Category: Industry News

Breaking News – Swatch Group (meaning 18 brands) To Leave Baselworld in 2019

once, we’re not going to use the “breaking news” title for nothing. What came in this morning is important news, no debate. As reported by Swiss newspapers NZZ am Sonntag and Le Temps, Swatch Group, the world’s largest watchmaking group, will be leaving Baselworld – Switzerland’s largest watch and jewellery fair – as of next year. After already several departures and complains, this is another hard blow for the highly decried show.

6 years ago

Interview – Armin Strom’s Serge Michel and Claude Greisler talk about what makes the brand unique and what’s coming next

Armin Strom is not a usual brand. And this is not only due to the unique design of their watches. We’ve told it to you several times when reviewing their timepieces and when we took the opportunity to visit the manufacture – because Armin Strom is a truly integrated manufacture that produces most of the parts of a watch and that has a true innovation power (see the Resonance watch). Today, we take the time to talk with Serge Michel and Claude Greisler, owners of the brand, to talk about what makes this watch manufacture unique and what they have in mind for the future.

6 years ago

Industry News – First-Half 2018 Results of LVMH Watches and Jewelry Division On The Rise

Today, just after the closing of the Paris Stock Exchange, luxury powerhouse LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) announced its First-Half 2018 results. After showing strong results at the end of the year 2017, the group continues its progression, both in terms of sales and profitability. As for the Watches and Jewelry Division, the brands under portfolio follow the same trend, with a strong growth again for sales and profits.

6 years ago

Behind-The-Scenes – Inside Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier – How Exactly are Watch Parts Manufactured?

Things used to be better in the good old days? Well, not necessarily. Watchmaking has always relied on technology and it has evolved together with the machinery, tools and techniques that make watch production possible, simply to keep in tune with the times. For this reason, we’re bringing you “behind the scenes”, at Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, to see how watch parts are made.

6 years ago

Value Proposition – Peter Speake-Marin Is Back In The Watch Game With Affordable Watches: Stoic World

A few years ago, when you mentioned the name Peter Speake-Marin, you probably had in mind an independent watchmaker with creativity and complex watches – such as a fully-opened tourbillon minute repeater… This was before Peter sold his company and left to become someone else, independent again. After starting a unique concept named “The Naked Watchmaker”, Peter Speake-Marin is back in the watch game with something truly unexpected: affordable watches. Meet Stoic World.

6 years ago

Introducing – Leica Camera Enters The Watch Game with the L1 & L2 Models

While cars and watches are known to be highly related worlds, photography and watches apparently don’t share many links. Yet, several already existing examples showed this connection – think Ming watches by photographer Ming Thein or shutter-inspired Valbray watches. Today, the story is different, as it’s one of the most prominent camera manufacturers that is entering the watch game, you name it: Leica. With “Made in Germany” in mind and quite an impressive mechanical package, meet the Leica L1 & L2 watches.

6 years ago

Industry News – EPHJ – Showcasing the future of the watch industry and more…

EPHJ is the leading professional show held annually in Geneva in the high-precision sector (in particular watchmaking but also jewellery or medical industries). The show is a multi-domain field for business interactions and the latest innovations that might impact the future of the industry. It gathers no fewer than 800 exhibitors from 20 different countries (June 12 – 15, 2018).

6 years ago

Must Read – Richemont “Destroys” More than EUR 450m of Unsold Watches in Two Years

It is no breaking news to say that the industry had to face difficult times in 2015 and 2016. Business had been tough due to decreasing sales. The Richemont Group – the luxury powerhouse that owns Cartier, IWC, Montblanc or JLC – had also been affected by this situation – as reported by MONOCHROME here. Part of Richemont’s plan to help cleaning the situation was a massive buyback strategy, thus reducing stocks at retailers. What was unknown was the total amount of watches bought back by the group… Well, according to The Guardian, we’re talking about approximately half a billion Euro/Dollar.

6 years ago

Breaking News – Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewellery fair, appoints a new Managing Director, Michel Loris-Melikoff

The man tasked with reshaping Baselworld to meet the current challenges is a 53-old lawyer who started his career in Private Banking. He was previously in function with MHC group (the company organizing Baselworld) in Lausanne. The longstanding Managing Director of Baselworld, Sylvie Ritter, has decided to step down from her position at the MCH Group after 15 years in the position. The transfer of management will take place on 1 July 2018.

6 years ago