Sign of the times: Houses vie for cultural relevance at Watches and Wonders
In challenging times horology turns to creativity, culture and change. In Geneva, that ingenuity is on display.
Over the past two days, the watchmaking industry has come together at Geneva’s Palexpo exhibition centre for Watches and Wonders, its most important annual gathering. In between booth tours – each brand has a dedicated space and there’s stiff competition for the most creative set design – new collection presentations and plenty of champagne receptions, journalists and buyers discussed the year’s most impressive novelties, as well as the future of the industry at a time of geopolitical tension. While Cartier’s new iteration of the Baignoire was particularly popular, much of the conversation among C-suite visitors touched on how the war in Iran is impacting consumer consumption.
One CEO told me that any hopes of the industry recovering from last year’s sales slowdown were crushed when the Iran war started. Still, executives remain convinced of the industry’s resilience and ability to bounce back over time. For many watchmakers, this means investing in the future: opening new manufacturing facilities (ahead of the fair, Audemars Piguet announced a new site in Meyrin) or kickstarting training initiatives for young watchmakers, such as Cartier’s education programme, which launched earlier this month in partnership with the King’s Foundation and involves building a new workshop in the UK.
There was also renewed attention on innovation and on highlighting the high level of handwork that goes into creating a timepiece – making it a sensible investment, even in tougher economic times. Tag Heuer presented a new in-house movement, developed over several years, while Van Cleef & Arpels offered one-of-a-kind métiers d’art watches that showcase the house’s expertise in miniature painting and enamelling.
At Vacheron Constantin the focus was the new Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin, with a movement just 2.4mm thick that still offers 80 hours of power reserve – an engineering feat. “Vacheron Constantin was founded 271 years ago – and during this long history we’ve had some good times and some difficult times,” says Christian Selmoni, the house’s style and heritage director. “Through it all, you have to stay creative, you have to stay innovative and consistent in your efforts. There’s no reason to change the way we work.”
Others made a similar point: creativity thrives in moments of challenge. Audemars Piguet’s artisans began experimenting with skeleton watches during the Great Depression, while the Royal Oak was born out of the quartz crisis of the 1970s.
Change is afoot today, too. Houses are not only renewing vintage designs and pushing the boundaries of the craft but also rethinking how they communicate – opening booths to wider audiences and hosting events across the city. Cultural relevance, increasingly, is proving to be the ultimate luxury.
Natalie Theodosi is Monocle’s fashion director. Monocle recently sat down with Piaget’s CEO, Benjamin Comar. Read the story here.
