the Watch Choice blog

Following on from their Calibre 360 chronograph movement shown at Baselworld in 2005, and the Monaco V4 movement shown last year, TAG Heuer unveiled another innovative concept for Baselworld 2010. The concept movement-  called the Pendulum – is the first mechanical movement ever made for luxury watches that does away with the traditional spiral hairspring.

The Traditional Hairspring

The hairspring has been around since 1675 when it was created by Christiaan Huygens as a regulator for the transmission of stored energy in the mechanical movement. A spiral hairspring has essentially remained the only device used to give the torque required for the oscillation of the balance wheel and to regulate its frequency. And it has its limitations….

TAG set out to overcome the commonly accepted design limitations of the hairspring such as – the material it’s made of means it’s affected by variations in temperature and its mass that means it can be affected by the pull of gravity. In addition, inaccuracies in timekeeping occur due to the difference between the hairspring’s centre of gravity and it geometric centre. The second part of the challenge TAG set for themselves was to keep the movement entirely mechanical which meant they could not use electronics to take the place of a mechanical hairspring.

So what was TAG Heuer’s innovative solution?

TAG Heuer replaced the hairspring with a virtual spring that uses magnets to create a harmonic oscillator. The four magnets create a magnetic field that is controlled by geometric calculations. The result is the torque required for the balance wheel. TAG Heuer say that the oscillating period of the Pendulum movement is extremely stable and because of that, it makes a very accurate timekeeping movement. The movement effectively overcomes the inherent disadvantages of the traditional hairspring. And the magnet in the movement is fully mechanical requiring no electronics for their operation so they can produce power consistently for years and years.

When will see the Pendulum movement in a TAG Heuer watch?

One of the disadvantages of the hairspring that TAG haven’t been able to overcome yet with the Pendulum movement is that the magnets are affected by temperature. They admit that it may take a number of years before they can overcome this problem. Even if they do overcome it, TAG believe it is unlikely that Pendulum movements will replace the hairspring in their mainstream models anytime in the near future. The movement could however be used in high end limited edition timepieces.

At Baselworld, TAG Heuer showed off the Pendulum movement by putting it in a Grand Carrera case where the movement could be seen through an opening in the watch dial. Don’t ask the price however as it’s not for sale!

Everyone loves a new luxury watch. The excitement that builds in anticipation of opening the presentation box and putting your new luxury watch on your wrist for the first time. But a new watch doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the first owner of it. It could be new to you but have been previously owned by someone else!

Used or Secondhand or Pre-owned? What’s the difference?

Before we look at the reasons why you might buy a watch that’s been owned by someone else before you, let’s be clear about what a used luxury watch actually is. Firstly, some people don’t like describing a watch as being “used” as they believe it has negative connotations. Other people don’t like saying they are selling a secondhand luxury watch, thinking secondhand also has negative connotations. These so called negative connotations are not common across the world however and many countries will gladly sell their luxury watch as a used or secondhand watch. The third term used to describe a watch that has had a previous owner or is not in brand new condition is “pre owned” or “preowned” or “pre-owned” – take your pick on the correct spelling. Luckily, Used, secondhand and pre-owned all mean the same thing – the watch has had a previous owner. Sometimes a watch can be sold as used if it hasn’t been sold before but has been a demonstration model or is shop-soiled in some way.

3 great reasons to buy a used watch rather than a new watch

1. The price difference between a great used watch and a brand new watch is proportionally large.
2. Your budget for the luxury watch you really want doesn’t quite stretch to the brand new price.
3. The watch you want can no longer be purchased new as it was a limited edition and is now sold out or it is a vintage model.

Not all pre-owned watches are equal

Although a watch may be being sold as pre-owned, it’s important to understand the condition of the watch. Some luxury watches are purchased by collectors or speculators who will purchase the watch and not wear it. The watch is bought and then either displayed as part of the buyer’s collection or sometimes simply left in its package and stored in a safe place. If the price is right, watches that have never been worn can be a great buy.

Other used watches are exactly that. They have been worn by the seller and are being sold. To determine the condition of the watch, you will need a good written description of the condition with describes any part of the watch that isn’t in mint condition. To paraphrase a common saying, a picture saves a thousand words, so if the seller can provide you with good quality close-up images of all areas of the watch; these should complement any written description of the condition.

A luxury watch will usually show signs of wear and tear no matter how carefully it’s worn. Typical areas that will show wear and tear are the parts of the strap that sit on the underneath of the wearer’s wrist. Metallic buckles or tangs can be scuffed or scratched for example. The bezel of a watch is often prone to be scratched as it is the part of the watch that protrudes the furthest on the wrist and is susceptible to contacting other objects. The watch glass is also susceptible to being scratched but it depends on what the “glass” is made of. If it is made of plexiglass then it can be reasonably easy to scratch but is also reasonably cheap to replace or repair. If the glass is mineral then it is harder to scratch and more expensive to replace. The best quality is sapphire crystal which is extremely difficult to damage in any way but is expensive to replace.

It’s important to understand the history of the watch, including whether it has been serviced regularly during its life. You should ask for any service receipts for the watch so you can see what services have been performed on the watch, when and by whom. If the watch is more than two years old, it would be useful if the watch had been serviced recently by an authorized service centre. It would also be useful if the watch had been restored or refurbished recently and all signs of wear corrected.

The condition of the watch and how it has spent it’s life with it’s previous owner or owners should have a big influence on the price you are prepared to pay for the watch.

What price should I pay for a used watch?

What you should pay for a new watch depends. It depends on a number of variables about the watch. If the watch can still be purchased new, then you need to consider the difference in the price of obtaining a new watch versus the used watch price. Don’t forget to add on any postage, handling and insurance costs (and customs taxes if importing the watch from another country) to the selling price of the watch itself. When you’ve added up the total cost of obtaining the new watch against the used watch, you can then understand how much money you are saving buying secondhand.

With the new-vs-used price difference in mind, you should consider what you know about the condition of the used watch and the confidence you have in the seller. This should help you decide whether you the price difference is worth buying used rather than new.

The logic of using the price differential to help make your buying decision works if the watch can still be purchased new but is useless if the watch is not available new. If the watch isn’t available new then you should search around to find the best used watch you can that has the best combination of total price, condition and the best seller.

If you are interested in more information on this subject, Watch Choice has a free 59 page eBook for download called Buy the Watch And the Seller.

Richemont Makes Offer for Net-a-Porter

Richemont, is the world’s largest jewelry maker and owner of luxury watch brands such as Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC and Panerai. It already owns a third of the online fashion retailer New-a-Porter.com and on 1 April, Richemont made an offer to buy the remainder of the retailer for about US$343 million. This acquisition will see Richemont take a much stronger position in the online fashion.

Luxury Watch Brands Reluctance

Luxury watch brands have been very reluctant up until now to sell their products online due to concerns that selling online cheapens the buying experience and doesn’t allow them to sufficiently control their brand image. According to the luxury brands, buying your luxury watch in-store is all about the total shopping experience an authorized dealer brings to the transaction. An increasing number of buyers are not so convinced.

The In-Store Luxury Watch Buying Experience

The actual experience of luxury watch buyers – especially knowledgeable buyers – is patchy at best. Sales staff in many authorized dealers are not as knowledgeable about specific brands and watches as some of their well researched customers. And being a well researched customer is now easier than ever with information that is easily available on the internet. Increasingly, potential luxury watch buyers go online to do their research and there they learn what is available and the price. And having chosen a potential watch, or watches, to purchase, they start their buying search online also.

The Trend to Buying Luxury Watches Online

The trend of researching luxury watches online has seen online sales of luxury watches continue to grow and it’s not just because the price is inevitably better.  Buying online gives the buyer a greater range and variety to select from than their local watch store could possibly provide. So it makes sense that luxury watch brands start to embrace what is a growing trend for luxury watches and other luxury items to be purchased online.

A Turnaround Around in Attitude?

Richemont’s purchase of Net-a-Porter could be the start of a turnaround in the attitude of luxury watch brands to selling online. Even though Net-a-Porter does not currently sell luxury watches through their site, Richemont could start to include some of their brands on the site. Alternatively, and more likely, Richemont will begin to sell their watches through their own brand sites. What impact this has on their network of authorized dealers and the contracts they hold with them will be interesting to follow. Whatever they decide, the experience and knowledge they gain by owning and operating a luxury goods online retailer will stand them in good stead for any launch into the online luxury watch retailing space. Interesting times ahead for those of us who prefer to buy our luxury watches online.

Have you noticed?
When you’ve been looking around for your next luxury watch – a favourite pastime of yours truly! – you might have noticed that some luxury watch manufacturers say their watches are certified with the Geneva Seal or sometimes also called the Hallmark of Geneva. There are a number of watch manufacturers who have movements certified under the Geneva Seal with Vacheron Constantin, Roger Dubuis and Patek Philippe being manufacturers that regularly present their watch movements for certification. Interestingly, only Roger Dubuis submits 100% of their movements. Seeing that some manufacturers seem to place a great deal of importance on having this certification, I thought I better do some research to see whether the Geneva Seal is important to me and my next luxury watch purchase.

Is it the Geneva Seal or the Hallmark of Geneva?
Before we talk about whether this certification is important or not, let’s first clear up the correct name for the certification. The confusion comes from when the term Geneva Seal is translated from the French “Poinçon de Genève” to English where it becomes literally the Geneva Hallmark. The certification is in fact the seal of the city and Canton of Geneva so its correct name is the Geneva Seal.

A Short History of the Geneva Seal
Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland and the Geneva Seal is a certification that can only be awarded to wrist watch movements made in the city and Canton of Geneva. If you think the sale of counterfeit watches is a recent phenomenon then you will be surprised to hear that replica watches were already a problem for true luxury watch manufacturers in the middle of the 19th century!

To protect the reputation of Genevan watches, the legislative body of the Republic and Canton of Geneva set up an office in 1886 to allow Genevan watch makers to have their watch movements inspected and certified. The idea was that only well made movements from world class watch manufacturers would pass the certification and the copy watch manufacturers would not be able to claim they had passed the Geneva Seal test.

What do you have to do to get the Geneva Seal?
To be awarded the seal, the manufacturer must jump a number of hurdles. The first hurdle is that the manufacturer must reside in the territory of the Canton of Geneva. Once you have set up your workshops within the Canton of Geneva, you can submit your watch movements to the certification process. The certification process involves 12 technical requirements that are predominantly focussed on the quality and finish of the movement. In broad terms, to achieve the quality and finish required to receive the seal means that a movement must not only be designed well but it also must use high quality materials and will require a significant degree of hand finishing in order to achieve certification.

As you would expect, the 12 technical requirements are very precise. For example, “The hairspring should be pinned in a grooved plate with a stud having a rounded collar and cap” or “The wheels of the going train must be chamfered above and below and have a polished sink. In wheels 0.15 mm thick or less, a single chamfer is allowed on the bridge side.” My favourite is “The angle traversed by the pallet lever is to be limited by fixed banking walls and not pins or studs”.

Other requirements are broader but they still impose a high standard of manufacture, for example, “Steel parts must have polished angles and their visible surfaces smoothed down. Screw heads must be polished, with their slots and rims chamfered” or simply “Wire springs are not allowed”. As you can see from these examples, the Geneva Seal ensures that the movement is finished to a degree that it is both beautiful to look at and must contain high quality materials. These attributes are not just about quality and beauty but also to ensure the watch movement will be durable and should enable the watch to keep good time.

Geneva Seal Certification

Must my next Luxury Watch have the Geneva Seal?
The Geneva Seal is about quality, beauty, durability and a little bit about accuracy as well. If any of those things matter to you, then it’s worth noting if a luxury watch you are buying has the Geneva Seal. This doesn’t mean though that other watches that don’t have a Geneva Seal are any worse than watches that do. Remember that to even be able to submit your watch to be certified, the watch movement has to be made in Geneva. This requirement alone excludes a whole number of watch brands. There are also many watch manufacturers whose movements are just as well made and finished as watches with the Geneva Seal.

For me, if a watch I’m interested in buying has the Geneva Seal and I’m comparing it with another watch that doesn’t, having the seal becomes just one of the many deciding factors I would use to make my choice of which watch to buy. It is unlikely to be the one factor that makes up my mind.

Last October, the French speaking Swiss magazine – Montres Passion – awarded Vacheron Constantin the prestigious Watch of the Year award for a second time in two years. The 2007 award went to Vacheron Constantin’s (deep breath) Patrimony Contemporary Retrograde Date and Day model. In 2009, the CEO of Vacheron Constantin, Juan-Carlos Torres accepted the award in Geneva for their Historiques American 1921 model after a unanimous vote by the jury of watch industry professionals.

Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921

The runner-up spot was taken by the Corum Ti-Bridge with third place being taken by the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronographe Monopoussoir. The Ladies Watch of the Year went to Cartier for their classic Baignoire Grand Modèle.

Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921
Hinted at by the model’s name, this watch introduced to Vacheron Constantin’s ‘Historiques’ collection is a modern interpretation of a watch produced specially for an American client in the 1920’s. The American was apparently a man of the church with a problem with talking too much! His sermons tended to go on for too long so he wanted a way to discreetly lot at the time while he was talking so ordered a watch with an unusual twist.

The twist of the dial is the most obvious aspect of the watch. The dial has been rotated so that the 12 is at a 35 degree angle on the wrist with the crown above the 12 on the top right hand corner of the watch case (or where the 1 would usually be postioned on a dial). The case itself is another feature of the watch being cushion shaped and made in 18 carat pink gold. Suiting its function as a dress watch, the case size is a not overly large 40mm by 40mm.

The dial is of a very uncluttered and elegant design with a sandblasted finish and black Arabic numerals running around the face except for the 3 whose space has been taken by a minute sub-dial. The slender hands on the dial are all black oxidised 18 carat gold matched by a rail track pattern circling the dial.

Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921

The movement is Vacheron Constantin’s own manual winding movement – the Calibre 4400 – a 28mm diameter and 2.8mm thick movement with 23 jewels that beats at frequency of 28,800 vibrations an hour and has a quoted power reserve of about 65 hours. The intricacies of the movement can be seen through the see-through case back with its large crystal window. Vacheron Constantin are very proud of this movement and that it has been certified with Hallmark of Geneva. The strap is dark brown alligator hand-sewn and saddle stitched leather finished off with an 18 carat pink gold pin buckle that looks like a Maltese Cross cut in half. Not that you are likely to take this watch underwater but just in case you do, it is water-resistant to 30 metres (or 3 bar if you prefer).

Vacheron Constantin say the Historiques American 1921 will be produced in limited quantities although it is not a limited edition model. At the time of writing, the watch is being sold online at a number of reputable dealers for between US$19,000 and US$21,000.

Reference: 82035/000R-9359
Movement: 4400 AS

Introduction
Today, the Rolex Milgauss has become a highly sought after model in the extensive Rolex collection of new watches and equally as popular as a used Rolex watch. But this hasn’t always been the case.

The Scientist’s Watch
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss, to give it its full name was first introduced by Rolex in 1954. The Milgauss is designed to withstand a magnetic field so was intended for use by people who would come into contact with strong magnetic forces. Rolex call the Milgauss “the Scientist’s watch” because it is perfect to be worn by people who work in medical facilitites and research laboratories or perhaps even in a nuclear power plant!

The Rolex Milgauss was not a very popular watch when it was first introduced and relatively low numbers were produced during the 1960’s and 1970’s before it was discontinued in 1988. In 2007, Rolex re-introduced the Milgauss in three different versions, all with a 40mm stainless steel case and the now iconic lightning bolt orange seconds hand. Two of the versions are very similar with the colour of their dial (black or white) being the defining difference while the third version – the Glace Verte or Anniversary model has a green tinted crystal, and a slightly revised black face.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss Anniversary

What does “Milgauss” mean?
The word “milgauss” has been drawn from the Latin language. Gauss is a unit of a magnetic field and “mil” in Latin means one thousand so milgauss means one thousand units of a magnetic field. The Rolex Milgauss has been tested to withstand one thousand units of a magnetic field by the European Council for Nuclear Research – a particle physics laboratory (where the Milgauss would definitely come in handy).

How the Rolex Milgauss Works
Electromagnetic fields affect the time keeping accuracy of a watch movement so the movement needs to be shielded against these disruptive fields. Rolex developed and incorporated two types of shields into the Milgauss. Both shields are made of ferromagnetic alloys and one of the shields is screwed to the movement while the other is screwed to the case of the watch.

The other critical part of the movement that is affected by electromagnetic fields and leads to loss of accuracy is the oscillator. In most watches, the oscillator is made of a ferromagnetic alloy which can be affected by magnetic fields and shocks. To protect the oscillator, Rolex created a new hairspring made out of a paramagnetic alloy and called it the blue Parachrom. Rolex say this hairspring is up to 10 times more resistant to shocks and most importantly, is resistant to electromagnetic fields.

Although not specific to the Milgauss, the watch case is made with 904L steel which is highly resistant to corrosion – another reason why this watch is dubbed The Scientist’s Watch.

Buying a New or Used Rolex Milgauss
Because the early models of the Rolex Milgauss weren’t very popular, not many come up for sale on the used or vintage watch market. Like any Rolex of note or special interest, a Milgauss from the 1960’s or 1970’s in excellent condition with papers and service history will fetch a good price on the used watch market.

When the Rolex Milgauss was re-introduced in 2007, they were so sought after that new watches were being sold at up to double their recommended retail price. The market has since settled down with most models available at retail price or lower. It is the Anniversary model with its green tinted crystal, black dial and orange highlights that generates the most interest. Interestingly, this model is the only model in the whole Rolex line that has a tinted crystal and therefore it stands out amongst all other Rolex watches.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss - White Dial

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss - Black Dial

The Appearance of Tourbillons
Tourbillons started appearing on the faces of luxury watches about a decade ago at the start of the new century. A number of watch manufacturers released models displaying a tourbillon mechanism and the number of manufacturers with a tourbillon watch in their range has steadily increased over the decade where now you can find well over 100 brands with tourbillon watches – such as the Audemars Piguet Millenary range.

How Do I Say That?
Before we discuss what a tourbillon is and what a tourbillon does, let’s impress our friends with how we can pronounce it! The English phonetic pronunciation is tore-bill-yon, which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but spoken with confidence should mark you out as a certified watch geek.

What Is A Tourbillon?
So what is a tourbillon? The tourbillon was invented in 1785 by Abraham-Louis Breguet and was designed to increase the timekeeping accuracy of pocket watches. Pocket watches were all the rage at the time as it was still 83 until Patek Phillipe invented the first watch to be worn on the wrist. The movement inside the watch case of a pocket watch is mostly held in a vertical position as it rests upright in the wearer’s pocket. Of course when reading the time, the pocket watch is rotated into a horizontal position. It was this movement of the movement that horologists believed resulted in reduced accuracy due to the forces of gravity acting on the movement.

Breguet invented a mechanism that was designed to average out the effect of gravity. The tourbillon is an assembly that includes the balance wheel, the escape wheel, the hairspring and the pallet fork inside a cage that rotates. It is the rotating cage that is exposed on the face of tourbillon watches – so you can marvel at the watchmaking artistry of the manufacturer and so your friends know you have a tourbillon watch. The cage rotates continuously and most will complete a full rotation in a minute.

Tourbillon Mechanism

What’s Driving the Demand for Tourbillons?
Many believe the tourbillon is the most complicated mechanism in watch making and shows off the watchmaking skill of the manufacturer. This belief has driven much of the consumer demand for tourbillon watches as watch aficionados covet the mechanical sophistication of the tourbillon. The complexity of the tourbillon has also driven watch manufacturers to include a tourbillon watch in their collections to show they had the skill to produce a tourbillon movement.

Breguet 4199 Single Tourbillon

When Just One is Not Enough
For the Franck Muller watch brand, one tourbillon wasn’t enough. They took the single tourbillons of other brands and raised them a tourbillon. In 2003 they introduced the Revolution 2 with one tourbillon rotating vertically while the other one rotated horizontally. Then came the watch with three tourbillons and in 2008, Gruebel Forsey released the Quadruple Tourbillon. Perhaps Gruebel Forsey should have made the watch case a little bigger as it doesn’t look like they could quite fit the four tourbillons in as it protrudes slightly from the case. In a race that seems to be mirroring razor blades where we now have the Gillette Fusion 5 bladed razor, it can only be a matter of time before the Fusion Tourbillon from [insert Swiss watch brand here] is released with five tourbillons.

Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon

So Do You Need a Tourbillon in Your Watch?
The answer to this is very simple – no, you definitely do not need a tourbillon. But that’s the wrong question. If the question was “Are tourbillons amazingly intricate pieces of mechanical wizardary and if I could afford a watch with a tourbillon should I consider buying one?” then the answer is most definitely probably – yes. The fact that tourbillons were designed to improve the accuracy of pocket watches and that some say tourbillons in wrist watches may reduce the accuracy of the watch is not that important.

Everyone knows that luxury mechanical watches aren’t about telling time accurately. Toubillons are interesting because of what they are. We don’t need one but we don’t need a mechanical watch with a moon phase, GMT, tachymetre or stop that record time down to the 1/1000 of a second either. Let’s just appreciate the tourbillon for what it is – a show of watch making prowess.

The Race Was On
In the mid 1960’s, a number of watch manufacturers were working on producing the world’s first self winding chronograph movement. One group of manufacturers thought that by pooling their knowledge and resources they could share in the glory of being the first. Heuer (now known as TAG Heuer), Hamilton-Büren, Breitling and Dubois Dépraz set up a consortium and began working on prototype self winding chronograph movements. At the same time, Zenith were also working on their own prototype and on 10 January 1969 narrowly won the race to release their own movement.

First and with Innovative New Features
Maybe to make sure that everyone knew they were the first, Zenith called their new movement “El Primero” – Spanish for “The First”. The El Primero wasn’t just the first, it had a number of innovations not seen before in a watch movement. The elapsed time function could measure intervals to an accuracy of 1/10 of a second due to the movement having a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour (vph). The movement also utilised molybdenum sulphide for dry lubrication and a date display that could be changed immediately.

Beside these innovations and being the first self winding chronograph movement, one of the most amazing features was that it was also the slimmest automatic movement at only 6.5 mm’s. It took 19 years for that record to be beaten when Frederic Piguet introduced a movement that was 1 mm thinner at 5.5 mm.

Production Interrupted
Unfortunately, the El Primero can’t claim 40 years of continuous production. In the 1970,s the then American owners of Zenith were facing the massive swing away from mechanical movements to the new demand for quartz movements. The future for mechanical movements was looking very dim so production was stopped. It was not Zenith had been bought by new Swiss owners and with an order from Ebel for an automatic movement, the production of the El Primero recommenced in 1986.

The Birthday Models
At the 2009 Baselworld fair in Basel, Switzerland, Zenith released two new model lines to celebrate the 40^th birthday for the El Primero movement. These model lines will be only be available in 2009 and will be produced in limited and numbered editions. As you would expect, both model lines use the El Primero movement which – like most things – has been improved and refined over the years but still has the same basic DNA.

The Originals Model Line
The Originals model line is very similar to the original 1969 El Primero watch with its distinctive date window between 4 and 5 o’clock on the dial as well as other details such as the crown, pushers, hands and dial. One area where the new Original differs is that the 3 sub dials now slightly overlap each other but the overall impression is of a very similar, retro styled watch that remains faithful to the original watch.

The New Vintage 1969 Model Line
The other model line released at Baselworld was the New Vintage 1969. The three sub dials on this model range do not overlap and have an El Primero jubilee logo placed at the 7 o’clock position on the dial. The New Vintage 1969 also have a see-through case back where you can appreciate the El Primero movement behind the sapphire crystal glass. It’s easy to spot variations of this model as they feature a stripe on the dial in traditional Zenith colours.

If you want an El Primero movement but don’t like the 40^th anniversary models, the El Primero movement powers other watches in the Zenith collection, like the Chronomaster, Academy and Class collections as well as the Defy, Port Royal, Star and Starissime ranges.

So if retro styled automatic movement chronograph watches interest you, you will want to have a look at these Zenith El Primero birthday models. As they are only being produced in 2009 and with limited volumes, you better be in quick. If you miss out, you might have to keep an eye out for a good pre owned watch.

Swiss Luxury Watch Exports

In 1986, Swiss luxury watch exports totaled a not insignificant £2.5 billion and rose to a massive £10 billion in 2008. Total sales in 2008 will finish ahead of 2009 sales as the impact of the Global Financial Crisis began to hit luxury watch sales from the middle of 2008. Sales of Swiss luxury watches however were setting new records each year in the years leading up to 2008 showing that the popularity of luxury watches were at unprecedented levels.

So what was driving the popularity of luxury watches and will we ever see sales of luxury watch recover to their pre-GFC levels?

What Owning a Luxury Watch Is NOT About

Before we can answer the question about whether luxury watch sales will recover to their pre-GFC levels, we first have to look at why luxury watches were so popular.

We know that the primary reason for owning and wearing a luxury watch is not about knowing the time of day. If you are reading this on your computer screen, I’m sure you can see what time it is. You probably also have your mobile phone close to hand which will tell you the time of day. Some luxury watches will have other functions beside the time such as the date and some chronongraph watches will have a stop watch or lap timer but these are also found on many mobile or smart phones. So you don’t need a Rolex or Omega to tell you these things, you have numerous other ways to easily tell the time.

And luxury watches aren’t really about telling the exact time either. The trend in luxury watches is away from quartz watch movements that keep very good time towards mechanical watch movements which are often not as accurate as a Swatch or cheap digital watch from the supermarket. So if anyone tells you they have a TAG Heuer or Breitling luxury watch because it keeps great time, the chances are that’s not the truth.

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The trend for the size of mens watches to increase was first seen more than 5 years ago. Watches with cases of over 40mm are now commonplace and men can now been seen wearing watches us to 50mm or even larger. Not only have watch sizes grown for men, they have also grown for women and women are wearing watches with previously unheard of diameters of 38mm or more.

We all know that luxury watch styles are subject to changes in fashion and a number of watch commentators have been signaling the end of the “big watch” watch fashion for more than a year. So, are we seeing watch manufacturers release new models with reduced sizes or are big watches still big news?

Panerai – a classic example of the large watch

Some watch manufacturers are known for their large watch sizes and heading that list is Panerai whose range is made up of watches that most commonly have case sizes of 44mm or 45mm. Panerai’s history is making watches for the Italian Navy so their watches were designed to have large legible dials that could be read underwater. Not only is the case large but added to the already substantial size is the width of the patented locking mechanism for the crown. The immense popularity of Panerai watches and the passion of the Paneristi (Panerai fans and collectors) have helped to make the large watch a more common sight. If Panerai think the demand for large watches is subsiding, they aren’t showing it. In fact, early in 2009 they announced the re-release of a limited model they made for the Egyptian Navy in the 1950’s called the Radiomir Egiziano. The Egiziano measures a barely wearable 60mm and is already sold out!

Panerai Radiomir Egiziano on the wrist

More good news for the large wristed

So Panerai aren’t showing any signs of reducing their watch case sizes and neither are a number of other popular brands. Hublot who can’t make enough of the 44mm Big Bang model they first introduced in 2005 (see earlier blog) aren’t slowing down and continue to release new variations of the Big Bang to an eager public. U-boat are known for their large watch sizes with case diameters in their model range of up to 64.4mm and other watches sized at a still daunting 52 and 56mm.

If you need more evidence that big watches are still big news, you don’t have to look any further than Cartier who are not known for their large case sizes but have preferred more elegant designs with more discreet sizes. This year Cartier introduced the Rotonde Tourbillon Sapphire Skeleton with a beautiful dial with the numerals carved out of a single block of platinum and a case of 50mm. So not only is the large watch trend still going strong but it seems to be growing as well.

Cartier Rotonde Tourbillon Sapphire Skeleton

For a large watch to look right on your wrist, it needs to be in the right proportion to your wrist width. The right proportion however isn’t documented anywhere – there is no official rule book on the watch case size to wrist width ratio – that I know of. So the size of watch that your wrist can “carry off” is really a matter for your own personal taste. And that’s the way it should be.

The only way to know if a watch going to be too big for your wrist is to try it on at the store or if you have a watch of a similar size, you might be able to imagine the size on your wrist. I recently purchased a large watch online and I didn’t have the opportunity to physically try the watch on my wrist. To get an idea whether the watch was going to be too big for me or not, I printed off a picture of the watch, re-sized it on a photocopier to the actual size and attached it to my wrist. You could use a scanned image of the watch to achieve the same result. Admittedly this is not a very sophisticated solution but did give me some confidence the watch wouldn’t overpower my wrist when I finally got to put it on.

Are big watches here to stay?

The trend for big watches is likely to continue for some time yet and in my opinion may continue indefinitely. Most watch manufacturers will continue to offer a variety of models and sizes in their collections which will mean that small, medium and large sized watches will be offered if not by the same manufacturer, at least they will be available from a number of manufacturers in the market. So if genetics haven’t given you a large wrist, don’t despair, the wide wide world of watches will still have a watch for you.