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We’ve covered Jay-Z’s passion for watches a few times here. He’s a tastemaker in every sense of the word: he jumped on Hublot Big Bangs and iced out Pateks, and the rest of the rap world followed. Then he swerved for subtle, sometimes vintage pieces like a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso or Patek Grand Complication, and everyone followed. This time though, he’s flaunting a piece that no one else can copy.
Read MoreAnd just as quickly as the blog boys descended upon Baselworld a week ago, they were gone. Now all were left with are a few great watches, a bunch of press releases, and a few more names on the local Rolex AD’s waitlist. Admittedly, it’s difficult to tell when all we have are a few photos and a spec sheet, but these are the watches I’m most excited to see in the metal. These are our 10 favorite everyday watches from Baselworld 2019.
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John Mayer wearing his Patek Ref. 5164A Aquanaut Travel Time
For this second Talking Watches, Mayer brought out some heavy hitters. His Rolex Daytona collection is likely second to none, and the other vintage and concept pieces he shows off tell the tale of a man deep into it in every way.
Read MoreAs I’ve detailed before in Brands, Marketplaces, and the Battle to win the Consumer, the value chain for any industry — including the watch industry — is divided into three components: suppliers, distributors, and consumers. The best way to make out-sized profits in a consumer market is to either gain a horizontal monopoly in one of these three parts or to integrate two of the parts such that you have a competitive advantage in delivering a vertical solution. In the pre-internet era the latter strategy depended on controlling distribution. For example, in the watch industry, a company or brand would focus on manufacturing (i.e. supplying) watches and then build out an exclusive network of distribution, namely by signing on authorized dealers to sell the company’s watches on the ground.
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Reporting from Baselworld, Reuters quoted a number of watch industry executives who said they expect to continue to see strong growth in 2019. This is despite a slow start to 2019 in which Swiss watch exports have risen just 2.1 percent in the first two months of the year. In 2018, Swiss watch exports rose 6.3 percent.
Read MoreIn late February, Swatch Group filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics, saying the company infringed on Swatch’s trademarks for various watch designs. A number of Swatch Group subsidiaries, including Blancpain, Breguet, Jaquet Droz, Omega, Tissot, and others are named as plaintiffs in the suit — Samsung didn’t seemed to be just as happy copying from the low as from the high end of the market.
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In our Brief History of Universal Geneve, we concluded by hoping for an eventual rebirth of the brand.
Well, since we wrote that article in November 2018, a few developments pointing towards a rebirth of the Universal Geneve brand have happened. As someone astutely noted in the comments section of that article, Universal Geneve’s website, universal.ch, is now fully functional. It only features a history of the brand and a “contact us” form, but it’s definitely something.
Read MoreIf the New York Times writes a longer-form piece on a trend, is it a bubble? If so, vintage watch lovers might want to watch out.
In a new article, the Times calls out vintage watches as “yet another easy way for the rich to make their money into more money”.
Read MoreAfter a stable January, Swiss watch exports grew 3.4% in February 2019. This is even despite a high comparison base, as exports grew more than 10% in February 2018. it’s a good sign that there may be additional room to run for the Swiss watch industry. Total exports totaled CHF 1.8 billion in February 2019, slightly higher than January’s CHF 1.6 billion total.
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The blog boys are already going crazy. Baselworld 2019 hasn’t even officially kicked off yet, but a visit to Watchville will tell you that it must be that time of year. With article after article of regurgitated press releases singing praises of a watch that the writer has put his hands on even less than he’s put his hands on the finer sex, it’s high season for kissing ass.
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Garmin has announced the launch of its new premium smart watch, the Marq Collection. The collection of watches, ranging in price from $1,500-$2,500, is certainly a move into the luxury watch market by Garmin, which has been a leader in the fitness-focused smartwatch space for years.
Read MoreHodinkee’s managing editor gets interviewed by one of the best fashion podcasts around.
Read MoreWatches of Switzerland wants to take the retail watch space, one martini at a time.
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A white gold Ref. 5970 with salmon dial
GQ on why a certain Patek Phillipe perpetual calendar is the most bad ass of them all.
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