ES 5-15 Extract by Europa Star HBM

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www.watch-aficionado.com WATCH BUSINESS PAPER – USA & CANADA – VOL.51 N° 5/2015 NOVEMBER | WITH INDEX OF ALL IN-DEPTH ARTICLES PUBLISHED ONLINE

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C RA F T I NG E T E R N I T Y S I N C E 1 755 260 years of continuous history is reflected in the Harmony Collection. A new legacy has dawned.

HARMONY CH RO N O G R A P H

Geneva official watchmaking certification

EDITORIAL

by Pierre Maillard, Editor-in-chief

hree major news items broke at around the same time, sending out contradictory signals. Starting with the good news, Vacheron Constantin announced with great pomp and ceremony the launch of its Reference 57260, presented as the most complicated watch ever made, while rival Patek Philippe laid the first stone of a new building that will extend its current manufacture, representing an investment of 500 million Swiss francs, “entirely selffinanced”. And for the bad news, Parmigiani announced that one-third of its staff would be made redundant: 30 out of 100. Officially, the culprit is “the strong franc and the slump in the Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern markets”. However, Jean-Marc Jacot, the now former director of Parmigiani and its watchmaking division, also points to “the difficulty of coexisting with the major groups, who are using very aggressive tactics to strangle the other brands.” More than ever before, Swiss watchmaking seems to be split along the two edges of a widening crack that threatens to become an abyss. On one rim are the major established powers; on the other the milling multitudes of wannabes and subcontractors. But wherever there is a yawning chasm, there are danger signs. As we have said before in this column, the good health of an industry, whatever it might be, is a direct consequence of the breadth of its offering. In order to ensure its long-term survival, Swiss watchmaking must be capable of producing the widest pos-

4 | EDITORIAL | europa star

sible range of products, from the simplest and most affordable to the most complex and costly (like Hollywood and the American film industry, which produces B-movies as well as masterpieces: without the B-movies, the masterpieces would not exist). Having said that, Parmigiani’s woes are also the symptom and inevitable consequence of a headlong rush forward that has touched everyone to a greater or lesser extent: a rush to upsell at any price, a wholesale and senseless stampede to make top-of-the-range ever higher, the result of which is countless drawers around the world stuffed with watches worth tens of thousands of francs (an enormous, unthinkable sum for the vast majority of inhabitants of our planet – among whom the present author humbly includes himself). Clearly, if you can afford to spend such sums, you might as well have the reassurance of going with what seems to be the most well-established, the most timeless and the most traditional. The rude health of Patek Philippe, which can afford to invest 500 million francs of its own money to “ensure its growth over the next 20 or 30 years” is the fruit of a slow and steady rise to power which is worlds away from the frenetic impa-

tience of luxury start-ups and upstarts. Similarly, the ability to produce a watch with 57 complications like Vacheron Constantin’s Reference 57260 is, as its name implies, the culmination of 260 years of patient watchmaking. In such circumstances it is difficult to compete. Know-how cannot be improvised, it is built up and passed on, and that is something that many seem to have forgotten. If the hundreds of millions invested by Patek Philippe bear witness to a healthy confidence in its future, Vacheron Constantin’s 57 complications are also an encouraging sign that should reassure all devotees of mechanical watchmaking. No, we have not heard the last of mechanical watchmaking; it still has a thousand and one things to say – things that all the smartwatches in the world lack the grace and poetry even to attempt. So, there’s hope. But is there hope for everyone? Yes, if we can bridge the chasm. p

Chris Burden,”Porsche with Meteorite,” 2013. “Chris Burden: Extreme Measures” at New Museum, New York, 2013 Courtesy New Museum, New York. Photo: Benoit Pailley

SIGNALS

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

SLIM D’HERMÈS, PURITY IN MOTION.

Hermes.com

CONTENTS

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A. Lange & Söhne Ferdinand-A.-Lange-Platz 1 01768 Glashütte Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 35053 44 0 Fax: +49 (0) 35053 44 5999 info@alange-soehne.com www.alange-soehne.com

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EDITORIAL Contradictory signals

SIGNALS

EUROPA STAR CHOICES Choosing that first watch

ALL AROUND THE WORLD Retail map

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

ALL EYES ON… 14 A. Lange & Söhne: a new Lange 1 and a road map for the future 16 RJ-Romain Jerome: beyond life and death 18 22 24 25

BUSINESS, MODELS & STRATEGIES The unorthodox Aurélie Picaud revives Fabergé’s horological lustre Louis Vuitton: operation LV Fifty Five The new life of Manufacture Royale MCT, from Sequential to Frequential

INNOVATION All rise for the Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260

30 32 34 36

EUROPA STAR ARCADE Peter Speake-Marin: neo-classicist Elie Bernheim: solo virtuoso Fabien de Schaetzen: accelerating through the bends Cesare Cerrito: l’italianità

ROMAIN JEROME

18 STRATEGIES

ARCADE EUROPA STAR

WOMEN’S WATCHES GALLERY 38 Piaget, Harry Winston, Chanel, Bvlgari, Hermès, Gucci, IWC, De Grisogono

49 54

RETAILERS & DISTRIBUTORS CORNER Walking in the death zone: how aggressive discounting is threatening the watch industry Gianfranco Ritschel: “The reality is that, when we open boutiques, we put retailers out of business” Hübner, a century of Haute Horlogerie in Vienna Inhorgenta 2016: a focus on watches

56 60 64

VOICES FROM CHINA Watches & Wonders 2015: a mini-SIHH for Greater Asia How luxury brands can ensure visibility & reach in China 34th Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair: not too bad, or not too good?

ANALYSIS Spectacular Displays

46 48

70 TO READ… LAKIN@LARGE 74 Surveying Surveys 51

SPOTLIGHT Casio: G-SHOCK MTG – G1000

GALLERY

56 CHINA

DIGITAL PARTNER

LANGE 1 Ref. 191.032. Case: Pink gold. Dial: Solid silver, argenté. Lange manufacture calibre L121.1; manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; plates and bridges made of untreated German silver; balance cock engraved by hand. Movement parts: 368. Power reserve: 72 hours when fully wound. Functions: time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds; power-reserve indicator; jumping outsize date.

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Escale Time Zone.

SIGNALS

Regal

-P

an Am e

r ic a n Wo rld Airw ays T

rter ime Zone Conve

And the winner is…

1879 In the 19th century most towns had their own time. In 1879, Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming proposed a revolutionary idea to divide the world into 24 time zones, which was applied five years later, setting the Greenwich Meridian as universal time.

The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is the equivalent of the Oscars for the watchmaking industry. This year, Greubel Forsey won the coveted “Aiguille d’Or”. The event contributes to spreading the reputation of this art form and its values of excellence and creativity around the world.

Face Just in case selfies were not self-indulgent enough, Apple’s next generation WatchOS 2 will give wearers the ability to set their own personal pictures as a wristwatch face on the Apple Watch. (Tribune Reporter) 8 | SIGNALS | europa star

Patek Philippe bleeds blue, as the company has many regal clients. Queen Elizabeth II reportedly prefers to open Parliament wearing a wristwatch on a bracelet of pearls made by the famous Swiss brand. (Forbes)

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65 Named after the world’s toughest racetrack, the Nordschleife 20832 Super Plus watch has just been introduced, reportedly as the world’s biggest. With a face that measures 65mm in diameter, the new watch is exactly the same size as a tennis ball! (GTSpirit.com)

Holy Grail The 1987 Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 – one of just two examples ever made in platinum – is commonly regarded as the Holy Grail for Patek Philippe watch collectors. One remains in the company museum, while the other was previously owned by Eric Clapton. It was sold to a collector in 2012 for a record $3,635,808 (News-antique.com)

70 Roger W. Smith is set to announce his first range of watches after decades of work.“It is almost ten years since I produced my first Series 2 wristwatch and, since then, we have produced just 70 pieces.” The small company is the only maker of entirely British watches and movements in existence today. (RWSmithwatches)

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

CHANGE. YOU CAN.

A. Lange & Söhne COVER I (Europe), 6, 12, 14, 15, 49, 56 Agenhor 18 Andersen 69 Andreas Strehler 69 Anpassa 65 Apple 8 Armani 13 Auctionata 9 Audemars Piguet 18, 20, 56, 69 Azimuth 69 Baidu 60, 62 Baselworld 18, 25, 49, 63 Baume & Mercier 56 Bell & Ross 13 Blancpain 49 Bolda 65 Breguet 49, 70 Bucherer 48 Buler 66 Bvlgari 6, 41 Cabestan 26 Carl F. Bucherer 11, 48 Cartier 12, 57, 70 Casio 6, 51, 52, 53 Ciga Design 65 Citizen 73 Chanel 6, 13, 40 China Watch & Clock Fair 44 Chow Tai Fook 13 Christie’s 9 Christophe Claret 13, 69 Cogito 65 Coinwatch 66 Corum 70 Cyma 66 Cyrus 69 David Van Heim 66 De Bethune 69 De Grisogono 6, 45, 69

Deloitte 8 Devon 10 DeWitt 68 Digital Luxury Group 60, 62 Doxa 66 Enicar 66 Epic 65 Ernest Borel 27 Etoile 66 Ezio 65 Fabergé 6, 18, 20, 69 Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie 48, 49, 56, 71 F.P. Journe 68 Frederic Jouvenot 69 Frédérique Constant 10 Garmin 65 Gemfields 18 Google 60, 62 Greubel Forsey 8, 9, 31 Gucci 6, 43 Hamilton 35 Harrods 20 Harry Winston 6, 18, 39 Hautlence 25, 26, 69 Hermès 5, 6, 42 H. Moser & Cie 13 Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair 6, 64, 65, 66, 67 Hublot 49, 69 Hübner 6, 49 Ice-Watch 72 Inhorgenta 6, 54, 55 IWC 6, 44, 57 Jaeger-LeCoultre 49, 50, 57 Jowissa 12 Kairos 65 Kirchhofer 24 La Fabrique du Temps 22 Les Ambassadeurs 24

Louis Erard 10 Louis Vuitton 6, 7, 22, 23, 60 Ludovic Ballouard 69 Luminox 12 Manufacture Royale 6, 24, 25 MB&F 26, 31, 13 MCM 60 MCT 6, 25, 26 Meccaniche Veloci 6, 36, 37 Memorigin 65 Microsoft 8 Montblanc 58 Mondaine 12 Nordschleife 9 Nord Zeitmaschine 69 Nomos 49 Orient 61 Pallinghurst Resources 18 Panerai 13, 58 Parmigiani Fleurier 4 Patek Philippe COVER IV, 4, 8, 9, 70 Philippe Charriol 66 Piaget 6, 38, 58 Pierre Thomas 66 Pilo & Co. 12, 66 Prada 13 Raidillon 6, 34, 35 Raymond Weil 6, 32, 33 Rebellion 66, 69 Richard Mille 12, 56, 59 Richemont 56 RJ-Romain Jerome COVER I (International), 6, 16, 17, 25, 68 Rodania 66 Roger Dubuis 59 Roger W. Smith 9 Rolex 9, 35, 48, 70 Salon de TE 66

Seiko COVER III SIHH 6, 56 SIWP 66 Sotheby’s 9 Sowind Group 48 Speake-Marin 6, 30, 31 Sultana 66 Swatch 12, 48 Swatch Group 12 Swiss Eminence Pavilion 66 TAG Heuer 13, 35 TEC Ebauches 24, 25 Thomas Prescher 69 Tiffany & Co. 12 Timebox 12 Tissot 19 Titoni 21 Tokyoflash 10 Traser 66 Tudor 35 Ulysse Nardin 33, 49 Urwerk 25, 26 Vacheron Constantin COVER II, 3, 4, 6, 13, 28, 29, 49, 59 Van Cleef & Arpels 18, 20, 59 Vaucher Manufacture 20 Vincent Calabrese 69 Voutilainen 31 WAG 69 WatchE 66 Watches of Switzerland 13 Watches & Wonders 6, 56, 57, 58, 59 Watchprint 70 WeChat 60 Weibo 60 Wenger 12 Zenith 70 Zerone 65 4N 68

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CONTENTS

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RJ Watches S.A. Rue du Marché 11 1204 Geneva Switzerland Phone +41 22 319 29 39 Fax +41 22 319 29 30 www.romainjerome.ch

6 | CONTENTS | europa star

EDITORIAL Contradictory signals

SIGNALS

EUROPA STAR CHOICES Choosing that first watch

ALL AROUND THE WORLD Retail map

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

ALL EYES ON… 14 A. Lange & Söhne: a new Lange 1 and a road map for the future 16 RJ-Romain Jerome: beyond life and death 18 22 24 25

INNOVATION All rise for the Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260

30 32 34 36

EUROPA STAR ARCADE Peter Speake-Marin: neo-classicist Elie Bernheim: solo virtuoso Fabien de Schaetzen: accelerating through the bends Cesare Cerrito: l’italianità

ROMAIN JEROME

18 STRATEGIES

ARCADE EUROPA STAR

WOMEN’S WATCHES GALLERY 38 Piaget, Harry Winston, Chanel, Bvlgari, Hermès, Gucci, IWC, De Grisogono

49 54

56 60 64

VOICES FROM CHINA Watches & Wonders 2015: a mini-SIHH for Greater Asia How luxury brands can ensure visibility & reach in China 34th Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair: not too bad, or not too good?

ANALYSIS Spectacular Displays

46 48

70 TO READ… LAKIN@LARGE 74 Surveying Surveys 51

SPOTLIGHT Casio: G-SHOCK MTG – G1000

GALLERY

56 CHINA

DIGITAL PARTNER

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS RESUCITADO BLANCO Y NEGRO Ref. RJ.T.AU.FM.001.09 Mechanical self-winding movement. Ø 46mm. Black PVD-coated steel case. Black ceramic bezel. Black mirror-polished dial. Engraved traverses. Skull-shaped applique adorned with a modern champlevé decoration, cold enamelled in white and black. Polished RJ logo applied on the dial. “Día de los Muertos” medallion engraved on the case back. Black Hornback alligator strap. Limited edition of 25 pieces. RJ-Romain Jerome’s Día de los Muertos collection in collaboration with Tattoo artist Xam, author of the Sugar Skull.

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