The lure of steel

Almost 50 years after the first watch on the moon, brands are coming back down to earth. No more vertical lift-offs, stratospheric prices or free-floating dreams. It’s back to the reality of the markets and what customers want, a fact borne out by a non-negligible share of the watches on show at this year’s Baselworld, and by the inroads steel has made in numerous collections, whether for the first time or after a long absence. First observed earlier in the year at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (see Watchmakers steel themselves for tougher times), the trend for steel dug in its heels in Basel, and will very probably gain traction over the coming months. Its influence can be seen in virtually every price segment, proof that watchmakers can no longer take quite so many liberties, and that customers are no longer willing to sign a blank cheque. In a word, a watch buyer “wants his money’s worth” and brands have no choice than to adapt their offering.

The place to be?

The phenomenon has been bubbling under for almost two years, enabling brands such as Longines to win over customers who were falling back on more affordable ranges, with spectacular results. However, it takes time to respond to change, and even more time to develop new products, hence why we have had to wait until 2016 for more brands to properly adapt their products to the new deal. At Longines, again, it’s a source of amusement to see high-volume brands reposition themselves in the CHF 1,500/3,000 segment, “proof that our positioning makes sense,” says CEO Walter von Känel. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: the brand recently released The Longines RailRoad, a watch inspired by a 1960 model that continues on the same track, so to speak, with a self-winding movement inside a 40-mm steel case with engraved back (CHF 1,700).

After repositioning and boosting the number of products under CHF 5,000, TAG Heuer is introducing a number of watches in line with this strategy, including the new Aquaracer 300M in steel (CHF 2,000). Corum, meanwhile, is reviving its Bubble collection with a slew of models, mostly in steel (from CHF 3,200). Tudor, already positioned in this segment, has every intention of staying there, with products such as the Heritage Black Bay Dark in black PVD steel and driven by the in-house MT 5602 movement (CHF 4,250).

While steel is the logical choice for all these brands which target the median segment, they are no less concerned with offering “aggressive” pricing without sacrificing margins. The situation ultimately isn’t that different higher up the ladder, among the lower-volume brands which, as already seen at SIHH, are bringing out new models or collections directly in steel, or launching steel versions of watches that were previously available in precious metals only.

Getting complicated

Blancpain is a prime example. It has released a Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT in steel (CHF 25,500 versus CHF 36,500 for the equivalent in gold). Jaquet Droz is now proposing several steel versions of its Grande Seconde, including the Grande Seconde Dual Time (CHF 15,200 versus CHF 25,500 for the pink gold version with grand feu enamel dial). Over at Ulysse Nardin, the new Marine Chronograph Annual Calendar comes straight to the market in steel (CHF 11,900).

Still on the complications front, Chopard presents a steel rendition of its Perpetual Calendar, together with an L.U.C XPS 1860 ultra-thin, now also in steel (CHF 8,400). Bulgari follows suit with the Octo Solotempo Ultranero in black DLC steel (CHF 6,900). Chanel (CHF 4050), meanwhile, is putting its Boy.Friend collection, introduced last year, into steel. So who’s next?