic tourbillon movements in the world. Its peripheral oscillating weight is a major element,
The Queen of Naples 8918. 18-karat white gold fluted case, bezel and flange set with 117 diamonds, ruby cabochon on the crown, 18-karat silvered gold dial engine-turned by hand for the hours and minutes, white mother-of-pearl for the circumference. Breguet red Arabic numerals extended at 12 o’clock, squeezing down to hug a pear-shaped diamond set at 6 o’clock. Self-winding mechanical movement Calibre 537. Silicon escape wheel and balance spring. 45-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 30 m.
This year, Breguet is introducing the Extra Flat Skeleton Tourbillon 5395 to its Classique collection. Silicon has been incorporated into the flat spiral anchor escapement. Note the remarkable slimness of the movement, with its 3 mm thickness.
but it also has the advantage of providing a full view of the movement, whose very particular architecture is obtained thanks to the titanium cage which meshes directly with the gear train, and a silicon escapement whose curved construction opens up a great deal of space. This exclusive structure is perfectly highlighted here thanks to a bold skeleton design. The gold plate and bridges (hardened specifically to allow the operation) were hollowed out and, in total, nearly 50% of the material was removed to obtain superlative transparency. Engraving, guilloché and bevelling add to the exclusivity of this piece.
In the years following its launch, the new Queen of Naples proved to be a great success. With its egg shape, its crown with cabochon at 4 o’clock, its attachment to the ball-shaped bracelet at 6 o’clock, and its fine satin or gold braided bracelets, it quickly became a stylistic icon, easily recognisable in all its different forms. Its dial would be reinterpreted over the years in a hundred and one different ways: guilloché, mother-ofpearl, shell, gold or silver, diamonds or coloured stones, as well as complications such as moon phases and repeaters, or playing graphical games with its numbers, proving to be very classic one day and contemporary another. All while remaining true to itself, thanks to the persistence of its own Breguet codes, which remain a constant, reassuring background presence. The two new products for 2019 provide yet more proof of concept (if any were needed, which it isn’t).
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Blancpain: the unsinkable Fifty Fathoms Like many brands in 2019, Blancpain is capitalising on its 20th century icons, and particularly on the adventure of the Fifty Fathoms.
by
Pierre Maillard
The Fifty Fathoms was born in 1953 from the meeting between JeanJacques Fiechter, Blancpain’s boss since 1950 and an outstanding diver, and Captain “Bob” Maloubier, founder of the French Army’s combat swimming unit, who was looking for a dive watch worthy of the name. In fact, Jean-Jacques Fiechter was working on precisely such a watch. It met all the criteria: luminescent hands and hour markers, a secure rotating bezel, an automatic movement, perfect waterproofing and an antimagnetic case. This was the beginning of the Fifty Fathoms saga.
60 years of evolution During its more than 60 years of evolution, the Fifty Fathoms has never left the scene. It has, however, undergone many alterations and developments, with numerous special editions and commemorative models. It has sometimes adapted to its time, moving away from its original style, as shown, for example, by this photo of a Fifty Fathoms published in 1972 in Europa Star, when Blancpain still belonged to Rayville SA. You will notice that its large bezel is in keeping with the fashion of the time, that its rotating bezel is internal, that it has a day/date of perhaps limited usefulness to a diver... From being a “professional” instrument, the Fifty Fathoms had become a sports fashion watch, even though it was water-resistant to 300 m. After being picked up by JeanClaude Biver, who devoted most of his efforts to making Blancpain the main actor of the revival of classical mechanical watchmaking, the brand fell into the hands of Nicolas Hayek, who then entrusted it to his nephew Marc Hayek.
Fifty Fathoms, Rayville SA, Montres Blancpain. Europa Star 1/1972
The limited edition of the Fifty Fathoms “Nageurs de Combat” (Combat Swimmers), in steel with a diameter of 45 mm, is equipped with the 1315 automatic movement and its 3 barrels.
A great sportsman and skilled diver, he tried to put the Fifty Fathoms back in the spotlight, as evidenced by the underwater celebration of the 50th anniversary of the watch in 2003, together with Captain “Bob” Maloubier himself.
Gaining weight at 60 In 2012, on the eve of its 60th anniversary, the Fifty Fathoms became the X Fathoms, for “extreme”, in accordance with the tastes of the time. But in doing so, it was becoming even more professional, offering a mechanical gauge capable of measuring depths up to 90 metres, more than any other watch, with an accuracy of 30 centimetres between 0 and 15 metres deep. Marc Hayek took the opportunity to dive again, but this time to the bottom of Dubai’s giant aquarium, with free diver Gianluca Genoni, who remained 18 minutes and three seconds without breathing, leaning against the watchmaker’s bench where the watch was presented, as can be seen in Europa Star 1/2012.
The irresistible rise of vintage The following year, in 2013, the vintage trend was already on the rise and, on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, Blancpain presented a special vintage-inspired Fifty Fathoms. It was the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, named after the exploratory submarine designed by Jacques Piccard, and derived from models of the same name from the 1950s.
The vintage trend continues in 2019 This year, this vintage trend still overshadows everything else, as we can see from the new products presented not at Baselworld, which the Swatch Group has deserted, but during a tour of Switzerland organised for the international press. The first example is the reissue, in a 300-piece special edition, of the Fifty Fathoms dedicated to French combat swimmers. With the agreement of the French army, Blancpain was authorised to reproduce the qualification badge for combat swimmers on the back of the watch. On the dial we find a second emblem, a symbolic “7” referring to 7 metres, which is
The Fifty Fathoms Barakuda, limited to 500 pieces in steel, combines a vintage look and a contemporary calibre with a 1151 double barrel automatic movement. With this model, Blancpain hopes to convince “experienced divers, collectors, history buffs or lovers of fine mechanics”.
the maximum depth that can be reached using only pure oxygen. A second example is the Fifty Fathoms Barakuda, named after the diving equipment manufacturer with whom Blancpain worked in the 1960s to deliver its watches to the German Bundesmarine. Back then, Barakuda also distributed a “civilian” version of the watch. The 2019 model incorporates the origi-
The Fifty Fathoms in ceramic and pink gold is equipped with the 1315 automatic movement, with pink gold oscillating weight and blue leather strap.
nal aesthetic codes, going so far as to coat its large indexes with red Superluminova tips, imitating the old radium that is now banned, and equipping it with a rubber strap that is very similar to the original. A third model is the Fifty Fathoms with ceramic dial. The combination of a blue ceramic dial with a satinbrushed red gold case is a first for the collection. It makes it wearable in environments more chic than the seabed alone. Elsewhere, the watch stick to its tried-and-tested formula: luminescent indexes, numbers and
Fifty Fathoms Automatic in titanium. Since 2007, the Fifty Fathoms has been displaying a date between 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock, without affecting its historical appearance. This version is intended for daily wearers, not just divers.
hands, unidirectional rotating bezel, water-resistant to 300m. Finally, the Fifty Fathoms Automatic Titanium introduces this modern material to the Blancpain family of diver’s watches. Water-resistant to 300 metres, with an imposing 45 mm diameter, it displays all the iconic features, is equipped with a 1315 automatic movement that ensures a 5-day power reserve thanks to its 3 barrels.
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Jaquet Droz and the Grande “small second” It was only in the mid-2000s that Jaquet Droz regained a strong identity by delving into its archives and rediscovering a watch from 1785 – a model whose style has now become the brand’s backbone. This is confirmed by the new releases for 2019. by
Pierre Maillard
In April 2000, Swatch Group added a new brand to its portfolio: Jaquet Droz. Major changes were happening then in the luxury watch sector, and the group’s intention was to strengthen this segment further after the acquisition of Breguet in 1999. At that time, Jaquet Droz had come a long way. From 1991, the brand was owned by Investcorp (which then also owned Breguet, Ebel and Chaumet), which in 1995 sold it to François Bodet and Yves Scherrer (both of whom had previously worked for Breguet). Then, at the very beginning of 1999, financial company Cupola Venture Partners Ltd (officially domiciled in the Cayman Islands), with Anglo-
Saxon and Arab capital, took control of Montres Jaquet Droz alongside private Swiss shareholders. It was from this group of investors that the Swatch Group acquired the brand. What exactly could be done with this great name in watchmaking, which had historically specialised in automata, and whose output of wristwatches and pocket watches remained relatively obscure? In fact, a few short years were enough to give Jaquet Droz a distinct identity in the luxury watch segment. As shown in the image below (left), in 2002 Jaquet Droz was still offering a “tonneau”-shaped watch with no specific identity, similar to so many other watches of the time. This timepiece gave no hint of the direction the brand would later take. Grande Seconde Chronograph
Towards the definition of a recognisable style
The Tonneau GMT 7369, featured in Europa Star 2/2002
The Grande Seconde, as it appeared in Europa Star 2/2003. White gold case and ivory dial in Grand Feu enamel. Jaquet Droz’s contemporary style was born.
In 2003, the Grande Seconde timepiece made its appearance. It made a splash with its stripped-down classicism and the arrangement of its enlarged “small second”. It was to be the basis of a new watch line with the distinctive styling that is so familiar to this day. This line was directly inspired by a superb pocket watch dating from 1785 (yet more proof of how useful archives can be!), whose simple geometric design was key. In the following years, this stylistic matrix gave rise to a number of variations that would come to define the brand’s image and identity.
Jaquet Droz’s latest releases
WHEN JAQUET DROZ HAD 1,000 MODELS In 1965, Jaquet Droz was proud to be able to present “an incomparable collection of more than 1,000 high-class models”, as stated in an advertisement published in Europa Star 2/1965. But at the time, 150 “selected” factories, united in the Coopérative de Fabricants Suisses d’Horlogerie, presented their production under the shared name of Jaquet Droz who, it is worth remembering, was the inventor of the watch “factory”. Not many people know that.
The 2019 offering is consistent with this past evolution. Among its variations, Jaquet Droz already released a single-pusher chronograph. But this is the first time that this useful function has appeared among the complications of the Grande Seconde flagship model. Four versions of the Grande Seconde Chronograph stand out: an inaugural 88-piece limited edition in red gold with an ivory-coloured Grand
Grande Seconde Dual Time
A more contemporary Grande Seconde Dual Time Grande Seconde Chronograph
Feu enamel dial, with Arabic and Roman numerals in Petit Feu enamel. The retrograde hour, minute and date hands are in red gold, contrasting nicely with the blued steel chronograph hands. Three versions also feature in the current collection, in 43 mm stainless steel, with a blue or taupe dial in sanded silver, whose grain is given a particular quality thanks to dry hand sanding. In addition, these three versions are distinguished by an off-centre dial and a monopusher crown at 4 o’clock. The movement behind the Grande Seconde Chronograph, with its column wheel and silicon hairspring, has been completely redesigned to adapt to the particular geometry of this off-centre design.
In 2016, Jaquet Droz introduced a Dual Time in its Grande Seconde collection. This very classic watch is undergoing a significant evolution this year, which sees its aesthetics profoundly modified, while its automatic mechanical calibre remains the same. The aesthetic difference is the presence of a world map representing the continents seen from the North Pole (a “polar azimuth” projection), whose powdered finish gives the surface a particular grain that makes them appear to stand proud. Another aesthetic innovation is that domestic time can be read over 24 hours, divided into two 12-hour segments that make it possible to differentiate between day, in white, and night, in black. The local time is read from the upper part of the dial and is set by jumping one hour, causing the date to change.
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Glashütte Original, Saxon to the core the German calibration service, it is adjustable to the nearest second. Small seconds at 6 o’clock, power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock, large jumping date at 3 o’clock, day/night indicator: all characteristics that, according to the brand, “are inspired by historical marine chronometers”. The chronometer is driven by the hand-wound calibre 58-01 (44h 40 min power reserve), with stop-second and reset function which stops the time display, resets the seconds display and locks them in this position by simply pulling the crown. By turning it to set the time, the hand jumps to the next index, thus maintaining the minute and second ratio.
Glashütte Original draws its inspiration from its roots in 1845, from the 1920s with the work of Alfred Helwig, from the 1960s, from its rebirth in the 1990s, all the while remaining uncompromisingly Saxon (although a member of the Swatch Group). by
Pierre Maillard
The origins of the German “Vallée de Joux”, Glashütte, date back to 1845, when the first watchmakers, including Ferdinand Adolph Lange, settled in the small mining town to create a German watchmaking industry with high standards of production (read our report on the area by clicking here). From that date, workshops began to proliferate there. But unlike peaceful Switzerland, Germany’s turbulent history repeatedly interrupted the rise of the Glashütte watchmaking valley and changed its destiny. The origins of the very name “Glashütte Original” reflect this. It was in 1916 that the first clock by a watchmaker named Karl W. Höhnel was signed “Original Glashütte”. In November 1918, the company Deutsche Präzisions-Uhrenfabrik Glashütte (Sa.) was registered. It wanted the place of origin of its products to be part of its name, including it on its pocket watches from 1921, “in order to show that this product is genuine and not a foreign imitation”. The UROFA and the UFAG followed on the Deutsche PräzisionsUhrenfabrik Glashütte (Sa.) after the latter was closed in the year 1925. The UROFA was responsible for the production of the raw movements and components and the UFAG finished and assembled the watches. This was the first time that watches with a dial bearing the name Glashütte Original had appeared. During the same period, master watchmaker Alfred Helwig, based in Glashütte, invented a new type of tourbillon, fixed on one side only, now known as the “flying tourbillon”. The invention gave the tourbillon a new lightness and transparency. It also demonstrated Glashütte’s watchmaking, scientific and technical excellence.
Alfred Helwig’s flying tourbillon, a prototype from 1927. This innovation would strongly influence the fate of Glashütte Original to this day.
At the end of the Second World War, the territory of Glashütte and Dresden, the nearest major city, passed over to East Germany. The communist authorities had a different vision of watchmaking. The various independent workshops were grouped into a single entity, the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB), oriented towards mass production (some of those products, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, are interesting in their own right). In 1989, before the Wall fell, there were still over 2.000 people in the company. Due to economic changes, however, this number decreased in the following years. In 1994, the company was privatized. At this pointed, it counted 72 employees.
Heinz W. Pfeifer, then Nicolas Hayek In 1994, Heinz W. Pfeifer bought the premises and machines and relaunched production under the name Glashütte Original, with the ambition of bringing all design and production operations under one roof. Within a few years, Glashütte Original had regained its lost prestige. In 2000, Nicolas Hayek decided to focus on the brand (partly in response to Richemont’s acquisition of A. Lange & Söhne, which was relaunched in parallel by the genius Günter Blümlein). Heinz W. Pfeifer agreed to sell it, while remaining at the head of the company. This entry into the fold of a major industrial group would allow Glashütte Original to grow even more strongly. Since then, Helwig’s flying tourbillon has always been the pinnacle of the brand’s output.
The PanoMaticLunar and the PanoReserve The Alfred Helwig Flying Tourbillon of 2019
the crown again and holding it, the second hand mounted on the cage will position itself at zero while the minute hand is positioned on the next index. By releasing the crown, you can set the hour and minute while the second remains locked at zero. By pushing the crown back, the second is released, and everything is perfectly synchronised. In addition, the hand-wound calibre 58-05 which drives it has a 70-hour power reserve and is duly certified as a chronometer by the German Calibration Service, an independent authority based in Glashütte. The 42 mm platinum case frames a delicately crafted and partially skeletonised movement that reveals its stepped structure.
This new edition, limited to 25, features the famous “butterfly bridge”, very finely hand engraved on a rhodium-plated surface, with lines evoking tendrils of foliage, a motif that is also engraved on the movement, as seen on the back of the watch. This delicate decorative work is complemented by the highly traditional techniques of polished and screwed gold chatons, red rubies, blued screws, gold engravings and skeletonised hands.
The Senator Chronometer
Ten years ago, Glashütte Original released the PanoInverse. Its distinction, as the name suggests, lies in its inversion of the usual construction to let the balance bridge “float freely” over the cutaway plate.
The flagship watch of the Senator collection, the Senator Chronometer was first introduced in 2009, but with its perfect readability and refined aesthetics, it quickly became a brand classic and a major success. The Senator Chronometer returns in 2019 in a version with a 42 mm red gold case and a refined bezel that leaves more room for the textured and grained silver dial. Chronometer certified by the DKD,
The PanoInverse of 2019
The Senator Chronometer of 2019
A new PanoInverse
2019, a world first This year, Glashütte Original offers a world first for its Alfred Helwig Flying Tourbillon by combining it with a stop-second, a zero reset and a detent minute. This guarantees precise time setting that is utterly Saxon, by enabling the second and minute hands to be synchronized. Two patents have been filed for this complex construction, which permits the flying tourbillon to be stopped mid-flight by simply pulling out the crown. A vertical clutch then immobilises the tourbillon cage and its balance and, by pulling
The Pano range is emblematic of a very “Saxon” approach to watchmaking. As such, it represents one of the brand’s major successes. The layout of its various displays, its characteristic large date and its aesthetic harmony (governed by the golden ratio) have made it one of the most popular watches among collectors.
The PanoMaticLunar of 2019
The two new models presented in 2019, with red gold cases and saturated blue dials (which are made inhouse), gracefully continue this tradition. Take, for example, the two gently convex golden moons, milled and then machined with a diamond cutter, which glide over the silver firmament, in the PanoMaticLunar. Or the slender Gangreserve against a deep blue galvanised background, in the PanoReserve, whose very name is written on the dial to recall the German origin of its product. The immaculately finished selfwinding calibre 90-02 (4 Hz, 42hour power reserve) equips the PanomaticLunar. As for the PanoReserve, it is driven by the hand-wound calibre 65-01 (4 Hz, 42-hour power reserve), which offers a precision adjustment with a double swan-neck mechanism, developed in-house.
“Switzerland to stop producing mechanical watches? (…) After sinking slowly for five years, we have now touched the bottom. Everything seems to have been in league to destroy the very foundation of what was once a flourishing and seemingly indestructible industry.” (Europa Star, issue 119, 1980)
Time is the ultimate master.
To keep in mind the lessons of the past, | CLUB and get instant subscribe to access to over 60,000 pages of watch history. www.europastar.com/club | CHAIRMAN Philippe Maillard PUBLISHER Serge Maillard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pierre Maillard CONCEPTION & DESIGN Serge Maillard, Pierre Maillard, Alexis Sgouridis DIGITAL EDITOR Ashkhen Longet PUBLISHING / MARKETING / CIRCULATION Nathalie Glattfelder, Marianne Bechtel/Bab-Consulting, Jocelyne Bailly, Véronique Zorzi BUSINESS MANAGER Catherine Giloux MAGAZINES Europa Star Global | USA | China | Première (Switzerland) | Bulletin d’informations | Eurotec EUROPA STAR HBM SA Route des Acacias 25, CH-1227 Geneva - Switzerland, Tel +41 22 307 78 37, Fax +41 22 300 37 48, contact@europastar.com Copyright 2019 EUROPA STAR | All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Europa Star HBM SA Geneva. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily Europa Star. | ISSN 2504-4591 | www.europastar.com |
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A GIANT THROUGH OUR ARCHIVES
20 | WATCH AFICIONADO
Jean-Claude Biver: past, present, future As everybody knows, Jean-Claude Biver has stepped down from day-to-day operational responsibilities. An ideal opportunity for us – we have just digitised our archives from 1960 to the present – to have a long meeting with him to talk about his career and the successive transformations undergone by the Swiss watchmaking industry. Interview. by
Pierre and Serge Maillard
Europa Star: In 1975, after completing an Economics degree at the University of Lausanne and having settled in the countryside, in the Joux Valley, you joined Audemars Piguet and were appointed sales manager for the European countries, mainly Germany. The watch manufacturer had just released the Royal Oak and some strategic decisions had to be taken that will have a decisive impact on the brand’s future orientation… Jean-Claude Biver: Georges Golay, the charismatic boss of Audemars Piguet back then, had the courage to launch the Royal Oak designed by the brilliant Gérald Genta. One day, he summoned us. He was worried: this first steel watch, which was totally innovative back then – you could even see the screws on the bezel – had been rejected by most of the markets, except Italy. And on the other hand, he’d noted that Patek Philippe was buying back its old timepieces. What were we to do? The young generation, of which I was a part, wanted to invest to conquer the future, not bolster up the past. Mr Golay replied: “Ok, but be careful, the Royal Oak must not cannibalise the collection!” We thought that would never happen; at that time sales stood at around a hundred items. But Mr Golay had sensed the risk and today it has to be admitted that in launching its Code 11.59 Audemars Piguet is trying to get out of a situation he anticipated a few decades ago. That said, the incredible good fortune of the Royal Oak perfectly demonstrates that the greatest watchmaking successes are achieved by immediately recognisable watches. It’s the end customer who feels the need to have their watch recognised by society. That’s a lesson you should never forget. In 1979, right in the middle of the quartz revolution, you left Audemars Piguet for Omega… J-Cl. B.: Omega put me in charge of developing sales of gold watches. At that time, Omega was selling lots of gold-plated products and the
danger was that they risked killing off the actual gold products. Gold watches target another type of customer, so they had to be different, truly distinct. So I created a specific department to develop a gold collection. But from 1980 on, the production portfolio was made up basically of quartz watches. At that time, the prestige, the supreme value, was in precision. That was avantgarde! To visually suggest that the precision of quartz was indeed present and no adjustment was needed, we launched a De Ville collection without a crown, a very special watch. That brief period with Omega lasted until 1981, when the “Hayek plan” to restructure the watchmaking industry began. Fritz Ammann, the boss of Omega, resigned and I didn’t get on with the new boss, Peter Gross, who came from the bank UBS. So, I resigned along with the “Ammann bunch” and left without a new job to go to.
An Omega DeVille quartz gold watch, without a crown.
And shortly after that the venture with Blancpain begins… J-Cl. B.: I was frustrated with my time at Omega and quartz watches had little appeal for me, but I was impressed by Lemania, which made the mechanical chronograph Calibre 321, for example – which Omega has just re-launched, incidentally! I also knew that the SSIH had in its portfolio several brands it wanted to get rid of, including Blancpain, which it had bought from Villeret in 1963.
Jean-Claude Biver
I was friendly with Jacques Piguet, who worked in the mechanical movement workshop belonging to his father, Frédéric Piguet. I phoned him and talked about Blancpain, founded in 1735, which had tiny movements. Why not purchase the brand? We decided to give it a try, against all current trends. SSIH sold it to us for CHF 21,500. But it came with nothing, all the archives had been destroyed. We set up business in the Joux Valley, on the historic farm of Louis-Elisée Piguet adjacent to the Frédéric Piguet workshop. At that time, they supplied the ultrathin Calibre 21 to Patek Philippe, to Corum for its Dollar watches, and to Vacheron Constantin; to Audemars Piguet they supplied mainly the ultra-thin Calibre 71P with a decentralised rotor. At the same time, Frédéric Piguet had signed a contract with Ebel. PierreAlain Blum wanted a special quartz movement for Cartier, a better-finished quartz, dressier than current trends. By accepting that contract, Frédéric Piguet had to lay off watchmakers, but he knew very well that for him, the future did not lie in quartz and that it was impossible for him to compete over any distance with the industrial watchmakers. With the creation of Blancpain, new synergies were able to emerge between Frédéric Piguet and ourselves. Blancpain had to be successful.
1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain. And there never will be,” we were talking about credibility, patriarchal wisdom. Philippe Stern wrote, to congratulate us. That famous quartz precision became of secondary importance. Who cares about ultra-precision to a quarter of a second in everyday life? As a famous Italian retailer explained to his customers: you’re a lord, and a lord doesn’t need the exact time! But it wasn’t easy. One day, I received a letter from the Fédération Horlogère reproaching me for having said at a Credit Suisse meeting that quartz was carcinogenic, dangerous because of its batteries – it’s true that I’d invented the story of a Zurich doctor who forbade his patients to keep their quartz watch on their wrist and offered them a mechanical watch in exchange (laughs).
“With our slogan “Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain. And there never will be,” we were talking about credibility, patriarchal wisdom.” And beyond the communications, what was your idea for Blancpain itself, as a product? J-Cl. B.: I didn’t want to relaunch Blancpain solely with hours and minutes watches. They had to have the traditional sobriety, beautiful finishes, but also additional features. A moon phase was an ideal indicator to our minds, infused with nostalgia and poetry. In the attic at Frédéric Piguet, we found all the tools we needed, unused since the 1940s, to make a day, month, date and moon phase movement. We got to work right away and modified it so that the month changed automatically every 31.
And in the context of the times, nothing was less sure… J-Cl. B.: Indeed, but in 1982 the post-1968 generation was coming into economic power, 30-35-yearolds who’d been influenced by the hippie generation, with strong intellectual propensities, an awareness of values, of the fact that the future is built on and with tradition… We transformed the discourse of the time, turning communications upside down by talking about “miracle hands”, suggesting that ultimately, quartz had neither a soul nor a future because unlike mechanical watches, it was doomed to obsolescence. With our slogan “Since
Browsing through our own archives, which we’ve just digitised (www.europastar.com/club), we’ve realised that the renaissance of the mechanical watch actually happened very fast. Quartz did plenty of damage, profoundly transforming the structure of Swiss watchmaking, but it didn’t reign supreme for long. J-Cl. B.: The new rise of mechanical watches happened in just a couple of years. Judging by the growing success of Blancpain, mechanical watches came back in force from as early in 1982. Franck Muller was one of the first. Günter Blümlein, who headed up IWC and JaegerLeCoultre at the time, played a major role, along with others… But it should be pointed out that during this whole time, apart from the Oysterquartz – highly sought-after today, by the way – Rolex, unlike others, never stopped producing mechanical watches. Yet in 1992 you sold Blancpain to Nicolas Hayek… J-Cl. B.: Yes, I sold Blancpain to Nicolas Hayek at a difficult time for me, a divorce that I was having a tough time going through. The sale took place on 7 July 1992 for 60 million Swiss francs, while Blancpain was making profits of 12 million. A glass of port and the deed was done. The next day, 8 July, I got the whole staff together and announced it. But three weeks later I was already calling Hayek. I was depressed, I’d lost my love, I’d lost my passion. I asked him to hire me again. Which he did, but he warned me: “You’re going to be frustrated: I’m giving you a challenge, to get Omega back on its feet again.” At the time, Omega was a destructured brand moving in all directions at once, with obsolete marketing. People’s tongues wagged, they said he’d bought me. But Hayek jumped at the opportunity, because he wanted to hire an entrepreneur. From 1992 to 2001, we had an outstanding relationship, strong and direct. I’d say to him “Let’s take Cindy Crawford” and he’d say “ok” right away. Today, lots of brands are led by technocrats who talk about emotion, but know nothing about the real trade. During those years, Omega seemed to grow spectacularly.
Europa Star 3/1983
J-Cl. B.: At Omega, I was in charge of marketing and products. But otherwise I was still CEO of Blancpain and in charge of SMH (not yet called the Swatch Group) for Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Between 1972 and 2001 Omega increased its turnover from CHF 370 million to 1 billion.
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WATCH AFICIONADO | 21
er. And you’ve created the first fusion in the art of watchmaking. And so I’m going to call the brand’s message the “Art of Fusion” and I’m going to call the watch Big Bang. A child of five can understand it, repeat it, and make the same drawing. That’s the strength of the message, the simplicity of the concept. And this simple concept of fusion applies to the product, but to more than that… J-Cl. B.: It applies to everything. You find this duality everywhere: hot/cold; day/night; yin/yang. Always contrasts: Hublot is always about contrasts. Moreover it applies even to life itself: only living things can connect yesterday and tomorrow. Dead things can only connect yesterday and now. So this concept of fusion is the concept of life. When you have a concept which is that of life and what’s more you can draw it for kids, how can you lose! Even footballers can understand it (laughs). Few brands have such a clear concept and that explains the success of Hublot, which is probably the brand with the strongest growth over the past 15 years.
One of the key reasons for this success was the opening up of China from 1993, to which we gave proper status. Until then, all the watchmakers had regarded China as a dumping-ground, but I introduced quite a different policy: in China we delivered the same products as in Europe and the United States. We not only took Cindy Crawford, but James Bond, NASA and Michael Schumacher as well. At the same time as to all the other markets.
“Three weeks after selling Blancpain, I was already calling Hayek. I was depressed, I’d lost my love, I’d lost my passion. I asked him to hire me again. Which he did, but he warned me: “You’re going to be frustrated: I’m giving you a challenge, to get Omega back on its feet again.” But why and how did this extraordinary venture end? J-Cl. B.: In 1999 I caught Legionnaire’s disease which floored me and in 2001, worn out, I quit my responsibilities at Omega, keeping the others. I became a free agent. But I was no longer a money-spinner; people more or less forgot about me. So two years later, at the end of 2003, I left the Swatch Group completely. But my passion for entrepreneurship was undiminished, and in 2004 I approached Hublot and its boss and owner, Carlo Crocco. I knew him because he was the distributor of Blancpain in Italy. He was intending to step down from
But like with Blancpain before and more recently Hublot, you act by breaking with the past. Yet today, one gets the impression that the watchmaking industry is looking to its past rather than to its future. J-Cl. B.: That’s because of the millennials. Those who haven’t known the past want to rediscover it. They drive their parents’ 1950s Vespas, they search for photos of Brigitte Bardot… But today, what might a break with the past look like? You introduced smartwatches to TAG Heuer, the revolutionary oscillator of the Defy at Zenith…
Sale of Blancpain to the SMH Group. Europa Star 4/1992
the operational side of the business a little and devote himself to his major philanthropic projects, especially in India. During our interview I asked him: “What is your message with your brand?” Carlo Crocco replied: “We’ve made a gold watch and for the first time we’ve mounted it on a rubber strap. Its design, that resembles a porthole, is reminiscent of the yachting world, the sea….” I said to him: “But what you’re telling me there is the product description, that’s not a message!” And I made a drawing for him that any child could understand. I explained to him that the most important thing was the concept. I drew the sky, and there’s the Earth. On this Earth there are trees, underground there are treasures, oil, uranium, gold. But gold and rubber have never been associated, because gold is underground and rubber in the trees. But they were together once upon a time, before the Big Bang, and when the Big
Bang happened, the gold said “I’m going underground” and the rubber said “I’m off to the trees”. And since the Big Bang they’ve never been together, but you, Mr Crocco, you have brought the gold back from underground, and you’ve brought the rubber down from the tree and you’ve fused them togeth-
J-Cl. B.: The oscillator dreamed up by Guy Sémon and his research teams was a real thunderbolt, a whole new direction. For the first time we bypassed Huygens; watchmaking walked straight into the future while remaining in the mechanical sphere. Because the property peculiar to mechanical watches, unlike all the other products, is that its technology may be obsolete, but the
Drawing by Jean-Claude Biver, 16.01.2019
product itself is not affected by obsolescence. Mechanical watches are the only objects that come from the past but connect you with the future, with eternity. That said, given smartwatches, there’s no longer any reason to buy a mechanical watch costing CHF 500 that only shows you the hours and the minutes. But for CHF 50, there is. Or for several thousand francs. It’s the whole middle range that’s in danger. With Hublot, TAG Heuer, Zenith, you invested heavily in research and materials, but also in features. I’m thinking in particular of the 1/100th then 1/1,000th of a second… J-Cl. B.: I’ve always invested huge amounts in R&D. I’ve always believed in R&D and I’ve always said: if you do lots of marketing, you have to always bear in mind that marketing is air, it has no substance. Sooner or later, a ball pumped full of air will deflate and fall. So let’s build substance and credibility with R&D, that way the ball will be bolstered up, it won’t fall. As an entrepreneur I think I’m one of the only people who have always thought and said that investment in R&D has to be proportional not to turnover, but to the investment in marketing. But R&D demands patience. There’s always waste in basic research, you’re never sure of succeeding and quite often, when you’re looking for this you find that. You shouldn’t look solely at the figures. You have to move forwards, sometimes in the dark. And financiers don’t understand that very well, they get impatient, they want immediate results. Without Guy Sémon, a physicist, mathematician and researcher, I would never have succeeded in doing what we did at TAG Heuer, whether the smartwatch or any of the mechanical innovations. He advised me, guided me, right from the first day we met. Now you’ve arrived at the end of a cycle. Are you ready to embark on new adventures. J-Cl. B.: Quite honestly, I don’t know what to do with myself (laughs). It’s possible that one day, I’ll have an idea and start off again. But until I’ve had some thunderbolt of an idea, I won’t embark on anything. I still have a little “buffer” of around ten years, and no one’s waiting for me to turn out an extra-flat automatic watch. I don’t want to play that one game too many. OK, I could have gone to see Mr Arnault and told him we were splitting it fifty-fifty and that we were going to launch Guy Sémon’s oscillator under my name. That would have made a sensation, I can tell you! But now it’s Zenith who’s taking care of it and that’s fine. Having said that, if one day you have a really good idea, feel free to come and see me. But I’ll only make a move for something really exceptional.
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LET’S COOL DOWN… by
Pierre Maillard
These are curious times for the watchmaking industry, with many erstwhile certainties crumbling. The big trade shows are falling apart and the major brands no longer know if they’d be better staking their bets on their own road shows or similar high-level meetings, or rallying round fairs like Basel or Geneva. The same thing is happening with products. The brands are wondering if they should continue to expose the entrails of their mechanical movements and offer horological follies, or retreat towards measured, vintage classicism, which is decidedly in vogue.
All options are open. The laboratories are hard at work producing novel alloys and dreaming up innovative technologies, but no one knows in exactly which direction watchmaking is moving. The following pages bear witness to this. Yet they also reassure, because in them you see a desire to finetune details, to re-establish equilibrium, to temper the hubris that is forever lurking, to be more appealing. The 2019 offering will have no one shouting from the rooftops, but it is a sign of a welcome return to moderation. Let’s cool down… (we’ll feel so much the better for it).
VERY FINE TUNING Progress happens in two ways: by radical ruptures, or just the opposite – tiny adjustments. But why on earth go for radical ruptures when you have iconic products, the popularity of which has scarcely waned for decades? Yet even an iconic product must be taken down and cleaned, from time to time, of the subtle dust that collects on all things.
ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL YACHT-MASTER 42
CHANEL J12 (NEW) It turns 20 next year, the age at which “you change everything without changing a thing”. Created by Jacques Helleu, the J12 demonstrates both the extraordinary resilience of its design and its capacity to adopt a wide variety of different appearances while remaining totally true to itself. So why change at all, if you don’t change a thing? “It’s paradoxical,” admits Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s watchmaking design studio. “But it’s all wrapped up with the necessity of equipping it with a new automatic movement, the 12.1, COSCcertified calibre developed with the Kenissi manufacture, and with a determination to keep it desirable by gearing it more closely to our contemporary style.” Ultimately, 70% of the components have changed, but it’s the same watch: a surgical operation dictated by style, to which the technical aspects have to submit. The case, now a ceramic monobloc, has a softer, slightly rounded profile, while its re-architectured strap has elongated links that lend it a new finesse. The bezel is slimmer and the number of gouges has increased from 30 to 40. The typography of the numerals (now in applied ceramic) and indices has been redesigned, as have the markings, now stamped in the Chanel typeface. The hour and minute hands are of identical width, and on the black J12 the dial features black Super-LumiNova luminescent zones. At the back, a sapphire crystal provides a view of the movement and its splendid oscillating weight in openworked tungsten, the architecture of which is in perfect stylistic harmony with the rest. CHF 5,650 (excl. tax)
Where fine-tuning is concerned, Rolex is the uncontested champion. The very first Yacht-Master dates back to the 1960s, and a project that never got off the ground (only two items are believed to have been produced between 1967 and 1969). At the time, the idea was to give the Submariner a bit of a facelift. But with typically Rolexian caution, the actual launch of this new collection of “professional watches with the regatta spirit” did not occur until 1992. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength. In 1999 we saw the first platinum/steel model, then in 2005 a gold/steel version, and finally this first Yacht-Master II model, released in 2007, the ideal companion for the truly professional yachtmaster. This year, fans and collectors alike breathlessly awaited the new iteration with an unprecedented diameter of 42 mm. Made in 18K white gold, it comes mounted on a rubber strap. It is equipped with the “avantgarde” 3235 calibre, a certified “Superlative Chronometer” displaying a black-lacquered dial encircled by a bi-directional rotating bezel fitted with a 60-minute graduated Cerachrom insert in matt black ceramic. The new Yacht-Master 42 mm has got it just right: the same old familiar watch but with a whole new look. And it’s already making a splash. CHF 26,500
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ARCHITECTURE At a time when vintage is all the rage, watchmakers with a concern for architecture are proving that classicism doesn’t have to stray into nostalgia; it can be updated without betraying its own essence. It’s all a question of design. These shapes are capable of a whole new elegant simplicity, while remaining the same. Classics of today and of tomorrow.
AKRIVIA THE REXHEP REXHEPI CHRONOMÈTRE CONTEMPORAIN By his own admission, it was the clear, elegant lines of offi-cers’ watches, which required precision and legibility, that inspired the young Rexhep Rexhepi to build his Chronomètre Contemporain. And how brilliantly he has breathed into it that classic look – purity, symmetry, with functions pared down to the basics – yet totally contemporary, devoid of all artifice! The watch stands out simply by being itself, and is resolutely of the present. Driving three hands, including a small dead-second hand as proof of its accuracy, its magnificently finished in-house hand-wound movement is equipped with a stop seconds mechanism. Its accuracy is certified by Besançon Observatory. The price of the men’s watch at GPHG 2018. CHF 59,940
BULGARI OCTO FINISSIMO CHRONOGRAPH GMT AUTOMATIC For many people, this was THE watch of the last Baselworld. Yes, it marks the 5th world record in thinness for the Octo Finissimo. Yes, its automatic movement with a peripheral rotor just 3.3 mm thick, complete with built-in chronograph and GMT, is the thinnest that has ever existed – a feat made possible by the patiently acquired excellence of its built-in in-house movement (and the contribution of its complication workshops at Le Sentier, formerly Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth). But perhaps that is not the most important thing. This Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT breaks other records. It sets new standards, not only in terms of its ultra-flatness, but also in the boldness of its design, the novelty of its layered Octo shape and the refinement of its typography, further reinforced by its rigorously uniform exterior: the case, dial and strap are made of sandblasted titanium in a deep, silky grey. Bold and unstoppable. CHF 16,500
LAURENT FERRIER TOURBILLON GRAND SPORT
HAJIME ASAOKA TSUNAMI DELUXE It is thanks to his fascination with the vintage masterpieces produced from the 1940s to the 1960s that independent Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka designed his Tsunami Deluxe series, incontestably some of the most beautiful three-hand watches in existence. The Tsunami is by no means a copy of vintage watches; instead, it seeks to reproduce in a contemporary way the beautiful balance, simple perfection of form and aesthetic sophistication of a two-tone dial of absolute legibility. 37 mm steel case, a movement that beats at a tranquil 18,000 vph, and manic attention to detail. A magnificent achievement. Around €33,000.
In our view, this is one of the most beautiful watches of the season. In 1979, Laurent Ferrier was still working for Patek Philippe. An avid motorsports fan, he won the Le Mans 24-hour race for the first time in 1977 in the 2-litre prototype category. In 1979, he came third overall at the wheel of a Porsche 935T with his friend François Servanin, to whom he offered the gift of a Nautilus for the occasion. In 2009, now at the wheel of his own brand, Laurent Ferrier created his first tourbillon. As a tribute, in 2019 he is introducing a Tourbillon Grand Sport, inspired by his own outstanding watchmaking and design career. The 44 mm steel watch combines a cushion-shaped bezel with a tonneau case. It’s super sporty, but inside beats a calibre inspired by nineteenthcentury chronometry and driven by a tourbillon which is only revealed when you turn the watch over. What class. USD 185,000
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GRAND SEIKO SPRING DRIVE MANUAL WINDING Having for a long time reserved its most advanced mechanical creations solely for the Japanese market, Grand Seiko has decided to launch a major international offensive to demonstrate the excellence of its watches, in terms of both their chronometric performance and their design, which is evidently inspired by Japanese culture and nature. A whole series of remarkable watches has emerged from this conjunction of avantgarde Spring Drive technology, born twenty years ago after several decades of development, and the delicate touch of its top-notch watchmakers and artisans of the Micro Artist Studio, who draw their inspiration from the natural environment. Here, architectural sobriety and a beautifully finished hand-wound movement (sweep seconds hand, double barrel mainspring, accurate to +/- one second a day, power reserve of 84 hours) are combined with a finely hand-engraved platinum case that evokes the snows of the Shinshu region, whence come these remarkable timepieces. USD 76,000
CZAPEK FAUBOURG FROM THE KRAKOW KING Within a few short years, Czapek has succeeded in establishing a recognisable style. It’s a strictly classical style, certainly, offering nothing revolutionary. Nevertheless, Czapek stands out from the also-rans, and with 130 watches sold in 2018 has achieved equilibrium. Its timepieces display similar balance, as well as quality, visible in the deep, subtle guilloché pattern (requiring 23 stages), which prompts Xavier de Roquemaurel, the brand’s creator, to refer to this as their “dial signature”. Witness this chronograph, for example, featuring the 5 Hz Czapek SXH3 integrated automatic movement, in steel with a diameter of 41 mm, beautifully worked with a salmon-coloured, hand-guilloché domed dial in an alloy of gold, silver, palladium and platinum. CHF 24,000
URBAN JÜRGENSEN JÜRGENSEN ONE COLLECTION REFERENCE 5541 GMT In this new collection, Jürgensen One, Urban Jürgensen relies first and foremost on the harmony and absolute consistency of lines and forms to create an “organic sense of correct proportions”, on the premise that “nothing could be added or removed without destroying this impression of harmony.” They seem to have won the wager with a very fine collection of steel watches, including this 41 mm automatic GMT plus date model, with perfectly controlled architecture and exquisitely refined finishes. A way of being timeless. CHF 33,500
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL SIXTIES With its Sixties Annual Edition, Glashütte Original offers a retrospective of 1960s watchmaking, but it also adds a touch of bright, rejuvenating colour. The domed surface of the dial, a golden yellow at the centre, turns to orange and then red before finishing with a fine black border. This is the result of hand-lacquering on dial blanks embossed using 1960s tools – such as a 60-tonne press, which is what gives the dial surface its texture. Automatic calibre 39-52, 39 mm steel case. €6,300
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DESIGN & PERFORMANCE 2019 marks the centenary of the creation of the Bauhaus, an exacting movement, the precepts of which still exert a profound influence on us, whether we realise it or not. According to the Bauhaus, formal expression, stripped of any superfluous decorative effect, is the direct expression of the function that the ergonomically designed object is intended to perform. That’s not to forget the democratic requirement of perfectly balanced value for money.
JUNGHANS MAX BILL CHRONOGRAPH 100 JAHRE BAUHAUS “Make watches that are as far removed as possible from any fashion. Be as timeless as possible, but without forgetting the time,” Max Bill used to say of the watches that this former Bauhaus pupil designed for Junghans from 1961. A dial trimmed down to the essentials for optimum legibility, clearly distinguishable hands, extremely clear typography – these are the elements that make up the Max Bill Chronoscope 100 Years of Bauhaus limited edition in 18-karat white gold. It features a white polished dial with luminous dots, 12-hour and 30-minute counters arranged vertically, a stop-seconds mechanism and the date, the red colour of which recalls the famous entrance to the original Bauhaus building (reproduced on the watch’s transparent screwed caseback). €7,950
NOMOS TANGENTE SPORT NEOMATIK 42 DATE As the managers of Nomos state, “our watches probably do not correspond exactly to the Bauhaus of 1919, but we believe that they are watches that Bauhaus members might have designed and worn in 2019. They embody the Bauhaus of today.” The new Tangente Sport is the perfect illustration of this, with its manifestly simple case, its sober, slender typography, its easy legibility and perfect proportions. Equipped with the ultra-thin (3.6 mm thick) neomatik date calibre, DUW 6101, by Nomos, it is extremely compact, robust and water-resistant (to 1,000 feet, around 300m). Its specially designed strap is absolutely remarkable – in our view one of the most beautiful straps we saw at Baselworld. Graphically striking and exceptionally comfortable, supple and robust, the watch is made up of 145 parts, each hand-screwed, and comes with a folding clasp specifically designed for this 42 mm model. €3,980
JEAN MARCEL ACCURACY Step by step, Jean Marcel is building up a range of watches that are elegant, well-designed and offering very appreciable performance, whether in terms of thinness (remember the 6.8 mm Somnium released in 2017) or, as here, chronometric performance. “Only COSC-certified movements offering a variation of less than 1 second per month” will be encased in the 300 pieces that make up this edition. Their signature feature is a watch glass made of aluminosilicate, a material nine times more hard-wearing than conventional mineral glass, which lends this watch undeniable warmth. From €450.
FRÉDÉRIQUE CONSTANT MANUFACTURE SLIMLINE RÉSERVE DE MARCHE Classic though its design may be, it shows perfect control: 40 mm case in plain or rosegold-plated stainless steel, dial with sunray brushing in either silver, dark grey or navy blue, Roman numerals, classic black or white hands, small seconds dial and an ultra-legible power reserve indicator set at 10 o’clock. The watch is equipped with the manufacturer’s 28th in-house calibre. A fine achievement. From €3,295.
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REGULATORS Well before the atomic clock, the “mother” of all clocks – the reference for time, as a yardstick was for yards – was the regulator. For a long time the most accurate mechanical instrument in existence, the regulator is characterised by the separation of the hours, minutes and seconds displays. Each dial has its own space, but all work together synchronously to deliver the most accurate reading of time possible.
CHRONOSWISS FLYING REGULATOR NIGHT AND DAY Chronoswiss produced its first regulatortype display all of 30 years ago. But this new Regulator Night and Day takes it into the third dimension, with a multi-level dial and the addition of a day/night hemisphere at 9 o’clock (with Super-LumiNova stars) and a three-day date at 3 o’clock. Here, Chronoswiss is seeking to express less the essential purity of the regulator-type display than its potential expressiveness. Chronometric legibility takes second place to the horological “show”. Winner of a 2019 Reddot Award in the Product Design category. CHF 16,500
MEISTERSINGER VINTAGO The Vintago from Meistersinger is not, strictly speaking, a regulator. It might even be just the opposite: with its single-hand watches, the company based in Münster (Germany) addresses, so it says, “people who don’t need to worry about minor details or seconds, but want to keep track of longer periods of time”. This steel watch with its no-frills, counter-like typography, the dial perforated by a parenthesis-shaped date subdial showing 5 days, does exactly that. It is driven by a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, which is visible through the caseback. CHF 2,100
PATEK PHILIPPE QUANTIÈME ANNUEL AFFICHAGE DE TYPE RÉGULATEUR Six separate indicators, all in white, offer exemplary clarity against the two-tone silvergrey dial of the Regulator. The minute indicator, with its long central hand, predominates; the small hours dial is at 12 o’clock, and the seconds dial is at 6 o’clock. The day aperture sits at half past ten, the date at half past one and the month at 6 o’clock. Three correctors on the left side of the case let you adjust the day, date and month – an operation that has to be done just once a year, at the end of February, annual calendar (patented by Patek) oblige. Regulators vanished from watchmaking workshops and observatories a long time ago, but their precision display, readable at first glance (after a couple of minutes of getting used to it), lives on in wristwatch form. With its Annual Calendar Regulator, Patek Philippe is offering a form of quintessence. The visibly technical nature of the regulator display, carefully laid out for accurate reading, is softened by the rose gold and anthracite colours of its exterior and by its meticulous detailing. USD 51,380
LOUIS ERARD RÉGULATEUR EXCELLENCE This is what’s called getting down to the nitty gritty of the regulator, paring the display down to the absolute essentials: the minutes on a 60/15/30/45 scale marked by fine indices, a small hour subdial immediately recognisable by its XII/III/IX Roman numerals, and a small seconds dial with a railway-track scale. This Excellence Regulator, superbly designed by Eric Giroud, also marks the start of a new strategy for Louis Erard, aimed at moving into the higher end of the market. It is not the brand’s first regulator by any means, because this kind of display is one of its greatest successes. Nevertheless, this one, which aspires to excellence, is produced exclusively in three series limited to 70 pieces each, and heralds a new chapter in the history of this independent brand. Steel case, CHF 2,700, Black PVD, CHF 2,800.
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MECHANICAL FOLLIES The great wave of mechanical megalomania and the exploits it offered may have passed, but the exploration goes on, whether in terms of function, display or materials. New players are even striking out into this niche market of high-flying mechanical watchmaking. ARNOLD & SON TIME PYRAMID TOURBILLON Inspired by the regulators created by John and Roger Arnold more than two hundred years ago, as well as by the antique British clocks characterised by their skeletonised vertical design and conical fusée system, the Time Pyramid Tourbillon displays a oneof-a-kind architecture. The vertically rotating linear gear train connects the two mainspring barrels, which are arranged serially (at 6 o’clock), to the tourbillon escapement (at 12 o’clock). Built on three levels, the tourbillon, flanked by two power reserves, sits above the off-centre hours and minutes dial in sapphire crystal. This superlatively finished timepiece comes in 18-karat red gold (CHF 46,800) or steel (CHF 37,150).
ALCHEMISTS CU29 The Alchemists’ ambition is huge, nothing less than “to incorporate a whole ecosystem into their first watch collections [with] projects related to sustainable development, professional reintegration and philanthropic activities.” Their first step has been to develop an innovative alloy, Cuprum 479, a patented blend of gold, silver and over 80% copper. This sustainable alloy has no need of surface treatment, is machinable to minute tolerances, can be hand-polished, is “more stable” than 18K gold and offers “beneficial qualities for the body, powerful antibacterial action” thanks to its high copper content, which is a major catalyst for the formation of red blood corpuscles, as well as supporting the immune system and protein and lipid metabolism. The inaugural timepiece, the Cu29, is a demonstrative watch featuring a variable inertia balance and weight screw at 8 o’clock, a power reserve between 10 and 11 o’clock, indicated by a cursor moving along a peripheral gear bar graded from 0 to 72h, and a selected function indicator (W for wind and S for set) placed between 2 and 3 o’clock. The hour dial in grand feu enamel or stone is placed at 12 o’clock and displays the hours (red hand) and minutes (white hand), while the seconds are displayed offcentre at 6 o’clock. The ring, calibrated into 60 trailing seconds, covers the Cu29’s two barrels. The calibre is 100% produced inhouse. We’ll come back to this in more detail. Price on demand
RUDIS SYLVA OSCILLATEUR HARMONIEUX IN ROSE GOLD
DEWITT ACADEMIA SLIDE From his childhood in the French countryside Jérôme DeWitt has retained an undiminished passion for fun mechanisms, which he discovered by observing spectacular farm machinery. After the endless screw he presented earlier this year, here is a watch that tells the time by means of tiny slides that glide progressively from the top to the bottom of two rails. The individual hour plates show the current hour when in a horizontal position. But when a new hour begins its glide, the previous hour plate returns to its vertical position in a continuous progression. It’s an imposing 49.2 mm diameter timepiece in a titanium case. CHF 52,000
Jacky Epitaux, the man at the helm of Rudis Sylva, is one of the most endearing people in the watchmaking industry of the Jura. Together with a team of the best artisans and watchmakers in the region, ten years ago he launched his Oscillateur Harmonieux, a major invention made up of a regulating organ with two balances connected by means of a sophisticated system of teeth. These two mainsprings, mounted opposite one another in a cage which executes one rotation per minute, are deployed asymmetrically, supplying continuous energy to the regulating organ and eliminating all gravitational effects when in a vertical position. It is described as “better than any other existing tourbillon”. Just under 100 examples of this superbly finished watch have been delivered worldwide, with “zero customer returns”, says Jacky Epitaux. For its 10th anniversary, the Oscillateur Harmonieux is available in titanium (CHF 200,000) or rose gold (CHF 250,000).
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TIME FRACTIONS The ability to display tiny fractions of time is without a doubt one of horology’s most important conquests. The chronograph was a crucial instrument of industrialisation during the world’s first globalisation phase, that of the first railways and regular international connections. To the eyes of the uninitiated, the chronograph may lack the nobility of the tourbillon, yet it is one of the key complications in the art of watchmaking, combining technical know-how, precision and consummate skill in the art of display. Because the nobility of the chronograph lies in its legibility.
DOXA SUB 200 T.GRAPH GOLD In 1967, Doxa launched SUB. It was waterresistant down to 300m, and had the first patented rotating bevel to read decompression stops, and the first orange dial in a diving watch. 1969 saw the launch of the now legendary SUB 200 T. Graph. It’s now making a comeback, 50 years later, in a re-interpreted limited edition of 13 pieces in 18-karat gold. This series is all the more remarkable since the watches are fitted with original historic Valjoux 7734 movements, much loved by collectors. It features two totalisers (30 min and 60 seconds) and a rotating bezel showing the duration of the dive in minutes (in black) and the depth in feet (in orange). Water-resistant down to 200m. A legend is reborn. USD 70,000
DE BETHUNE DB21 MAXICHRONO RÉÉDITION
CARL F. BUCHERER HERITAGE BICOMPAX ANNUAL In the mid-1950s, Carl F. Bucherer introduced a chronograph that attracted much attention: a streamlined model with a 34 mm BiCompax display. It is from this historic timepiece that the new Heritage BiCompax Annual takes its inspiration. It combines totalisers, a large date and an annual calendar in a 41 mm case in steel (silver dial, black counters, rubber strap), or steel and 18-karat rose gold (pink champagne dial, cognacbrown leather strap). It’s a fine achievement, running on a CFB 1972 automatic movement with a power reserve of 42h. Bicompax Annual steel/rose gold – CHF 10,500. Bicompax Annual steel – CHF 6,900. 2 x 888 pieces.
BREITLING NAVITIMER CHRONOGRAPH 43 SWISSAIR EDITION Swissair, TWA, Pan Am – three iconic airlines of the golden age of commercial aviation, now defunct. A supplier to 15 airlines from the 1960s, Breitling launched its first Navitimer, famous for its revolving slide rule, in 1952. The brand is celebrating this era with a dedicated capsule collection of three chronographs, equipped with the famous B01 calibre. Ah, the good old days! From USD 8,275.
Ten years ago, Denis Flageollet, master watchmaker and co-founder of De Bethune, presented a revolutionary and technically highly complex chronograph of absolute aesthetic purity and legibility. The principle behind it was five hands, mounted on five central axes, embedded into one another and functioning with several interdependent column wheels, each capable of being reset on demand – the whole system controlled and activated by a monopusher at 6 o’clock. With a power reserve of five days, this is the most legible and certainly one of the most beautiful chronographs ever made. It is making its comeback this year, with just 10 pieces, specially produced for the occasion in grade 5 titanium. CHF 155,000
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CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA 2019 RACE EDITION
ZENITH EL PRIMERO A386 REVIVAL To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its legendary 36,000 vph chronograph displaying tenths of a second, Zenith is offering a faithful re-edition of the initial 1969 version. Its 38 mm case, domed crystal, tricolour counters, tachymeter scale, indices, hands, lugs and mushroom-type pushers are all identically reproduced. There are two differences: a transparent caseback, and the fact that this model is powered by the current version of the El Primero automatic calibre. Three revival models, in white, rose or yellow gold, are being produced in editions of 50 pieces each, guaranteed for… 50 years. CHF 19,900
TUDOR BLACK BAY CHRONO S&G
SINGER FLYTRACK CONCEPT For the second watch of its existence (after the first won the Chronograph prize at the 2018 GPHG), Singer is pursuing its obsession with clarity of display. Alongside the peripheral hour and central minute indicators is a unique flyback seconds hand. Activated by a single press of the button, it returns to zero and starts again instantaneously. It’s ideal for accurately measuring lap times, average speeds and acceleration. 43 mm grade 5 titanium case, hand-wound movement, 52-hour power reserve. Retail price tbd.
For its first chronograph with an in-house automatic calibre, column wheel and vertical clutch (the MT5813, based on the Breitling 01 with a regulating organ specific to Tudor, silicon mainspring and dedicated finishes, COSC-certified), Tudor has chosen an exterior that suits both land and sea. The overall characteristics of the Black Bay have been preserved, with its 41 mm steel case and pushers in yellow gold, a fixed yellow gold bezel with a black anodised aluminium insert and a tachymetric scale. The “snowflake” hands – the signature of the brand’s diving watches since 1969 – are proof of this affiliation. Priced from CHF 5,350 (leather strap with removable cuff) to CHF 6,500 (riveted steel and yellow gold bracelet).
For more than three decades Chopard’s name has been intimately associated with the famous Mille Miglia automobile race (Brescia to Rome and back, a distance of 1,600 kilometres) that brings together more than 400 historic racing cars. An entire collection is dedicated to it. The 2019 Race Edition is a 43 mm chronometer which is sturdy, hardwearing, chic and slightly vintage-looking. It’s available in two editions: 1,000 units in steel (CHF 7,750) and 250 in steel and 18-karat rose gold (CHF 10,500). COSCcertified ETA automatic chronograph movement, 48-hour power reserve, tachymetric scale engraved on the bezel’s black aluminium insert, carefully designed legibility. CHF 7,170
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A FEMININE TAKE ON TIME We might as well admit it right away: at Baselworld 2019, women’s watches were thin on the ground. Rare are the watchmakers who consider them with any seriousness, continuity or originality. Apart from the odd exception, for many brands the women’s range seems to be limited to smaller variations on men’s models with a bit more colour and a scattering of diamonds. It’s not enough. Come on watchmakers, make an effort!
HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION ORLINSKI KING GOLD Hublot is more than just the famous and powerful Big Bang, which seems to have gobbled up everything in its path. The Classic Fusion Orlinski is much finer, with its 40 mm-diameter, 11.1 mm thick case, offering a subtle and consistent interplay of folds and facets that make it a genuine sculpture for the wrist. We owe it to the collaboration between the watchmaker and Richard Orlinski, a French artist with whom Hublot has already worked on several models, such as the Aerofusion Chronograph and Tourbillon. With this Classic Fusion, he plays on folds, edges, bevels and facets – as he does in some of his monumental works – and offers a rare aesthetic “fusion” between the case and the dial, the faceted forms of which echo one another. Driven by an automatic movement with a 42hour power reserve, it exists in a variety of versions, in polished titanium or 18K King Gold, with or without diamonds. Reckon on paying between CHF 10,900 and CHF 29,400, depending on the execution.
PATEK PHILIPPE NAUTILUS 7118/1R
BULGARI SERPENTI SEDUTTORI From the fecund Serpenti nest this year hatched the Serpenti Seduttori. Finer than previous models, it comes with an exceptionally supple, hexagonal-link bracelet that dovetails perfectly with its 33 mm teardrop – or snakehead-shaped – case. Driven by a high-precision quartz movement, the Serpenti Seduttori comes in various versions: rose, yellow or white gold, plain, diamond-studded or pavé. €22,600
ORIS BIG CROWN POINTER DATE Who said aviator watches were for men only? Oris, which made its first pilot’s watch in 1938, is this year offering a 36 mm “vintage”-sized model, which subtly combines a steel case and a finely ridged bronze bezel surrounding a dark blue dial. An automatic movement displays hours, minutes, seconds and date. CHF 1,700
It was in 2015 that Patek Philippe launched the Ladies Automatic Nautilus in rose gold with a diamond-studded bezel. This year, the watch reproduces the 1976 design of the Nautilus, with its two characteristic lateral attachments and rounded octagonal bezel, but without the diamonds, which makes the most of its distinctive geometry and the subtle decoration of the silvery or golden opaline dial with its beautifully effective embossed wave design. 324 SC automatic calibre, transparent crystal caseback, polished and satin-finished rose gold bracelet with folding clasp and an original and convenient fine adjustment system. CHF 42,000
2019 WATCH TRENDS
WATCH AFICIONADO | 31
FABERGÉ LADY COMPLIQUÉE PEACOCK To tell the truth, this is no innovation; it’s a pared-down version of Fabergé’s famous Peacock, one of the most delicate and at the same most inventive and horological of all ladies’ watches. The hour is read from the crown at 3 o’clock on a ring that rotates anti-clockwise; the minutes are read off the sculpted set of peacock feathers that fan out and then retract after 60 minutes (the watch in the adjacent photo is thus at half past four). A complex, singular and highly spectacular display developed by Agenhor exclusively for Fabergé. 38 mm rose gold case, white Neoralithe dial, peacock in sculpted rose gold, alligator strap. Price on request
YUNIK MURANO BEAUREGARD DAHLIA
ROBERT & FILS 1630 LA DENTELLE
At the heart of the flower, beneath a crystal dome, beats a flying tourbillon surrounded by precious petals painstakingly carved from mother-of-pearl, turquoise, onyx, opal, phosphosiderite and other stones. Over these glide two hands, also in the shape of petals, and openworked. The crown is in the shape of a bud about to blossom, and the white gold case is studded with 598 VVSDEF diamonds. Each one of these flowerwatches is unique. Self-winding movement. A magnificent offering from a trio of creators based partly in Canada and partly in Switzerland. CHF 172,320
Robert & Fils 1630 makes its return with a highly original watch with a genuinely feminine design. At the centre of a handwoven lace-like cuff in black novo leather with 18K gold, diamond-studded link inserts, a delicate Art Deco-style watch in yellow or white gold, set with diamonds, sits resplendent. The movement driving it is an exclusive Robert calibre dating from the 1960s or 70s, taken apart, inspected, decorated and put back together again in 2019. A proposition both astonishing and exclusive. CHF 33,000 (rose gold with 123 diamonds) / CHF 35,000 (white gold).
It all starts in Murano, where the master glassworkers create rods of multicoloured glass, fuse them together and then slice them into discs to form murrine. After machining in Switzerland, the murrine becomes the case middle, which houses the movement and to which the back and bezel are fixed. Finished, these watches – each one unique – offer a bouquet of different designs in an explosion of colour. Case middle in a single piece of Murano glass. Anti-allergenic screwed steel back, integral case lugs, sapphire crystal. Ronda quartz movement. Quick-change strap: leather, Italian leather, vegan or metallic. 36 mm CHF 625 / 44 mm CHF 745 / tonneau 38 x 42 mm CHF 965.