And Corum Clocks Out

So word has reached Tempus Fugit HQ that Corum has opted to take a pass on the upcoming BaselWorld leaving another space on the monopoly board that is Hall 1 empty.

The feedback from Corum HQ is somewhat consistent with what the other brands have been saying - more direct contact with retailers, journalists and customers with smaller, more localized events.

But what Corum (or any of the other brands, for that matter) have not been so forthright about is what that really means.  SWATCH Group, and Hayek the younger in particular, were in a position to say "my way or the highway", and the folks at the fair told them to "take it on the arches", so they did.  The other brands that have bowed out while significant, are ultimately replaceable.  No offense Corum and RW, but you are two brands that can be temporarily "covered".  I find Corum's logic for withdrawing a wee bit baffling.  The past two years there have been no shortage of journalists at their booth, and from the feedback I have received, sales are taking place.

The deeper question that I feel (and maybe I am wrong) that very few people have been asking is this - given the pricing of the fair, and the (sorry) extortionate rates for accommodation, meals, etc. ever really sustainable?  Just as the brands were slow to realize that there was actually not, in fact, a limitless supply of watch customers out there, there is also not a limitless supply of cash that your board will continue to authorize you to operate with.

From the journalist side we tend to get a gauge on how things are really going for a brand based on 2 things:
1.  Did the brand buy advertising from us (or others)?
2.  What was the swag like at their booth/event?

It sounds pretty tacky, and certainly cynical, but those are two very clear identifiers.  Rolex has come out and told at least a few outlets that they will not be spending any advertising money on "trade" publications in the US this year.  And another brand that used to give elaborate gifts every year presented a thumb drive.

I do not think that BaselWorld is going away this year.  While it is not "too big to fail", it is too big to disappear.  I will assume that they will take the hit, adjust their sense of reality, and finally come up with a realistic plan to move forward.  And for those who are saying that BaselWorld is dead and the SIHH has the right idea?  Well Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet might refute that notion.  

Again, I do not think that this is really being driven by any sudden realization that the earth is indeed round instead of flat, and that fairs have been doing it all wrong and are suddenly obsolete.  This year is certainly a reckoning, be in no doubt of that.  But at it's heart, the reckoning is about fiscal realities.

One final thing - the fairs have done this to themselves, but it has most definitely been a co-dependent relationship for some time now.  And like any co-dependent relationship, each partner suffers when the other suffers.  And on a subconscious level, I often wonder if this is exactly what each side has wanted, a reckoning.  A wake-up call that will reset the clocks and put things back to a more normal, realistic level. 

Or as that other great commentator on the watch industry (John Corbett playing Chris Stevens in Northern Exposures once 
mused -

Chris Stevens: I can see how that can be a problem. You know, it's like Jung says, "The unconscious is revealed through the imagery of our dreams, which express our innermost fears and our desires."

Bernard Stevens: Jung said that?

Chris Stevens: Yeah, I think it was Jung. Or maybe Vincent Price.

And the Shit Get's Realer

By now everyone knows that Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille are going to leave the SIHH in 2020.  It is also well documented that both brands feel that participation in shows like the SIHH is no longer really needed for them as they are focused more on mono-brand retail, etc.  The other more subtle message is that "Hey, the media we want to communicate with, we do.  deal with it!"  

And if I am honest, after receiving a seemingly endless stream of announcements about golf ambassadors and only getting watch info. from AP's duly appointed North American press agent days after other outlets have had their duly mandated head start, I won't really be missing anything.  I have even less flattering feedback about Richard Mille's attempts at press engagement, but in fairness, that is not really what I am driving at today.  Both brands spend goofy amounts of money on the types to events and ideas that seem more the by-product of heavy drinking than actual sober rational thought.  Hitting golf balls off of a building and hoping that they will somehow be caught by a drone hovering over the water with a net comes to mind.  It does, however, offer an opportunity for people in the fishing industry to add a second stream of income as golf balls hit by famous pros might be found like Easter Eggs when they are gutting their catch...

Whether or not this is an issue of a belief that participation in the SIHH is a waste of time, or if it is economic reality rearing its ugly head would require a deeper dive.  Some say both brands are on fire - i.e. doing really well.  While I suspect that both brands are doing okay, in truth we can't really know as they are privately held.   To the best of my knowledge, AP has done right by their employees and if I am honest, that to me is a key measure of corporate citizenship.  

I am not fully convinced that either brand firmly believes that the SIHH is a waste of time.  I think both brands are extremely image conscious and they love the opportunity to have a bright light shone on them.  I do think economics, on some level, are playing a part.  No offense to either brand, but despite their catchy marketing language, they operate in many ways like the other big dogs, and do not really display what I would call "alpha" behavior.  

And as I find the folks running the SIHH to be some of the snottiest folks on earth - yes, I said it - I am not going to shed too many tears for them.

The other news that I think is even more important that got buried under the SIHH hand-wringing was the announcement that Raymond Weil will not be back for BaselWorld 2019.  Unlike the two aforementioned houses, Raymond Weil does not have a wealth of mono-brand boutiques.  They are extremely dependent on the type of retail stores that attend shows like BaselWorld.  My hunch is that this is more of an economic decision.  When Movado pulled out prior to this past year's shindig I said (and still say) it made sense.  Movado and it's brands are everywhere.  They have a deep team of reps who cover the territories and make sure that stores have product.  They also have their own outlet stores.  So it made sense.  For Raymond Weil?  Not so much.  

Whether people want to believe it or not, I think what we are really seeing is a reality check for both the (seemingly) mighty and small alike that the good old days are not coming back, and they now need to exercise fiscal responsibility.  Or in the words of that other great commentator on the watch industry, Slim Charles -

Courtesy of the Wire

 

One Step up and Two Steps Back

"The American psyche is in turmoil Drew, and we have miscalculated."
Alec Baldwin - Elizabethtown

By now, it is likely you have heard about Maurice Lacroix's latest decision to shift direction once again and "go back to the future" by focusing on quartz watches.  This is starting to emerge as a somewhat uncomfortable pattern for the brand.

After deciding that the future was "high end" mechanical, dare I say it... manufacture pieces, the man with his hand on the tiller has decided to change course yet again and pointed the boat downstream.

When you make a decision that quartz watches priced at around $900 - $1700 are selling quite well, you are being observant of market trends.  When you make a decision that therefore you need to make a pretty large bet that you can now occupy that space with Raymond Weil, well then it is clear you did not learn your lesson with your migration to high-end, and pretty soon the barbarians are going to be marching into town and taking your livestock.

Apart from anything else, what Maurice Lacroix is suffering from is an identity crisis of nearly epic proportions.  And to those of us who write about these things it looks as if they are essentially trying nearly anything, hoping that something is finally going to "click".

It is not every brand or brand leader that will try to pivot so frequently, and I want to be clear - I sincerely hope that this new plan will work.  I am not a fan of failure for anyone.

The New Freelancer Chronograph from Raymond Weil

This just in from Raymond Weil -

Courtesy of Raymond Weil

A real success since its launch, the freelancer collection boldly explores design and metals. A subtle reminder of the spirit of independence at the origin of RAYMOND WEIL’s creation, freelancer displays open lines with a sleek geometry. Titanium, skilfully blending character and refinement, provides a daring alternative in this collection.

The Torch has Been Passed at Raymond Weil

Courtesy of Raymond Weil

Word has made its way here to Santa Barbara today about the change at the top of Raymond Weil.

A Little Time Spent with Raymond Weil

BaselWorld is "crazy-hectic"!  And you have to be ready to move and jump when the opportunity comes along.

Courtesy of Raymond Weil

Lucky for me, I know a guy!  So thanks to the good folks at Raynond Weil, here is the Maestro.

In Memoriam - Raymond Weil

This in from Raymond Weil -

It is with great sorrow and regret that we announce the passing of Mr. Raymond Weil, founder and Honorary President of RAYMOND WEIL Genève, maker of Swiss luxury timepieces. He passed away peacefully at age 87, on January 26, 2014.

Raymond Weil was a pioneer and entrepreneur in the watchmaking industry. In 1976, in the middle of the most severe watch industry crisis, Mr. Weil was courageous enough to found his own company and turned his idea of what Swiss watchmaking should be into actual timepieces that would bring a new dimension to the industry. He was the first person to look at watches as a luxurious accessory. His vision was to create high quality watches with superior design at affordable prices.

Mr. Weil’s creations were immediately praised by watch enthusiasts, amateurs and connoisseurs alike and he gradually put together an international network based on very strong and personal human connections and friendly relationships. Mr. Weil was an extraordinary man who was kind, affable and above all sincerely generous. He was a precursor in the international development of the Swiss watchmaking industry during a key period when this industry needed to be renewed. He traveled the world and became an exceptional ambassador for the city of Geneva and for Switzerland. He knew how to create a personal, professional and most importantly a friendly connection that even today following generations continue to immortalize and to pursue his approach of the business.

RAYMOND WEIL Genève is known to be one of the few watch brands to bear the name of the founder and still operate as a family business. His son-in-law Olivier Bernheim is at the helm and two grandsons Elie and Pierre Bernheim are the chief officers of the company today.

“Raymond Weil was a self-made man. He was my mentor and I learned so much from him,” says Olivier Bernheim, President & CEO of RAYMOND WEIL. “His legacy and enthusiasm will live on through our family, his Brand, its team over the world and all of those who wear the watch that bears his name.”

Weil occupied several high positions in various professional organizations throughout his career: he was President of the Geneva Watchmaker Union, Vice-President of the Watchmaking Industry Training Centre (CFH), and member of the Watchmaking Federation (FH) and other employers’ associations. Until 1995, he was also President of the Exhibitors Committee of the Basel International Watch and Jewellery Fair.

Other than watchmaking, Weil’s great loves of life were his family, painting, aviation and music. He was passionate about classical and lyrical music as well as about contemporary art.

RAYMOND WEIL and Labyrinth Theater Company

This just in from REYMOND WEIL -

Courtesy of Raymond Weil (Photo Credit: KineticMediaNYC.com

RAYMOND WEIL celebrated their partnership with Labyrinth Theater Company with the sponsorship of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s new play “A Family for All Occasions” which premiered at the Bank Street Theater in New York City.

YES - Raymond Weil!

Okay, I am lucky.  When I go to Rayond Weil I get TWO amazing people to show me around the both and share the latest creations!

FREELANCER URBAN BLACK - Raymond Weil

This just in from Raymond Weil -

Courtesy of Raymond Weil

Striking and seductive, a note of black color has just appeared on RAYMOND WEIL’s musical score.  Through its modernism, the first freelancer model in black PVD, the freelancer Urban Black, serves as a window to the future of the collection.  This new watchmaking instrument plunges us into a universe of intense urban sophistication for a brief moment, like the pause between notes. 

Freelancer – whose name recalls that the Swiss Brand is one of the last independent watchmaking companies – has not stopped evolving over the years.  Whatever its attractions, the collection distinguishes itself by its both elegant and relaxed appearance, its characteristic, beveled horns that are completely different from all the others, and the graphic application of its screws.  As the collection’s icon, the chronograph has reinvented itself over the years with its various dials, hands and bracelets, while always searching in the same innovational and avant-garde direction. 

In 2012, the chronograph has coated its 42mm case in black PVD.  Its black, galvanic, opaline dial has 8 luminescent Arabic numerals with silver-powdered edges.  The style is eye-catching, just like the powerful garnet red of the chronograph’s tachometer numbers and hands.  The screws, the collection’s recurring graphic symbols, anchor the applique securely around the date aperture, traditionally displaying three days.  Two small counters provide the ultimate details of a dial with completely revised parameters – the 30 minutes at 12 o’clock and the 12 hours at 6 o’clock – boldly truncated in the area surrounding the seconds counter at 9 o’clock, which is itself slightly smaller.  In contrast with the dial’s modern, graphic features, the case back is transparent and reveals the throbbing mechanical heart of the timekeeper, equipped with 25 rubies and a power reserve of 46 hours.  For its part, the oscillating weight is embellished in black for the occasion.  Finally, the extreme hardness of the PVD coating the case and folding clasp contrasts with the softness of the strap’s semi-matt, black calfskin.  Elegance and comfort. 

www.raymond-weil.com

Raymond Weil at SWISS Watch, Las Vegas

One of the most enjoyable visits at JCK was with the nice folks at Raymond Weil.  

I have never, EVER seen such a busy room!  Everybody seems to want these watches.

And the best thing about Raymond Weil, is that there's something for everyone.  For the men and for the ladies...rugged and sporty, classic and sophisticated - Raymond Weil seems to have it covered.

Quartz, and self-winding mechanicals!  And perhaps one of the nicest things about Raymond Weil - it's still a family affair, with three generations all pulling in the same direction.

There is more to come on Raymond Weil - so stay tuned!