Philippe Dufour is setting salerooms alight; WatchBox has invested in De Bethune; Chrono24 has secured LVMH-backed funding; Watchfinder is presenting all the James Bond watches in its Paris showroom; Richard Mille has launched a certified network for its pre-owned watches… for watch fans, the moving and shaking is on the pre-owned market.
Who would have thought that an anti-establishment musical manifesto would inspire diamond-smothered watches and unorthodox marketing strategies? Incandescent, unpredictable, forty years after its official demise, punk is as powerful as ever.
The 1960s and ‘70s are widely remembered as a time of freedom and fantasy. Always quick to claim inspiration from these decades, in reality very few watchmakers dare to truly embrace such a bold aesthetic.
Among the hot reds and forest greens of the year’s new releases, black continues to hold its own as the perfect compliment to the intricate mechanisms beneath the dial.
Dials sporting Pac-Man characters or in marshmallow pink… on watches priced considerably higher than an arcade game or a packet of candy. Fine crafting meets pop imagery: a paradox that echoes changes to our era and to our relationship with luxury.
Consumer demand for sustainability has sent brands in search of alternatives to animal leather. This includes watchmakers, which are introducing straps in plant-based biomaterials.