THINGS WITH SPRINGS CH CHAT 03/03/24

In a recent video call, Breitling’s chief executive, Georges Kern, unwrapped the story, saying the company had invested “around 60 million Swiss francs” ($70.5 million) for the rights to produce watches with the Universal Genève name and for access to the company’s archive.

One day Universal Genève will operate independently, Mr. Kern said, but for now, Breitling will focus on redevelopment. He estimated that it would be around two years before a new collection with “new designs, new movements, new advertising and new distribution” would be available. However, he said, the brand will “not go dark” in the interim, adding that there were “many ways to activate the brand before relaunching it,” such as engaging with collectors.

...he said the average price point of a new collection actually would exceed Breitling’s. (According to estimates by Morgan Stanley, Breitling’s average price is 5,310 francs, less than half of Rolex’s but more than twice that of TAG Heuer.)

... Universal Genève suffered during the 1970s and 1980s, the era in which inexpensive quartz-battery watches became so popular that the Swiss mechanical watch industry was in danger of collapse. In 1989 it was bought by Stelux Holdings, which has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1972, and which made a number of attempts to revive the brand before selling it to Breitling