Tangible impressions

There are experts everywhere, no longer only found in the best companies and fresh out of training schools. Crouched behind a screen, armed with a click and a mouse, they take the stage, write and publish – instantly, intangibly. No matter what the style nor the knowledge of writing, their multiple outpourings join the chorus of the knowledgable and the arbiters of taste. The result is that it is not altogether rare that a buyer of horology knows more than the person selling it.

More than ever, 2010 will have been the year of watchmaking brands seeking to get closer to consumers. Some of the conventional rules have been questioned and debated. For example, while the principle of the margins granted by the brands to their distributors and retailers has not been directly challenged, it has been supplemented by new demands – such as the right to be present at the “final act” and to supervise it. Once the stocks have been reduced, and in response to the virtual flurry of scattered product information, the need to be contactable and accessible encourages CEOs to visit the various markets, organise meetings, as well as taking part in collectors’ dinners and exclusive events. For those companies with high turnover and the accompanying means, simply keeping up with monobrand boutique openings is a fulltime occupation. Apart from being a new source of income, these openings are always accompanied by a great desire to better master the product, from the time it leaves the factory to the moment it is put on the buyer’s wrist. The aim is to avoid any loss of DNA at the end of an intermediate chain whose actors, shaken up by the economic situation, have been known to ignore or overturn certain formerly sacred values.

This renewed sales creativity can be explained by the fact that the wellbeing of the industry depends on its exports. And even if those at the very top are less affected, the expensive Swiss franc, and increases in the cost of raw materials such as gold, add a certain spice to these field excursions. It is precisely in these situations that certain “material” information tools – such as a book or a page in a magazine – demonstrate their true significance. Our magazines Heure Suisse, Heure Schweiz and the JSH – Journal Suisse d’H orlogerie, the oldestwatchmaking publication in the world, become visible landmarks, tangible complements to the impalpable surrounding ebb and flow. The Swiss Watchmaking Year is a foundation, a media that consecrates and builds, a channel of information that is both solid and reassuring. It serves as an argument in its own right and plays a key role in connecting the various players in a watch industry that is committed to travelling the world in sharing its dream message and making light of distances.

To assist them in their world tours, an increasing number of watch brands are arming themselves with their own publications: books, newsletters or magazines for owners. That just happens to be our own calling and field of expertise...

Roland Ray Publisher

Recovery? Certainly,
but what sort of recovery?

Years follow on from one another with little similarity from one to the next. Twelve months ago, everyone was wondering what lessons there were to be learned from the crisis that had shaken not just the world of finance, but also and above all the current economy, and in particular the watchmaking sector. It was fashionable to berate the sorcerers’ apprentices and speculators who were responsible for the disaster. And rightly so. Today, now that the latter are back with us, that one upmanship is alive and well in the world of financial markets and that traders are once again feeling justified in demanding their bonuses – albeit fairly discreetly, it must be said – more than ever, one should think about the dangerous disconnect between speculating on intangibles and real productivity.

What can be drawn from all this when it comes to the watchmaking sector? Firstly, in light of the statistics published in October 2010 by the Federation of the Swiss Watchmaking Industry (FH), it should be noted that the sector has enjoyed ten consecutive months of growth in the realm of exports. A positive thing, you will agree. At the same time, the three principal Swiss watchmaking groups have published impressive results compared to the same time the previous year. The first of these, the late Nicolas Hayek’s Swatch Group, had a turnover of more than three billion Swiss francs in six months, and expected to exceed the six billion franc mark at the end of 2010 for the first time in its history. A similar theme for the Richemont Group, which in September announced an impressive improvement in sales, with a 37 per cent increase from January to May. Across all sectors, however, only watchmaking made a 40 per cent leap. Finally, for the first nine months of the year, LMVH, world leader in the realm of luxury, punted 14% organic growth (with exchange rates comparable to 2009 levels), with watches and jewellery recording a 29 per cent boom.

This is encouraging, despite the fact that positive statistics should not lead us to believe that our worries are over. Firstly, we have frequently remarked in these very columns that they often conceal a very different reality. And above all, they do not take into consideration all those at the end of the production line – such as sub-contractors and suppliers – who have paid a high price. Many have either had to close down completely or are today hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Aside from this, if the recovery continues along the lines of the current figures, it should in no way become a snowball that incorporates the same mistakes as recent history. Finally, one might hope that the pressure of demand does not lead to a merciless war between certain brands wishing to acquire suppliers that have withstood the storm. The best outcome would be well thought through, controlled growth, in the context of a long-term strategy. Is it possible? Apparently not, because in the luxury sector, economic and financial considerations are way too important for all the players involved to maintain a level head. You might as well ask a crab to walk straight. In other words, the next crisis is already on the cards.

Thierry Brandt Edtior-in-Chief

Upside-down num

Touched, right in the centre of the heart, by an emotion bursting with freshness. Watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard is on the platform to receive his Special Jury Prize at the Watch of the Year competition organised by Ringier. In his speech – which he admits to being his first ever – and facing an audience of seasoned professionals, the laureate says something that stirs the listener by its innate common sense and its open invitation to think more deeply about this topic. Something like “upside-down numbers provide a chance to highlight the number which indicates the hour when it is the right way up...” He is alluding to the dial of his Upside Down Number One, a concentration of unadulterated complicated watchmaking, with a poetic, playful dimension nestled in the sober dial – a dream model for even the most classic collector. A timepiece with a single hand to indicate the minutes, while each hour number, positioned upside down, turns the right way up when the passing of time makes its “turn” come. It is truly extraordinary to think that this “revolution” is done entirely mechanically, drawing on the same energy as that which powers the movement!

All the same, the emotion it causes goes way beyond the purely material side of things – because, with a touch of imagination, Ludovic Ballouard’s sentence is filled with philosophical nuances. Especially if one is having trouble recovering from a disturbed or disturbing phase. A phase in which the cards have been redistributed, sometimes during the game itself. Considering this approach as a modern-day parable, one cannot help observing that there are fewer and fewer people who do things the right way round. Secondly, these exceptions tend to want to accomplish their daily tasks in the “always do better than necessary” manner so dear to historical watchmaking. Their adhesion to time-honoured values is highlighted by those who do things upside down, those who tack from side to side, who cheat, who fight for as much profit as possible and, when bad weather comes, wash their hands in the sweat of others. When it comes to the survivors, alas, some of the purists and scrupulous may perhaps have disappeared, whereas the crafty may appear– at least in the short term – to have won the day.

Throughout its long history, watchmaking has survived many crises, with knowhow and exceptional men of principle as its loyal guardians. This has never deprived it of a bold spirit, of curiosity, and even of opportunism. As the recovery is starting to kick in, and as backs begin to straighten up, those who remained upright, especially if they also survived, deserve to be held up as landmarks – preferably before bad habits take over and the numbers turn upside down again...

Joël A. Grandjean Editor-in-chief, JSH – Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie