The digital transformation of watchmaking

The digital transformation of watchmaking

All the (official) dials of the TAG Heuer connected

SMARTWATCHES

By Europa Star

January 2017

All the (official) dials of the TAG Heuer connected

SMARTWATCHES

By Europa Star

January 2017


Smartwatch faces - All the (official) dials of the TAG Heuer connected

WATCH FILES
The digital transformation of watchmaking

SevenFriday, a pioneer in digital watch authentication

SevenFriday, a pioneer in digital watch authentication

While there’s been a lot of talk about the application of blockchain technology to guarantee the authenticity of watches, independent brand SevenFriday has (...)

Dimension, sound, light: the digital illusion of reality

Dimension, sound, light: the digital illusion of reality

INNOVATION

To appeal to collectors and beyond, replicating the physical experience online is a new imperative for the watch industry. The Covid-led lockdowns, the (...)

eBay unveils ambitious plans for its watch segment

eBay unveils ambitious plans for its watch segment

E-COMMERCE

Online marketplace eBay has its sights on the top end of the market, starting with watchmaking. The e-commerce behemoth has just set up a new (...)

Ariel Adams on the digital evolution of the watch industry

Ariel Adams on the digital evolution of the watch industry

CONVERSATION

The founder of aBlogtoWatch shares his thoughts as new digital initiatives are piling up this year in reaction to the pandemic crisis. A candid (...)

Instagram Live: social media show their limits

Instagram Live: social media show their limits

CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES

Numerous players in the watch industry have responded swiftly to the absence of physical encounters by increasing the number of sessions and interviews (...)

Watchmaking's “pre-Netflix” moment

Watchmaking’s “pre-Netflix” moment

CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES

The pandemic has led to the accelerated digitisation of our daily life. However, the watch industry finds itself still stuck at a stage similar to that of (...)

Online sales in the fast lane

Online sales in the fast lane

CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES

The coronavirus crisis is leading to grand-scale initiatives, such as total lockdowns, which would have been considered impossible only a few weeks ago. We (...)

Talking watches at Google

Talking watches at Google

IN THE SILICON VALLEY

To say that Google has been quite active on the smartwatch front last year year would be an understatement. In January 2019, it acquired the Fossil Group’s (...)

“Swiss brands left too much space for generic websites”

“Swiss brands left too much space for generic websites”

MARIO PESERICO

In our latest report about the transformation of the watch world, we selected six major issues which are having a profound impact on the industry’s present (...)

Watchmaking in the age of digital complexity

Watchmaking in the age of digital complexity

EDITORIAL

Watchmaking has now fully entered the age of digital complexity. Unlike the well-oiled networks of the past, the jungle we’re dealing with today is more or (...)

“White glove” delivery, popular in China, comes to Switzerland

“White glove” delivery, popular in China, comes to Switzerland

E-COMMERCE

Gübelin is expanding its e-boutique by offering personal one-day delivery for online orders of watches starting at CHF 5,000. The Swiss retailer’s digital (...)

Watchdreamer: the leasing formula

Watchdreamer: the leasing formula

E-COMMERCE

Paying in monthly installments is already standard practice in the automotive industry. In Switzerland, a startup now offers to buy watches on credit. The (...)

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 (...)

Gucci: “The watch industry must move on e-commerce”

Gucci: “The watch industry must move on e-commerce”

INTERVIEW

A major player in the watch industry, Gucci has just launched the Grip, a new collection based on the universe of its creative director Alessandro Michele. (...)

Movado Group: how to stay relevant in the digital age

Movado Group: how to stay relevant in the digital age

STRATEGY

The American group is undertaking several initiatives to keep on track with new generations: it has just acquired fashion brands MVMT and Olivia Burton, (...)

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 (...)

“Bridging connection and complication”

“Bridging connection and complication”

FREDERIQUE CONSTANT

Frédérique Constant has passed the 30 year mark. With characteristic discretion and a style that is anything but exuberant, the brand recently acquired by (...)

A new e-retail formula in the United States

A new e-retail formula in the United States

DISRUPTION

An expert of the American watch retail network has come up with a system where brands and representatives could finally cooperate in terms of online sales. (...)

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 (...)

Being together (in real life)

Being together (in real life)

EDITORIAL

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 (...)

Online exclusivity: will luxury brands win this war?

Online exclusivity: will luxury brands win this war?

E-COMMERCE

Producers of high-end goods recently won an important case before the European Court of Justice. The latter banned retailers from selling products on third (...)

BrandCloud and the omnichannel model

BrandCloud and the omnichannel model

RETAIL

This is an ambitious project, almost frightening by its scope. But it is worth a closer look, since its ultimate aim is to create a simple and effective (...)

Mechanical smartwatches

Mechanical smartwatches

CONNECTION

In rapid succession, starting with an advance announcement, the start-up X-One and Frédérique Constant both recently presented mechanical smartwatches. A new (...)

How digital democratised luxury

How digital democratised luxury

STUDY

Luxury today is open to more and more people, with digital technology having had a huge impact on this change. Piers Schmidt reports on how he believes the (...)

Why do new generations grow suspicious of social media?

Why do new generations grow suspicious of social media?

Today, it is crucial for luxury brands to observe the consumer behaviour of those born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s. Studies suggest that (...)

The forced march towards digitisation

The forced march towards digitisation

12 DISRUPTIONS IN THE WATCHMAKING INDUSTRY

Sponsored content on Facebook, e-commerce websites, transparent watch prices, massive investment in SEO on Google – faced with the digital tidal wave that (...)

Watches and connection: parting on good terms

Watches and connection: parting on good terms

12 DISRUPTIONS IN THE WATCHMAKING INDUSTRY

Every market needs a strong symbolic leader, a locomotive, a benchmark to ensure its survival. Rolex is that symbol for the “traditional” watch, and Apple (...)

GPS, satellite, radio, internet

GPS, satellite, radio, internet

TRAVEL WATCHES

Like the Tissot T-Touch addressed in this dossier, Japanese watchmakers best stand out for their integration of new technologies into their watches, and (...)

It may be smart, but is it clever?

It may be smart, but is it clever?

WATCHWORDS

The Internet of Things promises a multitude of additional smart devices that will embed internet connectivity into even more areas of our lives, making (...)

The impenetrable jungle of e-commerce

The impenetrable jungle of e-commerce

SCENARIOS

I decided to play Candide, acting as if I knew absolutely nothing about watches.

Fashion watches: the Apple effect

Fashion watches: the Apple effect

VOLUME BRANDS

Technology is clobbering the fashion-watch business. Can it also save it? Fashion-watch leader Fossil thinks so.

Dial or screen?

Dial or screen?

WATCHWORDS

The word “dial” is the kind of linguistic fossil I love to discover. Most words are fossils, in the sense that they bear the imprints of a time long past, (...)

Where will it all end?

Where will it all end?

FREELY SPEAKING

Talking with a friend recently, I noticed that in addition to the Rolex Deepsea on his right wrist (he’s left-handed), he was wearing a very slim apparatus (...)

The internet has changed the rules of distribution

The internet has changed the rules of distribution

RETAIL

The volatility in purchasing, which has become global and migratory depending on international prices, is posing serious problems for the brands, (...)

Digital Luxury Group releases its World Watch Report Smartwatch Feature

Digital Luxury Group releases its World Watch Report Smartwatch Feature

DATA

As no surprise to many, 2014 was the “year of the smartwatch”. But what is more surprising is the projection for the smartwatch segment for (...)