The Chinese Communist Party Congress, that closed its doors on Sunday 19th September, has confirmed its major objectives: to lead China on the historically unprecedented road to the ‘society of the socialist market’. And the spectacular results are there. The Beijing of today has nothing to do with the Beijing of ten years ago. Audis, BMWs and Mercedes file past bumper to bumper in the large avenues lined with futuristic-Manchurian buildings and shopping malls in white marble. Here they announced the impending opening of a Lamborghini shop and over there an extension of the Polo Ralph Lauren boutique. In short, it’s the general ‘gold rush’ and all the European and American luxury and prestige brands are battling for the best sites. Obviously, the other side of the picture reveals a completely different China, that of a country that is far from having tasted the delights and pleasures of the consumer society. But at the present rate (there are already 236,000 cash millionaires in dollar and, in the short term, between 3 and 5 million potential clients for the luxury industry) the emergence of the middle class is in little doubt, whilst waiting for an improvement of the general standard of living.
That’s what the Richemont Group has perfectly understood, since they have just launched ‘Watches & Wonders’ in China, a prestigious and intelligent introduction of its brands on this fabulous market. Prestigious introduction because it takes place in the incredible setting of the Tai Miao temple, built at the gates of the Forbidden City in 1420 and originally destined to receive the ashes of deceased emperors (then transformed into a table tennis club during the Cultural Revolution!) and also intelligent since it by the cultural bias that this introduction works.
It began Saturday, 18 September, with a genuinely spectacular
inauguration. Imagine 50 waiters dressed completely in black spread out along a vast esplanade in front of this venerable temple, each standing in front of a black cube on which there are glasses of French champagne and sculptural Chinese cocktail snacks awaiting the guests. A leading female presenter from the Chinese ITV, who is clearly an expert on hair gel, introduces the official speakers. The ritual ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place and the crowd discovers the ‘Watches & Wonders’ exhibition installed within the temple. An historical overview of ‘haute horlogerie’ from its
beginnings through to today, illustrated by 600 pieces, a presentation of the art of the profession, a team of two watchmakers, a stone-setter and an enameller that painted a warholian Mao on a Jaeger-LeCoultre dial, and, finally, presentations of the history and actual production of ten haute
horlogerie brands within the Richemont Group (A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Dunhill, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Monblanc, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin).
Business, needless to say, continued in a second temple situated behind the first, in which the CEO of each of the various brands received their hosts, guests and other VIPs.
Franco Cologni, who has the controlling hand on all the watch brands within the Richemont group and initiated this event, beamed. Faced with the success of the high standard of the exhibition, the Chinese officials, with whom Cologni had discussed at length in order to obtain the unique favour of this prestigious and unequalled site, began to claim the paternity of the project.
During this time, a few steps away, the vast Chinese crowd made their way to Tiananmen Square, overlooked by a gigantic (and non-warholian) portrait of Mao. When I replied to the teenagers who tried to have a conversation with this passing foreigner, saying that I came from Switzerland, their unanimous reply was “Switzerland, watches, very good watches.” That message, at least, is well established and has been for some time. As for passing the other message, that of the liaison between the word ‘Watches’ and the word ‘Wonders’ and the word ‘Wonders’ to the different logos of
the Swiss watch brands, that will require time and a long and hard trek. But then, aren’t the Chinese used to ‘long walks’ı


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