Luxury group Kering has announced that it is divesting itself of their entire watches division to current management. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2022 and will be lead by Patrick… Read More ›
Watchmaking
NEW: Federal Council of Switzerland COVID-19 update, including extension of current measures
The Swiss Federal Council made a number of announcements during a press conference on January 12, 2022 relating to the COVID-19 situation in Switzerland, including the extension of the current measures. Originally slated to end on January 24, 2022, the… Read More ›
NEWS: COVID-19 case surge in Switzerland over New Year
A few weeks ago we reported on the new COVID-19 measures announced by the Swiss Federal Council. As with the rest of the world, the Christmas and New Year period has been of concern. On 3 January 2022 the Swiss… Read More ›
INDUSTRY NEWS: Watchbox acquires majority stake in De Bethune
In 2017 Manufacture De Bethune announced that it was selling a majority of its capital to an investment consortium lead by former CEO Pierre Jacques and private equity investor Giovanni Perin. Co-founder and COO Denis Flageollet retained a substantial stake… Read More ›
NEWS: Switzerland and employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccination
It has been a couple of months since we did a piece with COVID-19 news from Switzerland, especially regarding public vaccination proof requirements, but given that the global pandemic is nowhere near over, and that the watch industry is continuing… Read More ›
The Roma Phoenix Collaboration: Schwarz Etienne x Les Ateliers Blandenier Pièce Unique
There have been a handful of watch brand collaborations in the last couple of years, and not just those which appeared in the Only Watch auction, but also for example the recent multiple watch project between H.Moser & Cie and… Read More ›
INDUSTRY NEWS: UNESCO recognises mechanical watchmaking and art
The “craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics” has been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In March 2019 Switzerland and France jointly submitted an application for… Read More ›
INDUSTRY NEWS: Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Study 2020
Deloitte have released the 7th edition of their report on the Swiss watch industry, based on an online survey and interviews of fifty-five senior industry executives between mid August and mid September 2020, and 5,800 consumers in China, France, Germany,… Read More ›
EXHIBITION: “The Heartbeat of the City: 500 Years of Personal Time”
From Tuesday 27 October until Sunday 13 December 2020 the History of Science Museum, Oxford, is hosting an exhibition on time and time-keeping called “The Heartbeat of the City: 500 Years of Personal Time”. It is presented by the History… Read More ›
INDUSTRY NEWS: Swatch Group shut down some systems after cyberattack
The Swatch Group confirmed the report by Swiss news agency AWP that they had been subject to a cyberattack over the past weekend, stating that they had shut down some of their systems, affecting some (unidentified) operations, as a precautionary… Read More ›