As a journalist with a specialty in watches, a trade fair is more than just looking at new collections and posting them online as fast as possible. It is also a place to listen to the murmurings of the industry, see where things are going, and occasionally listening to what experts from outside that industry have to say. That’s why I am looking forward to this year’s Hong Kong Clock and Watch Fair, which starts on September 3, and will end on September 7.
As I mentioned in my preview for Quill & Pad, the HKCWF – what an acronym!– is a full-service event giving space not only to watch brands, but also to many of the other stakeholders in the industry, from tool- and component makers from around the world, to companies who specialize in OEM/ODM. The latter can supply customers with finished watches bearing a logo or some other message, or design and build a watch with existing plans for some special occasion. And they can be quite innovative. Last year, I found cases with odd shapes and made of unusual materials, like pastel-colored recycled plastic with luminescent material, or simply of wood. Some of the dials on offer were quite striking as well.
Then there are the many conferences and panel discussions, and other “side shows,” as it were, like the breakfast with brands, a kind of musical chairs, where journos get to meet reps from a wide variety of companies. This can result in some serendipitous meetings… whereby some of those reps should remember that journalists are not retailers. But it’s normal: The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair’s very distinct focus on trade and commerce could serve a as a bit of an example for occidental shows, where the hard craft of buying, selling, wheeling and dealing is somehow considered anathema. In HKCWF in fact facilitates it, by opening early online, and ending in mid-September thanks to the Click2Match system. Very clever, indeed.
Chatty aside: There is also a student design competition, and a lot of brands offer lucky draws where you can win anything from a watch to various accessories.
Rocky road? Or well-paved?
The program of panels and conferences will rev up on the first day with the meeting of the Hong Kong International Watch Forum to discuss the global trade performance, forecast the market trend for the coming year, and discuss the global watch industry and sustainability. Personally, I am curious about what the experts mean when they say “sustainability.” The big question is whether our current economic system, which requires a fleet of airplanes and about 50,000 ships to feed the huge maw of Homo Consumens, is in any way sustainable. And to what extent can the watch industry really contribute to reducing carbon footprints? We’ll see, but every little contribution is welcome.
At the Asian Watch Conference on 4 September, a market research analyst from Euromonitor will reveal the latest outlook for the watch industry. This might give some insights into the how the industry as a whole can act to counter the current crisis that some brands, in particular the ones on the lower end (bas-de-gamme) are suffering from. Is the crisis structural? Or is it merely due to people in the lower income brackets simply not having enough cash around to pay for their spiraling rents, spiraling health costs, spiraling everything and buy a nice watch?
The product is king
Having said all that, my first stop – after the Forum mentioned above – will be Salon de Time, because, as editor of Wristwatch Annual (you can order your copy here), I am always curious to find out if there is a horological pulse beyond the borders of Germany, France and Switzerland (OK, the Great Britain and the USA). Most of all, however, it is the place where one can examine close up what Chinese brands are doing, since they tend to be heedlessly dismissed by many in the industry. Indeed, ever since China became a consumer market, we’ve heard the refrain: “They must learn about haute horlogerie….”, which can genuinely sound patronizing and even a touch demeaning.
Judging from my journey to Hong Kong last year, I would say “they” have learned a lot, and “they” have a very long creative history, and a particular and peculiar aesthetic strategy. As Wristwatch Annual 2024 is still on the market, I will not reproduce the chapter on Chinese watchmaking and the spiritual impetus behind creativity, but, in my modest understanding, it is closely tied to the ancient philosophy of Taoism and the notion of “carefree wandering,” hence the name of my website. The way in China seems more attuned to finding rather than seeking beauty. This may explain why some brands, like Lucky Harvey or Angleswatch, or Hedone seem to have no brand constraints, and each model seems to appear sui generis, barring some at times obvious “plagiarism.” In an article for Psyche Magazine, Julianne Chung, assistant professor of philosophy at York University in Toronto pointed out the conundrum or dilemma that the Chinese aesthetic manages to avoid by being carefree, if you will: “If we focus on the task of achieving something original, we’ll explore only the range of possibilities deemed sufficiently likely to yield that result, leaving out a lot that could have contributed to achieving something original.”
So: Definitely attending panel entitled “The Aesthetics Evolution of the Chinese Timepiece Craftsmanship” on Wednesday morning moderated by William Bai. Three speakers will be on hand, Mr Sun Moonyang, Chief Designer of Fiyta, Mr Lin Xiaoli, chairman of Lucky Harvey, and Mr Lu Jinzhi Chairman Zbioland (a brand I do not know at all). This could be a very enlightening morning.
The Swiss faction
Also planned for the Salon de Time: a visit to that peripatetic brigade of independent Swiss watch brands, the SIWP, led by Amarildo Pilo of the eponymous brand.peripatetic brigade of independent Swiss watch brands, the SIWP, led by Amarildo Pilo of the eponymous brand. The SIWP is quite the group, appearing in many of the far off trade fairs and representing Switzerland in places shunned by the Big Names. I have already heard that Stéphane Gréco will be there again, the man who makes bolt-shaped watches, among others. Pilo himself is taking the opportunity to present the Corleone Evoluzione Superleggera, a first foray into haute horlogerie with a bold, carbon-cased chronograph with a meteorite dial no less.
Bags are packed. I’m off.
