With Geneva Watch Days only a few weeks away, the sense of excitement and anticipation about the third edition of the event is growing — and that also means the return of Revolution’s Annual Horological Symposiums. Featuring some of the industry’s most dynamic leaders and greatest talents, we’re looking forward to even more thought-provoking discussions and analyses. 

And that brings us back to Geneva Watch Days last year that marked a milestone in the event’s history as its largest edition to date. With 39 participating brands, including 13 newcomers, the watch world gathered at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc pavilion on the shores of Lake Geneva, as well as in various boutiques scattered throughout the city. 

For the second year in a row, Revolution hosted the Horological Symposiums. Moderated by Revolution Founder Wei Koh, a series of thought-provoking discussions brought together some of the most innovative minds in the industry. Esteemed retailers like Michael Tay of The Hour Glass and Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi shared their insights, while luminaries from the independent horology realm, including Konstantin Chaykin, Laurent Ferrier, and Edouard Meylan of H. Moser & Cie, offered their perspectives. The event also featured legendary figures such as Jean-Claude Biver, making it a truly unforgettable gathering of watchmaking talent.

Read on for a recap and our takeaways from the second edition as we anticipate the 2024 lineup. And if you’re not in Geneva, don’t worry, we’ll be sharing the full week of discussions here at Revolution.

Watch Industry’s Greatest Brand Builders

The first of six horological symposiums saw a panel of four watch industry big wigs, comprising Jean-Christophe Babin, Jean-Claude Biver, Maximilian Büsser and Georges Kern. Moderated by Revolution founder Wei Koh alongside watch and luxury industry analyst and strategist Oliver R. Müller, the panel discussed a range of topics, the first being how the watch brands drove up consumer appreciation for mechanical watchmaking in the wake of the Apple Watch launch in 2015.

Kern, who brought Breitling up from a CHF 800 million to a CHF 4.2 billion company in the last five years, opined that analog and digital watches today aren’t in competition but complementary. He added that the analogue watch industry has a totally different aim in that like art, which encompasses emotion, craftsmanship and lifestyle, it is enduring and transcends time.

To close the symposium, Koh asked each panelist who, in their opinion, was the best brand builder in the industry. Biver named Nicolas G. Hayek, chairman of the Swatch Group, whom he worked with for 11 years, while Babin’s pick was former TAG Heuer CEO Jack Heuer, whom he counts as his “spiritual father and the best sparring partner.”

International Stars of Independent Watchmaking — Part I

The second symposium gathered six top independent watchmaking stars of today. We noted an interesting fact about the panel featuring Konstantin Chaykin, Michiel Holthinrichs, Benoît Mintiens of Ressence, Naoya Hida, Christine Hutter of Moritz Grossmann and Robin Tallendier of Atelier Wen — that they all represented various countries including Germany, France and China, Japan and Russia. Cue interesting origin stories abound.

Mintiens, who hails from Antwerp, related how he was awestruck by the incredible booths at Baselworld on his first visit. Starting his venture while studying architecture in university, Holthinrichs’ roommate introduced him to the world of men’s fashion and taught him all about sewing and stitching. Despite not knowing anything about watches, the young Dutch designer from Delft acknowledged that watches were an extension of one’s personality. After realizing the many “boring” timepieces, he employed 3D printing and created his first watch.

Other topics discussed were the upsurge of demand for independent watches and preserving that desire for them, and producing the watches outside of Switzerland and dealing with suppliers.

Legends of Independent Watchmaking — Part II

The incredible panel of Ludovic Ballouard, Romain Gauthier, Edouard Meylan of H. Moser & Cie, Laurent Ferrier, Bart Grönefeld, Bernhard Lederer and Xavier de Roquemaurel of Czapek talked about the meteoric rise of independent watchmaking, how they’re dealing with the demand, and more.

Meylan attributed the increased interest in micro brands to the many people who were stuck behind screens because of the pandemic, as well as more collectors investing in watches in the last few years. Moderators Wei Koh and Arthur Touchot then steered the discussion to the transmission of passion between generations and mentors, posing the question to the watchmakers on how they learn from their own teams.

Ferrier opined that ideas take time and creativity comes from the freedom given to the team to not be afraid to speak their thoughts even if it’s silly. The panel also touched on the market’s major changes stemming from the COVID-19 crisis and tackled the challenges of meeting production demands and managing waitlists.

Most Innovative Retailers

Comprising an impressive assembly of Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, Michael Tay of The Hour Glass, Watches of Switzerland’s David Hurley, Jacopo Corvo from GMT Italia, and Jared Silver of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, this was Revolution’s first Horological Symposium that spotlighted retailers. Co-moderated by Wei Koh, Oliver R. Müller and Eleonor Picciotto, the panel also included Chronopassion founder Laurent Picciotto, who joined in the discussion via Zoom.

Of course, the first topic discussed was the hottest news that broke during the time, that of Rolex’s acquisition of retail giant Bucherer. Seddiqi, who owns the world’s largest Rolex boutique in Dubai, Tay and Hurley all agreed that it was a great move, considering the 100-year-old business relationship between Rolex and Bucherer. Tay added that the move allows Rolex to have a sense of how to manage its growth and production through the small exposure and at the same time, push retailers on ensuring a high level of service that meets Rolex’s high standards.

The powerhouse panel also provided insightful perspectives on today’s customer demands, managing supply issues, and how they are developing watch culture in their respective markets.

Influencers, Innovators, Disruptors

This panel was all about the digital takeover with moderators Wei Koh and Eleonor Picciotto, featuring Dillon Bhatt (@dillonbhatt), Andrea Casalegno (@iamcasa), Austen Chu of Wristcheck (@wristcheck), Jessica Owens (@jessicajjo), Ahmed “Shary” Rahman (@time_mechanic), as well as CEO and founder of Collective Horology Asher Rapkin (@collectivehorology).

An interesting point that Chu brought up was that while there is no denying that influencers need to guide followers in terms of trust, there will be biases as the nature of the watch industry is built around emotion, passion and storytelling.

Shary also brought up the interesting point of not confusing the many manifestations of influencing with advertising. The panelists also touched on their role of creating a universe that the audience finds compelling and the general consensus was that influencers must be authentic and have a clear vision of what they’d like to transmit to their respective audiences. Another eye-opening discussion was navigating and dealing with negative comments from followers.

Watchmaking’s Rising Stars

Bookending the Revolution Horological Symposiums was the gathering of independent watchmaking’s up and coming talents. Moderated by Wei Koh and Austen Chu of Wristcheck, the panel comprised Simon Brette, Andrea Furlan of Furlan Marri, Stefan Kudoke of Kudoke, Krayon’s Rémi Maillat, Trilobe founder Gautier Massonneau, Claude Greisler of Armin Strom, and Hervé Schlüchter. With each panelist adding his unique voice to the watchmaking universe, the audience got to know these incredible talents as they shared their genesis stories, journeys and struggles and the future of their brands.

Furlan recounted his amazing story where he’d park himself for hours at the Hublot and Chopard booths in Baselworld just for a chance to show his watch sketches to his idol Jean-Claude Biver with the hopes of scoring an internship.

Another inspiring story: In 2016, following his father’s passing and the birth of his son two months later, Hervé Schlüchter, then Bovet’s technical director, took a leap of faith and decided to live his dream as a watchmaker. With a love for Philippe Dufour’s watches, Schlüchter called the independent master watchmaker, told him of his new move and the rest is history.