Authenticity and transparency
As the Swiss watchmaking sector searches for a new lease of life, it is useful to reflect on the historical values that built its greatness and contributed to the international renown of our expertise in the luxury sector.
Philippe Dufour — whose watches fetch astronomical prices at auction and who was, in the 1990s, one of the reference points of mechanical watchmaking — gave an interview in which he put forward some astute observations, noting that "back then, in a company, the technical teams and the commercial teams worked side by side and could discuss things together. Today, these two teams are often separated by an ocean and no longer talk." He also added that customers are no longer taken in by merchants, since they can now more easily find out what they are buying. This is a highly pertinent observation. If watchmakers want to reconquer lost markets, they must not compromise on quality or allow marketing to take over — but above all, they must explain their work. Because clients, increasingly demanding, want to know everything: the origin of components, the place of assembly, traceability, history, labels, certifications. As a result, manufacturers are multiplying their communication channels to provide a thorough knowledge of the object. These remarks apply not only to watchmaking, but to the entire luxury sector. To say that excellence and quality are its fundamental values is a truism. What is paramount today is authenticity and transparency.
Just as in the food sector the consumer wants to know what they are eating and who cooked the dish they are enjoying, in luxury it is important to know the provenance of the components that make up the object one is about to purchase. While some bakers place their suppliers behind glass panels to reassure consumers, it would come as no surprise if major luxury brands were soon to adopt the same approach — both to showcase their expertise and to reassure their clients about the authenticity of production, distinguishing themselves from competitors who rely entirely on brand capital. One need only watch the clip produced by Van Cleef & Arpels to present the Fée Ondine automaton — in which the manufacturer gives the floor to the craftspeople who participated in creating this unique object presented at SIHH 2017 — to be convinced. What matters is seeing who worked on it, what they did, and how they did it.
The consumer has become a hunter of authenticity.
For in an era where luxury production is partly offshored to low-cost labour countries, the consumer has become a hunter of authenticity. To this is added the obvious risks of counterfeiting and the influx onto the market of an impressive quantity of fake brands. The quest for an object impossible to copy is becoming a sport greatly valued by true luxury connoisseurs — and so our major national brands would do well to focus on these issues and seek what guarantees they can offer their clients so that these may say "I have an authentic product." The traceability of the components making up the object is fundamental — and this goes beyond the mere medallion, logo, or hallmark. The owner of a piece of jewellery today wants to know everything about the provenance of the stones and the method of assembly. And they will sometimes prefer the irregularities of handcrafted work over the perfection of a machine-made piece.
Once again we return to our two cardinal values: transparency and authenticity. One cannot help but think of the imperative set by Steve Jobs and his design icon Jonathan Ive, who both established as a principle that a Mac must be as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. These two visionaries had integrated the expectations of lovers of luxury objects: these must be perfectly consistent in their execution and must be able to reveal their inner workings without embarrassment.
What conclusions can be drawn for the Swiss Made luxury sector? While authenticity and transparency come naturally to, say, an artisan like Philippe Dufour, one understands that they may represent a genuine challenge for major brands subject to other production and marketing imperatives.
And yet if these brands were able to sustain the illusion for a time through their communications, this is, as we have seen, increasingly less true — and the consumer, with their new expectations, is forcing them back to first principles. Switzerland's major luxury brands should therefore take heart: they will be able to return to the principles that contributed to their greatness, and in doing so, distinguish themselves once again on the world stage and reclaim their prestige.
