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Chapter

From Abu Dhabi to Zanzibar, Europa Star magazine delivers premium information about the fascinating world of watches. Its two folios Time.Business & Time.Keeper are circulated in more than 170 countries.

Europa Star is made possible by a team of passionate people and a network of incredible contributors.

Philippe Maillard

Pierre Maillard

Serge Maillard

Lorenzo Maillard

Véronique Zorzi Dominique Fléchon

Joël A. Grandjean

D. Malcolm Lakin

Jean-Luc Adam

Ollivier Broto

Jill Metcalfe

Nathalie Glattfelder Marianne Bechtel

Catherine Giloux

Jocelyne Bailly Fabrice Mugnier

Olivier Müller Alexis Sgouridis

THE SERIES “MASS CULTURE” WAS SHOT IN SEVERAL ASIAN MEGACITIES. IT QUESTIONS THE MODEL OF MASS CULTURE AND ITS EFFECT ON THE INDIVIDUALITY OF EACH OF US. “Mass Culture” also asks what flows and what movements emerge of a lifestyle that tends to promote greater standardisation and globalisation.

Laurent Baillet’s approach reminds us of what pop culture portrayed in the decades from 1950 to 1980, but transposed into the current globalised, more technological, and flashier age. Where Coca Cola and Hollywood share the stage with Apple and LVMH… His photographs reflect the urban and commercial architecture that is built around us; an arrogant landscape that considers itself the heart of the city and claims to replace all our desires. Laurent Baillet does not interpret this evolution; he experiences it with fascination, but not without ambivalence. His depictions question the real value of this age of mass culture and its effects on us, the consumers.

By catching these streets, their symbols frozen in a temporal instant, the photographer is taking the measure of the place left to the individual by the system and in its excessive standardisation.

ABOUT LAURENT BAILLET Laurent Baillet was born in 1978. He lives and works in Paris and Berlin, as an artist and studio photographer. His artistic work is exhibited in various group shows in France and sold mostly in Europe. Since January 2013, he has worked regularly for the Chinese artist Liu Bolin, known as the invisible man. As his photographer, he is in charge of photographing his performance, to be exhibited in art galleries. He has made around 20 photos for Liu Bolin (e.g. Charlie Hebdo in 2015 and Pompidou Center in 2017).

TIME.BUSINESS

TIME.KEEPER

A. Lange & Söhne 33 Adriatica 16 Anonimo 16 Asaoka 50, 51 Audemars Piguet 6, 33 Beijing Watch 24, 25, 30, 31 Carl F. Bucherer 4, 5 Casio 6, 39, 40, 41, 48 Chopard 58, 59 Citizen 6, 39, 46, 47, 48 Delma 23 DeWitt 66 Ebohr 24, 25, 28 ETA 17 Fiyta 24, 30, 31 FP Journe 33 Kering 57 Knot 53 Louis Vuitton 58 Mathey-Tissot 16 Memorigin 27 Minase 51 ODM 28 Patek Philippe 33 Philippe Dufour 54, 55 Pilo & Co 16 Richard Mille 32, 33 Richemont 14 Rolex COVER IV, 33, 66 Rossini 24, 25, 28 Sea-Gull 24 Seiko 6, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48 SIHH 67 Suzuki Kango 52 Swatch Group 57 Tasaki 52 Timex 18, 22 Tokyoflash 53 TW Steel 18 Vicenzaoro 29 WatchE 16 Wired 53

Angelus 42 Audemars Piguet 32, 33, 34, 68 Baume & Mercier 47 Blancpain 47 Breguet 26, 27 Breitling 56 Cartier 68 Casio COVER I, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Chanel COVER II, 3 Citizen 41 Delma 60 Eberhard & Co 45 Fabergé 22, 51, 61, 72, 73, 764, 75 Hanhart 56 Hermès 51 Lang & Heyne 48 Longines 43, 44, 52 Louis Vuitton 5, 57 Mathey-Tissot 40 Mido 42, 48 Montblanc 54, 55, 76, 77, 78, 79 Nomos Glashütte 19 Omega 52, 67 Patek Philippe COVER IV, 28, 29, 30, 31, 67, 68, 69, 71 Philippe Dufour 71 Raymond Weil 49 Richard Mille 46 Rolex 6, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71 Seiko 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 62, 63, 64, 65 Singer 50 TAG Heuer 53 Tissot 7 Traser 58, 59 Tudor 71 Universal 41 Urban Jürgensen 23 Vacheron Constantin 6, 45, 68 Wakmann 42 Zenith 6 Zodiac 40

FAR EAST What’s happening in the Far East? Europa Star spent a month on the ground in China and Japan.

| ON ITI ED AL OB GL T AP CH 017 5.2 ER

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CHINA Chinese pride restored

13

FOLLOW THE SIGNS:

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PAST PRESENT FUTURE

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WITTY COLUMNISTS, WATCH YOUR MOUTH! And a last word… to start your reading (because many people in fact read in the Japanese way)

JAPAN Transitioning from technology to luxury

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OPINION Swiss Made Episode 3.

Jean-Daniel Pasche, FH President

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GREEN WATCHMAKING Hard to spot!

SUBSCRIBE TO EUROPA STAR MAGAZINE www.europastar.com/subscribe | SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER www.europastar.com/newsletter | CHAIRMAN Philippe Maillard PUBLISHER Serge Maillard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pierre Maillard CONCEPTION & DESIGN Serge Maillard, Pierre Maillard, Alexis Sgouridis PUBLISHING / MARKETING / CIRCULATION Nathalie Glattfelder, Marianne Bechtel/Bab-Consulting, Jocelyne Bailly, Véronique Zorzi BUSINESS MANAGER Catherine Giloux MAGAZINES Europa Star Global (Europe & International) | USA | China | Première - Switzerland | Bulletin d’informations | Eurotec EUROPA STAR HBM SA Route des Acacias 25, CH-1227 Geneva - Switzerland, Tel +41 22 307 78 37, Fax +41 22 300 37 48, contact@europastar.com Copyright 2017 EUROPA STAR | All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Europa Star HBM SA Geneva.

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

Subscription service | Europa Star Time.Business & Time.Keeper | 5 issues | Worldwide airmail delivery CHF 90 | Subscription orders via: europastar.com/subscribe | Enquiries: contact@europastar.com ISSN 2504-4591 | www.europastar.com |

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Today, the Far East is the biggest producer and consumer of watches on the planet. This situation will remain for a long time to come, despite the abrupt fall in sales in Hong Kong we have seen in recent years. It’s not just a matter of economic recovery, which is now taking place, alongside the reabsorption of a big inventory backlog. We simply won’t see another China, at least not in the sense of a big emerging power and demographic giant, open to international trade, and with an appetite for watches. Neither India nor Brazil will take up the baton. The Far East will remain the Fat East as far as watchmakers are concerned.

It may be controversial to call it that, but the watch industry does seem to have an almost fetishistic obsession with Chinese watch customers. This obsession is fed by statistics. Let’s not forget that, today, the Hong Kong / China double act represent an outlet for Swiss watches worth 4 billion francs (compared with 1.5 billion in 2000), and that doesn’t take into account the purchases made by Chinese visitors abroad. The obsession is also fed by the obsession of the Chinese themselves for watches – watches as objects, as we explore in the following pages.

When researching our report on the Far East, we observed a number of phenomena that will have a profound effect on the entire global watchmaking ecosystem, from the production of the entry-level watches worn by the majority, to the consumption of luxury timepieces that grace the wrists of the privileged few.

So let’s begin with these latter. As we showed in a recent dossier, the Chinese middle classes are just as important to the future of Swiss watchmaking as their wealthier neighbours. All the more so since collectors – and this doesn’t just apply to China – are increasingly buying at auction, and thus circumventing the brands themselves. We went to talk to Phillips, Sotheby’s and Poly Auction, to try to understand this phenomenon.

These high-profile sales, which seem to announce new records every month, are the trees that conceal the forest – the forest of online sales. But how are the brands supposed to find the right balance between physical and virtual? This problem directly affects the watch assemblers in Shenzhen, the “world’s watch factory”, which we went to visit. As orders began to fall, some of these behind-the-scenes outfits decided to launch their own brands, designed to attract online connoisseurs with reasonably-priced watches offered within a carefully curated digital environment, similar to what Daniel Wellington has done. Have you heard of Perry Ellis, Grayton or Avi-8? All of these brands, launched by subcontractors based in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, are hoping to seduce a younger generation. Prepare to witness an explosion in the entry-level segment.

But behind these new names, the entire production chain is being overhauled. Much faster reaction times will avert the phenomenon that has plagued the industry over the last three years – the accumulation of inventory and the consequent reduction in liquidity, which has led to bankruptcies in this rapidly changing market.

Finally, we could not go to the Far East without visiting Japan, and the country’s big three watchmakers: Casio, Seiko and Citizen. Each in its own way is focusing on a new objective: moving up-market, via the premium Grand Seiko models, the G-Shock, or, in the case of Citizen, buying out other watchmakers.

The 35th anniversary of the G-Shock, an icon that changed the face of the watch industry and introduced a hundred million youngsters to the joys of wearing a watch, is featured on the cover of Time.Keeper.

Feel free to peruse both our folios at your leisure. We trust you will find them interesting and instructive.

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TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE VALLÉE DE JOUX. FOR MILLENNIA A HARSH, UNYIELDING ENVIRONMENT; AND SINCE 1875 THE HOME OF AUDEMARS PIGUET, IN THE VILLAGE OF LE BRASSUS. THE EARLY WATCHMAKERS WERE SHAPED HERE, IN AWE OF THE FORCE OF NATURE YET DRIVEN TO MASTER ITS MYSTERIES THROUGH THE COMPLEX MECHANICS OF THEIR CRAFT. STILL TODAY THIS PIONEERING SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE THE CONVENTIONS OF

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What’s happening in the Far East? Europa Star spent a month on the ground in China and Japan, to build up a picture of the watchmaking landscape in what remains the biggest current and future market for the luxury watch industry. Everyone from subcontractors to vintage specialists shared their views on this transitional period that will be pivotal for the future of watchmaking. Whether we like it or not, there will be no new China to usher in another golden decade. Nevertheless, the “new China” of Xi Jinping is going full steam ahead. We identify the major trends of the moment, through the words of the people on the scene.

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“Of the 200 Simplicity models made by Philippe Dufour, Japanese distributor Yoshi Isogai sold 127 of them!”

“In Asia, we are currently seeing a transition in the market from contemporary watches to vintage.”

(Jessie Kang, Sotheby’s Hong Kong)

“Tomorrow, through customisation and online orders, people will buy watches before they have even been made.

There will therefore be a much greater alignment between supply and demand. For the last two years, the markets have been drowning in unsold inventory.”

(Vishal Tolani, Solar Time)

“Reform in China is accelerating under the auspices of Xi Jinping, beginning with strengthening its position in world affairs. That was not a foregone conclusion. Previously, China has tended to be more inwardlooking, a little like Switzerland!”

(Jean-Jacques De Dardel, Switzerland’s Ambassador to China)

“Today, the model we follow is closer to that of Amazon than to a traditional watch manufacturer.

Everything is coded, scanned and standardised. Each component can be traced individually online by the client. It’s much more closely managed.”

(Ben Djeghdir, Montrichard)

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“Grand Seiko’s entire philosophy is based on exceptional legibility, elegant design and high precision.”

“Since the height of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, Solar Time, an assembler, has created no fewer than six new brands, for which it manages production, marketing and distribution.”

(Shuji Takahashi, President of Seiko Holdings)

“Watch subcontractors’ workshops, part of a low-tech industry that has struggled over the last couple of years, have been pushed increasingly further from the centre of Shenzhen by the appetites of computer engineers and highly motivated real estate agents.”

“Unlike in the Swiss valleys, in Japan there are very few independent subcontractors, people who can ‘feed’ the creative drives of craftsmen and enable them to translate their imagination into reality. The country has never experienced the Swiss ‘établissage’ system.”

“My biggest fear for the future is that young people lose interest in mechanical watchmaking.”

(William Shum, Memorigin)

“The true giants of Chinese watchmaking have no name. They are the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer): in other words, the generic watch factories that make items on behalf of brands from all over the world. But, at 4 dollars apiece, they are giants with feet of clay...”

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C H P RE R I N ST I D E O E S R E To understand the China-related upheaval that is affecting the watchmaking microcosm, we need to step backwards a pace to grasp the depth of the reforms being undertaken in that country. One notable effect is a wave of patriotism that is now influencing buying behaviour.

Let’s start with a few figures: of the 10 principal container ports in the world, seven today are in China. On land, Xi Jinping’s government, which has been returned to power for five years, is preparing to invest up to 900 billion dollars in the countries crossed by the new ‘Silk Road’.

In the province around Beijing, a new scientific, technological and economic centre is emerging. The country’s richest province Guangdong, surrounding Hong Kong and Macao, has several cities which are enjoying keen growth. The population of this area is twice that of Tokyo and ten times that of San Francisco... This development is being aided first of all by massive investment in the infrastructure: 1,100 kilometres of railway line by 2020 to the north and 10 to 12 new high-speed rail links between the cities to the south.

In parallel to this, a clean-up is going on in Chinese conurbations in response to the deep discontent of a population exasperated with the suffocating emissions of CO2. And China is moving fast… into new energies, such as electric cars, of which it is the world’s largest producer today, while at the same time taking precautionary measures against real estate bubbles, an inevitable side-effect of growth.

“Above all, China is looking to reinforce its position in world business. That wasn’t a given. It tended rather to focus on its own destiny – a bit like Switzerland!” explains Jean-Jacques de Dardel, the Swiss ambassador to China. “That’s resulting in greater multilateralism, a positive view of free trade and the fight against global warming and protectionism.” After a century of humiliation, Chinese pride is back.

What does that mean for the watchmaking industry?

In actual fact, the opportunities remain impressive. You don’t turn your back on China. Even if it is going through a ‘growth crisis’ which is driving reform, neither India nor Brazil will replace the Chinese middle class as champions of consumerism. And unlike what we often read, underscores Jean-Jacques de Dardel, “the Chinese economy is in good shape and its growth is continuing better than anticipated. It will stabilise this year at 6.8%. The IMF’s forecasts have been revised upwards and foreign investment is growing ...

Today, with growth at 6.5%-7%, China adds the equivalent of 1.5 to twice all of Switzerland to global wealth every year!”

The sound health of the Chinese economy in general is due chiefly to an improvement in the health of the Chinese industrial sector, the driving forces of which are electronics, metals, the automotive sector and machinery.

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What about watchmaking? In terms of Swiss exports to China, chemicals and pharmaceuticals top the list – but watchmaking now stands second, having overtaken machine tools thanks to a very strong recovery by watch exports! “That is set to continue with the move upmarket of China, which is in need of increasingly sophisticated products and services,” Jean-Jacques de Dardel believes. “Retail sales grew more than 10% during the first six months of 2017.”

Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, tones down this glowing tableau somewhat: “During the first six months, exports to China grew 21%, which together with the United Kingdom was the largest contributing factor to something of a recovery by the industry. But Hong Kong is stagnating at 0.5% and Singapore at 0.4%.” Moreover, the figures need to be taken with a pinch of salt, because they express growth on the basis of a very good year, 2016 having been very bad and industry having fallen back to its export levels of 2011.

But even so, the watch trade still seems to be shifting more and more from Hong Kong and abroad to mainland China...

The Chinese watch industry itself is benefiting, as its representative enthusiastically underscored when we met him at Hong Kong’s Watch and Clock fair in September (read more about the upmarket move of the Chinese players on p. 26). “Profits and watch quality are improving. Last year, more than 300 million watches were exported, a rise of 11.78%. The main challenge lies in persuading people to wear Chinese watches!”

“China needs Hong Kong: even if the political reins are being tightened, Shanghai isn’t going to replace it as a hub of haute horlogerie.”

Francis Gouten, former CEO of Richemont Asia-Pacific

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What future for Hong Kong?

To get a better idea of the future of the watch sector in the former British colony – historically the number one market in the world for the Swiss watch industry – we met Francis Gouten, the former CEO of Richemont Asia-Pacific, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1980.

“Hong Kong had become the hen laying the golden eggs, taking advantage of the boom and the huge influx of capital and Chinese visitors, with retailers like Chow Tai Fook, which today owns 2,000 boutiques! The brands also seized the opportunity, but opened too many outlets, including in mainland China. They rushed into the breach without a thought for when it was going to stop. Xi Jinping has pulled the plug on corruption. All that began with the new social media: we saw photos with luxury bags and watches at the Communist Party’s annual congress…” Gone are the days when you might find the keys to a Mercedes in a traditional moon cake, a gift from some big shot...

At the moment, a restructuration of the distribution network is taking place in Hong Kong. When they’re not closing outlets, giants like Chow Tai Fook or Emperor are tending to place greater emphasis on jewellery. “Jewellery is the new lucrative market, because there’s a new class of working women, who aren’t married and are buying for themselves,” points out Francis Gouten.

At the same time, Chinese buyers have matured, the specialist goes on. “It’s turning into a market like any other, and watchmakers have to accept that! Today, wealthy Chinese, but also the middle classes, are spending more and more money on ‘experiences’, just like in the western world.

Before, the prime reason for travelling was to buy; now, it’s to discover other cultures.”

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But can Hong Kong continue to be the main market for Asia where watches are concerned? Yes, Francis Gouten replies without hesitation. “China needs Hong Kong: even if the political reins are being tightened, Shanghai isn’t going to replace it as a hub of haute horlogerie. People have kept the habit of travelling to buy luxury products. Hong Kong isn’t independent, but it’s still got a fine future ahead of it.”

As for Enders Lam, the president of the Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association, he sees the city’s future in increased sales to the local population. “We’re still a huge producer and consumer of watches, despite the economic instability. It’s also a question of investing in new forms of production, such as smart watches, and being more competitive.”

His colleague Harold Sun confirms that the ‘golden decade’ from 2004 to 2014 when visas from China were abolished is now over, a result of political tension between Hong Kong and Beijing, the anti-corruption campaign and the currency rate. But he is noticing a slight upturn in the market, now that relations with China are improving and the Hong Kong dollar has fallen: “The retail trade is stabilising and inventories are falling. The Hong Kong retailers are doing more to attract a local customer base and establish partnerships with Chinese dealers.”

A trip to the fair – in Hong Kong The market evolutions set out in this feature were blatantly evident at the last edition of the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair in September: local suppliers presenting their own brands, increased presence of players in the new smart technologies, doubting retailers, confident mainland Chinese watchmakers…

But despite that, some Swiss brands too! Most of them were grouped together in the SIWP pavilion. Anonimo, was one

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example, more upmarket than the average exhibitor at this fair, but hoping to tap into the Chinese market and Hong Kong before the end of the year – and receiving interesting visits from potential agents in Russia and Australia!

As for Adriatica, it has been attending the fair for more than nine years: “You have to be present over the long term to succeed. But China is a still a complex market for doing business.

The principal objective is still to develop distribution in Asia, but we also sell directly at this fair. And we take the opportunity to meet our suppliers.” On the final day of the trade show, direct sales were booming, including on the stand opposite, at Mathey-Tissot. “Our key market remains the Middle East. Its representatives come to Baselworld, but also to Hong Kong.

For example, last year we made inroads into Oman thanks to this fair. What we’re noticing this year is that customers are not ordering lower quantities, but cheaper watches. At the moment we’re in discussions about openings in Vietnam, China, Indonesia... They just have to be nailed yet.”

With an output of 50 watches a year, WatchE is staking everything on direct sales, while at the same time looking for a local agent in Hong Kong: “The Japanese are possibly more in my line because they’re more mature where watches are concerned than the Chinese!” The last word goes to Amarildo Pilo of the eponymous brand, who brought these brands together in the SIWP: “For over ten years my priority has been mainland China, where I post 60% of my sales today.

My Chinese partners come to see me at the fair, but I also meet people from other markets, such as India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Russia. When you’re grouped together in a joint Swiss pavilion like here, you attract three times more visitors than if you exhibit alone.”

Finding a new balance between a confident mainland China and a doubting city of Hong Kong in the face of changing buying behaviours – that’s the challenge awaiting all watchmakers, whatever their price range…

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IN A J E “W T O N FA A HE R Z C TC W CH H TO H O A E RY M R L N G N ” AK D’ ES IN S G

S M H

It is next to Hong Kong, in Shenzhen, that we traditionally find producers of a very large proportion of the watches and components used in world watchmaking. But major changes are underway: the watch industry offers less added value than other activities and is being pushed back further; assemblers, lacking orders, merge or close ... or launch their own brands!

In the background, the entire logistics chain must change. Visit and analysis.

The “gentrification” of Shenzhen An airy and green city, abounding with electric bikes and which even has a small hipster neighbourhoud and a shopping centre inspired by the marine world. Copenhagen? No, Shenzhen! The link is a little artificial, but “gentrification” is well underway in this “factory of the world” city of 12 million inhabitants, in the immediate vicinity of Hong Kong, in the heart of this famous economic zone of the Delta of the “river of pearls”, a megalopolis of 66 million inhabitants.

Already, the textile industry has had to leave the workshops of the metropolis to relocate to countries with even cheaper labour, especially Vietnam, or other provinces of China.

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Two sectors dominate everything, now: high-tech, with the emblematic Apple installing a new R&D centre. And real estate, of course, with prices that tend to climb almost as fast as Hong Kong, the second most expensive city in the world.

Not to mention the constant importance of finance.

Traditionally, watch assemblers are headquartered in Hong Kong and their factories across the border in Shenzhen. But the workshops of watchmaking subcontractors, this low-tech industry in a downturn for the last two years, are pushed ever further from the centre, in the face of the appetite of computer engineers and very dynamic real estate developers. “We will have to move in a few months, but we will take the opportunity to enlarge our production area by three times”, explains Rémi Chabrat, founder of assembler Montrichard, who works for Timex but also TW Steel.

The same goes for Vishal Tolani, boss of the Solar Time Manufacturing Group: “Shenzhen is becoming the global hub of the Internet of Things, a hub for talented young engineers, which are very high added value industries. Furthermore, you can earn in real estate ten times what you do in watchmaking in Shenzhen if you sell your industrial site to turn it into a residential complex.”

“Shenzhen is becoming ever more expensive,” says Ming Hung, of the Team Gain assembler. “Some producers are moving to Dongguan or Huizhou (8 and 4 million people, respectively). Sometimes the authorities expel you from Shenzhen because they need space for other activities with higher added value or for residential areas, especially with the extension of the metro Ming Hung, Team Gain line! In a few months, our factory will find itself connected to a new metro line and I’m afraid they will be forcing us to leave.” In the assembler’s opinion, Shenzhen is now trying to become a new Hong Kong, that is, to get rid of factories and focus on services.

As a result, watchmaking is moving further away from Shenzhen and is no longer a government priority in the face of these higher value-added industries. In addition, the market is less buoyant. So, what to do?

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Concentrations and closures Impossible for now to move to other provinces or other countries, because it is around Shenzhen that lies the entire watchmaking ecosystem, without which the assemblers would be at a loss. “We have more than 3,000 suppliers in the region!”, says Ming Hung of Team Gain, “and our main customer has a local subsidiary in Shenzhen.”

Head of operations at Montrichard in Shenzhen, Ben Djeghdir explains that all subcontractors are within a 50-kilometre radius. “We have to stay close to them because we have to have strict quality control over them, and it is here that we find people who are already qualified and have already worked in the watchmaking assembly.”

The manager continues: “Shenzhen has developed well in the assembly of watches but it remains very manual. There is very little automation and workforce skills remain important. Swiss watchmaking is automated for cost reasons as the labour is very expensive, here it will not be changing.”

Since it is not really possible to lower the cost of labour again to offset the downturn in orders, we are witnessing a phenomenon of concentration and mergers in the outsourcing sector. Some big assemblers have also lost their license: this is the case of the one that produced Puma, Esprit and Givenchy watches. “The problem is that a lot of subcontractors have seen the market change but did not react, and brands that have withdrawn their licenses are no better today,” said Ben Djeghdir.

For his part, Ming Hung feels “lucky” to be able to work at 90% for a big Japanese brand, which continues to do well. “The market is changing a lot and today many of our customers are in trouble: one of them who was ordering two million watches five years ago produces only 800,000 today. We find fewer customers and those we have order less.”

Here, everything is still assembled by hand. “In aggregate, we produce 5.5 million watches per year, most of them being entry-level plastic LCD and battery watches. But we also have American and Swiss customers and we also produce analogue watches with quartz movements. We cannot automate the assembly because the references are too numerous, it would not make sense from an economic point of view.”

Alexander Meerovitsch, the founder of the subcontractor Optimo Group, has been based in Hong Kong for 22 years.

“American fashion groups have teamed up with subcontractors like us, they entrusted us with production to focus on marketing and distribution. There was a golden age for outsourcing here, which everyone benefited from. But now everything has changed, and you have to revise your way of thinking.”

With the crisis, some subcontractors are abandoning watchmaking or diversifying. “For example, those who made watch glasses now produce for smartphone brands,” says

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Vishal Tolani of Solar Time, “and I, personally, do not only hire people from the watchmaking industry. but more and more engineers from the high-tech world.”

Other assemblers made a different choice: they decided to launch themselves!

When the subcontractors launch their own brand Beyond the connected watch and the declining appetite for watches through the world, a new generation of brands has upset the field of the entry-level watch, with repercussions felt as far away as Shenzhen, at the assemblers, or Dallas, at the headquarters of a world-leading fashion watch company like the Fossil Group.

Almost every day, new brands are launched on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. And these are not so much the fruits of watch geeks as specialists from the digital world. Almost all knock on the door of Shenzhen’s main assemblers. “We are constantly solicited and are taking in new brands, while selecting them very carefully,” says Rémi Chabrat of Montrichard.

These brands target a new digital native clientele, with often a classic or vintage design, in line with successful brands such as Cluse or Daniel Wellington. Their goal: to devote maximum resources to digital communication, to create a community of online buyers. The quality of the product does not come first in the minds of these entrepreneurs, who are often extremely young. Their appearance must be impeccable, however, and their promotion extremely neat. The priority is perceived value!

“Today, the biggest change is the migration to digital and social networks,” Vishal Tolani observes. “New brands are asking us to take care of the production from A to Z while they focus only on digital marketing. We have entered the age of disruption and everything is changing very quickly, and while we have had a good time since 2001, we have made the mistake of not diversifying ourselves enough and in the end depending too heavily on some customers as subcontractors.”

Should we accept these newcomers – at the risk of accentuating an addiction to start-up, which are even more fragile than the larger fashion groups -- our traditional customers -- which are themselves in difficulty? And why place our entire production capacity at the disposal of actors with limited means, which they will invest first and foremost in their own digital marketing?

A growing number of subcontracting players, in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, intend to mitigate this dependence on players in financial difficulty or with limited means. How?

By putting their production capacities at the service of... their own brands! Time for income diversification.

Since the turn of the financial crisis of 2008-2009, Solar Time has created no fewer than six brands of its own, for which it manages production, marketing and distribution. “Today, we produce between 1.2 and 1.5 million watches a year, 60% for third parties and 40% for our own brands, explains Vishal Tolani. This has required developing different skills in marketing, photography, etc. It’s not something ‘natural’ in a region that has always focused more on production.”

The team is targeting several niche “tribes” with its brands, positioned between $100 and $800: for example, Avi-8 is for aviation enthusiasts; McCabe is for coffee lovers; Dufa, an old German brand, was resurrected with a Bauhaus design... “This is a brand of German origin driven by a watch company based in Hong Kong with an Indian at its head!

Globalisation… but the watch industry is still wary of that.”

For its part, Optimo Group has just launched Perry Ellis, in collaboration with the American fashion brand of the same name, with a price positioning of 150 dollars. “As outsourc-

ing is declining and margins have decreased in this business, we are in a diversification effort with this new challenge and we will also soon launch our own Swiss brand, called Nove,” explains his boss Alexander Meerovitsch.

New infrastructures must be developed, and it is for him to find the right formula on two “O to O” axes: online to offline and offline to online. Present at the Hong Kong Watch Trade Show in September, the new brand is being distributed in China, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Egypt and India ... and of course online.

“Now we have to learn a new business around marketing and not just production,” admits Alexander Meerovitsch.

There are a lot of fashion and ready-to-wear actors who make watches but we think of ourselves first as a watch company.”

Nevertheless, the change will not happen overnight and outsourcing will remain a key activity in the Shenzhen area. So, how to improve processes?

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Rethinking the supply chain Montrichard also launched their own brand, called Grayton, but primarily as a showcase for new capabilities and a new way of thinking about the production chain. This requires a much stronger and instant match between brand orders and assembly capabilities. The objective: to avoid excessive and unsold stocks ... and replace inventories worth $10 million with stocks worth $800,000. And at the same time, to avoid the bottleneck of insufficient liquidity.

In the case of Montrichard, this involves the development of dedicated watchmaking management software called FINS (Flexible Industry Solutions) while many brands use big standardised software such as SAP. The management software was developed in a Montrichard computer centre in the Philippines, from where the firm also offers marketing services such as blog tracking, website creation and content management.

In appearance, the Montrichard workshop is no different from any other. It is on the fulfilment of the orders that everything hinges: “We want to match supply and demand: better management of cash and inventory through better predictability of orders.”

Ben Djeghdir continues: “How do you solve the problems of a watch brand in terms of financial flows? You crush stocks!

We improve cash flow and we increase sales by following the trends by the minute. We went from a 20 million turnover and 6 million in stocks to 21 million turnover and one million stock.”

Other industries are much more advanced from the point of view of digitising manufacturing orders. “For example, you can easily customise your Converse sneakers on the Nike site, or Zara, H&M and Uniqlo, it’s both very fluid and simple.”

“Today, we are pursuing a model closer to that of Amazon than that of a traditional watch factory. Everything is coded, scanned and standardised, and each component can be tracked individually online by the customer. This is a system that is constantly being developed and offers detailed reporting such as the performance of each model by colour or by country. The goal is to customise the production to be as close as possible to the market.”

“We already have access to the stocks of our suppliers, we are just assembling so we can make very limited productions.

We standardise the components to better manage them and to achieve a better ‘time to market’. Our customers are watch brands that can cope with year-old sell-out and inventory problems, we ‘blow up’ their component models and trace how many cases are available from our suppliers. The goal is to have a faster and more personalised process, and work on a just-in-time basis, with good database and inventory management, just like in the automotive industry.”

The first historical customer of this system was Disney.

Montrichard has also just announced a partnership with the American giant Timex for the implementation of the FINS software, with the aim of drastically accelerating their time22

Grayton Automatic Watches to-market. “The goal is to change the dynamics of an inventory based sales process to a demand driven model,” says Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, President & CEO of Timex Group.

“We are very familiar with the number of components we have in stock and customers can know in real time the quantity available and the order lead time,” says Jérôme Sollier, director of the Montrichard plant in Shenzhen. Chinese suppliers have remained in a mentality where data management is not taken into account. They remain simple assemblers.”

But today, watchmaking meets computers. “It’s different from automation: here we’re talking about better logistics management. Brands like Daniel Wellington or Cluse have their assemblers in Shenzhen but they have to pay them 30% in advance. This can create liquidity bottlenecks when you end up with excessive inventory. The bottom line is that today, brands pay their suppliers and assemblers at order time.

We aim to make them pay for the watch only when it has already been sold, which is a big difference that responds to the challenge of cash and inventory.”

According to Solar Time’s Vishal Tolani, “The watch production process is being reversed: until now, the brand has been planning with its retailers and distributors the volume of production and geographical distribution of the collections.” Tomorrow, via personalisation and orders on the internet, people will buy the watch before it is produced, so there will be a much better match between supply and demand, whereas markets have been crumbling under unsold stocks for two years.

KLONDIKE MOONPHASE Automatic Chronograph with moon phase, full calendar and unique day-and-night indicator.

TIME TO PERFORM

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Delma Watch Ltd., CH-2543 Lengnau, Switzerland, Phone +41 32 654 22 11, info@delma.ch, www.delma.ch

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According to the figures of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, mainland China exported more than 652 million wristwatches in 2016! It is by far the world’s largest producer.

The Chinese Horologe Association speaks officially of 253 manufactures, which means that each company produces an average 2.5 million items!

When you know that Switzerland ‘only’ exported 25.4 million watches, it makes you curious to find out more about the mysterious giants of the Chinese watchmaking industry.

With these figures in mind, we tried to track down these ‘big players’ at the Shenzhen Watch and Clock Fair in late June.

But the known and commonly marketed Chinese brands boil down to Sea-Gull, Starking, Tian Wang, Rarone, Fiyta (pronounced ‘Fee-ya-ta’), Ossine, Peacock, Golgen, Casiden, Poscher, Rosdn, Bowdor, Runosd and Geya, not forgetting Rossini, Ebohr and, one of the oldest (1958), the Beijing Watch Factory. Include digital, sports and smart watches and you can add another twenty or so brands.

So how many watches are produced all told? By addressing the Chinese Horologe Association, I thought to bag the figures in a ten-minute interview. In fact, it took four days of

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negotiation with the press service just to get an interview with one of its members. Anyone belonging to the ’Party’ is apparently not authorised to make statements to the media, and the others were ostensibly booked up.

What I thought would be a simple task was beginning to look like mission impossible. “In China, the figures are variable to allow various interpretations,” one member of the Canton (Guangzhou) horological association explains to me with absolute earnestness, also incapable of citing a single production, sales or export figure. As for the brand CEOs, they can announce any volume they like. At our level, we have not the slightest means of verification.

The real giant identified!

The prices of the brands cited above range from around one hundred yuan (15 Swiss francs) for a simple quartz watch to more than 100,000 yuan (15,000 Swiss francs) for a tourbillon. But the average export price is just 4 dollars apiece!

This being the case, it’s easy to see why the real giants of the Chinese watch industry are nameless: they’re referred to as OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) – in other words, they are factories producing generic watches on behalf of brands scattered all over the world. But at 4 dollars apiece, these are giants with feet of clay…

That, in any case, is the view of the Horologe Association, which, at the forum opening the 28th Watch & Clock Fair in Shenzhen, welcomes the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan launched in 2015 by the central government. This represents a new phase for the industry: over ten years and in ten sectors of activity, OEM is to be transformed into ‘made in China’ first and foremost by raising quality. But a word of caution – the watchmaking industry is not one of the sectors concerned. But what does it matter; the invited media are satisfied and give a hearty round of applause.

For the umpteenth time, I ask the press service to organise an interview with someone in charge, but this time I decide to speak Chinese: “Put yourself in my place, imagine a Chinese journalist travelling 10,000 km to cover Baselworld and not getting a single interview!” Intrigued, Ms Yang Jingwen, an eminent figure in the Chinese Horologe Association since 1999, comes out of her office, her eyes wide with amazement: “But he can speak Chinese! I’ll find you an interlocutor.”

Open sesame …

“One billion watches produced in China”

My interlocutor is the honourable Mr Shunhua Zhu (朱 舜华), co-founder of the Shenzhen Watch & Clock Fair and a member of the Horologe Association since 1988.

Who are the largest producers in terms of volume?

Shunhua Zhu: It’s difficult to say, because the companies that produce the most are OEM producers, sometimes exporting up to 10 million watches at 2 or 3 dollars each for the African or South American market.

So it’s true to state that the giants of the Chinese watch industry are OEM producers?

The very large majority.

Can you class the brands in terms of volume?

Fiyta, Rossini and Tian Wan produce just over one million items a year. Sea-Gull and Ebohr produced 800,000 watches, Starking, Geya and Poscher 600,000 watches each. As for the Beijing Watch Factory (see interview on page 30), which targets the medium to high end, it posts higher turnover than those brands, even though it only sells around 100,000 watches.

Hong Kong exported 241 million watches in 2016, again according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Admit it – they’re actually made in China, aren’t they?

Yes, 99.9% of them! They are even assembled in China. That’s because all the Hong Kong brands have relocated to mainland China. Only the brand headquarters have remained in Hong Kong.

So if you add 241 million watches from Hong Kong and the 652 million exported watches, and to that add the Chinese domestic market, how many watches did China produce altogether in 2016?

One billion watches!

Impressive! But while we’re on the subject, the ‘Swissness’ law states that to be ‘Swiss made’ at least 60% of the value of a watch has to be Swiss; so what are the criteria for the ‘made in China’ and ‘made in Hong Kong’ labels?

In China, it’s very simple: if a watch is assembled in the country, it is ‘made in China’. In Hong Kong, the movement determines the nationality of a watch. If it contains a Japanese movement, it’s made in Japan; if it has a Chinese movement, it’s made in China.

Let’s come back to the Chinese brands, in particular the high-end segment which posted growth of 10.9% last year! With announced profits of 46 million yuan (6.6 million Swiss francs), volumes are apparently low…

I can’t give you a ranking there because there are several brands (Beijing, Sea-Gull, Ebohr) producing very small volumes at the high end of the market. Those watches are tourbillon or art watches that help them create a brand image.

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TH H E W OW CH C A TO AL RE TC E LE D H ARN NGE EN M Y : T I A K OUR Faced with the difficulties of the Swiss luxury manufacturers and their high prices, and encouraged by the new Chinese patriotism, some local companies are setting out to reconquer home territory, in mainland China as well as in Hong Kong.

There has been much talk in Switzerland about the acquisition of Eterna and Corum by the Chinese giant Citychamp. But much less about the efforts made at home to raise the standard of Chinese watchmaking while trying to beat the Swiss at least in price, if not in quality. Some examples.

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HONG KONG Memorigin: democratising the tourbillon William Shum is one of the people who best embody the ‘Hong Kong spirit’: he’s native to the city, and an entrepreneur who studied finance at Cornell University in the United States. But the outbreak of the financial crisis is making things more complicated than anticipated. In Hong Kong, his father owned a factory with a workforce of 900, dedicated to the production of movements for mechanical watches.

“I wrote my thesis on a case study. And that’s when I discovered that among other things, it also produced a tourbillon movement! So it’s quite a mature company from the technical point of view.”

That gave William Shum the idea of taking advantage of that know-how to launch his own brand, all the models of which would be – tourbillons! Memorigin was born. The goal: to be affordably priced, between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars, with editions limited to 20 watches. The recipe seems to be working.

“Swiss watchmakers obviously have an advantage over us, because they’re recognised and people know that the price corresponds to the brand value! We can’t attract people who’d be interested in a Jaeger-LeCoultre. On the other hand, we try to attract people who wouldn’t necessarily have the means to buy themselves a tourbillon watch. We’re democratising the tourbillon.”

Now present in 20 countries, the start-up’s chief market is still Hong Kong. “Faced with the slump in Chinese consumption, we’re trying to build a local customer base. And first and foremost, we’re trying to attract young people to mechanical watches by democratising the tourbillon. We want to avoid a situation in the future where people wear nothing but smart watches! My greatest fear for the future would be that: a scenario where young people lose all interest in mechanical watchmaking...”

Memorigin Stellar Series Tourbillon Manual Wind

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ODM, the most original design in the Far East An acronym standing for Original, Dynamic and Minimal, ODM might be an entry-level brand, but it’s also our top pick in terms of design. It was the first Hong Kong brand to take part in Baselworld in 2003. Since then it has received numerous design awards for its very bold watches, including the Red Dot Design Award. Here’s proof of the pudding, in a picture.

ODM Design Mars Watch

CHINA Rossini and Ebohr standing strong Based in Zhuhai, just next to Hong Kong, Rossini was founded in 1987 and employs a workforce of around 800 people.

“Our average prices range from 1,000 to 3,000 RMB and we have around a thousand references in two main series, Sport and Business,” explains Sales manager Bruce Cho. Its sister company, Ebohr, is positioned slightly lower down the range and is also owned by Citychamp.

“Most of our production is automatic and we sell our watches in China, but also in the UK, Singapore and Cambodia, as well as in Thailand,” Bruce Cho goes on. “We have around 10,000 outlets all over China! We’ve grown and are continuing to grow, even if growth has slowed down recently. At the moment we’re focusing especially on South Asia, on the new generations of business men and women.”

The advantages that the brand is out to promote are sound design and quality at an affordable price. But the brand is also counting on higher-range models, including a tourbillon at 15,000 RMB. “For the moment, our movements are supplied by Citizen and Seiko. But we’re planning to launch our own movement in the near future!”

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Rossini Tourbillon Watch 5459

Ebohr Complication Experience N°2 Automatic Watch

No! For questions of both cost and quality. The cases are machined in the southern province of Guangdong, by a quality supplier.

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On our visit in 2011, the hands and cases were also made in-house, isn’t that the case anymore?

BY M I E W DA RV A T E UC IN N-L A JE

The “Beijing” and Fiyta signed a partnership agreement in October 2016 that could spawn the very best of Chinese watchmaking. An interview with the new director of the Beijing Watch Factory, Mr. ChuangYue Xu (徐创越).

Fiyta is the internationally best-known Chinese watch brand; it has been the official timekeeper of the Chinese Space Agency since 2003 and an exhibitor in the prestigious Hall 1 at Baselworld since 2010. It is also a leader in terms of sales volumes and one of the most avant-garde brands in terms of design. The only downside is that it has always contented itself with foreign calibres.

In complete contrast, the venerable Beijing Watch Factory (see August-September 2011 issue of Europa Star) is Chinese to the tips of its second hands: all its mechanical and automatic movements and grand complications are made entirely in-house!

What is the advantage for the Beijing Watch Factory of this partnership with Fiyta?

ChuangYue Xu: In the first place, the ‘Beijing’ benefits from Fiyta’s tentacular distribution network (editor’s note: the Harmony distribution network). Secondly, the marketing, and above all the design, will be done at Fiyta from now on. That means the ‘Beijing’ can concentrate on its core business: manufacturing movements. Even our enamelled or embroidered dials are made externally, but by artists in the city of Beijing.

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Until now, the ‘Beijing’ was a brand aimed at a Chinese elite. Looking at this new collection, we were surprised to see young, bold designs. Is the ‘Beijing’ targeting a broader public?

Indeed, the new collection is priced at between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan (300 to 450 Swiss francs).

Even in our collection of tourbillons, we’re launching new, very Chinese-style timepieces, with a steel case but not an enamelled dial, priced in the 2,500-4,000 yuan range. The average boutique price of a Beijing watch now is 3,500 yuan (520 francs). Maybe we’re positioned too low, because lots of customers are surprised.

Be careful, that’s one of the problems in China. A lower price suggests lower quality!

True, especially for grand complications. “How can you sell a tourbillon at this price, when they’re unaffordable in international brands?” our customers ask us, suspecting dubious quality. One reason is that we have control over the technical aspects and secondly, we’re now targeting a younger, less well-off customer base.

Your range of movements was already impressive back in 2011: a tourbillon (TB01), a double tourbillon (TB02), an eight-day tourbillon (TB03), a minute repeater tourbillon (MRB1), an orbital tourbillon (TB04), and a mechanical movement with a double escapement and a power reserve of 100 hours… Have new complications been added to that since then?

In 2015, we designed a new tourbillon calibre, the TB10, which has the particularity of being only 2.8 mm thick. It’s the thinnest Chinese-produced watch and the second-thinnest in the world. The reliability phase is just finishing now.

When we visited your factory in 2011, the machine tools were Swiss and very old. Is that still the case in 2017?

Many machines date from the 1960s, it’s true. But as you know, the market for movements is in bad shape, which is putting a brake on the renewal and modernisation of our

machinery. But for the parts that need CNC machines, we use those of Fiyta, in Shenzhen. In fact that’s one of the advantages of our collaboration.

The new collection is audacious in design. Is that due to the influence of Fiyta, which is a reference in design terms and even holds competitions?

Yes, we’ve set up a team of designers in Fiyta’s style studio dedicated exclusively to Beijing Watch Factory watches. Perhaps this first collection is largely inspired by the Fiyta style, because our designers haven’t yet entirely understood the DNA of the Beijing Watch Factory. But the direction is clear – we want our watches to breathe Chinese culture. I promise you that we’ll be launching some very Chinese models before the year is out.

And what about Fiyta: will they be using Beijing-brand Chinese movements under the partnership agreement?

That’s the aim, but for the moment, Fiyta can’t do without its Miyota and ETA movements; our calibres haven’t attained that level of quality yet. Our SB1, SB11 and SB16 automatic movements haven’t yet reached the standard of ETA, but they’re progressing.

Improving movement quality – I’ve been hearing that for nearly ten years, and the status quo hasn’t changed...

It’s very difficult, because you have to change work habits along the entire production chain. And then there’s the industrial equipment, which would require huge investment.

And since the movement trade is sluggish at the moment, the Chinese brands aren’t able to invest in movement technology.

Sea-Gull brandishes the same arguments of unreliable movements, but is shelling out for a gigantic new factory in the industrial zone of Tianjin rather than investing in movement quality. Isn’t that the real problem of Chinese industry, investing in the form rather than the heart of the problem?

I think the real problem lies in employee training. We don’t have advanced training structures like you. So skills don’t improve much. The problem is that, above all; not so much financial or material. What’s more, this training problem affects the entire hierarchy, from the boss to the shop-floor worker. And then there’s a market for cheap movements. If we raised the standard of quality to that of Miyota, we might have to cut production by four-fifths! As far as we’re concerned, we’ve stopped producing low-quality movements during these past two years. But the Beijing Watch Factory can make that change, given its relatively small size.

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TH ion O E s F R H IN A T I C N H SE H D E IN A W SE AT CO C N H D

Au ct

Karen Ng, Poly Auction

Jessie Kang, Sotheby’s

It is hardly surprising to hear that watch auction sales are particularly buoyant at the moment compared with modern watches, when a single vintage watch goes under the hammer for a figure approximately equivalent to the turnover of a medium-sized contemporary watch company*!

On the other hand, few people have pointed out the possible link between this boom in vintage watches and the antiextravagance campaign in China. Yet, discussing the issue with experts in the field in Hong Kong, the link seems obvious.

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When luxury hides its face “In the fight against extravagance and corruption, vintage watches are more low-profile than contemporary ones,” underscores Jessie Kang, Head of Watches at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. Added to this is the fact that the buyers are more mature and better educated on the subject of watchmaking and its history. At the moment we’re seeing a transition of the market from the contemporary to the vintage watch.”

Simone Woo, an expert with Phillips’ Hong Kong subsidiary, confirms this: “The market is changing rapidly. Originally, the Hong Kong market was strongly geared to modern watches, but recently we’ve seen a transition towards vintage watches. And new players are joining the market.”

Among these new players are the Chinese auction house Poly Auction, a sister company of Poly Group, a huge public Chinese conglomerate. Drawn by the vintage boom, this company established itself in Hong Kong five years ago and now employs a workforce of around 100 people: “Our advantage is that most of our customers come from continental China, they already know us via Poly Group and now they’re really starting to get interested in our collectors’ watches,” says its watch head, Karen Ng.

The Patek Philippe, Rolex and Richard Mille trio Poly Auction also holds auctions in mainland China itself.

There too, it’s the same story: “Owing to government policy, people are tending to go for more conventional, discreet and subtle watches. Of course, the Chinese still like famous names like Richard Mille and they still buy them, but they don’t necessarily wear them in such a flamboyant way as before, more in private, with friends...”

That’s right: Richard Mille. Beside giants Rolex and Patek Philippe, this independent brand has achieved the feat of gaining outstanding popularity in the Far East, not only for its contemporary products, but for any of its products put up for auction. But vintage is not really the word, in the case of a brand founded in 2001...

“Our colleagues at Poly Group help us orient mainland buyers towards watchmaking,” Karen Ng goes on. For the moment, watch sales are small compared with auctions of ceramics or Chinese art, but the potential is huge! At Poly Auction just like at Sotheby’s, they’re trying their hand at ‘cross-selling’: sometimes it’s literally just one step, into the room next door, from antique porcelain to (relatively) antique watches, as sales of these two – for the Chinese – symbolic objects are systematically held at the same time and at the same venue.

Richard Mille RM56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon

Patek Phillipe Ref. 5002 Sky-Moon Tourbillon

Diversification of auction offerings This autumn, at its Important Watches sale in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s found a taker for a 2015 Richard Mille RM56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon at 14,500,000 HKD (1,850,000 USD) and a Patek Phillipe Ref. 5002 Sky-Moon Tourbillon in pink gold at 11,020,000 HKD (1,400,000 USD).

As proof that watchmaking is gaining greater maturity in Asia, increasing numbers of less well-established brands than the above-mentioned ‘trio’ are also to be found up for auction, as Jessie Kang at Sotheby’s points out: “We sell watches

by Philippe Dufour, Voutilainen, Romain Gauthier and MB&F. Philippe Dufour is very popular for its ‘simplicity’, you have to appreciate every detail! A large number of collectors already have so many watches by traditional brands that they’re looking to diversify their collections,” she continues.

At Phillips, the most popular brands, we’re told, besides Patek Philippe and Rolex are F.P. Journe, A. Lange & Söhne, Richard Mille, Philippe Dufour, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Heuer and Universal.

“The taste of Asiatic collectors used to be slightly different from that of Occidentals originally, but with globalisation, the internet and social media the differences are being ironed out. There are some peculiarities, for example collectors in South-East Asia have a pronounced taste for tropicalised dials,” explains Simone Woo at Phillips.

No official figures exist, but in terms of growth, the second-hand market has by now overtaken that of modern watches, with physical auctions and online sales between private individuals, whether on Western platforms such as Amazon or Chrono24, or Asian ones like Alibaba or Taobao.

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H M EM IN P E A E R NT IA L

TI M M I N E AS E C I UR

ND T A NG ER KI XP A , E CHM ON AT CH W LÉ INE EF F QU IN NI NT MI LTA DO SU

BY CON

The calendar, attributed to the Chinese Emperor, the “Son of Heaven” According to legend (even though writing was not invented until 1800 years later), Chinese astronomy is thought to date from the 61st year of Huangdi’s reign, namely 2637 BC. The legendary emperor, considered to be the founding father of the Chinese civilisation, is credited with the invention of the calendar. Initially lunar-based, the calendar became lunisolar around 1400 BC. This basic calendar was supplemented by a sexagesimal cycle, independent of astronomical phenomena and used for measuring the passing days and months.

Until the end of the Empire in 1911, the calendar was an attribute of imperial sovereignty. The monarch of the time, known as “Tian zi” or Son of Heaven, and considered a go-between between the Sky and the Earth, started his reign by introducing a new calendar based on the two complementary principles of Yin and Yang. Thenceforth holder of a “divine mandate”, the monarch’s task was to pass on information based upon the state of the heavens to ensure a harmonious earthly existence. Astronomy was thus elevated to the rank of state and government science.

Clepsydra, ancestor of the hydraulic astronomical clock Alongside its work on vs, which were globally perceived as scientific instruments, China developed the clepsydra, examples of which were first witnessed back in around 500 BC. The in- or out-flow clepsydra was a cylindrical vase with an opening in its base. In order to improve its accuracy, the Chinese equipped the instrument with a system of siphons,

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Su Song’s clock tower followed by a series of reservoirs, each feeding into the other. This culminated, towards the year 1000, in a model, which combining both methods. Appearing in the fifth century, balance clepsydras, composed of receptacles suspended from a balance beam, were used to measure short time intervals.

In order to assist the Emperor in his mission, astronomers and mechanical engineers developed the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere. To do this, they endeavoured to increase the minimal force of water in a clepsydra enough to be able to power a big machine. They achieved their aim thanks to the multiplying effect of the wheel.

In the year 124, Zang Heng presented the Emperor with a hydraulic-powered equatorial armillary sphere. The principle of combining a celestial globe with a water clock to create an astrarium was first attributed to Zang Heng. Around 720, the Buddhist monk Yi-Xing compiled his “water-driven spherical bird’s eye view map of the heavens”. This latter was fitted with a regulator in the form of a wheel equipped with

This “Dragon Boat vessel,” supported upon two wooden blocks was placed over a large flat copper or brass dish or platter. A thin string, usually of silk, having a small metal weight or bell attached at each end, was stretched across the top of the vessel at a point along the marked incense stick chosen by the sleeper when he wished to be aroused. The incense stick burned for the desired number of hours and when it reached the string, the string burned quickly and parted. As the small metal weights dropped into the dish, they made a brief tinkling sound, which presumably was sufficient to awaken the sleeper.

buckets in order to convert a continuous flow of water into a regular non-continuous movement. In 1086, the Emperor ordered Su Song, a Mandarin scientist, to rebuild the city clock. In 1094, he presented to the monarch his “tower for hydraulic-powered sphere and globe”. Housed within a 12-metre high construction, the armillary sphere, combined with a demonstrational celestial globe, depicted the orbits of the Sun, Moon and certain stars, as they were seen from Earth. The whole mechanism, complete with automata indicating the time audibly, was powered by a continuous power-transmission chain drive. Su Song’s clock disappeared after its removal to Peking in 1127, since no-one was able to reassemble it. Nevertheless, it has been possible to reproduce it thanks to descriptions and diagrams recorded by its author in a treatise that has since been preserved.

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“Your son is not your son, but the son of his time”

useful to the world’s populations, the other teachings of the West were nothing other than bizarrely complicated, conceived only for the pleasure of the senses and not satisfying a basic need.

In 11th century China, the water-powered astronomical clock with regulator logically ought to have been generating mechanical timepieces. However, astronomers were busy following another course, one that brought about the rift between Time-measurement did not Europe with its rise towards economic and technical suprema- satisfy a basic need cy and the Middle Kingdom with its protracted stagnation.

China was more preoccupied with improving observational The population mainly lived off farming regulated to the astronomy than time measurement. The former attained an rhythm of the seasons, day and night, and made do with these unparalleled degree of refinement between the 13th and 14th natural indicators. In towns and cities, the hours and public time were announced by chiming clock centuries thanks to the construction of towers, or the beating of drums, as is still oversized instruments permitting considA small number the case with the “Clock towers” and “Drum erable improvements in accuracy. towers” of Beijing and Xi’an. Private time, The instrument built by the astronomer of watches, now however, was roughly indicated by vertical Guo Shoujing in 1276 close to the city of preserved in the gnomons and combustion clocks with gradDengfeng enabled him to measure the inForbidden City, uated wicks. Under the Sung dynasty (960terval of a year to within 23 seconds.

1279), incense clocks put in an appearance, The fields of astronomy and watchmakillustrate the based on the time it took for the material ing, the pursuit of which was prohibited, genius of European to burn. Although they provided random were the secret preserve of the Emperor watchmakers in accuracy, these instruments were sufficient and his scientists. Thus, when building a to meet the needs of the middle classes, new astronomical clock, the watchmakcatering to the tastes while the water clocks were reserved for the ers and astronomers considered comof the Middle Kingdom. authorities due to the encumbrances and petent for the job were required to learn constraints that they entailed. everything again. This reminds us of a saying by Confucius: “Remember that your son is not your son, Watchmaking was therefore the privilege of the Emperor and his dignitaries, who turned to Europe for their quality but the son of his time.”

It would be five centuries after Su Song’s long-since forgot- pieces. For 250 years, Peking had received as gifts, or purten masterpiece of achievement had been completed before chased, a considerable number of watches, mantle or wall the Chinese would see any revolutionary new timepieces. clocks from England, France and Switzerland. A small numThese were the work of Westerners, for whom the clock was ber of them, now preserved in the Forbidden City, illustrate the ideal tool for gaining access to the Emperor and enter- the genius of European watchmakers in catering to the tastes ing the Middle Empire for evangelisation purposes. Jesuits of the Middle Kingdom. The watches feature dials with a taught by Matteo Ricci arrived replete with a much more central seconds hand and richly engraved and gilded moveaccurate knowledge of astronomy than that developed in ment. Their cases, set with natural pearls and multi-coloured China. As a result, some of the costs they incurred were reim- stones, sport painted decorations on enamel on a wide variebursed by the authorities. Apart from globes and maps, Ricci ty of themes. Chiming clocks are fitted with automata. They gave his hosts never-before-seen chiming clocks. In addition were all sold in pairs, with the decoration being mirrored in to affording them private time, they entertained their new the most precious models. A symbol of integrity, the princiowners with their melodic chime features and the automata ple of twos stands for the notion of symmetry omnipresent in architecture, where Harmony is obtained by balancing so beloved of the Asian people.

China, at the time, had a significant number of talented the Yin and the Yang. According to this philosophy, any gifts craftsmen and a population substantially equal to that of given to the Emperor or a superior were always offered in Europe. They thus provided an opportunity to develop a pairs, a sacrosanct rule that no-one dared to break. genuine watchmaking industry. Contrary to the basic prin- In 1911, it all changed with the Revolution. The Empire made ciples underlying the Chinese civilisation, this path was not way for the Republic. Although it was replaced in 1912 by the pursued to any significant extent. Although the calendar Gregorian system, wherein the calendar years were counted was of structural importance, never before had either life or from the foundation of the Republic, the traditional calendar work been organised on the basis of measured time. L’index now co-exists unofficially with this system. This was the result de la Grande Bibliothèque of 1782 noted, in this respect, that of the last reform brought about by the Jesuit missionary, while the practices of land surveying and irrigation were Adam Schall von Bell, imperial astronomer in Peking.

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The Jesuit Matteo Ricci introduced watchmaking in China

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All have developed a continuum of unparalleled technological innovations, from the use of quartz to solar energy.

All have continued to produce large volumes at very affordable prices. All without exception are now trying to present a more ‘premium’ face, each in their own way. A visit to Casio, Seiko and Citizen, the three giants of the Japanese watch industry.

In a 1938 issue of the Buyers’ Guide (the ancestor of today’s Europa Star), the reader is reminded how closely Japan guarded the secrets of its watchmaking industry back then. “We are not permitted to allow persons unknown to us to visit our factories, and especially not visitors from a watchmaking country,” was the response received by a reporter there.

Things have changed a lot since then and this autumn Europa Star had the opportunity of visiting the factories of the major Japanese watchmakers, as we already have done on numerous occasions! But it is still true that Japanese watchmaking has developed in an insular way, with its own particularities and well-guarded secrets, and worlds away from the Swiss industry. While taking inspiration from it as far as method is concerned, it has put much greater emphasis on technology.

And has developed first and foremost around the three ‘topdown’ giants Seiko, Citizen and Casio, without the teeming ‘bottom-up’ ecosystem based on subcontracting that characterises the Swiss market.

Today, each and every one of these watchmaking giants – all of which have developed extraordinarily sophisticated technological innovation during the course of their history, from GPS to solar energy and smart watches – are trying their hand at a more ‘premium’ strategy. And each in their own way: Seiko with the independence of Grand Seiko announced at Baselworld; Casio with the G-Shock in steel, celebrating the 35th anniversary of this icon of the younger generation, who have since grown up (read more in our cover story in the Time.

Keeper folio); and lastly, Citizen via strategic takeovers, including the cluster made up of Frédérique Constant, Alpina and Ateliers de Monaco, to cite the most recent example.

While not neglecting mass production of movements for third parties (as is the case of Seiko and Citizen), nor that of very affordable models, in this article we take a look at how each of them intends to go about positioning themselves more firmly in the premium or ‘affordable luxury’ segment – at the global level. In short, transitioning from a culture of technology to one of luxury.

Why? On the one hand, what is perceived as watchmaking ‘technology’ for the masses – the multiplication of functionalities – seems to be shifting increasingly to Silicon Valley.

Inversely, the perception of Japanese culture in the rest of the world has undergone a profound transformation: today the country is seen as much as a symbol of refined lifestyle as of technical know-how, a society of ultra-refined art and culture. Is that not the very definition of luxury?

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How to win over the generations of G-Shock lovers, those teenagers who have since matured? Can ultra-high-tech quartz watches sell for the same price as mechanical watches?

1995 and 2000, and more recently a strong increase in sales over the last couple of years through what it calls a strategy of ‘analogue intelligence’ – the development of hands to the detriment of digital screens. The next step is the development of new metals.

It’s on visiting the museum dedicated to Casio in the house “The challenge is now to reach out also to more mature auof its founder Toshio Kashio (1917-2012) in Tokyo that you take diences. Previously we had mainly the younger generations, full stock of the exceptional technological adventure that the now we evolve with MR-G and G-Steel to satisfy all generabrand represents. In a small room, the years tions,” summarises Shigenori Itoh, Senior are ticked off innovation by innovation, Executive Managing Officer. These premi“You know, 20 years from the introduction of the first watch, um collections in steel which Casio is curago, no one said the Casiotron in 1974, by a brand whose rently pushing hard are intended to round it was possible to first product was a cigarette-holder and out the brand’s collection and cover as effiwhich then moved into calculators. At Casio ciently as possible a price range that today make a chronograph watches have quite simply been combined extends from 90 to more than 6,000 dolG-Shock… then we with just about everything: computers, ralars. These prices now put it on a level with dios, cameras, altimeters, televisions, GPS, models offered by Rolex and Omega. Who launched the solarmusic and even a radiation detector! would ever have imagined that? powered chronograph Toshio Kashio’s philosophy can be summed Shigenori Itoh is upbeat: “Japanese culture G-Shock.” up in a single phrase: he believed in the inand arts are attractive for people all around finite possibilities of technology, which is the world and we have already been using capable of performances far superior to those of the human it with the kasumi tsuchime technique in the MR-G line. We brain. And what is timekeeping if not the addition of figures will continue the fusion of our state-of-the art technology and – and mastery of the infinite!

Japanese craftsmanship. We will continue to increase the valToday, the brand is headed by his heir, Kazuhiro Kashio, and ue, technology, material and craftsmanship of our watches.” technology still takes centre stage, notably with the intro- Yet one massive obstacle looms on the roadmap set out by duction of Bluetooth into an increasing number of its lines. Casio: today, ‘premium’ is virtually synonymous with ‘meThis is what the brand defines as the ‘Advanced Global Time chanical’. Mr Itoh flinches not an inch at this: “You know, 20 System’, which enables the time of smart watches connect- years ago, no one said it was possible to make a chronograph ed to smart phones to be set automatically. Alright, they G-Shock… then we launched the solar-powered chronohave fewer features than a ‘traditional’ smart watch, but the graph G-Shock. So we achieve what we plan and our dreams! brand intends by this means to retain the unique identity And eventually – I cannot tell you a time frame – Casio might of its watches. The watchwords are: self-adjusting, self-charg- also plan on launching its own mechanical production.” ing and self-updating.

Today, the brand achieves one-third of its sales in Japan, But behind this strategy is a nagging question: how to slightly more than a third in the rest of Asia and slightly less convince fans of G-Shock, the brand’s icon, to continue wear- than a third in Europe and North America. It is in these two ing a Casio as they mature? After all, this watch is 35 years old regions in particular that Casio aims to expand with this – which means that its first buyers are today 50+, or older! new strategy – in solid steel.

The brand has experienced two golden ages in its watchmaking history: the success of G-Shock, which peaked between

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This is the oldest Japanese watch brand, with more than a century of history. It has been in on every technological innovation. But 2017 will remain engraved as a major step in Seiko’s international development: the year when Grand Seiko gained its independence. And with it, watchmaking Japanese-style.

Seiko’s organisation is as complex as the Japanese tea ceremony! To cut a long story short, this oldest of Japanese watch brands is structured into three entities: Seiko Holdings, which markets the watches and sources them on the one hand from Seiko Instruments, the flagship factory of which is located at Morioka in the north of Japan, and on the other from Seiko Epson, which is established in the region of Nagano.

We have our first appointment in Morioka at Seiko Instruments, where we are greeted by the local manager Ryoji Takahashi, who oversees the 700 employees there: “The Morioka factory opened in 2004 to reach the highest degree of manufacture and craftsmanship in Japan.”

Why so far from Tokyo? Because of the fresh air, the streams, the calm and the small valleys somewhat reminiscent of Switzerland, where the watchmakers can really concentrate!

Note that besides its two principal sites in Japan, Seiko also has factories in mainland China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, notably for the production of quartz movements, with an output capacity of 10 million calibres a month, most of which are sold to third parties. It also operates fashion brands, such as Issey Miyake and Agnès B, as well as a handful of brands that are less well-known outside Japan and aimed at the local market.

But very quickly, we come to the central issue which is currently taking up everyone’s energy at Seiko: the emphasis being placed on Grand Seiko as an independent brand, with its own international distribution network! “We train our watchmakers how to assemble Grand Seikos over a long period,” Ryoji Takahashi goes on. “A lot of people want to work in Morioka, but it’s not easy! Few horology graduates are able to join us…”

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In particular, the Morioka factory produces Spiron, an alloy which provides superior elasticity, great strength and high heat and corrosion resistance in the mainspring and the hairspring, developed jointly with the Metal Materials Laboratory of Tohoku University.

But to round off our tour of Seiko in Japan a trip further south is a must: to the province of Nagano and the Shiojiri factory, where we are welcomed by its manager, Hiroshi Kamijo. This is the very place where the first Grand Seiko was developed in 1960. And the first quartz wristwatch, in 1969...

What strikes visitors is precisely the diversity of its production, between quartz and high-end mechanical movements, including the Spring Drive. It’s a continuous oscillation between automation and the human hand. An impressive automated line works night and day, producing quartz movements. “We still use quartz for Grand Seiko watches for men – which might seem surprising – because we take the view that we produce the best quartz calibres in the world in terms of precision, power and durability,” explains Hiroshi Kamijo.

“That’s also part of our heritage. Today, Grand Seiko production is divided between around one-third Spring Drive, one-third quartz and one-third mechanical movements.”

In the Micro Artist Studio, human hands take pride of place, beneath a portrait of the venerable Philippe Dufour which dominates the workshop. This artisan from Vaud canton came to Shiojiri in 2006 to teach them finishing, and even sent them a polishing tool in gentian wood, today produced in wood from Hokkaido... The studio does both the design, the R&D and the finishing: this is the most creative part of the factory, the place where new watches with complications are dreamed up.

Before, the studio used to focus on Credor (examples of note are the Sonnerie model of 2006 and the Minute Repeater of 2011), but today the accent is of course also placed on design of the Grand Seiko, including the award-winning 8-Days model of 2016. It is precisely these three models that take pride of place in the window of the Seiko flagship store in the chic Ginza district in the centre of Tokyo!

What about promoting them through auctions, like their Swiss counterparts? Kaz Fujimoto, a Japanese expert with Phillips, does not rule it out: “We don’t offer any Japanese watches for auction yet, but that might happen in the future…

Because part of Seiko’s strategy of moving upmarket includes enhancing its value among collectors through auctions.”

To obtain more details about their independence and internationalisation strategy for Grand Seiko, we met Shuji Takahashi, the President and COO of Seiko Holdings. Interview.

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Europa Star: The big change of this year at Seiko is the independence acquired by Grand Seiko. Could you tell us more about the underlying strategy behind this split and what benefits you expect?

tain our particularity as a Japanese watchmaker. Our customers are sensitive to the delicateness of Japanese quality and the sense of detail we put into the design of our watches. One good example is the Snowflake dial. It’s as if snow is falling onto the dial, blown by the wind. It might seem very subtle, but we’re always being inspired by details of nature.

It’s the same sensitivity as you find in clothing, architecture or Japanese gardens.

Shuji Takahashi: Back in 2010, we committed ourselves to greater international development with Grand Seiko. Until then, it had been a Seiko line reserved for collectors. Now we’re establishing it as a brand in its own right and hope to make it popular with a broader audience. The Astron, Prospex and Presage have already enjoyed strong interna- Grand Seiko still has the Seiko label in its name (versus tional growth.

Tudor and Rolex for instance). It might be seen as a pitGrand Seiko is now on sale in Seiko boutiques all over the fall to the autonomy of Grand Seiko and its perception world and at luxury retailers’. The initial response has been as a separate brand from Seiko. What is your strategy to good. Grand Seiko first of all attracted truly passionate watch surpass this potential pitfall? lovers, then the media, and finally caught the distributors’ attention. The award won at the Grand I perfectly grasp that from the purely Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2014, the branding and marketing perspective the “We want to maintain Petite Aiguille, was very satisfying from two brands ought to be separate. If it was a our particularity as a that point of view. Now, Grand Seiko is a new brand, we would have called it somebrand in its own right. thing else. But we fully assume our heritJapanese watchmaker. age. We figure among the top five brands Our customers are perceived as luxury brands in Japan, even sensitive to the As a part of this strategy, are you gothough several labels co-exist under the ing to launch more complications in the Seiko appellation. We believe that the delicateness of Grand Seiko brand, for example a tourterm ‘Grand’ embodies the idea of luxury.

Japanese quality.” billon? You already manage these caAnd after the international launch of this pacities with the Credor brand; will you new strategy, I believe even more strongly transfer them to the Grand Seiko brand? that Grand Seiko is the right name. We mustn’t change its identity, its nature, at any cost! It’s the same thing for you, What I can say is that we’re in the process of developing into with Europa Star: it isn’t a name that automatically calls the luxury watch market at the moment and in the future watchmaking to mind, yet you have a heritage in the induswe’ll no doubt develop into high-end complications. But try that goes back 90 years. Don’t lose your identity, it’s your you have to be aware of the fact that the entire Grand Seiko most valuable asset! philosophy is based on exceptional readability, elegant design and accuracy. We’re concentrating first of all on the quality of the details rather than launching new complica- Japan is a ‘brand’ in itself today, famous for its very elabtions. The Grand Seiko 8-Days is the best illustration of this orate culture and arts all around the world. Would you philosophy. envision incorporating a more Japanese ‘touch’ into the design of the watches, for instance adding more typical patterns and craftsmanship on the dial of the Grand What are the main comparative advantages that you Seiko, which is very minimalist for the moment? would like to emphasise compared to Swiss brands active in the same price point, in order to seduce collectors It’s true that starting in 2000, high-range watchmaking bebut also a wider audience? came more extravagant and we’ve seen many Swiss brands following that trend. Watches are no longer simply an inMy philosophy is that every luxury brand has to fight first of strument for telling the time, they’re fashion objects and all for its own character and identity. How to express it in a subject to trends. It’s a very complicated subject for a brand unique way? The Swiss brands have a large slice of the mar- like Seiko to follow. We keep an eye on the ‘megatrends’, but ket because they’ve developed strong identities. We’re also how do we keep our identity? developing a distinct identity through the three features We want to maintain a delicate balance. If we’re going to cited above: accuracy, readability and beauty. We will carry start competing more on the international markets, we’re through this philosophy to the very end. We want to main- going to have to differentiate – while staying ourselves.

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We’re not a Swiss brand and we’re not going to follow the megatrends. I still can’t talk of future developments but I can tell you that we’re always trying to give our watches more of a Japanese ‘flavour’, through the lacquer or the enamel, for example. But it’s very subtle, a tacit statement.

The Swiss are more showy, and the customers know the value of it. The Japanese have to explain more about the watch and what makes it special.

For the moment, we still sell more Grand Seikos in Japan than on the international market. But we want to go on the offensive and there’s a still a large share of the market to conquer. Maybe it’s a brand philosophy we still need to explain more.

Shuji Takahashi, President and COO of Seiko Holdings

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Unlike its two fellow watchmaking companies which are launching an offensive internationally by moving their own products upmarket, this giant has opted for strategic acquisitions, the latest being the purchase of the watchmaker group Frédérique Constant, following that of Prothor a few years previously. Europa Star met CEO Toshio Tokura during a previous trip, in an interview by Joe Thompson. What we learned then is as relevant as ever. Here are some excerpts.

“The foreign-brand buying binge is a sign of changing times at the Citizen Group. The architect of those changes is Toshio Tokura. Since becoming president and CEO of Citizen Holding Co. in April 2012, he has initiated what he calls “drastic” changes that are transforming the group’s watch business. Among the highlights: • He has restored watches to their historic position as the group’s core product and launched what amounts to a “Watches First” growth strategy.

• He has refocused on the Citizen brand, attempting to elevate its image by emphasising aesthetics as well as advanced quartz technology.

• He has launched a foray into the lucrative luxury-mechanical market with an acquisition strategy designed to turn Citizen into a global, multi-brand watch group with a presence in every price segment.

• He is tapping the mechanical-watch expertise of Citizen’s new Swiss subsidiaries to upgrade Citizen’s in-house mechanical watch technology with a view to making mechanical watches in Japan.

“Looking at the watch business over the past 20 years, we didn’t see much growth,” he says. “We needed to solve that.”

Tokura and his team identified two major opportunities to expand their watch business. One was to boost the image and sales of its core Citizen brand. The other was to take a share of the luxury-mechanical market by acquiring Swiss brands.

Citizen flagship store in Tokyo

In the Citizen Group’s annual report for 2012, the company explained why it purchased Prothor Holding (La Joux-Perret and Arnold & Son). “Demand for premium Swiss-made mechanical watches is expanding, particularly in China and other emerging markets,” Citizen said, “and we believe that participating in the premium luxury segment of the watch market is essential for the company to achieve its growth strategy in the watches and clocks segment.”

With La Joux-Perret and Arnold & Son, Citizen tiptoed into the world of luxury mechanicals. Arnold & Son, an obscure, small-batch producer of high complication watches, was an add-on. What Citizen really wanted was La Joux-Perret. “The mechanical watch technology – that’s what we were interested in,” Tokura says.

For two reasons.

First, to protect Bulova. Citizen had purchased the American brand in 2008 to give itself a dominant position in the midrange of the U.S. market. Bulova happens to have a collection of Swiss-made mechanical watches. When ETA, Switzerland’s dominant movement producer, announced its intention to restrict sales of mechanical movements to third parties, Citizen worried about securing movements for Bulova and began shopping for a Swiss movement producer. La JouxPerret solved the problem. It also gave Citizen the chance to revive its own outdated mechanical watch technology.

Citizen has produced mechanical watches for nearly a century. However, since the quartz revolution, it has focused primarily on electronic watches.

“Our mechanical technology is quite far behind because we stopped developing it,” Tokura says. “We have a lot of catching up to do. There are a lot of things we can learn from the Swiss.”

Prothor gave Citizen a toe-hold in the premium luxury market. The next step, Tokura told me, was to “buy a Swiss brand to really give us a footprint in that price range.” Frédérique Constant does that. The company, founded by Peter and Aletta Stas in 1988, is a leader in the so-called “accessible luxury” segment of the market. The core prices of the Frédérique Constant and Alpina brands are primarily between $1,000 and $5,000, with some models costing more than $10,000.

The company does not divulge sales data, but FC Holding is substantially larger than Prothor Holding. (In 2009, Kepler Capital Markets estimated Frédérique Constant’s annual sales at CHF 150 million and annual production at 90,000 units.) Frédérique Constant also has significant mechanical watch production capacity. It develops, manufactures and assembles its own calibres, 19 of them since 2004, it says.

As with the Prothor Holding acquisition, Citizen will leave Frédérique Constant’s current Swiss management in place.

Citizen has plenty to do managing the Citizen brand, Tokura says, without trying to manage four luxury mechanical brands. “We don’t have the experience,” he says with a smile.

“We don’t know that world. It’s such a mystery to us.”

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“Too focused on solar technology” Now at the helm of the Horological Institute of Japan, Etsuro Nakajima worked at Casio for 40 years. He’s seen it all: the creation of digiExports of Swiss watches to Japan seem to have tal quartz watches, the first racing watch with decreased again this year. Rolex, Cartier and intervals, the first Pro Trek with altimeter, the Omega remain the top brands sold in Japan. first radio-controlled watch and finally, the arEtsuro Nakajima, Horological Institute of Japan “Today the Japanese market is less healthy than rival of Bluetooth. the rest of the world,” stresses Kinya Mishima, “In 2007 we began talks with Nokia for a planned a Japanese watch distributor and founder of Les Artisans. smart watch with Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), or Wibree. But There are several reasons for this, in his view: “Many people the project took time because the challenge we needed to overresell their watches on the secondary market, which is gaining come was the watch’s energy consumption and recharging ever greater influence. This is because the retail price was exces- time. The energy consumption needed to be limited. In 2012, sive for new watches. Furthermore, China has raised its taxes the G-Shock GB5600 was our first Bluetooth watch.” and Chinese tourists visiting Japan now often buy one, less ex- In 2015 the launch of the Apple Watch changed everything, in pensive watch, which they wear at all times.” particular for entry-level watch giants such as Casio, but also Mishima, on the other hand, represents artisanal brands such for Fossil and Movado. “The Apple Watch was a game changas Urban Jürgensen, Grönefeld, Speake-Marin, Kees Engelbarts, er, particularly as far as distribution is concerned, because Pierre DeRoche and Nomos Glashütte, as well as having close they sell mainly via their own stores and earn a good margin, ties with Richard Mille’s Japanese distributor. “With my niche whereas traditional watchmakers have to share generally brands, I’m interested in a small minority of highly informed more than half the margin with their representatives. There collectors. In this respect, Japan, which has a long history of will always be physical retailers but they need to modernise.” watchmaking, is an interesting market for small independent For Nakajima, Japanese brands concentrate too much on sobrands.” lar technology.

What does he think about the strategy of the major Japanese Their challenge now is to demonstrate their uniqueness and brands to move upmarket? “Seiko is the most likely to suc- show what they can bring to their products that represents ceed,” says Mishima. “In fact, its major local rival, Rolex, has the Japanese way of thinking. adopted a stricter attitude towards powerful local distributors regarding the conditions under which new watches are obtained. Seiko is lying in wait, in order to pounce on those retailers less inclined to this new policy.”

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Hajime Asaoka: pure craftsmanship The independent Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka has produced a grand total of... 19 watches! They are the result of meticulous craftsmanship, performed with great patience, combined with several years dedicated solely to research and development. Europa Star met him at his Tokyo workshop, far removed from standardised Japanese factories: rather a motley collection of 1960s-80s objects, not unlike Vianney Halter’s cluttered workshop (see Paraphernalia in our 1/17 edition).

An old Apple computer, retro-futuristic chairs, a Michelin man, psychedelic paintings, a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a Sony cassette recorder, the “best in the world”... Asaoka has even had the honour of appearing in a manga with the excellent Hirota Masayuki in Chronos Japan magazine.

However, in order to pursue his adventure, this industrial designer faces an even more complicated challenge than his Swiss alter egos. Because unlike in the Swiss valleys, there are very few independent sub-contractors in Japan, those who “feed” the creative work of craftsmen, allowing them to bring their ideas into fruition. The country has never known the Swiss system of établissage or division of labour.

So components somehow have to be obtained. “I salvage Unitas movements to use their components, such as the balance spring,” explains Asaoka. “And it’s a subcontractor from the automotive industry who supplies my cases... but I have to finish them myself, of course.” The craftsman, who has good relationships with both Philippe Dufour and Antoine Preziuso (whose work is particularly valued in Japan), is a member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, along with his fellow countryman Masahiro Kikuno.

Hajime Asaoka “Tsunami” watch

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Minase: from subcontracting to the finished product Asaoka has designed three main models: a simple “Tsunami” watch priced at 25,000 dollars, a “Project T” tourbillon watch at 80,000 dollars and, most interestingly, a chronograph at 120,000 dollars, created from scratch. Each model takes half a year to construct. The watches have a “sensible” diameter of 38 mm, like the creations of Philippe Dufour.

“My philosophy is inspired by ‘shogi’, the Japanese chess game,” says Asaoka. “Chess players place their pawns in the most unexpected positions in order to surprise and defeat their opponents. In my work, I try to think outside the box in order to optimise the composition of the watches, as though I were playing a game of chess with my clients. George Daniels has also been a great source of inspiration for me. I have my heart set on optimising every component of a mechanical watch.”

The watchmaker crafts all the movement components in his watches himself, with the exception of the mainspring and the balance spring. “I have no samples to show and a two-year waiting list. I can’t even treat myself to one of my own watches!” His clients are not only Japanese, but also European and American.

His current maximum capacity is five watches per year. “But we’re currently increasing production. We want to double it, to 10 watches a year! In order to do this, we’re in the process of acquiring new machines and hiring staff, whereas there are currently four of us. We’re growing... in any case we couldn’t really get any smaller!”

Minase is the name of a village in the snowy region of Akita in northern Japan. It is also that of a subcontractor which since 1960 has specialised in the production of drills and cases and employs around 70 people.

In 2005 the company decided to launch its own watches.

These have met with critical success in Japan, with an annual production of approximately 400 pieces sold at 40 retail outlets. It’s now time to conquer the international markets!

“Minase has a strong reputation for the quality of its finishings and the polishing technique known as ‘Sallaz’, which gives cases a mirror effect that nobody is producing in Switzerland any more,” notes sales and marketing manager Sven Erik Henriksen.

Subcontracting still represents 80% of Minase’s activities.

“As far as watches are concerned, the mid-range offer is positioned at between 2,500 and 5,000 Swiss francs. The idea is now to present the brand in Switzerland, Europe and the Middle East. The challenge is that the brand is still unknown outside of Japan and the watch market it is targeting is already saturated! But it is really a high quality product, the very best craftsmanship: a piece of Japan worn on the wrist!”

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Suzuki Kango has created a clock that “writes” the time. This project is called “kakitokei”, which means “writing clock” in Japanese, but it is commonly known as the Plock. The name is a combination of “plot” and “clock” already hinting at how the time of day is displayed. The whimsical creation is the work of the extremely talented Suzuki Kango of the Tohoku University of Art and Design. The Plock was made to fulfil his senior thesis. The contraption is part time keeper, part writing device. Each minute, the wooden mechanism kicks into motion, engaging with the writing arms that then write the time on a magnetic board. The Plock is a massive accomplishment by the 22-year-old student, who does not have immediate plans to commercialise his creation.

Tasaki is a Japanese jeweller that also produces exceptional mechanical pieces. And it was Hajime Asaoka himself who created the delicate Odessa Tourbillon model.

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Knot is a brand that seems to be achieving remarkable success in Japan. As the founders explain, the Knot project began with redefining the watch manufacturing industry in Japan, which had shifted to overseas production, to return to factories in Japan, where outstanding technicians and materials gather.

“We are involved in all aspects, from the designing and planning to delivery of parts, assembly, and sales. Because we do not use intermediaries, even if we use high quality materials with high costs, we can provide watches from around 10,000 yen. For example, the glass we use is durable sapphire glass, which is not easily damaged and is also used for luxury Swiss watches.”

The brand offers custom orders selected from over 8,000 types (straps, materials, colours,…). Eventually, Knot aims to reduce prices by a third with a new way of distribution.

Wired is highly valued by young Japanese people. It is one of numerous brands overseen by the giant Seiko, distributed in Japan and Taiwan only

Tokyoflash has designed a unique collection of futuristic watches with integrated technology that make art out of telling time. As the brand’s name suggests, flash is the name of the game. In this case, it’s telling the time using LED lights.

One model is the Kisai Blade Wood, which has two different ways to display the time.

The watch truly comes to life through its animations. When turned on, the vivid LED blades rotate rapidly once every 15 minutes, between 6 and 12 o’clock. You will be able to enjoy the flash of this watch for up to one month at a time, which is its battery life after only a 3.5 hour charge (via USB). Unfortunately the Kisai Link does not have the same endurance. It takes 1.5 hours to charge and will last up to 5 days.

The watches bring flash and functionality at a surprisingly low cost of around 150 USD. While the watches might not be for everyone, their price point certainly is..

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Having seen the portrait of the watchmaker Philippe Dufour, who hails from the Swiss canton of Vaud, at the Seiko research and development studios, Europa Star had the privilege of meeting Yoshi Isogai, owner of the Shellman watch boutique in Tokyo and the exclusive distributor of Philippe Dufour watches in Japan. Put simply, out of the 200 Simplicity models produced by Dufour, Isogai has sold... 127!

How did Philippe Dufour achieve such a status in Japan, his market of choice? “At the beginning, in 2000, the challenge was to convince collectors that Philippe Dufour models could be worth twice the price of a Patek Philippe for example, by explaining the traditional craftsmanship involved in producing them.” To do this, Isogai distributed images of the components crafted and assembled by hand by the watchmaker in the Vallée de Joux, without the use of machines. “We were aided in this communication work on behalf of Philippe Dufour by the Japanese media and journalists who were able to understand what is so special about him. In particular, a

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programme shown on the national public television channel made him famous in Japan.”

And that’s not all, continues Isogai: while the watch itself is attractive as an object, the simple, authentic personality of Philippe Dufour is, too. “Collectors began wanting to wear an object created by a craftsman like him. Furthermore, the Simplicity’s small diameter of 34 mm also made it ideal for the Japanese market.”

The value of models created by Philippe Dufour has never stopped growing, as demonstrated by their popularity at auction: at the watch sales held by Phillips in New York at the end of October, a Duality model (in platinum, with serial number 00) was sold for nearly a million dollars. The collector who had purchased it for 150,000 dollars a decade ago made a decent margin. Nonetheless, the watchmaker is in no hurry. “I have a long waiting list of clients waiting for his future watches,” says Isogai, gazing dreamily at a black and white portrait of the “master”.

Duality by Philippe Dufour

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A TC E RD H N TO MA SP KI O NG T :

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Is the Swiss watchmaking industry doing its bit for the environment? Ten years ago, the answer was a definite ‘no’. Things have improved since then, however. Today, no self-respecting brand is without its Sustainable Development Department or similar. But even where there have been tangible results, they barely get a mention. The reason is that horology is all about selling dreams, not environmental activism. But with the arrival of Generation Xers and Millennials – and their high expectations in this respect – change is now on its way.

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re you clean, green, CSR, SD, and eco-friendly with it? Nowadays, watchmaking brands take such questions extremely seriously. This marks a change from the old days, when all it took to be green was a few beehives making honey out the front. Of course, bees are important – but they rather pale into insignificance beside the 10.6 tonnes of batteries recycled last year by the Swatch Group.

How to take a stand (or avoid taking one) Environmental responsibility (to use a catch-all phrase) naturally starts much higher up watchmaking firms’ value chains.

Indeed, few CEOs still attempt to get by with nothing more than the bland assertion – almost a sophistry – that mechanical watches are built to last for centuries and are thus intrinsically sustainable.

Nowadays, annual reports and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) address the issue in depth. These are effective – perhaps too much so, since brands now take refuge behind all this material to avoid making any further statements on the topic. The Swatch Group, for instance, devotes 6 of the 244 pages of its annual report to environmental matters.

For its part, Kering has a 25-page report – but has not shrunk from speaking out, either. “Sustainable development is a source of innovation and creativity,” says Marie-Claire Daveu, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs. “It nurtures collaboration, connectivity, and transparency. The only difficulty is that of reconciling the brand’s long-term time frame with consumers’ short-term vision.”

Sustainable or desirable?

Why not both?

Ma

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u, Kering

In actual fact, there are many potential pitfalls.

First and foremost, environmental responsibility involves processes and traceability. This is a far cry from the watchmaking marketing-speak of “historic timepieces exuding timeless elegance”. In other words, industrial production of the stuff of dreams is a delicate task – and selling it is more delicate still. Many are of the opinion that sustainable development is anything but the stuff of dreams. What is more, consumers are disinclined to be keen on sustainable development, simply because its benefits lie well beyond their own lifetimes. Helping to prevent a 1.5 degree rise in temperature in the next century is all very well – but doesn’t really boost watch sales in the here and now.

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Stéphane Truchi, Managing Director of opinion pollsters IFOP, has clearly grasped this. He believes that environmental responsibility doesn’t sell – as yet – because it isn’t sexy enough. According to him, “the challenge is to link desirability with sustainability. When it comes to luxury items, the case for these two factors going hand in hand needs to be more clearly made.” Louis Vuitton’s Environment Manager Sandrine Noel agrees: “Today, consumers have clearly expressed expectations in this respect. Our sales staff have come to see sustainable development as an asset: a great story to tell.

Brands engaging in sustainable development in both word and deed are more desirable – it helps them come across as more authentic and less pretentious.”

And that’s the key. For environmental responsibility to encompass the world of luxury, including watchmaking, it needs to be made desirable – and be authentic. It also needs to be accessible: ecological progress will only really happen once very large numbers of people are committed to it.

A question of certification The issue of whether sustainable watchmaking is accessible is a vast one. Naturally, the product itself and its price are the first things that spring to mind. Chopard, for instance, has timepieces whose gold is certified as being “Fairmined”.

This remarkable initiative is the first of its kind – and a great success. The manufacture offers new pieces bearing this label every year – and has been increasing output in response to growing demand. Kering has followed suit: some of its brands have similar certification backed by Solidaridad, an NGO. When it comes to diamonds, almost all brands have adopted the Kimberley traceability process, working alongside the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the authority when it comes to stemming the tide of blood diamonds. These types of certification are vital – and “not as easy as all that to obtain”, confides Chopard’s co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.

However, sustainable horology is about much more than the product itself: there are also stores, packaging, the types of paper used, CO2 emissions and so on to be thought about.

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Awaiting Xers and Yers

Worthwhile but little-known initiatives Although watchmaking brands say little about such matters, several of them are in fact doing very well in this respect. At Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin, all paper sourcing is carefully controlled, and 50% of the paper used is recycled. 100% of all Gucci bags are recycled, too. In Japan, the watchmaking giant Seiko banned chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as early as 1993; in 2006, it got rid of all traces of lead from its quartz movements, and two years later dispensed with mercury in its batteries. It’s worth pointing out that by contrast, some of the larger Swiss companies have obtained derogations to exempt them from commitments of this type, many of which are now mandatory for products distributed within the EU. Further upstream, the main source of leverage for environmentally responsible watchmaking is production itself.

Here again, little is said by brands, since they do not believe that doing so will increase their desirability. Louis Vuitton’s Sandrine Noel begs to differ, though. “Generation Xers and Millennials clearly have fresh expectations in this realm”.

These new expectations are now being further amplified through social media. Nowadays, animal rights groups such as PETA and L214 enjoy broad support beyond their wildest dreams of yore, as shown by how extremely rare it now is to find any young people keen to have genuine fur.

While fur may not be a sensitive issue for watchmakers, leather is very much a part of the business. For Kering, the use and processing of leather accounts for a whopping 24% of the group’s environmental impact. As a result, the firm has implemented practical measures to address this state of affairs: these include tanning that does not use heavy metals, insourcing the tanning process, and applying draconian selection criteria for partners. The next step is probably to move to plant-based leather. The latter has yet to reach the world of watchmaking, but has already been adopted by at least one brand that tends to set the pace for luxury goods: Tesla. As of this summer, the electric carmaker has abandoned animal leather in favour of vegan leather for all its vehicles – without exception. That hasn’t stopped it from selling the stuff of dreams – and cars with a price tag of $150,000 – which may give watchmakers pause for thought.

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Emissions – of all types – are another major concern for the watchmaking industry. The Swatch Group is seeking to cut its energy use between 2013 and 2020, thus reducing its CO2 emissions by 27%, at the same time as improving its energy efficiency by 8%. Many brands, such as TAG Heuer and Hublot, are also developing a taste for deploying solar panels on their roofs.

The independents are not short on ideas, either. Christophe Claret, for instance, has swapped his firm’s fuel oil boiler for a gas-powered one, at the same time as installing a clever system to recover the excess heat given off by machinery to warm the buildings. Not so far away, Ulysse Nardin has done the same thing. Similarly, Agenhor has built its offices to benefit from the best possible exposure to sunlight, facilitating natural temperature control. IWC, meanwhile, has taken a different tack: all the energy purchased by the firm comes from renewable sources. Chopard and Hublot have also renovated their facilities recently; both firms have acquired Minergie or High Energy Performance certification in the process.

The Audemars Piguet Minergie-ECO® manufacture in Le Brassus.

Is there anything to be ashamed of here? Should such initiatives be concealed at all costs? Of course not! The fact is, though, that they are little known – or indeed entirely unbeknown – to the general public, since they are not seen as contributing to “desirability”. Watchmaking is naturally conservative, and sells dreams; the view is that environmental responsibility is not something we dream about. That way of thinking has had its day, though. The time is now at hand when generations X, Y, and Z will indeed be dreaming of a better future.

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T”

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FI PA G RL HT IA IN M EN

ni “I on SU D sE I D pi C N so H O de 3 A T TO E U NV G IS H A G

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JEAN-DANIEL PASCHE President, Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH In my view, the more stringent definition of Swiss Made set out in the text which entered into force on 1 January 2017 is the best solution that could finally be achieved in the prevailing economic and legal environment. To obtain still more, the original legislation adopted in 1971 would have had to be more ambitious. But at that time, it was sufficient to fit a Swiss movement for the watch to be Swiss Made, no matter where it was cased up. Since the degree of protection was so low, it became difficult to correct the provisions and make them more stringent because of globalisation, the roots in international law and the business models that have developed in the meantime.

The 1971 definition was obviously unsatisfactory. Some Swiss Made watches had never seen Switzerland, even from a distance. We had to battle with the EEC, as it then was (now the EU), to obtain a revised regulation which entered into force in 1992, with a transitional period of five years; this revised text introduced the requirements of assembly and final inspection in Switzerland.

Despite this 1992 review, the definition of the label still did not satisfy everyone: that was only normal as no account whatever was taken of the exterior parts, but the watch industry as a whole was unwilling to go any further at that time.

When I became President of the FH in 2002, I noted with other watch industry stakeholders that opinions had moved on, and it might now be opportune to strengthen Swiss Made. We had to take advantage of a margin for manoeuvre, admittedly narrow, between the rules of free trade, including those of the WTO, the foreseeable reactions of the EU and European watch industry partners and opposition from within the industry. In the end, the FH adopted a draft which made provision for a rate of 80% for mechanical products and 60% for other watch industry products.

I did not envisage such a tough fight in Parliament, nor did I expect the FH to find itself isolated within the economic world, almost alone in advocating a rate of 60% while practically all other sectors of industry were content with 50%. Be that as it may, we won the day, not without real suspense over the outcome because there was a majority of just one vote in the Council of States.

On the other hand, we had to abandon the rate of 80% because that was judged by the Federal authorities to be a protectionist measure, incompatible with the WTO agreements.

In the end, some companies complain that the new label is still too weak while others say it is too stringent: that is proof of a sound compromise, secured through taking full advantage of the available margin for manoeuvre. A label which covers an entire industry and all price ranges can be no more than a lowest common denominator and cannot satisfy everyone. For my part, I thought it important for the rate to exceed 50% to enable us to lay claim to a clear majority of Swiss value: that is the message we can now send to consumers!

More on the question of “Swiss made” from another opinion leader in the next issue of Europa Star!

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like Hong Kong. I love the vibrant ambience in the streets, the shops and the malls, the Temple Street Night Market, the hubbub around the food stalls in the narrow streets festooned with washing and exterior air-conditioning units, the retro-style trams, the Star Ferry, Victoria Peak and the view from Kowloon across the harbour.

If you’re there for the HKTDC Watch & Clock Fair in September you can sit in the bar of the Harbour View Hotel with a gin and tonic and enjoy watching fatuous foreigners slither across the aqueous pavements testing the veracity of the inevitable typhoon’s force.

There’s a covered walkway that leads from the hotel to the Convention Centre and it was there that I heard an all too familiar cry, “Aha, Lakin, I here.” And sure enough, in the midst of the bustling crowd, there was U. Hueng Loe waving some papers in my direction with one hand and pointing to a quieter spot close to the steps of the Centre.

I like U., but I’m not sure if he’s a genuine oddball, a hustler, conman or a man of many unorthodox parts, but whenever I see him he has some weird and wonderful idea like last year’s endeavour to sell a handless watch for its tick.

As usual he was very excited and after his usual quick head bow and a high-five he started whispering as if he was about to impart some state secrets.

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“You know Mouse’s chis wash?”

“Mouse’s chis wash?”

“You not know chis wash from Mouse’s company in Swisserland?”

“You mean Moser’s cheese watch?” suddenly realising he was talking about the million franc watch with a case made from Vacheron Mont d’Or cheese and resin.

“Thas what I say no?”

“Yes, U. I know the watch. Why?” “I have glate idee for China vershon.”

“You mean a Chinese cheese watch?”

“No, no cheese, something more smelly than chis.”

“What’s more smelly than cheese?” I asked “Aha, you ask thousan dolla quesshon.”

“So tell me U.” Checking that nobody was listening, U. whispered “皮蛋” I repeated what I thought he said, “Pidan?”

“Yes, pidan,” he repeated as if I should know what he was talking about.

“What’s pidan U.?”

“You no know famous pidan?” U. asked with an air of disbelief.

“No, I’m sorry. What is it?”

“Famous China delicacy. Thousand year ol egg. I go to make wash with thousan year ol egg!”

“You’re joking right U.?”

“No, no joke. Packing design leady with clispy noodle basket with Chinese pancake for lapping paper. Working on wash now but is not easy, colour is problem for eggs gleen, blown and black. But we find solushon soon.”

“Aren’t they too runny U.?”

“Not on movement yet.”

“I mean the eggs being runny, not the movement .”

“Ah ha Lakin, I make yoke - that another one ha. So what you think about my wash - you want invest?”

“As the song goes, I think you better think it out again.”

“You no like eggs?”

“Yes U. But to eat, U., to eat.”

“I sorry for you, washes in chis and eggs are the fusha.”

With that U. Hueng Loe disappeared into the Trade Fair clearly with great eggspectations.

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became aware that sundial mottos were a thing earlier this year, listening to the wonderful and disturbing podcast S-Town. The hero, if you can call him that, of this documentary series, John B. McLemore, is an antiquarian horologist – a clock repairer and restorer, who, it is mentioned in one episode, took almost thirty years to handcraft a sundial for his old chemistry professor, calibrated to the exact latitude of his house.

The earliest known sundial is from Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, and dates from ca. 1500 BC. But it was probably around AD 1500 that sundials began to be inscribed with mottos.

Some are in the local language, but many are in Latin, taken from the Bible or from classical texts, or perhaps just translated into Latin to lend them more gravitas. What’s different, and fascinating, about these sundial mottos, compared with the maxims of ancient families or venerable institutions, is their tone. Rather than being pious and sanctimonious, they are often cynical, world-weary and nihilistic. They also show that people have been worrying about roughly the same kinds of things for a very long time.

Many of them are familiar: sic transit gloria mundi (thus passes the glory of the world), tempus fugit (time flies) and carpe diem (seize the day). Some manage to condense a similar sentiment into a catchy if depressing little nugget: ita vita (thus is life),

sumus fumus (we are smoke) or festina mox nox (hurry, the night comes). One episode of S-Town is entitled “Tedious and brief”, which is another way of putting it.

Some of these mottos could have been designed to warn about ill-advised Facebook posts: post voluptatem misericordia (after pleasure comes pain) and pereunt & imputantur (the hours vanish, yet remain on record). There’s also a caution for those who spend too much time on social media in general: bulla est vita humana (the life of man is a bubble).

Clearly, mediaeval peasants were as familiar as we are with the dangers of distraction and the evils of procrastination. Latin lends itself to shouty exhortations to stop messing about and get on with it, like an Old Testament prophet or, perhaps, your mum: mora trahit periculum (delay brings danger), aut disce, aut discede (either learn or go), and aspiciendo senesces (thou growest old in looking). One of my favourites, in the Languedoc dialect, goes: “Arresto ti passant, regardo quantes d’ouro, et fouto mi lou camp,” which roughly translates as: “Stop a moment, traveller, look at the time, and then piss off”!

But sometimes you just have to stop worrying, relax and enjoy the ride. Festina lente (make haste slowly) is a rather Zen approach to passing time. Another is Autant boire ici qu’ailleurs – here is as good a place as any to have a drink.

Cheers!

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A last word to start WATCHES AND FETISHISM

BY PIERRE MAILLARD

Y

es, Paul Newman was an excellent actor, a good director and a nice guy. And yes, the Paul Newman is a decent watch, and it gave its name to the most famous and most desirable Daytona. But. While the stratospheric and indeed barely credible price that this nostalgic chronograph achieved is good news for the watch industry in general, demonstrating that its magical power of attraction remains undiminished in spite of technological obsolescence, the 17.8 million dollars shelled out by the buyer of THE Paul Newman mark the triumph of fetishism.

Recently, a 1969 model identical in almost every way to Paul Newman’s Paul Newman – although in far better condition – was sold for USD 175,000. It’s a very good price, but it’s just one-hundredth of the price of the watch that was anointed by the sweat of the actor himself. He made those scratches; the acidity of his skin caused those little spots of oxidation; and his eyes – his beautiful, piercing blue eyes! – admired it, checked it and caressed it.

Which is tantamount to saying that 99% of this watch’s value comes from the tenuous traces of a vanished moment in time. Pure fetishism, in other words. Officially, fetishism is defined as “worship of an inanimate object for its supposed magical powers.” It’s a faith upon which few sale-room bidders care to base their calculations or measure their delirium. What Edgar Morin had to say about preciously guarded family photos is equally applicable to objects like the Paul Newman watch: “fetish, souvenir, mute presence, like relics, faded flowers, preciously hoarded handkerchiefs, locks of hair...”

There’s definitely a touch of the macabre in fetishism. A touch of the erotic, also. It’s an unsatisfied eroticism, or perhaps, an eroticism that can only be satisfied in the absence of a subject, losing itself in the object.

At least now, I can put a price on Newmanian nostalgia. But, to take a different example, I don’t personally know the price of a lock of Napoleon’s hair(*). Perhaps it fluctuates according to the currents of time and fashion, depending on whether a major anniversary is around the corner. That seems likely.

But what will happen in a century or two, when the name of Paul Newman means nothing to any save a few obscure archivists of 20th-century cinema? A forgotten demigod, whose worshippers are all dead. But it’s a safe bet that, in the meantime, the happy (?) owner of the Newman will have sold it on and pocketed the added value, whatever that might be, that all fetishists hope to redeem one day.

Nevertheless, obscure and penniless fetishists such as we have our small compensations. We can still afford a Paul Newman pizza, or, to give it its correct nomenclature, a “Newman’s Own Organics” pizza, or even Newman’s Own pretzels, popcorn, or mayonnaise, if the fancy takes us. We could also steam off the labels and collect them in a binder! And we can tell ourselves at the same time that we’re making the world a better place because, as the label tells us, it’s “100% Profits to Charity”.

(*) In fact, we do know the price of Napoleon’s hair. In 2015, Jérôme De Witt bought two locks. For the first (with an estimate of €3,000 to €5,000) he paid €16,750, and for the second (estimate €1,500 to €2,000), he coughed up €12,880. That makes 29,000 euros worth of Napoleon’s hair, which ended up sealed under a watch crystal.

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