Casual, stylish, waterproof: What makes the perfect holiday watch The Magazine There are plenty of articles floating around the internet in praise of the “one and done”; the perfect watch that will see you right for the rest of your life, give or take a service or two. This isn’t that column. I’m definitely in the “watch wardrobe” camp and take great delight in switching timepieces [...]
Watches of Switzerland: US sales drive return to growth Retail Rolex and Patek Philppe-seller Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) has returned to growth, driven by a double-digit sales rise in the US. The luxury watch seller told markets this morning that full year Group revenue reached £1.6bn in the year ended April 27, up eight per cent year on year and in line with market [...]
Uncertain US tariffs put Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega in a precarious position Retail Swiss watchmakers are nervously awaiting a positive outcome for US-Switzerland tariffs negotiations to avoid throwing the industry into chaos. On July 1, Swiss exports in the US will be slapped with a 31 per cent tariff – that is, unless the country can negotiate a deal before then. “These tariffs… place the international watch trade [...]
Who watches the Watches? February 19, 2025 As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
Omega Speedmaster makes a giant leap back December 23, 2024 Omega didn’t know it at the time, but one of NASA’s earliest astronauts, Walter M. ‘Wally’ Schirra had taken a shine to Biel/Bienne’s pre-eminent watchmaker. Specifically, its relatively new entry to the post-war boom in mechanical stopwatch wristwatches, or ‘chronographs’, the Speedmaster. Long before its qualification as the American space agency’s standard-issue timepiece for the [...]
Watches of Switzerland: The worst is over for the luxury watch market September 3, 2024 Watches of Switzerland has said the worst is over for the luxury market in the UK as it reported steadying demand for high-end watches from its stores. In a trading update this morning, the retailer said it was trading in line with expectations and “on track” to meet 2025 guidance. Its shares rose by more [...]
Is your Rolex watch real? One in ten aren’t July 13, 2024 Technological developments have encouraged a boom in high-end counterfeiting, with CNC machines like 3D printers helping to make fakes harder to spot.
After a decade of vintage reissues watch brands are taking risks April 19, 2024 Everyone’s been taking a trip down memory lane with vintage reissues – until the last couple of years, that is