Côtes de Genève is the most famous of all Fine Watchmaking finishes. We looking into the trending topic and how in recent years it is becoming more of a decoration (seen on the case and the dial) rather than simply a finish on the movement.

1. CÔTES DE GENÈVE:
THE FINISH
OF A LIFETIME
8th February - 21st February 2017

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION.........................................03
SNAPSHOT OF THE PERIOD
TrendingTopics...........................................05
Volume of Conversations......................07
ANALYZING THE SOCIAL BUZZ
Among Influencers...................................10
Beyond Influencers....................................12
THE BACKGROUND...................................13
BEHIND THE TREND.................................16
READ THE TREND.....................................21
THE METHOD...............................................22
THE FOUNDATION’S MISSION...........23

3. INTRODUCTION
This series of trend reports are a collaboration
between London-based agency RE-UP and
the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. They
will look back over the past two weeks and
discover what’s been ‘trending’ online.
We aim to discover which watches, stories
and industrial developments in the world of
horology gain the most amount of coverage
on the digital sphere - uncovering why these
trends are important.

4. SNAPSHOT
OF THE PERIOD

5. TRENDING TOPICS AND STORIES
FROM 8TH FEBRUARY TO 21ST FEBRUARY
Percentage of conversation about Fine Watchmaking* brands penetrated by the topic, on a sample of 1,000 articles
*Fine Watchmaking defined by the parameters set by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in their White Paper report
SIHH 2017 is still the most talked about
topic in Fine Watchmaking
Arabic Numerals are becoming more prominent
online since SIHH a few weeks ago
Côtes de Genève were spoken about more than
usual over the past two weeks
Tag Heuer last week unveiled their first official
club special edition watch with partner
Manchester United
Cartier Tank was mentioned a lot around
Valentine’s Day this year
5.57%
3.36%
3.15%
2.94%
2.73%

6. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

7. VOLUME OF CONVERSATIONS
ON HIGH-END WATCHES

8. ANALYSING
THE SOCIAL BUZZ OF
THE CÔTES DE GENÈVE

10. Among Influencers
1.62%
Penetration of conversations
by the expression ‘Côtes de
Genève’ in Swiss watch related
conversations
0.35%
Penetration of all
conversations by the
expression ‘Côtes de Genève’
80%
Increase of ‘Côtes de Genève’
mentions against the previous
two weeks

11. @ watchmediaonline

12. Beyond Influencers
120
All online mentions of
‘Côtes de Genève’
20%
Increase of ‘Côtes de Genève’
mentions against the previous
two weeks
50.83%
Of mentions of ‘Côtes de
Genève’ in relation to Swiss
Watches

13. THE BACKGROUND
Unless you’re a true watch fanatic you might not even
know what Côtes de Genève (or Geneva Stripes as it’s
called in English) means.
Côtes de Genève motif is something you will have
seen before, and is the most famous of all decorations
displayed on watch movements. Whatever colour or
shape the case is, this pattern is traced on the smooth
surfaces of both mechanical and quartz movements alike.
People often forget that the finish is not purely aesthetic.

14. @vins_eastern

15. Côtes de Genève are controlled scratches made across
the movement of a watch. When a movement emerges
from the machining process, the surface is usually flawed.
It will then undergo a process of polishing, sandblasting
and be given a galvanic plating of either gold or rhodium
- this gives it its distinctive grey colouring.
Finally, a tool head made of either wood or sandpaper
spins on its axis, slightly bent forward and draws
lengthways stripes across the timepiece. The tiny
scratches catch the light and complete the process,
hiding the last traces of the machining. The Côtes de
Genève motif is finished.

16. BEHIND
THE TREND

17. An ever-present part of Fine Watchmaking that has
suddenly come into the limelight, Côtes de Genève is as
much a trend as it has ever been.
This decorative finish is being spoken about now more
than ever for the simple reason that Fine Watchmaking
brands are taking advantage of its decorative properties
and using it not just on the movement of watches, but on
the dials and other prominent places, like the Parmigiani
Fleurier Tonda Hemispheres.
This relates back to a bigger trend in Fine Watchmaking
which is seeing dials of different colours and finishes
becoming more and more popular. Our last trend report
discusses black dials displayed at SIHH.

18. @watch4moi

19. Brands are finding new ways to display the finish, with it
being displayed in circular lines around the movement,
like Piaget’s Altiplano 60th Anniversary Collection.
This in some way displays the innovation and forward-
thinking flair that the industry is famed for. Taking
something traditional and - instead of ruining it -
morphing it into something even more beautiful.

20. @kishantailor

21. Piaget – 60 years
of elegance
Piaget’s 60th
Anniversary Altiplano
features a circular
Côtes de Genève.
READ THE TREND
Jaquet Droz – The
height of refinement
The Jaquet Droz Grande
Seconde Tourbillon
Mother-of-Pearl’s
movement’s bridges are
adorned with a fanned
Côtes de Genève design.

22. THE METHOD
We use two key social listening tools to gather the raw
data we have analysed for this report.
The first, an in-house bespoke database of 2000+
influencers and online sources within luxury and
watches - with the ability to gather insight into six
month’s worth of online buzz.
The second, a social (and media) listening tool that
looks at multiple keywords. This allows us to measure
and examine all online conversations over a set period.

23. THE
FOUNDATION’S
MISSION

24. The mechanical watch is a wonderful instrument and
the guardian of craftsmanship, creativity
and of course, time.
Our objective here at the Fondation de la Haute
Horlogerie, is to take our wealth of expertise into
the world through our four missions: to inform, train,
recognise and organise.
Since 2005, we have promoted values of excellence and
tradition within an organisation that has the support of
many Fine Watchmaking brands.

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