watchtime magazine - june 2014

5/24/2018 WatchTime Magazine - June 2014

1/144

June 2014

www.watchtime.com

Display until July 15, 2014

TESTS

ARNOLD & SONARRIVES

A JURAJOURNEY

3 9 N E W W A T C H E S F R O M S I H H

BREITLING

vs OMEGAA COMPARATIVE TEST

AMERICAS #1 WATCH MAGAZINE

BREITLING

vs OMEGAA COMPARATIVE TEST

VACHERON

CONSTANTIN

NOMOS

DIVEWATCHES

DEFINED

BonusDigitalContent


2/144


3/144


4/144

C O N S TA N T E S C A P E M E N T L . M .THE GREATEST INVENTION SINCE THE TOURBILLON

GIRARD-PERREGAUX 09100-0002 CALIBER, MANUAL WINDING MECHANICAL MOVEMENT

HOUR, MINUTE, CENTRAL SECOND, LINEAR POWER RESERVE INDICATOR

6-DAY POWER RESERVE - 48MM WHITE GOLD CASE WITH SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL CASE-BACK

ALLIGATOR STRAP WITH FOLDING BUCKLE


5/144


6/144

NEW BR 03 GOLDEN HERITAGE COLLECTION 42 MM Bell & Ross Inc. +1.888.307.7887 e-Boutique: www.bellross.com

Download the BR SCAN app to reveal exclusive content


7/144


8/144

14 WatchTime June 2014

Congratulations!Today is your day.Youre off to Great Places!Youre off and away!

Somehow, the beginning of the delightful poem,Oh, the Places Youll Go, by Theodor SeussGeisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), came to mind as I con-

sidered the contents of this issue. Two articles in par-ticular take us to places that, on our own, we would

never go. Fortunately, two great WatchTime guidesget us there.

The first places are the insides of two big-namechronograph watches: Omegas Speedmaster DarkSide of the Moon and Breitlings Chronomat GMTBlacksteel. Our guide is veteran watch tester JensKoch, part of our Germany-based watch-testingteam. In our cover story, Koch conducts an in-depthcomparison of the two watches. The story is the lat-est in our series of what we internally call

supertests. For these, our tester works with awatchmaker who literally takes the watch movementapart so that Koch can examine the insides of themovement and report what he finds. For these tests,our team works with Wempe Jewelers in Germany,whose watchmakers are familiar with an array ofwatch movements.

Our first supertest, in the December 2012issue, was performed on the Audemars Piguet Extra-Thin Royal Oak 39 MM. The second was on the

Panerai Radiomir 8 Days Ceramica in the October2013 issue. Kochs story, Dark Side vs. Black Steel,chronicles what he and Florian Pikor, Wempeschronograph specialist, discovered inside the twofamous, in-house movements: Omegas co-axialCaliber 9300 and Breitlings Caliber B04. The story isloaded with interesting details about these watchesthat you will find nowhere else, as well as numerousphotographs of the disassembled watches and move-ments. Ive made this point before, but it bearsrepeating: in a watch world awash in soft, brand-friendly, superficial watch tests and reviews onthe web and in print many paid for by the brandsthemselves were sticking with rigorous, independ-

ent, in-depth tests written for the benefit of our read-ers, not our advertisers. Youll see the WatchTimedifference in the story beginning on page 94.

The other great place that were off and away tois a section of the Jura Mountains that is off the beatentrack. In truth, all of the Jura, which runs roughlyfrom Geneva to Basel along the border betweenSwitzerland and France, is off the beaten track. Reg-ular readers know that it is, with Geneva, the histor-ical center of Swiss watch manufacturing. Our exec-

utive editor, Norma Buchanan, as part of her serieson Swiss watchmaking centers, has in past issuestaken us up to the Jura watchmaking towns of LaChaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, as well as townsbelow the mountains, like Geneva and Bienne. In herstory The Jura Triangle in this issue, Buchananfocuses on an important but often overlooked watch-making region: the villages, too small to be calledtowns, clustered in the Saint-Imier valley that runsdown from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Bienne, and in the

surrounding mountain valleys and plateaus. Its abeautiful, remote region that is steeped in watch leg-end and lore (the founders of Breitling and TAGHeuer got their starts there), and remains a vibrantproduction center. Its home to the Swatch GrouppowerhouseLongines, Montblancs Minerva manu-facture, and numerous other watch brands and com-ponent suppliers. Buchanans mountain trek beginson page 154.

I started this missive with the opening of lines of

Oh, the Places Youll Go. The poems final linesare also apt:

So be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Brayor Mordecai Ali Van Allen OShea,youre off to Great Places!Today is your day!Your mountain is waiting.So get on your way!

Oh, the PlacesYoull Go!

EDITORS

Letter

Joe ThompsonEditor-in-Chief

We disassemble Omegas Caliber9300 (above) and Breitlings

Caliber B04 (below).

The Longines factory andheadquarters in Saint-Imier

A


9/144

VISITWATCHTIME.COMt "O FYDJUJOH EFTJHOt 0VUTUBOEJOH GFBUVSFT

t " EJHJUBM BSDIJWF PG BMM JTTVFT

PG 8BUDI5JNF

t 7JEFPT SFWJFXT DPNNFOUTBOE CSFBLJOH OFXT

t " XFFLMZ OFXTMFUUFS

t 8BUDI5JNFDPN :PVS /P

XBUDI TJUF JO UIF 64

Scan this code with yoursmartphone to visitwatchtime.com

ADATABASEWITHOVER

8"5$)&4


10/144


CONTENTSWatchTime, May-June, 2014

COVER STORY

94 DARK SIDE VS. BLACK STEEL

By Jens Koch | Both have trendy black cases. Both havemanufacture movements. But which is better? In ourcomparative test, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Sideof the Moon and the Breitling Chronomat GMTBlacksteel go head to head.

TESTS

128 MATCH POINTERS

By Mike Disher | We test Vacheron ConstantinsPatrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date,an automatic watch with twin retrograde calendarhands pointing to the day and date.

150 GOING FOR GOLDBy Jens Koch | Nomos is known for its affordablemanufacture watches. With its new, white-gold Luxmodel, the Glashtte-based brand aims higher: its price,$20,500, puts it in the same tier as high-end brands like

Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Shne. We test the Lux tosee how it measures up.

94


11/144


CONTENTS

June 2014

FEATURES

48 REDISCOVERING AMERICABy Joe Thompson | At SIHH, it was clear that Chinas

watch slump has Swiss producers making eyes atAmerica again. WatchTime talked to Swiss watchexecutives about the renewed importance of theU.S. market.

58 THE NEW WATCHES FROM GENEVAEvery new watch year begins in Geneva with the SalonInternational de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). Here arenew watches unveiled by the 16 SIHH brands, alongwith new offerings from DeWitt and Clerc, who also

exhibited in Geneva during the fair.

58 A. Lange & Shne60 Audemars Piguet62 Baume & Mercier64 Cartier66 Greubel Forsey

68 IWC70 Jaeger-LeCoultre72 Montblanc74 Panerai

64

48

62 92

76 Parmigiani78 Piaget80 Ralph Lauren82 Richard Mille84 Roger Dubuis

86 Vacheron Constantin88 Van Cleef & Arpels90 Clerc92 DeWitt


12/144


CONTENTS

June 2014

110 BREITLING MILESTONESBy Gisbert L. Brunner | Pilots rely on Breitlingschronographs, but calendars, world timers and diverswatches also are part of the brands 130-year history. In

this chronology, we trace the origins and development ofmajor Breitlings like the Chronomat and the Navitimer.

136 A DIVE WATCH DEFINEDBy Mike Disher | What makes a watch a dive watch? Itsnot as simple as you might think. According to ISOrequirements, a dive watch has to pass a battery of testsbefore its worthy of the name.

140 ARNOLD ARRIVESBy Jay Deshpande | With its rapidly growing collectionof manufacture movements, Arnold & Son is alittle brand generating big buzz. We visit the

La Chaux-de-Fonds-based brand to learn about itswatches and its parent company and movementsupplier, La Joux-Perret.

154 THE JURA TRIANGLEBy Norma Buchanan | A cluster of tiny Jura villages,forming a rough triangle from the Saint-Imier Valley tothe French border, played a huge role in watch history.We trace the path of Jura watchmaking from the early1800s to the present day.

110

140

154


13/144


CONTENTS

June 2014

DEPARTMENTS

& COLUMNS

14 EDITORS LETTERHeavy thoughts from an intellectual lightweight

24 WORLD OF WATCHTIME

See the global reach of WatchTime and its partners

26 ON WATCHTIME.COMA glimpse at whats on our site to keep you up to dateon the latest watch news

32 WATCHTALKFantasy Rolex watches, Swiss watch-export data,year-end reports from the Swatch Group, LVMH,the Movado Group and Fossil, the death of the last

radium girl, and more

46 WATCH QUIZMany famous athletes have watch companies in theircorners. Test your knowledge of celebrity athletes andthe brands that sponsor them.

168 FACETIMEA photo mlange of readers and their watches

170 LAST MINUTEAre luxury mechanicals a risky business for Swisswatchmakers?

ON THE COVER: The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of theMoon and the Breitling Chronomat GMT Blacksteel. Photo by

Marcus Krger

128

150


14/144

1.800.441.4488 - Hermes.com

la montre herms tames time, mastering its measurement.

one press on the pushbutton and the chronographs second hand starts moving,

the counter hands hot on its heels. beneath the dial ticks the steady beat of the manufacture

h1925mechanical movement, embodiment of the houses high standards.

precision and elegance meet and merge, reminding us that each second is truly unique.

dressage

herms. time reinvented.


15/144

THE WORLD OF

USA

China

Korea

Japan

India

Poland

Magazines Website Apps Events

WatchTime is a subsidiary of Ebner Publishing of Germany, whose flagship watch magazines are WatchTime

(USA, India, Middle East) and Chronos (Europe, Asia). Ebner also owns the 'Inside Basel.Geneva' event brand.

Germany

Brazil

Middle EastMiddle East


16/144


17/144

ONWATCHTIME.COM

Visit our website for more information about theworld of fine watches. To read the stories shownhere, go to watchtime.com/on-watchtime.

CAMO & CHRONO: NE" CASIO G-SHOCKS

F 3+ C3@ G-S3(/ ;8(* 3;

* 86** 36* 6*3 83 /* 633

3 8*6 *0* ) ;68. T* J**

'6) 0(*) 863 3+ *; 8=0*

8* G-S3(/ 0* ? 00-03

(6336, 03-)80 (633,

) 086=-8=0*, (3*-88*6

00-)80 3)*0.

"ATCH "ALLPAPER: I"C@S NE" AQATIMERSI"C *0*) 8 6*)**) A8*6

(300*(83 3+ 0 (6.

ADEMARS PIGET LANCHES SI# NE"

RO$AL OAK OFFSHORE CHRONOGRAPHS

A03 ;8 *)0*-6''*6 0/* 8

*; R3=0 O/ C3(*8 ;8( )

M00*6= M8* R**8*6, 8* '

)*'8 +63 A)*6 P*8 8 8

=*6@ SIHH ;8( +6 ; *8 3+

< )8*) R3=0 O/ O++36*

C6336 ;8(*.

Scan this codewith your smart-

phone to visitwatchtime.com.

CHOPARD TEAMS P "ITH

PORSCHE MOTORSPORTA06*)= 336 3+ 8* M00* M0

6(* ) 3+(0 8*/***6 3+ 8*

G6) P6< )* M3(3 H836*,

C36) 86*8* 8 8* 83

83 6( '= '*(3 8*

3+(0 8 68*6 3+ P36(*

M3836368, ;( 8 J* 6*86

83 8* 24 H36 3+ L* M.


18/144

Editor-in-Chief/Associate Publisher Joe Thompson

Executive Editor Norma Buchanan

Managing Editor Dara Hinshaw

Technical Editor Mike Disher

Associate Editor Jay Deshpande

Digital Media Editor Mark Bernardo

Art Direction/Design Publishers Factory, Munich

Contributing Writers Gwendolyn Benda

Gisbert L. Brunner

Rdiger Bucher

Maria-Bettina Eich

Jens Koch

Alexander Krupp

Alexander Linz

Martina Richter

Gerhard Seelen

Thomas Wanka

Neha S. Bajpai

Aishwarya Sati

Translations Howard Fine

Magdalena Grau

Joanne Weinzierl

Photographers Robert Atkinson

Nina Bauer

Marcus Krger

Nicolas Lieber

OK-Photography

Eveline Perroud

Maik Richter

Nik Schlzel

Zuckerfabrik Fotodesign

THE MA GA Z I NE OF F I NE WATC HE S

WatchTime (ISSN 1531-5290) is published bimonthly for $49.97 per year by Ebner Publishing International, Inc., 274 Madison Avenue, Suite 804, New York, NY 10016.

Copyright Ebner Publishing International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May/June 2014 issue, Volume 16, Number 3. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WatchTime,

WatchTime Subscription Service, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834-3000, Tel. 1-888-289-0038. Publications mail agreement no. 40676078: Return undeliverable

Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 4R6.

www.watchtime.com


19/144

WHY JUST BE PRECISE WHEN YOU CAN BE THE MOST PRECISE?

MASTER TOURBILLON DUALTIME.Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978B with patented jumping date.Winner of the first International Timing Competition of the 21st century,held under the auspices of the Geneva Observatory, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978boasts peerless precision in a new 41.5 mm-diameter pink gold case. Its 71-part tourbillonregulator features an ultra-light grade 5 titanium carriage and a large variable-inertiabalance beating at a cadence of 28,800 vibrations per hour. YO U DE SE RV E A RE AL WATC H.


20/144

Management & Administration

Managing Director & Publisher Dominik Grau

Advertising & Event Sales Director Sara M. Orlando

Event Manager Minda Larsen

Office Manager Steve Brown

Controlling & Accounting Ayzha Wolf

Accountant Martha Samuel

IT Infrastructure Terry King

Subscriptions Steve Capasso

Newsstands (MCC) Ralph Perricelli

Newsstands (MCC) Irwin Billman

Newsstands (CMG) Sherry Kurth

THE MA GA Z I NE OF F I NE WATC HE S

WatchTime, watchtime.com, Inside Basel.Geneva and IBG are protected through trademark registrationin the United States and in the foreign countries where WatchTime magazine circulates.

EBNER PUBLISHING INC.274 Madison Ave

Suite 804New York, NY 10016

USA

EBNER PUBLISHING GROUPUlm, Germany

Executive Board Gerrit Klein

Florian Ebner

Eberhard Ebner

Production Director Michael Kessler

Head of Digital Development Paul-Henry Schmidt

Head of IT Jordan Hellstern

Digital & Mobile Jens Koeppe

WATCHtalkWATCHtalkWATCHtalkWATCHtalk


21/144


WATCHtalkWATCHtalk

You could look it up, as CaseyStengel would have said. BeforeBaselworld, the website Mono-

chrome, led by Frank Geelen, a

watchtime.com contributor, came upwith a list of five watches it predicted,and hoped, Rolex would introduce at thefair. (The predictions were posted onwatchtime.com two weeks before thefair.) As it turns out, Monochrome wasright an odds-defying 60 percent of thetime. Heres a rundown of the websiteshits and misses:

CORRECT PREDICTION #1:A RED AND BLUE GMT-MASTER II

Monochrome wrote: ... the so-calledPepsi GMT-Master is still high on every-ones wish list. Last year, Rolex intro-duced the blue/black GMT-Master II,which quickly gained the nickname Bat-man GMT. This year, we will hopefullysee the Pepsi GMT, featuring the classi-cal red/blue configuration, as seen on the

GMT 1675. No technical nor aestheticchanges, except for the new Cerachrombezel in red and blue.

Monochromes dream came true.Rolex introduced a GMT-Master IIwhose bezel has a red and blueCerachrom insert manufactured in a sin-gle piece, a worlds first. The watch has a40-mm white-gold case. Price: $38,250.

CORRECT PREDICTION #2:THE RETURN OF THE SEA-DWELLER

Monochrome wrote: When Rolexreplacedthe old Sea-Dweller 16600 with

the humongous Deepsea, it didnt causethat much of a stir. At first, most enthusi-asts were perhaps a bit confused. How-ever, a bit later, when they realized the

beloved Sea-Dweller was discontinued,disappointment took over. Many Rolexenthusiasts would love to see a renewedSea-Dweller that holds the middle groundbetween the Submariner 116610 and theDeepsea.

Lets imagine a 40-mm Submarinercase, with a ceramic bezel, no magnifieron the date, a helium escape valve on theleft side and a depth rating of 1,200 me-

ters (or 4,000 feet). That would be morethan enough, and it would beat the TudorPelagos (thus ensuring that the old masterwould no longer be letting the youngPadawan lead). And please Rolex, nomore engraved inner-rings like the one onthe Deepsea!

No need to imagine any longer: thenew Sea-Dweller Rolex introduced atBaselworld, the Sea-Dweller 4000, is water

resistant to 4,000 feet, has a ceramicbezel, no magnifier on the date, and ahelium escape valve, just as Monochromecalled it. To top it off, it has no engravedinner ring. The case is made of 904L steeland is 40 mm in diameter. Price: $10,400.

CORRECT PREDICTION #3:

A BLUE-DIAL MILGAUSS

Monochrome wrote: We heard rumors

that the version of the Rolex Milgausswith black dial and normal sapphirecrystal will be discontinued, meaning thatonly the model with black dial and green

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk

Seeing Red(and Blue)A prescient website bats .600 predicting

Rolexs 2014 models, including a red and blueGMT-Master II.

The new Sea-Dweller 4000

Rolexs new red and blue GMT-Master II

r

olex/ala

incosta

r

olex/claud

ebossel

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


22/144


WATCHtalkWATCHtalk

crystal and the one with the white dialwill remain in the collection. So, howabout adding a blue-dial Milgauss?

How about it, indeed. Rolex didintroduce a Milgauss model with a bluedial. The new watch has the same greensapphire crystal used for one of the exist-ing black-dial versions of the watch (adetail that Monochrome, despite its prog-nosticating skills, did not foresee). Thedial, seen through the green crystal, takes

on what Rolex calls a magnetic hue ofblue. The case is 904L steel and 40 mm indiameter. Price: $8,200.

INCORRECT PREDICTION #1:

A DAYTONA WITH PANDA DIAL

AND RED DAYTONA LETTERING

Monochrome wrote: Cerachrom bezelsseem to be the latest trend for Rolex.They have some superior properties,

including being virtually scratch-resistantand the ability to keep their color foreverwithout fading. They are almost impos-sible to replace with after-market parts,which is an advantage for Rolex.

So lets imagine a revival of one ofthe coolest watches that Rolex evermade, the Daytona 6263 Big Red. Inshort: Panda dial, red Daytona text,screwed pushers, and a black bezel. Itwould have the samecase as last yearsplatinum Daytona, but in stainless steeland with a ceramic bezel in black. Add tothat the famous white face with blacksubdial configuration, which Rolex

enthusiasts have nicknamed the Pandadial. To stay as close to the original 6263as possible, wed remove the five lines oftext on the current dial and replace itwith simply Rolex Oyster Cosmo-graph. How cool would that be?

Very cool. But Monochrome was coldon this prediction. The company didintroduce a new Daytona though, with aplatinum case, baby blue subdials, pav

diamond dial, and a bezel set with 36baguette diamonds. Not exactly whatMonochrome had in mind.

INCORRECT PREDICTION #2:

A STEEL SKY-DWELLER

Monochrome wrote: We would love tosee a stainless-steel version of the RolexSky-Dweller, the most complicated time-piece in the entire Rolex watch collection.

Rolex, like many other luxury watchbrands, tends to first introduce its newmodels in gold and follow up with stain-less-steel versions a year or two later.

According to Forbess latestranking of the worlds1,645 billionaires, who isthe worlds richest watchexecutive?

Q&A

Johann Rupert, the executivechairman of the Richemont

Group, is worth $7.6 billion.On the billionaire list he was

ranked #173.

Still a pipedream: Rolex did notintroduce the steel Sky-Dweller

shown in this digitally enhancedimage. Too bad, says Monochrome.

So far this Daytona, shown here in a digitalrendering, exists only in the minds of Rolex fans

like those at Monochrome.

The new blue-dial version of the Milgauss

Chances that Rolex will ever introduce astainless-steel Sky-Dweller are slim, how-ever; the Rolex Day-Date, for example,has only ever been made in preciousmetals. However, we dream of seeing astainless-steel Sky-Dweller, preferablywith an anthracite dial, as imagined here.

In fairness, Monochrome admittedthis one was a long shot. Rolex launched

some new versions of the gold Sky-Dweller, with different dial and strap vari-ations, but no steel model. If you see onenext year, remember where you readabout it first. (For complete coverage ofBaselworld, see the upcoming July-Augustissue.)

r

olex/cla

udebossel

photos:monochrome


23/144

Senator Chronometer Regulator. Aesthetics, elegance and precision. An officially certified chronometer combined with the classic display of a regulator. The

dominant position is taken by the minute hand at the center, while the other hands are smaller and positioned in off-center areas of the dial. To learn mor e about

us, please visit www.glashuette-original.com or call us at 866-382-9486. You can also download our iPhone application from the app store.

Our spirit of excellence.

Senator Chronometer Regulator.

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


24/144


WATCHtalkWATCHtalk

Swing TimeP

anerai has introduced a pendulumtable clock based on a design byGalileo from the mid-1600s. The

Panerai clock has two brass mainplates

that hold the escapement and mainspringbetween them. The pendulum hangs offthe clocks right side. A square windingarbor protrudes from the spring barrelthrough the front mainplate and can bewound with a key. The power reserve ofthe clock is eight days. The dial hasRoman-numeral hour markers andblack-lacquered hands.

The Panerai Pendulum Clock stands

14.4 inches tall and rests on a mahoganybase. Its glass case has an aluminumframe and a door that can be opened towind and set the clock. Since a pendulumclock must be on even ground to workproperly, the clock has adjustable feetand, underneath its engraved nameplate,a bubble level that can help confirm thatthe clock is horizontal so that its pendu-lum will swing evenly.

Galileo came up with the idea for thefirst pendulum clock, but he went blindbefore he could finish making a workingmodel. His son Vincenzo took up theproject, but he died before it was done. Adrawing of Galileos clock survived, andin 1887 the Florentine clockmakerEustachio Porcellotti used it to make aclock like the one Galileo imagined. Itwas this clock, now in the Museo Galileo

in Florence, that served as a model forthe Panerai clock.

Panerai is making the clock in alimited series of 30 pieces. It costs$43,200.

The company has also launched a setof measuring instruments that underlinePanerais link to the sea. In 2007, Paneraipurchased the Eilean, a 70-year-oldyacht, and began a restoration that took

over 40,000 hours. When the revampedEilean made its first voyage in 2009, itwas equipped with special maritimeinstruments designed by Panerai. Now

Panerai has introduced a limited-editionset of instruments based on those in theyacht.

One is a simple clock with hours andminutes hands ($5,100). Another is athermometer graduated in degrees Celsius($4,400). The third is a hygrometer,which displays the percentage ofhumid-

ity in the air ($4,400). And the fourth is abarometer featuring a center knob withthe Officine Panerai logo for adjustingthe skeletonized setting hand ($5,200).

The nautical instrumentsinclude a barometer,

hygrometer and

thermometer.

Each measures 5.5 inches by 5.5inches and is made of brushed 316Lstainless steel. The cases are secured withfour hexagonal screws. Each instrumenthas a black dial printed in the style of aPanerai wristwatch. Below the center ofthe dial is the Eileans logo, featuring thedragon insignia of the Scottish shipyard

where the boat was built.The instruments are available

through Panerais boutiques. JAY DESHPANDE

The pendulum

clock has aneight-day

power reserveand can bewound with akey that fitsover the

square arbor.

A C C U R A C Y T A K E N T O N E W D E P T H S


25/144

PATRAVI SCUBATEC

Discover the world 500 meters below

its surf ace. The Patravi ScubaTec divers

watch offers a multi adjustable clasp

and an automatic helium release valve

to ensure ultimate comfort and worry

free equalization of pressure. Created

with the highest grade of stainless

steel, its r ugged ceramic bezel and blue

illuminated hands and dial markers

ensure perfect readability, even at the

deepest depths.

BOUND TO TRADITION DRIVEN BY INNOVATION

WWW.CARL-F-BUCHERER.COM

800.395.4306

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


26/144


lems spiraled out of control. Their teethfell out; their jaws rotted away; somewould develop sarcomas of the chin andother malignancies. Nevertheless, it tookyears for the public to become aware ofradiation poisoning.

Keane was one of the lucky ones, in a

strange way: she was not very good ather job. After two months working atWaterbury, her supervisor told her shewas not completing her dials fast enoughand urged her to find another job. Thework hadnt appealed to Keane. She didntlike to use the lip-point technique forsharpening her brush, saying that the ra-dium paint was bitter and unpleasant.She went on to take an administrative job

at the company, and did office work untilshe retired. Still, even from those fewweeks of contact with the radioactivesubstance, Keane would lose all of herteeth in her 30s. She continued to havepain in her gums for the rest of her life.

Keane was born in Waterbury in1906, the daughter of Irish immigrants.She remained in Connecticut, marryingTimothy Keane, a police officer. She sur-

vived breast and colon cancer. Keane issurvived by her niece, Patricia Cohn,with whom she lived for the last 13 yearsof her life in Middlebury, Conn.

The plight of the radium girls, a darkchapter in the history of American man-ufacturing, would ultimately lead to newregulations for industrial safety and agreater awareness of occupational dis-ease. Luminous material on watch dials

today is most often Super-LumiNova, anontoxic paint composed of strontiumaluminate.

J.d.

When did watchmanufacturers stop using

radium on watch dials?

Q&A

In the late 1960s. However,the deadly technique of lip-pointing ceased in the late

1920s after a lawsuit wasbrought by a group of

workers suffering fromradiation poisoning.

Swiss WatchExports EdgeHigher

Swiss watch exports last year rose1.9 percent, to 21.8 billion Swissfrancs ($24.5 billion), according to

the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry(FH). That modest increase marks a slow-down from the year before, when watchexports increased 11 percent. The lower rateof growth in 2013 was due to declining salesin Hong Kong and mainland China, Swit-zerlands largest and third-largest watchmarkets, respectively. (See RediscoveringAmerica on page 48 for more on Swisswatch sales to these markets.) Exports tosome European countries, notably Germany

(up 9 percent), Italy (up 4.6 percent) andthe U.K. (up 18.2 percent), were chieflyresponsible for the overall increase. Wrist-watches account for nearly 95 percent ofSwiss watch exports; other products, chieflymovements, make up the remaining 5 per-cent. Wristwatch exports alone grew 2 per-cent, to SF 20.6 billion.

Since the recession year of 2009, thevalue of Swiss wristwatch exports has

increased 67 percent.Because Switzerland exports the vastmajority of its watches, export data pro-vides a reliable assessment of the countryswatch production and sales.

Obituary:Mae Keane,Last of theRadium Girls

Mae KeaneI

n the summer of 1924, Mae Keane, then18 years old, took a job at the WaterburyClock Co. in Waterbury, Conn. The

renowned watch company (which laterbecame Timex) was looking for youngwomen to do delicate work on the dials of itswatches. For eight cents per dial, Keane andher co-workers would paint a luminous sub-stance onto the hour indexes. They weretaught to dip their brushes into the paint,then sharpen the bristles to a point withtheir lips. Many of the girls enjoyed the

work, and they were young and healthy asever. But the paint was made of a mixture ofzinc and radium, and it would have terribleeffects on these dial painters.

When Mae Keane died on March 1 ofthis year, she was the last of Waterburysradium girls. She lived to the age of 107 inrelatively good health, but many of the girlsshe worked with that summer were not solucky. By the end of the 1920s, 15 of those

women had died. Similar stories emergedfrom factories in New Jersey and Illinois.Even if they lived longer, their health prob-

h

artfordcourant

Source: FH

12

14

16

18

20

22

09 10 11 12 13

SWISS GROWTH SLOWSSwiss Watch Exports

(billion Swiss francs)


27/144

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


28/144


The Long and Winding Road

I

n the future, our cars wont justdrive themselves, theyll wind our

watches for us.It may sound like science fiction,but thats the idea that Rinspeed,which designs avant-garde, lavish, andoften outlandish concept cars, pre-sented at the Geneva Motor Show inMarch. Rinspeeds new concept car,the XchangE, is a driverless vehiclewith an integrated watch winderdesigned by the Carl F. Bucherer watch

company.Rinspeed founder and CEO Frank

M. Rinderknechts concept focuses onhow passengers can enjoy business-

SWITZERLANDS TOP 15 MARKETS2013 S'i$$ Wa%ch E"!#%$ i Val&e

S)": FH

(milli! S'i$$ f#ac$)

C)(/

1. H)(# K)(#

2. U.S.3. C$(a

4. G"'a(/

5. Ia&/

6. Fa("

7. Ja*a(

8. S(#a*)"

9. U.K.

10. U.A.E.

11. S)$ K)"a

12. Taa(

13. S*a(

14. Sa! Aaba

15. T$a&a(!

Va&"

4,125.0

2,239.91,446.5

1,306.4

1,229.0

1,191.0

1,155.0

1,135.5

952.7

934.1

537.0

431.0

425.0

352.4

287.6

% C$a(#"

-5.6

+2.4-12.5

+9.0

+4.6

-9.6

+5.7

+1.0

+18.2

+9.2

+11.4

-1.1

+1.7

+6.6

+4.7

Switzerland exported a total of 28.1million wristwatches last year, a decreaseof 3.6 percent. The average export priceof a Swiss watch rose to SF733 ($821)from SF693 ($776).

Mechanical-watch exports continuedtheir boom. Last year, Switzerland ex-ported 7.47 million mechanical watches,an 8.2-percent increase over 2012. It wasthe most mechanical watches Switzerlandhas exported since 1982, and represents a73-percent increase over the banner year2008 that preceded the Great Recession.Since 2010, when the Swiss watch indus-try rebounded, the number of mechanicalwatches exported has risen 51.3 percent.In unit terms, mechanical watches madeup just 26.6 percent of exports last year.Measured by value, though, they accountedfor 77.7 percent of the total.

The unit growth for mechanical-

watch exports outpaced their growth invalue last year. The value increased 4.5percent, to 16.0 billion Swiss francs(about $18 billion). The average exportprice of a Swiss mechanical watch wasSF2,143 ($2,400), down from SF2,217($2,483) in 2012 and SF2,612 ($2,925)in 2008.

Quartz-watch exports declined in unitterms, falling 7.3 percent, to 20.6 million.

By value, they decreased by nearly 6 per-cent. The average export price of a Swissquartz watch rose slightly last year, fromSF219 ($243) to SF223 ($250).

class-style travel when they dont need tohave eyes on the road. To that end, the

XchangE has a variety of features to makeroad travel luxurious.Among them is the watch winder, which

is embedded on the adjustable steering col-umn. The winder, inside an engraved globe,holds the Patravi TravelTec chronographwatch. Whenever the car stops moving andidles, the globe turns, winding the watch.

In addition to Bucherer, more than 20firms from a variety of industries partnered

with Rinspeed to develop technologies forthe XchangE, which is Rinspeeds 20thconcept car. It is valued at over $1 million.

J.D.

U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T CU T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C U T C


29/144

18:30 18:30 18:30 18:3019:00 19:00 19:00 18:30 18:30 18:30 18:3019:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00

U T C

0

U T C

1

U T C

1

U T C

2

U T C

2

U T C

3

U T C

0

U T C

3

U T C

4

U T C

4

U T C

5

U T C

5

U T C

6

U T C

6

U T C

7

U T C

7

Satel l i te t ime in just 3 seconds

in any t ime zone on earth

Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE F100

2014CitizenWatchComp

any

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


30/144

SWATCH GROUP

Net sales for the Swatch Group in 2013grew 8.5 percent to 8.46 billion Swissfrancs ($9.47 billion). Watch and jewelrysales, which include sales of watch move-ments, were up 8.8 percent, to SF8.17 bil-lion ($9.15 billion). The results includesales from Harry Winston, which theSwatch Group acquired in early 2013.The purchase brought the number ofbrands marketed by the Swatch Group to 20.

Sales by the companys electronic sys-tems division declined about 4 percent, toSF299 million ($334.8 million). In a pre-pared statement, the company pointedout that it achieved its gains despite theextremely adverse currency situation.The overvaluation of the Swiss franc, es-pecially against the U.S. dollar and the

Japanese yen, had a negative impact on

second-half sales of more than SF100million, the Swatch Group said.Net income grew 20.2 percent to

SF1.93 billion ($2.16 billion) and operat-

The Year That WasSeveral publicly held watch companies haveannounced their financial results for last year.Heres a rundown.

ing profit rose 17 percent to SF2.31 bil-lion ($2.58 billion). The operating profitmargin was 27.4 percent compared to25.4 percent in 2012. The company saidthat the SF402 million ($453 million) indamages that Tiffany & Co. paid theSwatch Group as a result of their legalfight accounted for about three percent-age points of last years profit margin.

LVMH

Sales for the LVMH watch and jewelrydivision declined 2 percent in 2013, to2.78 billion euro ($3.83 billion). Thedivision nonetheless showed organicgrowth of 4 percent. The divisions chiefwatch brands are TAG Heuer, Hublot,Bulgari and Zenith. Watch and jewelrysales accounted for just under 10 percentof LVMHs total sales of 29.15 billion

($40.23 billion). LVMH sales grew 4 per-cent, or 8 percent if measured in organicterms.

Profits from the watch and jewelrydivisions recurring operations increased12 percent for the year, to 375 million($517.5 million). Watches and jewelrycontributed about 6 percent to thecompanys total profit from recurringoperations.

In a prepared statement, the companynoted that the divisions directly ownedboutiques did very well during the yearand that LVMH is continuing to honedistribution of its brands in multi-brandstores.

FOSSIL GROUP

Net sales for the Fossil Group passed the$3-billion mark last year, climbing 14

percent to $3.26 billion. Watchesaccounted for 77 percent, or $2.51 bil-lion, of those sales. They increased 17percent over 2012. The company also

sells leather goods, jewelry, and otheraccessories.

Net income grew 10 percent to$378.2 million. Operating income wasup 15 percent to $561.6 million.

For the current year, the companyexpects net sales to increase about 8 to 10percent. Fossil markets 15 watch brands,including 10 licensed fashion brands andfive brands it owns outright: the flagshipFossil brand, Relic, Michele, Zodiac and

Skagen. It gets about three-quarters of itssales from its wholesale operation andthe remainder from its Fossil and WatchStation stores.

MOVADO GROUP

Net sales for the Movado Groupincreased 12.8 percent to $570.3 millionfor the fiscal year ended Jan. 31. Netincome was down 11 percent, to $51.54

million. In the fourth quarter, the com-pany recorded a pre-tax charge of $7.8million associated with its decision tode-emphasize the ESQ brand. Later thisyear, the company will reallocate retailspace from ESQ to its better-performingMovado brand and expects to writedown inventory and other costs as aresult. Excluding that charge, net salesincreased 13.3 percent, to $578.1 million.

For the current year, the companyexpects sales to increase about 11 percentto $640 million and net income toincrease to about $63.5 million.Source: Swatch Group

5

6

7

8

9

09 10 11 12 13

SWATCH GROUPNet Sales

(billion Swiss francs)

Source: Fossil Group

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

09 10 11 12 13

FOSSIL GROUPNet Sales

(billion dollars)



31/144

WATCHtalkWATCHtalk


32/144


Its time to make plans to attend one ofthis years Inside Basel.Geneva (IBG)events. Now in their ninth year, the

events offer watch collectors and aficio-nados a chance to try on watches frommajor luxury watch brands, to see a multi-media presentation about the new watchesintroduced at the Baselworld and SIHHwatch shows, and to meet fellow watch

enthusiasts.The events are a joint venture betweenWatchTime and noted watch collector JeffKingston, and will be held in Chicago,New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.They consist of two parts. Part one is acocktail reception where attendees areable to spend time examining the watchesof the watch-company exhibitors, talkingto watch company executives and socializ-

ing with other watch aficionados.Part two is a sit-down, seasonal, gour-met dinner, accompanied by a selection offine wines, during which Kingston reviews

IBG 2014 Dates Set

2014 IBG Dates

& Chicago, Fida%, Sep". 5

& Ne$ Yok, Monda%, Sep". 22

& Lo! Angele!, Monda%, Sep". 29

& San Fanci!co, Th#!da%, Oc". 2

Fo infoma"ion and "icke"! go "o$a"ch"ime.com/ibg

the watch highlights of this years Basel-world and SIHH shows. His presentationincludes videos he has shot in watch-company workshops and at the Basel-world and SIHH fairs.

Information about ticket prices, loca-tion and the time of each event will beposted at watchtime.com/ibg, where you

can also buy tickets. A list of the watchcompanies that will exhibit at the eventswill be posted on the site. If you purchaseyour ticket by July 1, and use the codeEARLYBIRD when making the purchase,you will receive a $20 discount.

Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Last year all the events weresold out, and waiting lists were long, sothose wanting to attend are encouraged

not to delay.

h

echler

h

echler

WATCHquizsWATCHquiz


33/144

Attention sports fans: match the athlete on

the left with the watch brand that sponsorshim or her on the right. Note that somebrands sponsor more than one athlete.

WhosWhose?


1. Eli Manning

2. Gary Player

3. Rory McIlroy4. Ian Poulter

5. Tiger Woods

6. Kobe Bryant

7. Guillaume Nry

8. Maria Sharapova

9. Rafael Nadal

10. Phil Mickelson

11. Yadin Nicol

12. Sergio Garcia

13. Arnold Palmer

14. Lebron James

15. Danica Patrick

16. Darren Clarke

17. Tom Watson

18. Steffi Graf

19. Michael Schumacher

20. Greg Norman

21. Roger Federer

22. Derek Jeter

23. Russell Coutts24. Aurlien Ducroz

25. Li NaAnswers:1L;2B;3D;4B;5A;6C;7G;8I;

9M;10A;11J;12D;13A;14B;15K;16B;

17A;18H;19B;20D;21A;22E;23I; 24F;25A

What watch brand sponsors tennis champ Rafael Nadal?

A. Rolex

B. Audemars Piguet

C. Hublot

D. Omega

E. Movado

F. Alpina

G. Ball Watch

H. Longines

I. TAG Heuer

J. Casio G-Shock

K. Tissot

L. Citizen

M. Richard Mille


34/144GENEVA 2014

The Scene at SIHH


35/144


36/144

June 2014WatchTime 49

REDISCOVERINGAMERICAAt SIHH, it was clear that Chinas watch slump has

Swiss producers making eyes at America again.

by JoE thompson

For Swiss watch producers, America is back. Not back as inbooming or back on top. No, the U.S. watch market isrecovering, not booming, and it is still a distant second to

Hong Kong on the list of top markets for Swiss watches.But the U.S. is back big time on the radar of Swiss watch

brands. Behind the scenes, the big story at SIHH (Salon Interna-tional de la Haute Horlogerie) held in January in Geneva wasthe sudden but sure shift of Swiss sentiment in favor of UncleSam. Not since Americas luxury-watch bull run in the middle ofthe last decade, when exports surged 47 percent between 2003and 2007, has Switzerland shown such enthusiasm for the U.S.market.

The main reason for the sudden sharp interest in the U.S. isthe sudden sharp nosedive in luxury-watch sales in China. In2013, Swiss watch exports to China fell by 12.5 percent. After

a lackluster 2012, China recorded the worst result across theboard, Switzerlands Federation of the Swiss Watch Industrynoted in its review of 2013. Whats more, the Swiss suffered awicked one-two punch: exports to Hong Kong, joined at the hip

to China, dropped 5.6 percent. The 2013 results presented theSwiss with a classic good news/bad news scenario. The goodnews is that only four of the top 30 markets fell in export value.The bad news is that two of the four were #1 Hong Kong and

#3 China. As a result, Swissexports were up slightly forthe year (1.9 percent) to 21.8billion Swiss francs ($24.2billion), a new record.

Chinas fall from theworlds best performing mar-ket in 2010 and 2011 to theworlds worst in 2013 caughtthe Swiss by surprise. Swissproducers expected, even wel-comed, the slowdown in

Chinas overheated economy in 2012 and last year. What theydid not foresee was that Chinas new regime would launch ananti-corruption campaign that would tar and feather luxurywristwatches as emblems of unpatriotic decadence. That surprisesent Swiss watch exports into a tailspin. Ironically, the numberof Swiss watches exported to China through the first eightmonths of 2013 was up 9 percent. The value of those exports,though, dropped 17 percent, as hordes of bureaucrats replaced

their Vacheron Constantins and Blancpains with cheaper, morepolitically correct watches from Longines and Tissot.The consequent pileup of luxury-watch inventory in China

has the Swiss searching for alternatives. With markets #1 and #3on the skids, #2, which fell out of favor for many brands duringthe Great Recession of 2008-2009, is looking pretty good again.

THE U.S. MARKET, with Swiss-watch export growth of 2.4percent in 2013, is not a hot spot. But it is a warm spot anextremely large warm spot that is getting warmer. Thats

enough to inflame the hearts of Swiss CEOs. Last year markedAmericas fourth consecutive year of growth since the cata-strophic collapse of the market in 2009. Swiss exports here lastyear amounted to SF2.24 billion ($2.49 billion), still shy of the

AFTER CHINA, THE STRONGEST

FUTURE GROWTH FOR THE

SWISS WATCH INDUSTRY CAN BE

EXPECTED FROM THE U.S., WHICH

HARBORS VAST POTENTIAL.EmiliE GachEt, Global REsEaRch, cREdit suissE

GENEVA 2014

The Scene at SIHH


37/144


record SF2.44 billion set in 2007. But they are headed in theright direction (and are about SF1 billion better than 2009s dis-

mal SF1.47-billion figure).From the Swiss perspective, everything about the U.S. econ-

omy these days is headed in the right direction. With the stockmarket at record levels, economic growth up, the real estatemarket finally improving and unemployment down, the Swisslike what they see. Many Swiss watch CEOs at SIHH toldWatchTime that they believe the U.S. has turned the corner andis poised for a new growth spurt. They are counting on the factthat America historically rebounds strongly after setbacks.

America was the biggest surprise at the show in absolute

numbers, said Montblanc CEO Jrme Lambert at the end ofSIHH. We doubled the number we had forecast for the show.We thought that number was a little bit optimistic for the U.S. andwe doubled it. Sales were around five times more than last year.

Daniel Riedo, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, said, The U.S.market is the one we will focus on in the near future. We feelthat the U.S. market now is requiring more classical pieces. Thenumber of collectors and connoisseurs is growing there.

Vacheron Constantin CEO Juan-Carlos Torres, whosebrand sits at the top of the luxury-watch pyramid in China,

acknowledged the shift in sentiment about the U.S. Everybodyknows the cake is there, and they want a piece of the cake,Torres said. He is very bullish about the U.S. market. I believethat the USA can be the number one market again. It cannotbeat the entire Asia region. But it can be bigger than Hong Kongagain. (Hong Kong deposed the U.S. as Switzerlands top mar-ket in 2008.)

The new upbeat Swiss view of the U.S. market is perhapsbest expressed in a Credit Suisse report on the Swiss watch mar-ket issued last October. The report called China a short-term

Source: FH

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

UPS AND DOWNS OF THE BIG THREES# a*c" .'&* #% a$+ *& H&%! K&%!, USA a%d C"#%a 2009-2013

09 10 11 12 13

(SF b#$$#&%)

Hong Kong

09 10 11 12 13

USA

09 10 11 12 13

China

I BELIEVE THE U.S. CAN BE THE

NUMBER ONE MARKET AGAIN,

BIGGER THAN HONG KONG.Juan-Carlos Torres, Ceo, VaCheron ConsTanTin


38/144

GENEVA 2014

The Scene at SIHH


39/144

Source: FH

15

10

25

20

5

04 05 06 07 08

SWITZERLAND%S WILD RIDEAnn!al percenage change in "al!e of #ach e$pors,2004-2013

09 10 11 12 13

0

-10

-15

-5

-20

-25


risk for the Swiss watch industry. Looking ahead, CreditSuisse said its economists developed a model that identifies

export markets for the Swiss watch industry that are likely to growor contract in the future. After China, the strongest growth canbe expected from the U.S., which harbors vast potential.

For those based in the U.S. market, the shift in tone at SIHHwas startling. Hugues de Pins, CEO of Vacheron ConstantinNorth America, summarized it succinctly: Its amazing, hesaid.

One senses that the Swiss are weary of the roller-coaster rideof the last six years. After the thrills and spills of the boom mar-ket, followed by the deep global recession, followed by the rocket-

like rise of Greater China and now its sudden slump (see chartbelow), a few years of steady, stable, predictable, single-digitgrowth would be a relief. The fledgling recovery in the U.S. acapitalist market they know (if not love) and where they knowwhat to expect promises a reprieve.

SLOW, STEADY growth is, in fact, the forecast for the Swisswatch industry in 2014. Watch exports should continue togrow in 2014, FH President Jean-Daniel Pasche toldWatchTime at SIHH. Both the FH and Credit Suisse predict that

exports this year will beat 2013s 2-percent increase. Growth in

THE U.S. MARKET IS THE

ONE WE WILL FOCUS ON IN

THE NEAR FUTURE.Daniel RieDo, Ceo, JaegeR-leCoultRe

the watch industry is likely to pick up during this year, CreditSuisse says. We expect stronger growth in 2014 than in 2013.

The anticipated recovery in the United States is one reason.A pickup in the long-stagnant European markets is another.Over the past two years, European markets have posted someshocking increases in Swiss watch exports: Germany and theUnited Kingdom up 45 percent, Italy up 21 percent, Spain up 19percent, Portugal up 41 percent, Belgium up 80 percent.Chinese tourists are a big factor. But Swiss watch executives saythat local demand is improving. In addition, both the FH andCredit Suisse predict that China and Hong Kong will performbetter this year, even if the rate of growth is likely to be moremoderate, the FH says. Finally, the Swiss will also get somerelief from the overvalued Swiss franc in 2014. Credit Suissesays that the Swiss franc continues to weaken gradually in realterms, which should help exporters.

As for SIHH, attendance at the by-invitation-only event wasrobust (up 9 percent from 2013, with 14,000 visitors) and themood bullish. The show is dominated by the Richemont Group,with its 11 maisons (A. Lange & Shne, Baume & Mercier,Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Piaget,Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, and Van Cleef & Arpels).Joining them are two brands in which Richemont has shares

Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry (50 percent) and GreubelForsey (20 percent) and three independent brands (AudemarsPiguet, Parmigiani Fleurier, and Richard Mille).

(Continued on page 56)


40/144

GENEVA 2014

The Scene at SIHH


41/144


Baume & MerciersMessage to China

;/ 16 >;*/ + /; ;

#IHH, ;/ ;/; @< *; ;

++ >;/ ;/ "*/;

G;/ . I


42/144

SWISS MADE

Visit us at JCK Booth #PC305

)\SV]H)\SV]H(JJ\:^PZZHYLYLNPZ[LYLK[YHKLTHYRZ)\SV]H*VYW)

)

watchtime magazine - june 2014

Documents

great watchtime guidesget

n e w w

watch world

watch movementapart

c o n s ta n t e s c

great places

superficial watch tests

places youll