The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Swiss watch industry is severe. As countries around the world contend with the health emergency, the economic effects of suspending almost all activity have inevitably impacted the Swiss watch industry and will continue to do so for months to come. With manufacturing coming to a standstill and […]
As the Swiss watch industry is facing a severe crisis, Swatch Group announces major changes in the Executive Group Management Board and the Extended Group Management Board and appointments to the management of the Longines, Rado, Union, Tissot, Certina, and Hamilton watch brands. Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of Omega and member of the Extended […]
Grand Seiko had long been a hidden gem, reserved exclusively for the Japanese domestic market. The rest of the world had to wait until 2010 to discover Seiko’s take on luxury watchmaking and precision when the brand started its globalisation strategy. Now established as one of the most respected brands in the segment, Grand Seiko […]
LVMH Group, the world leader in luxury, has just announced that Stéphane Bianchi will assume the role of CEO of the LVMH Watch and Jewelry Division with a scope enlarged to encompass jewellery brands Chaumet and FRED, in addition to TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot. Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, will continue to report to Toni […]
Nirupesh Joshi and his wife Mercy Amalraj founded Bangalore Watch Company in 2018 with the goal of representing 21st-century India with exciting and high-quality watch collections. Neither worked in the watchmaking field prior to this, as both had successful tech and consulting careers. Nirupesh is an aviation and watch enthusiast and grew frustrated by his […]
I guess I need to start this interview with an apology. Sorry, this interview is long, very long, comprising close to 3,000 words. However, the conversation with Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, was great and there was just so much to say about the new Portugiesers. We had the conversation two weeks ago, in the midst of the COVID-19 lock-down. Chris was in his office, in Schaffhausen, and the interview was done through a zoom-meeting. It’s weird, not sitting together for a talk, but it is what it is and I guess for the foreseeable future this is going to be the new normal.
There is no doubt that the global COVID-19 pandemic will take a heavy toll on the watch industry. After two consecutive months of decrease (-9% in February and -22% in March), The Swiss Watch Federation (FHS) has just released its statistics for the month of April 2020 and, as expected, exports fell sharply. A direct […]
Usually, we would start by saying “we sat down with Mr Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, to discuss the brand’s newest releases” or something along those lines. Well, not today. Last week I met ‘virtually’ with Wilhelm Schmid during a Zoom meeting for an interview about the two novelties A. Lange & Söhne […]
After successfully launching its gallery for pre-owned and vintage watches in Geneva, back in September 2019, Bucherer, the world’s largest watch retailer, which has been selling only new watches for decades, continues the expansion of its ‘Certified Pre-Owned’ programme and now introduces this service in its Parisian flagship store – said to be the world’s […]
In a statement released this morning, luxury group Richemont – the owner of multiple high-end watch brands, such as IWC, Lange, JLC or Cartier – has announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2020. On a yearly basis, the group recorded revenues of EUR 14, 238 million, up 2% at actual exchange rates […]