The luxury watch industry has just completed one of its best years. After registering strong growth in almost all major markets, Swiss Watches plans to push the envelope even further in 2023. The first Watch Week has come to an end in Singapore, and I was lucky enough to see and review the first launch. Also get insight into the years, and brand strategies, from Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot.
If 2022 was all about shaping up and adopting colours, this year will be about breaking rules and finding individuality. And the confidence to be bold is evident among brands that have seen sales shooting up in key markets such as the US (27.7% growth in Jan-Nov 2021), Singapore (26.4%), UK (21.7%), Japan (19.4%) Have not seen ) and even 23rd ranked India (23.6%). It seems that the watch industry has found a way to not only survive but thrive. So let’s know what things should be kept in mind this year:
Hublot’s Big Bang Tourbillon in Neon Yellow Saxem | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
continues to invest inMaterial
The great story of metallurgy and colors continues. Hublot plays the material game with the new Big Bang Tourbillon in Neon Yellow SAXEM. Reproducing a translucent case in a bright, fluorescent shade of neon yellow is incredibly complex, and Hublot Satellite Technology brought in a solution from SAXEM (Sapphire Aluminum Oxide and Rare Earth Minerals) – aluminum oxide, sapphire, rare An alloy of earth elements such as holmium, thulium and even chromium. The result is clear: an ultra-resistant material with a luster brighter than the sapphires that the brand has already mastered. The watch comes with a matching Neon Yellow textured rubber strap. Enthusiastically dubbing the new watch the novelty of LVMH Watch Week, Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe says, “This is the first time in the world in sapphire in this dazzling neon yellow, a material we have a strong proven track record over the years. story.”
border is the way forward
Like the Hublot SAXEM watch limited to 50 pieces, other brands have also launched their own exclusive collections in limited series. With the second edition of the Desert launching in 2021, the DEFY Extreme Glacier, Zenith continues to defy conventional watchmaking and push the boundaries of traditional watchmaking. Like the previous model, the DEFY Extreme integrates natural stones with a scale of 1/100. th of a second chronograph.
Zenith’s DEFY Extreme | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The case is in titanium, while the dodecagonal bezel and pushers are crafted from a crystalline semi-translucent stone with a pale blue hue, chalcedony. Cut and polished by hand, each stone is different, making the watch’s 50 pieces practically unique. Commenting on the DEFY Extreme Glacier, Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, says, “Chalcedony has not been used in a watch before, so we are naturally excited.”
Back to the roots
One of the big stories at TAG Heuer is the 60th anniversary limited edition Carrera Chronograph. Celebrating six decades of the iconic Carrera, launched in 1963, TAG Heuer launches a 600-piece limited edition with a panda dial, adding to its reputation for creating classic, elegant, ultra-legible clean dials. In this reinterpretation of the Heuer Carrera 2447SN, the similarities go down to the black stripes under the central hands, the hour markers, the double stop at 12 and even the vintage Heuer logo with Carrera on the silver sunray-brushed dial.
In another great look at history, the brand returns with a Monza Flyback Chronometer – a modern interpretation of a timeless classic that forms an indelible link between TAG Heuer and competitive motor sport. Made from an ultra-lightweight and resistant 42mm carbon case, the watch offers the essential functions for racing: a chronograph, a tachymeter that indicates average speed and even a pulsometer that determines heart rate per minute. helps to. The watch is powered by the in-house COSC-certified caliber Heuer02 Flyback, the intricacies of the beautiful movement can be appreciated via the skeletonized dial. This watch is also a favorite of TAG Heuer CEO Frederic Arnault. Asked to choose from the impressive line-up of new watches launched by the brand at Watch Week, he dubbed his personal favorite, the Monza watch, as a reliable re-edition that brought the special shape to modernity. He added, “We realized the final product with innovation with the forged carbon case, sapphire sub-counter, flyback movement. So, this is a great modern timepiece rooted in our heritage.”
TAG Heuer’s Monza Flyback Chronometer | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Even a visionary brand like Hublot brings back the classic Fusion Originals in 33mm, 38mm and 42mm as a tribute to the sophisticated yet sporty timepieces of the 1980s that rocked the world on simple rubber straps. Shook up with an unconventional offering of precious gold. Now available in three sizes in Yellow Gold, Titanium and Ceramic with a limited run of only 500, the watches have perfectly mastered the past to shape the future.
innovation is key
Who isn’t a fan of Bulgari’s mesmerizing Serpenti watches, a model introduced by the maison of Rome back in 1948? Going through several iterations in the use of precious metals and gemstones and upping the number of windings to seven a few years back before finally settling at a more manageable five, the Bulgari Serpenti has traveled quite a journey. In 2019, the brand introduced the more easy-to-wear Serpenti Sedutori, inspired by the iconic Tubogas. The model became a roaring success, and now holds its place within the Serpenti family. But the big innovation this year has been the introduction of the Serpenti Tubogas Infinity.
Serpenti Sedutori by Bulgari | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
At first glance, you are struck by its aesthetic, which is a zigzag pattern that continues from the watch to the bracelet. This was achieved as Bulgari introduced a new modular construction of the bracelet where the rings are molded – each in a unique diminutive dimension – before being polished, gem-set and assembled onto a titanium blade. An incredible innovation that opens up a whole new world of creativity in the world of Serpenti by Bulgari. “We are changing the aesthetics of the Tubogas for the first time, it is now possible to put stones on the bracelet and that is the big story,” says Fabrizio Buonamassa-Stigliani, Creative Director of Bulgari. The new bracelet construction allows us flexibility and this Tubogas saga There is another chapter of ,
But innovation was also at play in the latest Golf edition of the TAG Heuer Connected. Available in a new smaller size of 42mm, which is also the lightest ever by TAG Heuer, the watch is fitted with the Full Shot Tracking function, a useful algorithm introduced by the brand this year that helps any golfer Helps to track your score without touching the clock. once during the game.