In a maybe not-so-shocking turn of events, news just broke that Rolex has acquired or is in the process of acquiring Bucherer. It’s a known fact that Rolex, over time, integrates trustful and longstanding partners, including suppliers, into the Rolex group. It has done so many times before and will probably continue to do so […]
The name might not ring a bell with a broader audience but is well-known and highly respected in some collectors’ communities. A Swiss brand specializing in tool watches, Ollech & Wajs (O&W) was founded in 1956 by Albert Wajs and his friend Joseph Ollech, who formed a partnership and opened a watch shop. At first, they […]
If you have been following the Swiss watch industry for the past years, there’s been an undeniable shift towards the higher end of the market. While Swiss watch exports rose 17% between 2015 and 2022, the export value of watches with an export price below CHF 500* was halved over the same period. The industry […]
Following the release by the two watchmaking giants Swatch Group and Richemont of strong results for the first months of 2023, it is now time for the world’s leading luxury group, LVMH, to report its revenues for the first half of 2023. The French powerhouse, active in multiple businesses (wines & spirits, fashion & leather goods, […]
Following 2022 with impressive growth for the industry (a record year for exports) for luxury groups involved in watchmaking and jewellery (LVMH, Swatch), indicators and analysts were not so confident regarding the outlook for 2023. Growing inflation, geo-political tensions and a potential economic contraction could have led to lower sales. However, following the announcement by […]
Swiss watch giant Swatch Group, the umbrella above brands such as Omega, Breguet, Tissot, Longines and many more, has just released its 2023 half-year sales report, for the period January 1st – June 30th. At CHF 4,019 million, net sales are up 18.0% compared to the previous year at constant exchange rates, or 11.3% at […]
With nearly 50 brands exhibiting and 43,000 unique visitors (a 50% increase over 2022), the 2023 edition of Watches and Wonders Geneva has been a genuine success. This fair, the only one surviving after the death of Baselworld, has become an inescapable moment in the watchmaking calendar, with the participation of industry heavyweights (Richemont, LVMH, […]
Only Watch, the biennial fundraiser for research on muscular dystrophy, has just released the list of the 72 watchmakers/brands and 62 lots that will be part of its 2023 auction. Over the years, Only Watch has become one of the most anticipated and significant auctions in the watch calendar, if only for the quality of […]
Do you know many watchmakers who would confess that “growth is totally excluded”, that expansion does not factor in their business plan? In the hyper-competitive environment we know today, overwhelmed by an incalculable number of brands, dominated by a quartet of houses that monopolize the market and a vast majority trying to find their place […]
Introducing Pascal Brandt and Denis Peshkov as new MONOCHROME editors, why we do not cover vintage auctions, we do more and more videos, and the piece unique that we auctioned for Save the Children