THE JOURNAL
Having reasserted itself in the 1990s as a luxurious investment, after cheap quartz technology devastated the industry in the 1970s and 1980s, the spring-powered, cog-driven timepiece has found itself in a state of perpetual self-explanation under the cosh of financial downturns, mobile phones and now smartwatches. Yet against all the odds, Switzerland’s proudest export has become greater than the sum of its tiny parts.
Today’s watch is a style statement, more likely to be papped on the red carpet or courtside than revered through glass cabinetry. As a status symbol, it’s more forgivable at the boardroom table than plonking down your Ferrari’s key fob. Or more nobly, it’s a means of supporting handcrafts that could otherwise be lost. In our new era of mindfulness and sustainability, what’s next for the luxury timepiece? We spoke to the industry’s most switched-on experts for their view of what 2022 will bring.
As the man at the helm of a pioneering brand that industrialises mechanicals “for the people”, you could do worse than ask Mr Rolf Studer, co-CEO of Oris. He’s riding the crest of traditional watchmaking’s latest awakening with the all-new, all-now Calibre 400 base movement, which it is gradually being rolled out across the label’s suite of affordable automatics.
“Calibre 400 was all about thinking a little harder, towards a simpler and more reliable product fit for any everyday situation,” says Studer. “But it had to remain relevant to the Oris enthusiast, at a time when you really don’t need a mechanical watch.”
Calibre 400’s 10-year warranty and 10-year service interval – the norms being two and five respectively – are more than mere marketing claims. “They’re the result of a five-year R&D programme, constantly interrogating us, asking, ‘How can we be sure of this?’” says Studer. “By defining a few elements and setting a new standard for them all, Calibre 400 addresses our customers’ needs directly.”
These elements are everything that’s become better in Swiss watchmaking in recent years: power reserve, precision, robustness, resistance to magnetism and lifespan. Collectively, they make a stronger than ever case for the mechanical wristwatch being the most ethical wearable going. No lithium buttons pinged into landfill each year or another chunk of hardware rendered obsolete by the latest iOS update.
Simpler still, while that contraption ticking beneath your sleeve may still be based on mechanical principles coined by Mr Thomas Mudge in 1754, harder-wearing materials and more efficient engineering are preserving things beyond the wildest dreams of the 18th century’s original horologists.
“We know that eco-conscious watches are coming to the forefront. But I believe watches have always been long-lasting. They aren’t a disposable item”
“We know that eco-conscious watches are coming to the forefront,” says Mr George Bamford, the founding force behind Bamford Watch Department. “But I believe watches have always been long-lasting. They aren’t a disposable item.”
The sentimental investment facilitated by a Bamford personalisation only cements your watch’s inherent anti-obsolescence. It’s also thrown the doors wide open for design collaborations beyond the peaks of the Swiss Jura – Panerai’s stealthy Brabus facelift, for example, or Girard-Perregaux’s hotline to Mr Marek Reichman’s styling studio at Aston Martin. “It’s a great way of reimagining existing stock,” says Bamford, “providing a second string to a design that may be coming to the middle of its career. However, watch manufacturing will be part and parcel of the eco revolution.”
It is a belief shared by Mr Patrick Pruniaux, president and CEO for the Kering group’s brace of historic Swiss maisons_, _Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux. “Innovation is a fashionable topic today,” he says (quite something, coming from the man poached from TAG Heuer in 2014 to bring the newfangled Apple Watch to market), “and for Ulysse Nardin, it is who we are. We’re not smarter than the watchmakers of the past, but we do have a better toolbox.”
Known for its early 20th-century, super-precise marine chronometers, Ulysse Nardin has pioneered laser-etched silicon and lab-grown diamond components since 1999. These are tough, oil-free, antimagnetic and now par for the luxurious course, having provoked brands such as Rolex and Swatch Group into investing in Neuchâtel’s micro-tech hothouse, CSEM, while Ulysse Nardin acquired its own silicon autonomy in Sigatec, east of Chamonix.
“The future will incorporate more materials from organic origin, recycled materials, upcycled materials – materials that support a circular economy”
“The next upcoming theme for design in watches is in the field of sustainable materials R&D,” says Pruniaux. “The future will incorporate more materials from organic origin, recycled materials, upcycled materials – materials that support a circular economy. This model will definitely apply to watches in the future, but they will also include traditional materials such as steel or titanium, even precious materials. One will not cannibalise the other. There’s room for everything.”
Increasingly, there’s room for everyone, too – and it’s about time. “Watch brands have really pushed the limit on social media in the past three to four years,” says Bamford, “and we have some very dynamic CEOs in the watch world at the moment. Frédéric Arnault has been amazing in pushing the boundaries for TAG Heuer. The way in which TAG Heuer launched its Connected Mario smartwatch and pivoted quickly was great.
“I also think Georges Kern at Breitling has found an amazing way to launch with his web episodes. The deepfake he created about the original Breitling team was such a clever move. We’re seeing brands doing ground-breaking things and connecting with their customers in new ways.”
Breitling is particularly adept, here, thanks in large part to the historic pilot’s watchmaker’s wily digital and technology chief, Mr Antonio Carriero, a man apparently born to cyberspace. He understands how the customer journey in 2021 is circular, “blending physical and digital touchpoints”.
“A customer does not differentiate between channels,” he says. “So, it is up to the brand to be able to engage with the customer, where the customer is [and all the while] provide a consistent experience across all the touchpoints.”
The circumference of your wrist, then, is no longer the only touchpoint. The humble wristwatch is saving the planet, making you look better than ever, augmenting your lifestyle and outlasting you, potentially even your son. What else in your wardrobe, or sitting on your driveway, can do all that?