What is clear is that over the last two years, the entire watch industry has been on a meteoric rise. To use a rocket metaphor, all signs point to Swiss watchmaking about to blast through the atmosphere into the inexorable expanse of space. Never before have wristwatches permeated the public’s collective consciousness so much so that athletes, actors and social media celebrities of all kinds are conspicuously “flexing” their horological finery. But as the great philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” The precedent to this era of limitless opulence occurred between 2000 and 2008. Watches were on a similar seemingly infinite tear. Then, in 2009, the US subprime mortgage crisis detonated and created a global financial tsunami. Instantly, some brands found their businesses decimated.
Says Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier’s brilliant CEO and the maison’s greatest leader since the legendary Alain Dominique Perrin: “The only certainty for the future is uncertainty. What we will see with increasing frequency are the type of black swan events that can cause global change. As an industry, we need to safeguard against this. The best way to do this is to ensure the singularity and durability of your brand.” What Vigneron means is that, in times of crisis, the consumer will spend on objects that are safe havens, that are utterly unique, iconic and that have stood the test of time. This is precisely how Vigneron has positioned Cartier’s watch business, which is on the cusp of becoming the third largest watch brand in the world. By reconnecting it with Cartier’s unique history in design and elegance, he has made his maison one of the most singular and durable brands on the planet.
Says GPHG jury member Ahmed “Shary” Rahman who wore his special order, platinum Tank Cintrée with Cartier London-style dial to the awards ceremony last year, “It’s simple. When there was the last crisis, people fled to Rolex and Patek. Why? Because Rolex is the king of sports watches and Patek is the king of complications. They are unrivaled in their fields. Now everyone has realized there is a third king. And that is Cartier, the king of elegance, which is a genre which Cartier created in 1904 with the Santos-Dumont, continued with the Tank in 1919, and the Tank Cintrée in 1921. Every one of these kings is crisis-proof, recession-proof, pandemic-proof because they are unrivaled in their categories.”
Says Nick Foulkes, president of the GPHG jury, “The brilliance of Vigneron’s leadership was to no longer try to be a sports watch
