The sea change that happened in the luxury watch industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s constituted a true horological renaissance. Noble old brands were revived, new ones were born, and traditional craftsmanship dovetailed with modern technology. Makers boldly expanded the boundaries not only of case shapes and sizes, but of materials, complications, and clockwork itself.
But while this rebirth undoubtedly changed the industry, it is probably fair to say it has been petering out in recent years. One might even suggest it has fizzled out altogether.
It is a theory backed up by the offerings at April’s flagship Watches and Wonders show in Geneva, which, while typically rich in what the industry refers to as “novelties”, felt lacking in true horological creativity.
Notably, of the 54 brands exhibiting, the two that seemed to set visitors talking the most both made their names in fields other than watchmaking: Chanel and Hermès.
Chanel surprised the crowds with an imaginative range of products, highlighted by its Couture O’Clock capsule collection which, as the name implies, drew inspiration from the haute couture world of founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
Sewing needles, thread bobbins, safety pins and scissors contributed to the range of unusual timekeeping creations, which were topped by the unique “Mademoiselle’s Workshop” automaton clock.
The strictly “price on application” piece comprises a quintet of miniature dressmaker’s mannequins set beneath a glass dome, the plinth of which is patterned to evoke a sofa in Chanel’s apartment and encircled with a tape measure design that serves as the time display.
A chandelier hanging above the mannequins is adorned with glittering diamond droplets, while winding the clock with a gold, diamond-studded key sets the automaton revolving in motion to the tune of “My Woman” by the celebrated 1930s jazz vocalist Al Bowlly — a melody that (allegedly) Chanel liked to hum as she worked.
The rest of the capsule collection includes: a necklace in the form of a 10.8mm dressmaker’s dummy snow-set with diamonds and fitted with a tiny watch dial at the waist; a second necklace in the form of a gold thimble with a watch set into the flared end; and a third in which a diamond-set watch head is contained within the base of a gold safety pin.
Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s watchmaking creation studio, also adapted the form of a pin cushion into a trio of watches that can be worn around the wrist, neck or finger, as well as making a cuff watch based on a spool of thread and adapting the Première model — Chanel’s original watch design from 1987 — to hang from a chain bracelet along with six other gold-plated charms.
While all of the above might leave conventionally-minded horophiles completely cold, Chastaingt and his team put considerable effort into demonstrating something that was conspicuously lacking in the offerings of many regular watch brands: imagination.
Chastaingt says he was inspired to create the collection by the similarities he sees in the worlds of watchmaking and couture.
“[They are] two worlds of craftsmanship with many points in common — from studios reigned over by silence to the concept of time, a foundation for one and an imperative for the other,” he says.
“I wanted to open the doors to Chanel’s studios in rue Cambon, Paris, and plunge into the intensely focused atmosphere that’s inherent to the patience and painstaking care demanded by haute couture.”
He was also inspired, he says, by “the huge tables on which patterns are created, where garments are traced, cut out, pinned, basted, interfaced, stitched, oversewn, and braided — all with the same tools that Gabrielle Chanel used throughout her life: scissors (worn on a ribbon around her neck), a pin cushion bristling with pins and needles, a thimble, and spools of thread, as well as safety pins, buttons and a tape measure”.
At Hermès Horloger, meanwhile, creative director Philippe Delhotal has been lionised for designing a watch that, at first glance, does not appear to be especially far out of the ordinary but has attracted almost universal admiration.
The Cut, while not dissimilar to Delhotal’s successful H08 design launched in 2021, fits the “genderless” zeitgeist thanks to being a 36mm sports model that is ostensibly designed for women but falls in line with the small size trend among male watch buyers.
The watch gets its name from the fact that its circular shape is “cut” at the edges to create what Delhotal says is a case that “is highly complex and involving multiple sharp edges and artisan work on the material and finishes”.
He says the company took a gamble by making the Cut available in store on the same day as it was launched at Watches and Wonders, but describes the subsequent feedback as “very positive”.
“It’s too early to share any sales figures, but the collection really is doing very well worldwide,” he says. “It is proving to be appealing to both men and women, and we are confident about its future.”
Delhotal refuses, however, to be drawn on whether he thinks many watchmaking-specific brands have entered a stagnant phase, preferring to focus on what he believes buyers want.
“For some, it’s a question of emotion,” he says. “They will fall in love with a design, a pattern or a story around a timepiece. For others, the purchase will be seen as an investment and they choose what they buy more rationally. But it’s not black and white — you need a bit of both.”