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THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE EUROPE

Christophe Claret

De Bethune

Laurent Ferrier

BREAKAWAY

Hautlence EUROPE N°332 4/15 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.chanel.com

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H. Moser & Cie

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BREAKAWAY 7 WATCH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | EUROPEAN EDITION | N°332 4/15 SEPTEMBER | CHF12 / €10 / US$12

THE CHANEL MOMENT

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EDITORIAL

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SINCE 1927

by Pierre Maillard, Editor-in-chief

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et’s talk about ourselves. Don’t worry, we won’t make a habit of it! By “ourselves” we mean the press, the media in general, and Europa Star in particular.

The press is in crisis, it’s at breaking point – it’s all over the news. It is in the throes of a systemic crisis which, with a few rare exceptions (Financial Times?), touches everyone, the publishing behemoths as well as the minnows, international news websites and specialist bloggers alike. The watchmaking press is no exception. Having survived 88 years so far, our Europa Star media group, our “Editorial atelier since 1927”, has been on the sidelines, the front line even, of innumerable crises, beginning with the 1929 crash, barely two years after its creation, followed by the war, the quartz-led collapse of Swiss watchmaking, the ‘gentrification’ of Swiss watchmaking and the inexorable rise of the groups, to name just a few. Economic models have evolved and transformed, but the particular crisis affecting the media today is different in nature, and it goes deeper.

The custom of unfolding a newspaper at the beginning or end of the day survived intact throughout the 20th century, but now appears to be in terminal decline. The digital revolution hit, and new generations born with remote controls in their hands, accustomed to an inexhaustible stream of instantly-accessible virtual content, developed new habits in almost Darwinian fashion.

Nevertheless, just like the mechanical watch, whose gears are now technologically redundant, paper, which some believed was on the way out, has adapted and lives on. Because, like a mechanical timepiece, it is reassuring. This could be precisely because of its ‘materiality’. The watchmaking world loves to talk about longevity. Paper is similar; perhaps it provides a bulwark against the unending planetary flow of information that seems to just eat time... without a pause for breath, without a hiatus to stop and simply think a little about our ceaselessly rushing world.

We don’t claim that our words should be carved in stone. But the lifespan of the product we regularly deliver actively promotes reflection, analysis and perspective. Yes, we do believe in paper, in the durability of paper. That is why, this year, we have launched a new tabloid format news magazine: Europa Star Première.

It is a forum for discussion, analysis and reflection for the entire watchmaking ecosystem, a true business magazine and the only one of its kind, with a noholds-barred style and edgy graphics, for our French-speaking readers. (A Chinese version of the magazine with localised content has just been launched by our

Shanghai office.) Similarly, we believe in ‘materiality’, which is why we have opened the Europa Star Arcade, a bricksand-mortar venue for discussion, meetings and exhibitions.

Nevertheless, we are not blinded by our love for paper. Quite the opposite, in fact. We devote equal energy to our online outlets: the internet, and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. You might not remember, but europastar.com was one of the very first watchmaking websites, launched almost 20 years ago, in 1996! In order to ensure it remains topical, our teams produce incisive, well-informed and exclusive editorial content every day. The coming months will see a number of new features, including a subscription-only portal that will collate our best surveys and dossiers and include a significant amount of previously unpublished content.

The cover of this issue announces a “Breakaway”. Yes, some mavericks are rocking the boat. But there are two ways of responding to this so-called “crisis”: by shrugging and turning away, or by facing up to the situation and standing by one’s convictions – in our case, the convictions of an “Editorial atelier since 1927”. p

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Slim d’Hermès watch in rose gold, Manufacture H1950 ultra-thin movement.

SLIM D’HERMÈS, PURITY IN MOTION.

Hermes.com

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LMH_HQ • Visual: Slim Or Rose • Magazine: EuropaStar Aout (INT) • Language: English •

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www.europastar.com

THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL WATCH MAGAZINE

6

EDITORIAL Leading opinion since 1927

10

EUROPA STAR READER SURVEY

12

SIGNALS

breakaway 14 INTRODUCTION

In January 2016 the SIHH will have a facelift. In addition to revamped surroundings and the departure of Ralph Lauren, who is returning to his native USA, the main new feature of the Salon will be the inauguration of ‘Watchmakers’ Square’. This fair-within-a-fair will welcome nine Haute Horlogerie mavericks, nine fiercely independent watchmakers – all different, all determined, all dedicated – who have succeeded in leaving their mark on the watchmaking world map with their own very individual concepts of the art of timekeeping.

17

32

MARKET The slow advent of Chinese watch brands 26th Watch & Clock Fair in Shenzhen – Times are changing and it’s about time!

Swiss or German watches: which is best?

36 40

DISTRIBUTION Paris: one street, two breakaways Future in motion?

42 46 47 50

TECHNOLOGIES Mechanical watchmaking, diminishing returns?

When watchmaking uses 3D printing China: the watchmaking patent champion The promises of smartwatches

28 29

52 Christophe Claret De Bethune Hautlence HYT H. Moser & Cie Laurent Ferrier MB&F Urwerk Voutilainen

COVER STORY 9 breakaways

28 MARKET

36 DISTRIBUTION

GALLERY Artya, Manufacture Royale, Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps, Meccaniche Veloci, Ressence, Romain Jerome, Sarpaneva

42 TECHNOLOGIES

A CONTRARIO 56 Differentiation or saturation in the watch industry?

60 62

ARCADE EUROPA STAR Jean-Claude Biver ‘Troubleshooter’ Manuel Emch ‘Retro-futurist’

64 66

RENAISSANCE Oris, the road to democracy Tiffany: “This time, we’re going to do it!”

EUROPA STAR 205x265 P-TIMEZ1 INTERNATIONAL - Cover date: 01 JUNE

CONTENTS

60

ARCADE EUROPA STAR

WORLDWATCHWEBTM 70 Social Media Optimisation: What brands need to know

The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily Europa Star.

LAKIN@LARGE A summer of contradictions

Europa Star subscription service CHF 100 in Europe,CHF 140 International One year, 6 issues Visit: europastar.com/subscribe Enquiries: register@europastar.com

DIGITAL PARTNER

74

www.worldwatchreport.com / www.digital-luxury.com

www.europastar.com

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EUROPA STAR 205x265 P-TIMEZ1 INTERNATIONAL - Cover date: 01 JUNE

READER SURVEY We recently conducted a survey among Europa Star readers, and were delighted to receive responses from a representative sample of more than 200 aficionados and professionals from a variety of backgrounds and from all over the world. We would like to share the key findings with you.

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Unlike many other magazines which are territorially limited in scope, Europa Star is the only watchmaking publication with a truly global reach, through its five editions published on five continents (45,000 circulation every two months). This enables us to reach a huge variety of readers at the same time.

An analysis of Europa Star’s distribution reveals that our watchmaking readers are spread evenly between intermediate clients (retailers, 1 The survey was conducted via our distributors, agents, designers main English-language website and 4 +RZ GR \RX SUHIHU WR DFTXLUH \RXU and manufacturers) and magazine, although Europa Star also end clients (collectors and LQIRUPDWLRQ DERXW WKH ZDWFK LQGXVWU\" has websites and editions in Chinese, Russian, Spanish and French. other buyers).

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As the graph shows, our publications target a knowledgeable readership of watch buyers. We can therefore define our publication as a ‘premium magazine’.

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Our readers appreciate the ability to browse our content both on paper and online.

Traffic to all our websites (in English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and French) continues to grow. Daily news items are differentiated from the premium content published in the magazine, which from now on will be available to subscribers only.

Content will be adapted to the medium: we believe in the complementarity of our print and digital formats.

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Europa Star is a reflection of the watchmaking industry, and as such its readership is primarily male. Nevertheless, given the growing number of watches designed for women, we have decided to devote a new publication to this demographic. The first edition of Women’s Watches & Jewels, with a focus on jewellery watches, will be published in time for SIHH 2016.

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The majority of readers of Europa Star magazine are in their forties or older, reflecting the fact that the publication is targeted at professionals, aficionados and collectors. Readers under 40 nevertheless represent a sizeable minority.

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The majority of Europa Star readers have been with us for five years or more.

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The vast majority – 97% – of our readers are satisfied with Europa Star. As many as 54% admit to being “very satisfied� with 4 :RXOG \RX UHFRPPHQG (XURSD 6WDU the magazine and its contents.

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Of our other publications, our new Swiss watch business magazine Europa Star Première is the best known by Europa Star readers. More than 60% said they had read a copy in the last year.

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July-August 2015 For further information: contact@europastar.com / www.europastar.com

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