{"id":631,"date":"2011-06-10T08:20:10","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T07:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/preprod.gmtmag.com\/?p=631"},"modified":"2012-10-15T09:40:19","modified_gmt":"2012-10-15T08:40:19","slug":"worldtempus-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/business-n-en\/worldtempus-2\/worldtempus-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Worldtempus : Highlights from the past quarter-year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Swiss watch industry<\/strong> had never yet had to deal with such a highly rated franc in relation to the benchmark dollar and euro currencies. The Greek and American debt crises plunged the world economy into a turmoil amid which the Swiss currency emerged as one of the rare lifebuoys. At the same time as they were increasing their prices by an average 5 to 10%, brands also had to face a considerable drop in profit margins, a measure that could in due course jeopardise their investment capacities. And while prestige brands enjoy more flexibility in adapting their prices, those in the entry-level and medium-range segments are not so fortunate. Moreover, the increase in the cost of precious materials is also making a dent in watchmakers\u2019 accounts. \u201cAfter an exceptional start to the year, the watch industry must expect to see sales level off\u201d, commented Ren\u00e9 Weber, analyst at the Vontobel bank. \u201cThe 2011 results will therefore be globally positive, but 2012 will start on a less promising note.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some brands, the Swatch Group\u2019s decision to reduce its delivery of movements and movement kits is becoming a crucial issue. Those who did not take the warnings issued by the Biel-based group seriously have not sought viable alternatives. Since the other Swiss movement producers are currently unable to keep step with the increased demand, the next few months are set to be tough \u2013 especially since compliance with \u2018Swiss made\u2019 criteria prohibits the purchase of foreign calibres.<\/p>\n

The month of August also brought news of the death of G\u00e9rald Genta, an outstanding gentleman to whom Swiss watchmaking owes the design of several legendary models such as the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, the Overseas, the Bulgari Bulgari, the Constellation and the Ing\u00e9nieur. On a more joyful note, IWC distinguished itself by introducing one of the extremely rare summer launches\u2009: the Portuguese Sid\u00e9rale Scafusia, representing an impressive compendium of complications and innovations (see Focus p. 45). Check out the daily evolution of these news stories and many more on www.worldtempus.com<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Swiss watch industry<\/strong> had never yet had to deal with such a highly rated franc in relation to the benchmark dollar and euro currencies. The Greek and American debt crises plunged the world economy into a turmoil amid which the Swiss currency emerged as one of the rare lifebuoys. At the same time as they were increasing their prices by an average 5 to 10%, brands also had to face a considerable drop in profit margins, a measure that could in due course jeopardise their investment capacities. And while prestige brands enjoy more flexibility in adapting their prices, those in the entry-level and medium-range segments are not so fortunate. Moreover, the increase in the cost of precious materials is also making a dent in watchmakers\u2019 accounts. \u201cAfter an exceptional start to the year, the watch industry must expect to see sales level off\u201d, commented Ren\u00e9 Weber, analyst at the Vontobel bank. \u201cThe 2011 results will therefore be globally positive, but 2012 will start on a less promising note.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some brands, the Swatch Group\u2019s decision to reduce its delivery of movements and movement kits is becoming a crucial issue. Those who did not take the warnings issued by the Biel-based group seriously have not sought viable alternatives. Since the other Swiss movement producers are currently unable to keep step with the increased demand, the next few months are set to be tough \u2013 especially since compliance with \u2018Swiss made\u2019 criteria prohibits the purchase of foreign calibres.<\/p>\n

The month of August also brought news of the death of G\u00e9rald Genta, an outstanding gentleman to whom Swiss watchmaking owes the design of several legendary models such as the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, the Overseas, the Bulgari Bulgari, the Constellation and the Ing\u00e9nieur. On a more joyful note, IWC distinguished itself by introducing one of the extremely rare summer launches\u2009: the Portuguese Sid\u00e9rale Scafusia, representing an impressive compendium of complications and innovations (see Focus p. 45). Check out the daily evolution of these news stories and many more on www.worldtempus.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gmtmag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}