The second edition of the We Love Watches Show, organized by Swiss Made Watch, took place on October 12 on the top floor of La Samaritaine in Paris. The event was eagerly awaited by watch enthusiasts because the first edition showed great promise despite a setting that was far from ideal. The 2024 edition made great progress, notably thanks to a much more prestigious and, above all, more comfortable and practical place to welcome visitors. The change was therefore profitable but it is not the only factor which explains the growing success of this edition. I see several reasons:
- The Show took place on Saturday, allowing those who do not live in Paris and those who are not available during the week to be able to participate. I remind you that the first edition took place on a Thursday.
- the time slots were extended from 3 hours (which was very short) to 5 hours.
- The line-up of exhibitors was impressive, bringing together more than 75 brands.
- And finally, new products were revealed during the Show which gave a little extra spice. I am thinking of brands like Elgé or Electra which presented their first watches or new models from, for example, Echo Neutra, Yema or Meistersinger.
But, ultimately, the real reason for the success lies in the fact that the brands present met the expectations of the French market. These are brands which in the overwhelming majority operate in the segment between 500 and 3,000 euros. Gone are the days when independent brands from the top of the segment came to the Belles Montres show to meet collectors and end customers. The France of 2024 is no longer that of the mid-2000s. There are still just as many enthusiasts and people ready to spend. But they will spend much less because they no longer have the means or simply because they no longer want to.
This is the result of a double effect. From an economic point of view, it is obvious to say that wages have increased much less than the prices of watches. And the inflation of essential items has happened, de facto reducing the financial capacity to carry out “pleasure” and unconstrained spending. And then, it would be wrong to attenuate the impact of brands’ own strategies. This strategy based on the continuous increase in prices (several years followed one another with two increases per year) justified by the limitation of supply has worked well. By wanting to develop the notion of exclusivity, the traditional watchmaking clientele felt… excluded. And I’m afraid, this clientele risks being lost forever to general players who have forgotten certain economic realities. Yes, customers in Western Europe, and particularly in France, tend to think in terms of months of salary. A customer will consider treating themselves by spending a month’s salary or possibly two. But certainly not three or four. However, the great classics of watchmaking which have driven the market and which have contributed to the prestige of the sector are now much more expensive (I am thinking of the Speed, Sub, Navitimer, Reverso etc…) and seem beyond the reach of a French customer.
The good news is that this market situation has favored the emergence of an offer that speaks directly to end customers, which aims to be more reasonable in terms of pricing while respecting qualitative criteria. And sometimes, this new offering even dares to venture into creative territories (I am thinking for example of SpaceOne or the reissue of the Amida) while major general players lock themselves into a conventional and risk-free approach.
This is what I felt during the We Love Watches Show, this development of this offer more in line with the aspirations of the French market, more oriented towards content and less towards “marketing”. In any case, the crowds at the Show and the keen interest from visitors that numerous watches aroused allowed me to see that the passion for watchmaking is still there. It will now be expressed in a different way than it was a good ten years ago. For this alone, the visit to the We Love Watches Show was worth it because it made these market developments visible and perceptible. As for the major general brands, if I put aside Rolex whose ability to execute its roadmap is flawless and which enjoys incomparable prestige, they have a great interest in carrying out rapid reflection on how to return to the markets European markets, especially when other markets such as Asia and the United States are slowing down. Offer too broad, strategy difficult to read, prices disconnected, creativity slowed down, there is work to be done and the current crisis is not only due to macroeconomic or exogenous factors.
In the meantime, I am delighted to see the organization of Salons in France such as We Love Watches or TimeFest because they keep the flame alive, in another format and in another context, which was lit more than 15 years ago by the Salon Belles Montres at the Carrousel du Louvre.
I will come back to a few pieces unveiled during the We Love Watches Show and which I particularly liked.
