Swiss Watchmakers Banking On The Future

I usually field a few questions after the Swiss unveil their latest watches each spring. This year, however, I seem to be most frequently asked about overall health of the watch industry, rather than the trends or the standout innovations. Everyone knows that the economic downturn has hit watch sales hard. The real question is how the industry is poised to survive the shock. Crises, be they economic, social, or political, often produce long-lasting changes in the way people think.

The real danger for watchmakers is if they allow the perception of their products to settle on the wrong side of those changes. There will always be those who view luxury watches as a self-indulgent badge of privilege. Far worse would be the possibility of current owners viewing their once-treasured timepieces as unfashionable, overvalued, or anachronistic. That can easily happen as in years past when some firms jumped haphazardly onto the bandwagon of modern design. You can still see a little of this danger today in the many products coated in black PVD, that in a few years will surely look so very 2009.

Fortunately, the Swiss have been producing more than just record exports and profits in the past few years. The watch companies have also made unprecedented investment in manufacturing independence, design, and research. The result is that major brands including Breitling, Cartier, and Hublot, which were once regarded only for their design and marketing, are now watchmakers with comparable authenticity to some of the longstanding companies that are most revered by collectors. More importantly, many of these new movements, such as the new Cartier Rotonde Central Chronograph, provide something unique to differentiate these companies horologically.

The smaller companies are no less active. In particular, the new Chronoswiss Sauterelle comes to mind. It is the most significant piece the company has done in years with a new, original movement that combines frosted finishing with a highly accurate slow beat escapement. It is contemporary in its simplicity and presents classical watchmaking in an almost audacious manner for today’s environment. Surely pieces like this are proof that the Swiss can still invent and enthrall, and therefore adapt their craft for changing times.