How the luxury watch boom has rolled into 2022: timepieces are selling out at Hermès and other brands, while Watches and Wonders returned to Geneva as the pandemic eases

Apr 11 , 2022

In a sign of the robust health of the sector, the booths of many luxury watch manufacturers – including that of Panerai, owned by Richemont group – were busy on the opening day of the Watches and Wonders Geneva show, in Geneva on March 30, 2022. Photo: AFP

Times have been so good recently for luxury watchmakers that they are running behind demand, forcing some to delay the release of new collections and others to invest more in production capacity.

Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer Vacheron Constantin’s display on the opening day of the Watches and Wonders Geneva show, on March 30, the first physical show after two years of pandemic-induced virtual shows. Photo: AFP

After the pandemic severely hit the global economy in 2020, the sector enjoyed a spectacular recovery last year and started 2022 with a bang, though Russia’s war in Ukraine created new uncertainties.

Swiss watch designer and manufacturer Rolex’s stand, on the opening day of the Watches and Wonders Geneva show. Photo: AFP

Watches were the best performing segment for French luxury group Hermès last year, with sales soaring by 73 per cent, though items such as the brand’s coveted Birkin bags continue to do well too.

The Hermès booth at the Watches and Wonders exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 30. Photo: Reuters

“We had an extraordinary year in the watches business,” Hermès vice-president Guillaume de Seynes said at Watches and Wonders in Geneva, which took place from March 30 to April 5, one of the industry’s biggest annual showcases.

“We can feel a very strong dynamic for watchmaking everywhere in the world,” he said, adding that there was hot demand for a men’s watch model last year.

“We could have even sold more if we had been able to make more,” de Seynes said, noting that watchmakers face a “demand phenomenon that exceeds production capacity”.

His priority for 2022 is to invest in production.

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Oris’ Chronos Limited Edition. Photo: Oris

The Oris brand also had “a very strong year”, said its chief executive Rolf Studer.

Oris watches range between 1,800 and 7,200 Swiss francs (US$1,940 and US$7,800).

The company had to delay the launch of a new collection in a higher price range because it could not produce enough watch movements – the complex internal mechanisms beloved of collectors.

The watch was supposed to come out last summer but is only launching now.

“We planned too conservatively,” Studer said.

“So we decided to keep the movements for the watches that were already out instead of launching new models and not being able to supply existing models already on the market,” he added.

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Oris’ Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date. Photo: Oris

Swiss watch exports rebounded last year, rising by 31.2 per cent after a 21.8 per cent contraction in 2020, when countries closed borders and went into strict Covid-19 lockdowns.

Exports have not only exceeded pre-pandemic levels – they beat their previous record from 2014, too.

They went up by almost 16 per cent in the first two months of this year, according to industry data, though the recovery has been seen only in watches worth more than 3,000 Swiss francs (US$3,200).

Vacheron Constantin’s diamond Egerie Moon Phase watch is displayed on the opening day of the Watches and Wonders Geneva show, on March 30. Photo: AFP

The sector is now bracing for the fallout from the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, which has a sizeable rich client base.

But the industry can surely rely on long wait-lists for higher-end timepieces.

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Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie’s logo makes a confident statement at the Watches and Wonders exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 30. Photo: Reuters

“Since we didn’t have enough watches for other markets, we will sell those that won’t be delivered to Russia elsewhere,” Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, said.

All of his 2022 production is already pre-sold to retailers and partly prepaid by final customers.

H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton and Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green. Photo: H. Moser & Cie

H. Moser only makes 2,000 watches per year at an average price of 45,000 Swiss francs (US$48,500). The watchmaker is even rejecting orders for timepieces that require a more than two-year wait.

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“There’s uncertainty that can be created in other markets, particularly financial markets,” Meylan said.

“But we would have to have a big crash for an independent brand like ours to be affected,” he added.

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Timepieces

Hermès vice-president Guillaume de Seynes saw an increase of 73 per cent in its watch division, while H. Moser & Cie’s 2022 watches sold out in pre-production
Demand outweighed supply for Oris too, causing delays to the release of its latest collection – but now brands have sanctions against Russia to contend with