Opinions

	CONTENTS TIME.BUSINESS TIME.KEEPER THE WATCH FILES HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO CHANNEL WATCH GALLERY JEWELLERY ARCHIVES DATA OPINIONS BRANDS E-MAGAZINE OPINIONS BRANDS E-MAGAZINE SUBSCRIBE PARTNERSHIP ABOUT ABOUT CURRENT ISSUE WORLDWATCHWEB WATCH AFICIONADO NEWSLETTER CONTACT US PARTNERSHIP SUBSCRIBE FACEBOOK TWITTER YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM TERMS OF USE PRIVACY POLICY		Español Français Pусский 繁體中文简体中文 Select another language

Europa Star

	CONTENTS TIME.BUSINESS TIME.KEEPER THE WATCH FILES HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO CHANNEL WATCH GALLERY JEWELLERY ARCHIVES DATA OPINIONS BRANDS E-MAGAZINE OPINIONS BRANDS E-MAGAZINE SUBSCRIBE PARTNERSHIP ABOUT ABOUT CURRENT ISSUE WORLDWATCHWEB WATCH AFICIONADO NEWSLETTER CONTACT US PARTNERSHIP SUBSCRIBE FACEBOOK TWITTER YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM TERMS OF USE PRIVACY POLICY		Español Français Pусский 繁體中文简体中文 Select another language

Opinions

The control-freakery of the luxury business

The control-freakery of the luxury business

OPINION

How a traditional culture of trust in the Swiss watch industry is changing over time. Are artisans being replaced by bean-counters precisely when the word (...)

Manager or entrepreneur?

Manager or entrepreneur?

EDITORIAL

“Today, lots of brands are led by technocrats who talk about emotion,” says Jean- Claude Biver. We investigated in our archives to find how the figure of the (...)

A new era for Japanese watchmaking?

A new era for Japanese watchmaking?

EDITORIAL

As demand for Japanese quartz movements continues to fall, due to declining interest in the fashion watch, and as the arrival of the smartwatch causes (...)

Mechanical, quartz or connected?

Mechanical, quartz or connected?

INDUSTRY

Is there still room for every category of timepiece in the 21st century? Innovation suggests there is. But only the market can give us the definitive (...)

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The great scattering

The great scattering

OPINION

The watchmaking industry shoots at hoot and slide, and everyone starts to play in their own corner. My living room, my exhibition, my summit, my meetings. (...)

Basel and Geneva play a game of go

Basel and Geneva play a game of go

EDITORIAL

The recent announcement that, in 2020, the dates of the SIHH and Baselworld will basically coincide, is just the latest salvo in a protracted territorial (...)

Instagram, “long time” and “short time”

Instagram, “long time” and “short time”

OPINION

The paradox of the supposedly forward-looking new networks is that they constantly plunge us into a distant and magnified past. The internet has given us (...)

Watch as weapon

Watch as weapon

EDITORIAL

The fact that the vintage wave, which arose from the younger generation, places a higher value on personality and authenticity than on function and (...)

Digital vs. analogue

Digital vs. analogue

WATCHWORDS

“Analogue” stands apart. It’s real and authentic. It’s vinyl, it’s 35mm. What you see is what you get. It’s kind of vintage, and it’s cool (...)

Richemont: more soul!

Richemont: more soul!

EDITORIAL

As a new edition of the SIHH opens, let’s say it right away: last year brought us some concerns about the evolution of the Richemont group’s watch brands, (...)

When pieces go from Instagram to shop windows

When pieces go from Instagram to shop windows

EDITORIAL

This issue marks the creation of a new tradition at Europa Star: we have selected the watch innovations that caught our eye this year in a few carefully (...)

Pure Play or Pure Pain?

Pure Play or Pure Pain?

THE MYTHS OF COMMERCE (PART 2/5)

In part 1 of my essay, I might have had you believe that I do not like e-commerce!? Just to be clear…Everybody who has something for sale should consider an (...)

Being together (in real life)

Being together (in real life)

A LAST WORD TO START

As the virtual world spreads out to encompass every aspect of our lives, the need for direct contact, physical presence, face-to-face dialogue, coming (...)

Why nobody talks about watch investment value

Why nobody talks about watch investment value

GUEST COLUMN

Odd as it may sound, in the connoisseur and collector circles, ‘investment value’ is seldom a topic. Time is changing. What values do (...)

How to fix this Messe

How to fix this Messe

BASELWORLD

Following the departure of the Swatch Group, the vultures are circling over Baselworld. Located in a capital of art, the show may, however, find salvation (...)

What the heck does that damn consumer want?

What the heck does that damn consumer want?

THE MYTHS OF COMMERCE (PART 1/5)

We are at a turning point in the history of retail. Many youngsters propose new models they deem “customer-focused” in the digital age. But their focus has (...)

Great Britain, a horological superpower… for 200 years

Great Britain, a horological superpower… for 200 years

GUEST COLUMN

For about 200 years before the 20th century, Great Britain boasted undisputed supremacy of watchmaking, thanks to the British Empire’s global maritime (...)

NEW MATERIALS: A STRATEGIC CHALLENGE

NEW MATERIALS: A STRATEGIC CHALLENGE

The Swiss mechanical watchmaking “revival” has essentially entailed a process of renewing existing mechanical skills. The task was to show that mechanical (...)

New materials: genuine progress or marketing hype?

New materials: genuine progress or marketing hype?

EDITORIAL

Suddenly, an anxiety installs: and if the multiples announcements about new materials, particular applied for watch casing, constituted actually a watch (...)

Surprise! Most people in Hong Kong don't care about watches…

Surprise! Most people in Hong Kong don’t care about watches…

GUEST COLUMN

The founder of the online retail platform for independent watch brands Skolorr, Sky Sit shares with our readers her vision of the industry. This first (...)

On the shortness of life

On the shortness of life

A LAST WORD TO START

I am always astonished when I see people requesting the time of others and receiving a most accommodating response from those they approach. Both sides (...)

Klein Baselworld

Klein Baselworld

BASEL 2018 NOTEBOOK

The traditional opening press conference would have been an opportunity for Baselworld to indulge in a little transparency, and to explain publicly some of (...)

The resilience of the watch industry

The resilience of the watch industry

EDITORIAL

The watch industry, which tries so hard to control everything – production upstream, distribution downstream and communication at all points in between – is (...)

Basel-bashing

Basel-bashing

BASELWORLD 2018

Let’s stop being dramatic. “Baselbashing” has reached an all-time high. In this digital age, all watch trade fairs must change their operational procedure. So (...)