Swiss watchmakers like Cartier and Patek Philippe are eager to please China’s luxury watch collectors in 2020 – is it working?

Nov 14 , 2020

Chinese pop star Jackson Wang is one of the newly-appointed ambassadors for Pasha de Cartier. Photo: Cartier

From rounder watch faces to limited edition designs, newly active WeChat accounts and glam beachside fairs – brands like Chopard and Piaget scramble to up their game in China

China has become one of the biggest markets for luxury watches in recent years, and the pandemic has only intensified the effect this is having on the industry, ranging from the ways watch brands market themselves in the country, to the new products being developed.

The value of Swiss watch exports to China increased by 44.9 per cent year on year to August, reaching 211.6 million Swiss francs (more than US$232 million), according to the latest data available from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. It is the only country to report a growth in demand for the month and now the third month in a row that it has led the world in Swiss watch exports.

Van Cleef & Arpels’ Lady Arpels Day and Night Fée Ondine Watch from its Poetic Complications Collection. Photo: VCA

There are a few reasons for this growth. The first is China’s relatively speedy recovery from a virus that is still affecting much of the world. The second is an increase in domestic purchases as Chinese consumers remain broadly unable to travel overseas because of the global pandemic.

“The Chinese consumer, like the rest of the world, is unable to travel”, says Reginald Brack, industry analyst for watches and luxury at market research firm The NPD Group in New York. “[They are] normally a big percentage of luxury spending. Chinese consumers are forced to make their purchases at home.”

Coronavirus has sped up what was already an eastward shift in the balance of the world order in interest in Swiss watches, and the industry isn’t waiting for the coronavirus to end to meet this demand. Luxury watch brands, which had already made inroads into the growing China market, are now hurrying to increase their presence.

Sketching Type 390, a collaboration between Parmigiani Fleurier and luxury car brand Bugatti. Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier

In September, Patek Philippe, a brand known for its wariness when it comes to digital promotions, published its first WeChat post elaborating on the maison’s history and culture, after two years registered on the platform. It’s the brand’s second active social media channel after Instagram.

Another outward sign of this is the creation of two watch fairs by the Foundation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), which promotes Swiss watchmaking around the world.

Watches & Wonders Shanghai, held between September 9 and 13, brought the Swiss watch experience to the West Bund Art Center where lovers of high horology attended product launches, panel discussions and workbench demonstrations. It included a complementary digital platform on Alibaba Group’s Tmall luxury pavilion.

One of Graff’s GyroGraff series, featuring the iconic skyline of Hong Kong. Photo: Graff