CROWN

There’s a lot to unpack from the first quarter of 2023, but one thing seems clear: the watch industry isn’t playing it safe anymore. Brands across all categories are taking design and technical innovation to new heights. The first watch fair of the year was the LVMH Watch Week, which Singapore played host to in Southeast and East Asia. Unlike previous years, the world’s biggest luxury group planned hub events in Europe, the United States, and North Asia. It did not disappoint. Read about the key releases in our report and interviews with the CEO of Hublot, Ricardo Guadalupe, and the Creative Director of Bulgari’s Watch Department, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. The upcoming Watches and Wonders 2023 will further reveal what brands have planned for this year. Everyone is cautiously optimistic that the…

Vintage fans, rejoice! This year is Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 190th, and to celebrate this milestone, the Maison has planned several programmes for 2023. While more will be revealed at the Watches & Wonders Geneva end-March, the watchmaker is launching a capsule collection that captures the horological highlights of its history. The Collectibles (the programme sounds like a superhero franchise) is targeted at collectors and Jaeger-LeCoultre enthusiasts who wish to acquire vintage models in the brand’s history. The collection will become part of the brand’s perennial offerings, with new restored products introduced regularly for those looking for authentic, vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces. Jaeger-LeCoultre is not the first brand in the Richemont Group to provide a curated, vintage range for its customers. Since 1996, Cartier’s Tradition collection/service has offered up rare gems of its watchmaking history for…

On 1 December, Rolex dropped an announcement that surprised the market. Starting immediately, it will be introducing a pre-owned programme for its official retailers, allowing them to offer second-hand or discontinued timepieces that are certified authentic by Rolex, with a new two-year international warranty. This programme had been in discussion for some time with its authorised distributors globally, although it’s unclear if retailers or Rolex developed it. To initiate this, it worked with Bucherer, a long-time Rolex retailer, which also has its own pre-owned retail service. Right now, the programme is active across Bucherer’s European retail network in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Other retailers can participate in this programme from Spring 2023. What this means for Southeast Asia CROWN spoke with Rolex Singapore and retailers across Southeast and East…

It starts with a plain gold dial, over which Vacheron Constantin’s Master Enameller traces out the outlines of a city – in this case, Sydney – to highlight the streets, gardens, and bodies of water. The dial is then hollowed out by hand and filled in with layer after layer of translucent coloured enamel. With each layer, the dial has to be fired at 850°C to melt the coloured glass and solidify it into vitreous enamel. Using different shades, this creates hues of blue that range from marine for the waters to midnight for the waterfront and dark blue for the streets. Gardens and parks are painted in a deep green. The entire scene depicts the aerial footage of the city, but in an incredibly realistic manner, thanks to Vacheron Constantin’s…

When we first launched the watch in 2009, we didn’t really know how people would react to the Zeitwerk. We weren’t sure if it would be a one-off project that would end in a year due to public response. But it’s been a success, and 13 years later, we’ve launched the ninth Zeitwerk model. In 2018, we introduced the Zeitwerk Date, and this was the new evolution of the Zeitwerk with double the power reserve, up to 72 hours. So in 2022, we’ve introduced the new Calibre L043.6. It’s a completely new movement with a new construction and design. It does lean on the solutions we developed for the Zeitwerk Date. In order to double the power reserve, we have two barrels on top of each other. They house the strongest…

The past year has surpassed expectations for us. There are several reasons for this, in particular, a new generation of consumers who have made their money in tech-led industries and are spending on luxury products. They aren’t buying smartwatches, but they are buying statement pieces. They want something different. And they are interested in our innovative models, like the sapphire or SAXEM watches or the carbon fibre models. When we develop a technical innovation on materials, this is a process that takes years. It took us six years to industrialise the production of the sapphire cases, and it took around three years to develop a new colour and test the material for durability. So we have to stay ahead constantly, and instead of reacting to trends, we’re shaping the trend, setting…