Photo by Giorgia Fioro for Hermès


In the vast sea of watchmaking, the tip of the iceberg is occupied by the large luxury brands whose powerful communication attracts everyone’s attention, and monopolizes nearly all the media interest. Sliding further down the ice, are the “rest” of the brands - the enormous mass, which, by virtue of its supporting position, holds up the tip, letting it rise above the water.
In actuality, the world of watchmaking is no different than the world in general. Here as there, and above and beyond the talk of standardization due to globalization, differences do make themselves felt, and the most diverse realities do co-exist.
Today, while the average price of branded watches continues to rise, the battle continues to rage in the domain of mass distributed quartz movements. It was a long time ago that the price of a quartz calibre fell below the “barrier” of one dollar; now, prices are negotiated to the nearest “cent”.
The watch industry is a perfect reflection of what is happening in all the other sectors of the economy. But, although it remains somewhat protected from the Chinese “Tee-shirt” syndrome that has ravaged the European textile industry, is it perhaps only because watches are not “indispensable?” We cannot manage without a pair of slacks or a shirt. Yet, we can certainly live without a watch. The timepiece is, and remains, a luxury whether it costs a handful of dollars or a suitcase full.
While this may be its weakness in the long term – but nothing is less sure – it is surely its present strength and one of the current sources of its creative dynamism. Because it is not “indispensable,” the watch must unceasingly prove its validity; it must perpetually re-invent itself, so to speak, in order to ensure its own survival. The extraordinary diversity of today’s offer and the particularity of its economic model is pushing the most visible part of the iceberg towards the top, rather than pulling the sector towards the bottom.
Yet this dynamism is also, in a certain way, the sign of a generalized “disorder.” We have entered into an era that is a little bit “schizophrenic” as can be vividly seen from the myriad of “e-mails” that are received every day. Between the announcement of two haut de gamme Swiss watchmakers who are violently arguing over the small screws placed on the dial, and the dubious “spam” that asks “why pay so much for an original, when the replicas are 99.9 percent perfect?” (this statement makes you wonder exactly what the other 0.1 percent is that wasn’t perfectly copied.), we find a press release from a German watchmaker who offers a superb and authentic tourbillon (undoubtedly Chinese) for 4,900 euros. This is ten to twenty times less than that offered by important luxury brands.
True or false, between these two black and white terms is an immense ocean of grey, covered in fog, where all landmarks are lost. To emerge from this cloud, there are only two solutions, and they can be combined: “Raise the head above the haze” by moving up-market, hoist oneself above the commonplace by innovating in stylistic and technical terms in order to make oneself “noticed” in the crowd. This quiet combat explains the current dynamism in the watch industry, which this issue of Europa Star talks about: watchmaking can never stop. It cannot stop for fear of faltering. But the advance is going to be chaotic.


Source: December - January 2006 Issue

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