Hamilton - Playing the Jazzmaster tune and staging a face-to-face horological encounter
The Jazzmaster is the undisputed star of the Hamilton collections. After devoting two in-house (ETA-based) movements to this range, the H21 and H31 chronographs with their 60-hour power reserves, Hamilton unveils the H20s - of which the letter 's' stands for 'skeleton-worked'. Available as of early October 2013, this Jazzmaster Viewmatic Skeleton will be the brand's first three-hand skeleton model.
Hamilton also welcomes a second new movement, H12, that will also be used in the Jazzmaster collection, but this time for a new Regulator model (a timepiece in which the hours and minutes hands are not placed on the same central pivot, but offset in two separate counters). "This is a movement developed with the support of the Swatch Group but which will be offered to other brands in addition to Hamilton", says Sylvain Dolla, CEO Hamilton International.
This invaluable economic, logistic and industrial support is doubly beneficial to Hamilton. First of all, by enabling it to meet b demand that has seen the brand record "double-digit growth for seven consecutive years", as Sylvain Dolla points out. It can thus offer an extremely diversified range of products to a "young, urban clientele often making its first purchase in the field of mechanical watchmaking", adds the CEO. "These customers are also increasingly better informed: they arrive in the boutique with a good knowledge of the models and sometimes even with screen captures from our website!".
The second positive repercussion of the Swatch Group backing is the extremely attractive pricing of the models, mostly falling within the CHF 500 to 1,500 range. Given its ongoing success, does Hamilton intend to move upmarket, including in terms of price? "Definitely not!" insists Sylvain Dolla. "In this price segment, we have a wide-open road ahead of us for many years to come".
Limited-edition movie presence
Anyone acquainted with Hamilton is aware that the brand has been highly active in the field of cinema since the 1950s, from the first Elvis Presley feature films to action flicks such as Men in Black, Die Hard and Fight Club. "We work on a daily basis with the Los Angeles studio accessorists", explains Sylvain Dolla. "It is generally they who come knocking on our door, making specific requests for an upcoming production. They don't have any specific watchmaking knowledge, a fact that sometimes leads to some daunting mechanical challenges in order to give horological shape to their cinematographic visions!"
This year, the vision is embodied in the Jazzmaster Face 2 Face. It is based on the principle of one watch with two independent movements. The visual effect of this 888-piece limited series lies in the fact that each of the two faces reveals either a chronograph or a three-hand dial, juxtaposed with the skeletonised rotor of one of the two automatic movements. This imposing Face 2 Face model with its outsized oval-shaped 53 x 44 mm case displays a striking contrast between the displays and the movements and the void surrounding them and taking up as much if not more space.
Hamilton thus wraps up Baselworld 2013 while remaining true to its image as a dynamic, youthful, creative and accessible brand. The only variation in its line of conduct relates to its future orientation: thus far bly rooted in military circles (Hamilton has supplied timepieces to most of the world's armed forces), the brand now intends to focus more on the civilian environment.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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