Author Archive for Joe Thompson

WatchTime’s New York ‘Inside Basel-Geneva’ Event Sold Out

WatchTime’s “Inside Basel-Geneva” event in New York City, which will be held on Sept. 14, is sold out. WatchTime is putting names of people wanting to attend on a waiting list, said publisher Wolfgang Blum, but tickets to the event are no longer available.

Timex to Close Vincent Bérard

The Timex Group’s grand foray into the high reaches of the luxury mechanical watch market is ending. Swiss media are reporting that Timex is shutting Vincent Bérard S.A., the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based manufacturer of luxury mechanical watches, that it acquired in 2006. While neither Timex nor the Vincent Bérard firm has made any official announcement, sources close to Timex have confirmed to WatchTime that the Swiss reports are true.

Nayla Hayek Named Swatch Group Chairwoman

Nayla Hayek has been named chairwoman of the Swatch Group Ltd., succeeding her father, Nicolas G. Hayek, who died of heart failure at Swatch Group headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland on June 28. She was elected by a unanimous vote of the board of directors on June 30. Previously, she was vice-chairman of the board.

Switzerland Mourns Its Watch “Messiah”

Switzerland has responded to the sudden death of Swatch Group Chairman Nicolas G. Hayek on June 28 with a rare outpouring of grief, praise, and appreciation. Hayek, 82, was born in Beirut, Lebanon, but grew up in Switzerland and spent his entire professional life there. Hayek has been a prominent public figure in the country for four decades and one of the country’s most famous and, ultimately, beloved figures.

Watch Sales Down Again for Japan’s Big Three

Results for the fiscal year ended March 31 show that watch sales at Japan’s Big Three watch firms slumped for the second consecutive year as the Great Recession continued to suppress demand for mid-priced watches. Nevertheless, the watch divisions at Citizen, Seiko and Casio remained profitable. For the companies as a whole, only the Citizen Group reported a profit for year; Seiko and Casio both reported losses.

What’s the Most Valuable Watch Brand?
And Just How Valuable Is It?

Each year the Millward Brown Optimor consulting firm issues a ranking of the world’s top brands. MBO uses a complex formula to estimate a brand’s worth. Only one brand whose primary product is watches made the list: Rolex. MBO estimates that Geneva-based Rolex is the world’s sixth most valuable luxury brand with a value of $4.74 billion.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Watch Company Financial Results for 2009

For the most part, the Great Recession of 2009 pretty much mugged corporate sales and profits. In the watch sector, for example, the Bulgari and Movado groups reported red ink for the year. But there were exceptions to the battered sales and profits syndrome. Fossil, for one, had its most profitable year ever. Here’s a survey of the full-year results of publicly traded firms who are watch industry players.

The Man Behind the Brand: George Graham

Sixteen years ago, two young men born and raised in the Swiss watch town of La Chaux-de-Fonds and working in the watch industry teamed up with the notion of getting their own watch brand. The question confronting Eric Loth and Pierre-André Finazzi was which brand? The Swiss names they wanted, they couldn’t afford. The French brands they could afford, they didn’t want.

THE MAN BEHIND THE BRAND: Daniel JeanRichard

(This is the first of a series of articles on historical watchmakers whose names have been revived as contemporary watch brands.)

In 1986, Luigi (Gino) Macaluso, a Swiss watch distributor in Italy, bought the rights to the name Daniel JeanRichard from Lemania, the Swiss movement manufacturer. Daniel JeanRichard was not a watch brand. It is the name of a 17th century Swiss watchmaker, who was an extremely important, if obscure, figure in the development of the Swiss watch industry.

1969: Seiko’s Breakout Year

When it comes to anniversaries, the once generally ignored 40 is the new 50. This year has been marked by a parade of 40th anniversary bashes: Woodstock, the moon landing, and in watches, the legendary Zenith El Primero movement. Now, with two weeks left in the year, there is still one monster anniversary to go for watch lovers.