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Russell Sheldrake
It has taken a short time to get better from this yr’s Watches and Wonders, and partly due to being on the highway the week after with Baltic as we ripped via France following the Tour Auto. However now we’re again to normality, and as sleep schedules are returning to regular, it’s at all times a good suggestion to take inventory of what we’ve simply seen and determine what it could or could not imply for the business as an entire.
Massive manufacturers are again
Final yr, I left Palexpo feeling fairly flat, there have been no super-exciting releases that fuelled me with any sense of pleasure and positivity for the business, however this yr we appear to have been spoilt for alternative. After all, the largest headline was the Rolex Land-Dweller, and whereas a brand new product line getting into the Rolex catalogue is at all times massive information, the truth that they’ve achieved so with a brand new, modern motion reveals that, as at all times, Rolex is constructing for the longer term and has taken a giant step in the direction of it this yr. The brand new calibre 7135 and its newly designed escapement has been lauded as the following nice leap ahead in industrial watchmaking, and with Rolex producing nicely over 1,000,000 watches a yr, it’s spectacular to see them committing to a posh, high-frequency motion (5Hz) that may seemingly act as a base for extra calibres sooner or later.
However saying that Rolex committing financially to one thing is spectacular is probably a slight overstatement. They continue to be the dominant power within the business, with an unprecedented market share of roughly 30%, relying on who you ask. It’s once we step exterior of the crown’s area and have a look at the opposite massive field manufacturers which have been making strikes this yr which actually left an impression on me. The subsequent largest headline got here from Vacheron Constantin with its new Solaria, probably the most sophisticated wristwatch on the planet. It’s doable to have a look at this launch as a reasonably logical one following on from the model’s launch final yr of probably the most sophisticated pocket watch on the planet, nevertheless it nonetheless felt spectacular. With only one on the stand, and practically inconceivable to get out of its case, some believed it to be a singular piece. In reality, it was only a distinctive configuration, which suggests VC intend to make extra of those splendidly overcomplicated watches.
The truth that a model like Vacheron has the arrogance to pursue a expensive venture just like the Solaria, with others clearly not shying away from excessive value initiatives, signalled to me that there was a way of confidence again within the business. Take Grand Seiko for instance. Whereas collectors have applauded the late look of micro adjustment of their clasps, it was the brand new U.F.A actions that prompted me to take pause. I’ll let Zach give extra element on the brand new Ice Forest SLGB001 and SLGB003 in his devoted article, however these new developments show that the model continues to be dedicated to advancing Spring Drive know-how.
An underlying present
Even earlier than the US tariffs grew to become the subject of the honest, there was nonetheless a wholesome quantity of warning round a lot of the manufacturers as we come off what has been a tough 12 months. The sentiment felt much like the one I voiced after Geneva Watch Days final yr on the exec stage, with many quietly voicing concern while backing that up with confidence of their model and product. After all, each model has their methods to navigate instances like this, however the mere presence of those methods provides me concern.
After which the tariffs hit, and that was seemingly all folks might speak about after they requested one another what they considered the Land-Dweller. Whereas the scenario was unsure then, we appear to be getting a barely clearer image now of the way it will shake out because it continues to develop. However after talking with folks at massive and small manufacturers alike, there’s a shocking quantity of inconsistency with how manufacturers plan to deal with any tariff being added to their merchandise being bought within the largest watch market on the planet. Some have come out and made the sensible PR transfer by stating they may take up any and all prices, whereas others have saved very quiet and appear to be ready it out. This can be a nice alternative for manufacturers to generate good will in a massively essential market, and whereas People do like to journey and store whereas they do, the purchases they make at dwelling are way more essential to the Swiss watch business. And after the collapse of the Chinese language market, the business would significantly wrestle if the US took a major hit too.
Gold goes nowhere
I had a sense that coming into this honest I might even see an absence of gold within the novelties due to the current worth will increase, with manufacturers fairly choosing metal fashions to maintain prices down and permit them to maintain costs of their catalogue regular within the present local weather. Nonetheless, I used to be pleasantly stunned by the quantity of treasured metallic on show, whether or not it was the total gold bracelet watches from A. Lange & Söhne, Rolex, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, or tremendous examples of costume watches from Patek Philippe, Chopard, and Cartier.
There was no lack of treasured metallic this yr, and we have been seeing it throughout a variety of worth classes too. Whether or not its the brand new Rolex 1908 on a full gold bracelet for €35,000 or Lange with its Honeygold Odysseus at €120,000, there was all kinds, even going as much as the Patek ref. 5308 with its white gold case that clocks in at over 1,000,000. I take pleasure in seeing manufacturers proceed to work in gold and treasured metals, whereas it would usually result in watches method out of most individuals’s budgets, it reveals that there’s at all times an aspirational facet to the market that builds on custom and the creativity of goldsmithing.
Too skinny?
A narrative that seemingly handed by many on the ground of Palexpo was that Bulgari had taken its tenth thinnest report with the brand new Octo Finissimo Extremely Tourbillon. Now that they’ve reached double figures, maybe folks have moved on? Whereas the technological feat is undoubtedly spectacular, there gave the impression to be little point out of it among the many remainder of the press. It may very well be that there was a sure stage of expectation when it got here to this announcement, however I definitely wasn’t having many conversations about it.
To me, this additionally speaks to a wider pattern that I’ve been noticing throughout the business of late. Improvements and world-firsts are solely actually celebrated when they’re seen to make an actual influence on the top shopper. Take the brand new Dynapulse motion – it is a important leap ahead in industrial motion manufacturing, whereas the flexibility to shave fractions of a millimetre off a tourbillon continues to excite a smaller and smaller circle. There’ll proceed to be part of me that likes to see a aggressive spirit between watch manufacturers, and this appears like one of many few battle grounds on which they may proceed to brazenly compete.
Rising numbers
It’s at all times attention-grabbing to see the wrap up e-mail from the organising physique after yearly. With a endless rise in numbers of attendees, it’s nice to see the continued progress in curiosity in watches. Once we are coming off a tricky yr globally, this hopefully marks a optimistic signal of issues to come back. Nonetheless, there have been talks that there are too many individuals in attendance, or no less than the numbers of individuals there’s not being managed in addition to it may very well be. There have been reviews of conferences being overcrowded through the weekdays when it ought to be simply business and press, blocking those that are there to do a job.
This yr noticed over 55,000 folks stroll into Palexpo, and, fairly encouragingly, 23,000 of them have been members of the general public who paid for tickets over the weekend to see the 60 exhibiting manufacturers. With simply 1,600 journalists in attendance, it makes me query the place the opposite 30,000 persons are coming from. This week is the largest of the yr for us watch journalists, and it may be exhausting sufficient to e book all of the appointments you need whenever you need them. Whether or not there’s higher delineation in reserving appointments or the times on which individuals can come subsequent yr, I’m undecided, however it could be nice to see a greater system come 2026.
On that observe, it could even be great to have some consistency within the instances of embargos lifting a the beginning of the week. Having Rolex determine to go at midnight prompted some chaos amongst our staff, as we had all the things deliberate for the usual morning time carry. This gave the impression to be in response to different manufacturers lifting their embargos at midnight, however that’s in all probability extra of a private gripe than a touch upon the state of the business.
