Bang in the middle of fair season, sandwiched between Geneva’s refined Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie and the more brazen Baselworld, sits a stark challenge: what in 2017 will entice anyone to buy a mechanical watch?
After years of sometimes stupendous growth, demand has been falling, the Apple Watch has landed and, well, things aren’t what they used to be.
SIHH wrapped in late January and even though Baselworld doesn’t open until March 23, we’re getting a taste of what will be on offer, as brands attempt to grab precious air time before the thicket of releases at fair time.
Two trends are emerging from the pre-releases. In the blue corner are those who seem to be saying what’s needed is a return to classic or even retro styling. The kind of simple and elegant timepieces venerable brands have in their archives by the bucketload – a matter of breathing new life into an old favourite.
In the red corner are the avant-gardists, who take a different lesson from history. Namely, that since their inception centuries ago, watches have been about what’s next, religiously embracing the latest technology and functions.
What to do about the internet
Adding an extra dimension to the challenge is what to do about the internet. Watches have traditionally been regarded as treasures that need hands-on experience to be appreciated, their prices justified.
It’s instructive then to look at Basel stalwart Omega, which pre the fair placed one foot firmly in the blue camp, announcing a version of its 1978 Speedmaster model, then “went rogue”, as one competitor put it, with the purchasing process.
While the watch is all vintage touches, including a domed crystal and aged leather or NATO strap options, and a Panda dial layout first seen in the 1960s, complete with vintage logos, it was offered exclusively online via a dedicated Instagram channel.
That’s a first for Omega, which named the watch #SpeedyTuesday as a tribute to Instagram users who’ve taken to uploading images of Speedmasters on Tuesdays with that hashtag. Did it work? You bet. The watches – 2012 of them – sold out within four hours.
Geneva exhibitor IWC has also discovered life beyond the usual retailers, the Schaffhausen brand now selling through Mr Porter. It’s a move sure to be watched closely by its Richemont stablemates, who made up the bulk of the SIHH exhibitors.
A slew of newcomers to the Geneva fair flew the flag for the red corner, including Christophe Claret, Speake-Marin, Ulysse Nardin and Ressence. They all previously only showed at Basel, suggesting the competition is hotting up in more ways than one.
Christophe Claret a master of modern detail
Master-watchmaker Claret wasn’t interested in anything from the past, demonstrating there’s plenty to be done yet with wrist machines, in his case adding a memo function to his $90,000 Maestro model.
He describes the hand-wound watch as “at the crossroads between aesthetics and technicality”, with jewel-topped, cone-shaped domes utilised for both a large date display and a 3D memo function, the latter stanchion located between three and four o’clock. Inspired by the expression “tie a knot in your handkerchief”, you can set it to prompt you to perform, in Claret’s words, “whatever daily objective the owner of the Maestro has set himself”.
One can imagine that might be a reminder to appreciate the detail – the movement’s bridges alone feature 26 interior angles. That said, the angles occupying most brands this year will be their strategies for selling watches.
