High time: the latest from the world of top-spec watches

The horology universe is, mind the pun, one that keeps on ticking with updates, news and tidbits – but, with the constant stream of new models and movements, it's often difficult to keep up with everything. To cut through the noise, I've given a quick rundown of the main happenings that've occurred over the past 12 months...

Rolex is traditional. It tends not to change its designs a great deal. It tends not to share a lot, before its launches, with the press. And, there is always a huge amount of chatter around novelties. 2023 was different. It stepped outside its comfort zone and found its mojo. Kind of like that quiet IT guy at work who suddenly comes alive at the Christmas party. It launched a Day-Date like no other. In place of the day, which is usually inside the arc-shaped aperture at 12 o’clock, there is a disc featuring seven inspirational words: Happy, Eternity, Gratitude, Peace, Faith, Love and Hope.

The window at 3 o’clock, which historically displays the date, now reveals one of 31 emojis, including a kissy face, a four-leaf clover, a peace sign and the Rolex coronet. The watch comes in white-gold and yellow-gold with turquoise as the dial base colour, or in Everose with an orange base colour. Both dials include a multicolour jigsaw motif that is almost as surprising and random as the emoji.

There are 10 rainbow baguette-cut sapphire indices that match the jigsaw. And, all are, of course, fitted on a President bracelet. It caused pandemonium. It was the only thing people asked about at the Watches & Wonders show last year. It brought me joy, but, no doubt, some questions were asked by the more committed Rolex collectors about the brand’s direction of travel. The bottom line is that it needs to be relevant and needs to evolve. This is a part of the puzzle (sorry, I had to).

There is no doubt that one of the big shifts recently has been to smaller case sizes. Just look at the Black Bay from Tudor. Among the best bang-for-buck sports watches going, it started at over 40mm in size and is now down to 37mm in the Black Bay 54.

A darling of Watches & Wonders was Chopard’s LUC model with salmon dial, again coming in at 37mm. To many, it was the best in show. And, let’s not forget Breitling, which launched a 36mm Navitimer, for Geneva Watch Days – its quintessential pilot’s watch reduced in size from its traditional 41mm. While you always have to try a watch on to know how it actually feels on the wrist, as a general sentiment, I have appreciated the downsizing movement. More elegant, less flashy.

The recently departed Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias had been with the company since 1994. In 1999, he became managing director of Audemars Piguet North America. He was then appointed interim CEO, in 2012, and the title became permanent in 2013. Subsequently, the brand went from an annual output of 30,000 watches to 45,000 in 2021, with a goal of 65,000 units per year within five years. Bennahmias did a spectacular job and, no doubt, left big boots to fill.

In stepped Swiss-Italian Ilaria Resta. Resta’s international background lies primarily in the cosmetics industry, where she led major divisions and built up global brands at companies such as Firmenich and Procter & Gamble. To many, her commercial opportunities at AP lie in increasing the female consumer base, not just for the Royal Oak family, which represents roughly 90 per cent of sales, but also the Code 11:59 collection (which has just started gathering momentum). It will be fascinating to see how she takes on such a tricky job, ensuring the fan base stays loyal while making changes to remain relevant and relatable.

One of the reasons we love watchmaking is that you can almost feel the soul of the maker in the piece. You wear a part of them every day, which is a unique sensation reserved for jewellery, clothing and watches. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the incredible rise of micro brands such as Baltic, AnOrdain and Studio Underdog. They bring huge creativity and flexibility, unlike the larger, slower-moving group-led brands.

They talk less about their heritage (mainly because there isn’t any) and more about design, inspiration and artistry. Of course, the final part of the puzzle is commercial. In the past five to 10 years, watches have transcended into modern culture, going from an insular, geeky world to a stylish, young ecosystem.

The watch world is made up of three big players: Swatch, LVMH and Richemont, which owns IWC, Cartier and JLC, among others. One of the key strategic moves from Richemont in the past couple of years has been to move away from the retails, where it had to split margins, and invest in its own brick-and-mortar locations, with special editions for boutiques and control over the relationship with clients. It seems to be working, as the numbers reflect. Compared to the year ending 31 March, 2021, sales for the year ending 31 March, 2022, were up by 46 per cent at actual exchange rates, with growth momentum led by retail and the Americas. Operating profit more than doubled to €3,390m, delivering an improved operating margin of 17.7 per cent driven by this change in strategy.

Johann Rupert, the group chairman, said, “Our maisons’ and businesses’ continued focus on client-centric initiatives resulted in direct-to-client sales further progressing to 76 per cent of group sales across our directly operated stores and the online-retail channel. We have an improved insight into client profiles, allowing us to better meet expectations, nurture closer relationships and optimise supply-chain management. While wholesale sales recovered from last year [2021], direct-to-client sales rose by double digits compared to both the prior year and on a two-year comparative basis.” Look out for more monobrand boutiques in a town near you.

This feature was taken from Gentleman’s Journal’s Winter 2023 issue. Read more about it here.

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