Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronometer Blue Dial Stainless Steel Men's Watch 1183-126-7M-43

GMT #27 - Spring 2012
 

UK
The UK market has seen a marked increase in the availability of smaller brands over the last few years, with a virtuous circle of ambitious new brands, committed retailers, supportive media and an increasingly adventurous clientele. Nevertheless the established watch houses still account for the great majority of watch sales.
: I think Bell & Ross has the "X" factor ; five years ago it was purchased by designers and architects and now it has broken into the main stream, with sales growing rapidly as a result. That success has given Bell & Ross the muscle to compete with the bigger brands in the depth of their advertising, where they are introducing new audiences to what I think is a very modern and cutting edge brand.
Bremont's determination to offer a good-value product which is both very unique and has some outstanding features is an ambition that is driven by their likeable founders. They have gained a very passionate following through clever use of social media and adroit brand-marketing - it helps to have friends like Tom (Cruise) and Ewan (McGregor). Bremont keep the brand constantly evolving, with new models, variations and very clever use of limited editions that keeps the interest high. Nomos Glashutte's success is almost entirely due to the exceptional product - elegant and classic looking dress watches which are manufactured in house for less than a £1,000. They made good use of their participation at SalonQP where the pure virtues of the product gained lots of new followers.

The steel sports models from Rolex are still some of the best performing watches we sell at Watches of Switzerland. The GMT II, with its instantly recognisable styling and iconic status, is a consistent top seller. Rolex is an aspirational watch for many of our customers, their sponsorship of prestigious and iconic events such as Wimbledon, the Open and the Fastnet yacht race makes Rolex almost unbeatable in this respect. The functionality, design and price make the GMT II equally hard to beat.
Where Rolex dominate men's sales, Cartier has tremendous appeal for female buyers. The top performer and one of the current favourites is the small sized steel Ballon Bleu. It is available at a seriously competitive price at under £3,000 and we find that our male clients are really comfortable choosing the Ballon Bleu as a gift purchase. Patek Philippe is still seen as the standard by which other prestigious watch brands are judged. Our clients love this brand and one of their particular favourites is the steel Nautilus with a moonphase and power reserve. It has classic watchmaking functionality housed in the legendary Nautilus case. We sell every one we can get!
The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in Rose Gold has sold continuously to both men and women throughout 2011 in all three of our shops which have Rolex agencies. Rose gold has become more and more important to female buyers, additionally there is an increasing trend for women to show an heightened interest in mechanical movements and with large case sizes for women also in vogue, the Daytona ticks all the boxes and compared to similar models from other watch houses, the retail price of £23,060 is perceived as extremely good value for money. There were a very limited number of Patek Nautilus 5712GR available in the UK, and exclusive to George Pragnell, which make it a rarer and therefore a very desirable model to own. This is the power reserve model which has a thinner case than its chronograph alternative and buyers in this sector (high watchmaking on straps) are tending now to lean towards thinner cases. The development of sportier looking watches, such as the Nautilus has meant that Patek Philippe's are beginning to appeal more and more to different age brackets and customers of both sexes looking at Patek watches have become younger. Lange One in 18ct white gold (reference 101039). Brand awareness has increased significantly since 2010 and we have seen a rise in interest in Lange & Söhne. The Lange One is the model that people are most familiar with and white gold is the most popular choice. Due to the very limited production, there is limited availability for all Lange & Söhne watches, making certain models very desirable.
 

HONG KONG
. In my opinion the bestsellers are Ballon Blue and Calibre by Cartier, and Portofino from IWC. First of all, the reasons that make the customers want to buy another Ballon Blue are the b market promotion, unique style and a chance to go beyond the series of the Tank. On the other hand, the price of Calibre is HKD 57,400; and the series is also equipped with the first in-house movement. The last is Portofino by IWC; the price is HKD 35,000 and also has powerful market appeal, especially the series aimed at mainland China.
In my view, there are three best-selling watches. Firstly, the Rolex Oyster gold and steel series, which are a nice choice both for daily life or party wear. They are fitted with an adjustable metal bracelet and radiate a style that is both classical and fashionable thanks to the two-tone design. Another is the Franck Muller Crazy Hours series that exudes great personal style with its tonneau design and fairly complicated construction combining technical sophistication and boundless creativity. The last is the Panerai Luminor Marina "Fu" China 1,500-piece limited edition which incorporates the Chinese factor "Fu" within perfectly designed classic Italian models.
 

. Several middle-to low-priced models continue to sell well - including the Omega De Ville automatic steel and gold two-tone watch, the Longines Master collection, the Tissot Le Locle series with a white dial and steel. All of these are enjoying increasing popularity thanks to the attractive pricing, simple design, low-key yet elegant look, as well as in some cases a combination of precious metals.
 

RUSSIA
The most fashionable watch is the De Bethune DB28. Even before it was crowned by the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, we appreciated this model with its floating lugs enabling it to fit any wrist. The DB25L has also been highly successful and I think its 40mm diameter is optimal for contemporary classical watches. In the realm of the heavyweights, the 2011 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II is very highly sought after. This is the most complicated watch this year, and its gold/stainless steel combination goes well with other accessories. In addition, the steel components of the case are more resistant to scratches than gold. Amongst the Patek Philippe collections, clients showed the most interest in the ultra-thin 5139 perpetual calendar model in white gold. On another front, Bell&Ross has been very successful, conquering many fans of sports watches since its arrival in 2009, notably with the BR01 and BR03 46 and 42mm from the Aviation collection, as well as the Vintage collection. Its reasonable prices and modern image have completely taken the clients by storm. Finally, Chopard's L.U.C. Chrono One is always a hit in our shops. This is a veritable gift for lovers of classical chronographs.

. It's the year of the Panerai boom, of which the waiting list for several references is getting longer, although not for limited or complicated models. Amongst the bestsellers are IWC's new Portofino watches which take the biggest share, "three-hand" models as well as chronographs, but with a clear preference for black dials rather than white.
. Apart from Panerai, for whom we manage the only boutique in Russia, we can't really pinpoint a star brand. On the other hand, one should emphasize the incredible rise of Cartier. Our main sales are based on classical watches that sell for around 10,000 euro - for what I would term "commercial models" - with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breitling, Ulysse, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and Corum all enjoying similar success.
. In our Sublime shops, the models sold the most are Ulysse Nardin's Maxi Marine Chronometer and the GMT Executive Dual Time and Executive Dual Time Lady ; while at Audemars Piguet, it is the Royal Oak and the Royal Oak Off shore ; and for Cartier, mostly the Ballon Bleu and Calibre ; and fi nally models by Blancpain.