Swiss Watchmakers Sound Upbeat on US as Long as Stocks Last
A surge in exports in July should shield Swiss watch brands from the full impact of a new 39 percent U.S. tariff
Watches
A Pop From Colour: Watch Brands Turn to Bold Hues to Boost Sales
From Tiffany blue to Barbie pink, distinctive colours are driving consumer interest in a slowing watch market, helping industry giants like Rolex and startups like Norqain alike court new buyers — especially younger collectors and women.
Swiss Watchmakers Battle for Their Future
The sector is facing double-digit sales declines and a crisis of relevance. ‘A watch has become a cultural object of sophistication… but culture has to constantly reinvent, otherwise it can disappear,’ said former Cartier boss Cyrille Vigneron.
Is the Secondary Watch Market Turning a Corner?
After three years of declines, prices of pre-owned watches appear to have bottomed out.
How to Revive a Sleeping Beauty Watch Brand
A group of investors is reviving has 'resurrected' the Danish watch company Urban Jürgensen, a 250-year-old name revered by connoisseurs but largely unknown outside that bubble.
Can Swiss Watches Compete on Value?
The price of Swiss watches has continued to rise, leaving watchmakers battling to bolster their value propositions amid a downturn in luxury spending.
Behind-the-Scenes at Watches and Wonders Geneva
CEOs of the Geneva watch fair’s organising foundation, LVMH’s watchmaking division, Piaget and Breitling sound off on the latest edition. Bulgari has entered the fold, but Breitling, Audemars Piguet and Swatch continued to snub the expo.
How Rolex Makes a New Watch
Inside the painstaking design and development of the brand’s new Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller.
Can Breitling Revitalise Watchmaking’s Troubled Middle Market?
The Swiss brand revealed a new collection fronted by Austin Butler and priced from $5,600 — considered a competitive price point for watches with in-house mechanical movements — as well as relaunching the Gallet brand with watches to be priced from $3,300. The moves defy the industry’s recent focus on top-end launches.
Richard Mille and Ferrari Bucked Luxury’s Slowdown. Now They’re Releasing a $1.5 Million Watch
Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille is renewing its deal with Ferrari and its F1 team. Limited quantities and savvy marketing plays have helped the brand build a $1.7 billion business—and steer clear of a downturn plaguing the luxury watch sector.
Vanguart: How an Eight-Year-Old Startup Sells $200,000 Watches
Scarcity, innovation and the right investors have allowed Vanguart, Biver and more build top-end watchmaking businesses from scratch.
At Watches of Switzerland, Rolex Demand Is Fuelling Retail Expansion
As the watch industry braces for US tariffs, Watches of Switzerland is opening one of Europe’s largest Rolex boutiques in London in a bet that demand will remain resilient.
How Vacheron Constantin Is Engaging the Next Generation in Abu Dhabi
As the luxury watch brand celebrated its 270th anniversary, BoF’s Nick Blunden moderated a panel featuring Vacheron Constantin’s heritage and style director Christian Selmoni, author and artist Alia Al Shamsi, and editor of The National’s Luxury Magazine Nasri Atallah, to unpack how heritage brands can resonate authentically in the UAE.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF
Jean-Christophe Babin Named CEO of LVMH Watches
LVMH has appointed Jean-Christophe Babin to the helm of LVMH Watches, succeeding LVMH-scion Frédéric Arnault, the group announced in a statement on Friday. The role oversees LVMH’s watch brands TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith. Babin will maintain his position as CEO of Bulgari.
Rolex Fined $100 Million for Thwarting Online Watch Sales
Rolex was fined about $100 million by France’s antitrust agency for pursuing an illegal decade-long crackdown on distributors selling the Swiss firm’s luxury watches online.