Europa Star: If we compare current watch production with that of five years ago, it seems like the aesthetic codes have been toned down. Many new watches today are strikingly similar to models from fifty years back, while the 50-year-old originals are doing very well at auction, particularly chronographs and sports watches.
Nevertheless, the internet has multiplied the possibilities for buying and reselling second-hand watches. That has to change things, doesn’t it? It’s true that these days, not only does everyone own a watch, but everyone can become a watch trader. It’s an amplification of a pre-existing phenomenon.
Davide Cerrato: Let’s take a step back. In the 1970s, quartz came as a terrible shock for the Swiss watch industry, and the industry’s response was to make mechanical watches Some brands are now trying to take control over seceven more technical. At the same time, design fell somewhat ond-hand watch sales, and over the destiny of their old by the wayside. products. Is Montblanc one of them? The 2008–2009 crisis marked the beginning of the end of this technical phase. We have returned to an era of design, No, this applies mainly to more high-end brands. But I won’t and a desire to take the best of mechanical craftsmanship rule out the idea of paying closer attention to auctions in the and form. In watchmaking, as in any industry, design deter- future. Today, events like Only Watch provide a benchmark mines the first impression; it’s the most important element. for the value of a brand’s heritage. Today, we are increasingly attracted to minimalism, and we can see the importance of "The question we design. The question we should ask is not Let’s talk about your heritage. Next year should ask is not what we can add, but what we can remove marks the 160th anniversary of Minerva, what we can add, but from our watches. which is now part of Montblanc. Why Let’s not forget that the raison d’être of a did you not revive the Minerva brand, what we can remove watch is primarily to be a measuring ingiven that it is greatly appreciated by from our watches." strument. We are reclaiming the watch’s connoisseurs? primordial features; the legibility of sports watches, which is so keenly appreciated today, and their pure- I should point out that Minerva has always been more foly functional quality. A new cycle is beginning, drawing inspi- cused on the product than on its own brand. Its primary role ration from vintage models. was as a supplier. Minerva watches are rather rare. Today, our movements are signed Minerva, and we have extended the life of the manufacture. That seems to me to be coherThis cycle isn’t necessarily favourable for today’s watch- ent. With Minerva, we have a truly creative laboratory, along makers. On the one hand, many new entry-level players with the brand’s technical and design heritage, which enare targeting young people by using vintage inspiration compasses dials and cases as well as movements. The comto create a luxury image at a competitive price. And on pany archives are a rich source of value. We have already the other, many collectors seem to prefer the originals, begun to exploit Minerva’s heritage through our 1858 and and are turning to auctions! TimeWalker collections. The RallyTimer, for example, brings back Minerva’s stopwatch spirit. Stopwatches were the comI don’t believe that this is blurring the lines of luxury, be- puters of their day! They were true instruments, with very cause the difference between a luxury item and a fashion clear requirements in terms of readability. item rests on two elements. First: analytical depth, which means that you can continue to explore your past and learn from every stage. And second, technical quality; we have con- Speaking of readability, it’s easy to feel lost amid ducted research into materials, which has led to the develop- Montblanc’s continuing expansion – perhaps a legacy ment of watches like the TimeWalker Pythagore UltraLight of Jérôme Lambert’s creative activism – which now Concept, which weighs less than 20 grams. It could scarcely stretches from smartwatches to grand complications. be more minimalist. It is here that design meets innovation. What is Minerva’s role within this very broad range of Moreover, I believe that every era experiences its own cycle products? of rebirth, creating new collectors. In my view, the markets for new and old watches have always coexisted. Retailers The integration of the Minerva manufacture has enabled us have always stocked second-hand watches. Vintage is part of to create high-end pieces like the ExoTourbillon, and we can the system. now apply these innovations more widely to the rest of the
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