A Two Week Snapshot of What’s Trending in the Luxury Watch Industry (22 August – 5 September 2016). In this series of trend reports we aim to discover which stories, pieces of news and industry developments in the world of haute horology gain the most amount of traction in the digital sphere. About our methodology: Two key social tools are used to gather the data to analyse the current trends: An in-house database of 2,000+ influencers and online sources specialising in luxury and watches – with the ability to gather insight into 6 months’ worth of conversations - and a social listening tool, allowing to measure and examines all online conversations.

1. THE
SOCIAL BUZZ
OF BREITLING
CHRONOLINER
BLACKSTEEL

2. A Two Week Snapshot
of What’s Trending
in the Luxury Watch Industry
22 August – 05 September 2016

3. OUR
MISSION

4. The mechanical watch is a wonderful
instrument and the guardian of craftsmanship
and creativity.
Our objective as the Fondation de la Haute
Horlogerie is to take this 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 numerous brands.

5. In this series of trend reports
we aim to discover which stories,
pieces of news and industry developments
in the world of haute horology gain
the most amount of traction in the digital
sphere - uncovering why these trends
are important to the industry.
Every two weeks we’ll be diving into
the world of digital conversations to discover,
what’s trending.

6. SNAPSHOT
OF THE PERIOD

7. TRENDING TOPICS AND STORIES
BETWEEN AUGUST 22 TO SEPTEMBER 05
Percentage of conversations on luxury watches penetrated by the topic
Breitling continue to make noise around
their Chronoliner timepiece after giving it
the Blacksteel
TAG Heuer aims to reach the red planet by
2020 after teaming up with China’s Mars
Exploration Program
Richard Mille launch one of their most
technically impressive timepieces of all
time, the RM 11-03 Flyback Chronograph
Breitling adds a blue hue to their Navitimer
GMT for a new limited edition wristwatch
Rolex opens the largest store in
Singapore
0.96%
0.73%
0.68%
0.56%
0.56%

8. VOLUME OF CONVERSATIONS
ON HIGH-END WATCHES

9. What’s been published on the HH Journal:
Richard Mille – The next generation
Describing the new version of the highly technical
Richard Mille RM 11-03 Flyback Chronograph.

10. ANALYSING
THE SOCIAL BUZZ
OF THE BREITLING
CHRONOLINER
BLACKSTEEL

11. Inspired by the brand’s vintage timepieces from
the 1950s-60s, the Breitling Chronoliner Blacksteel
is every pilots dream timepiece, packing a
chronograph for perfectly measuring flight times
and the functionality to simultaneously display
three time zones in a 24-hour format.
Capturing the current all-black trend that has taken
the world of watchmaking by storm, the 46mm
Chronoliner Blacksteel has caught the attention of
many design and male fashion writers, who have
been won over by the timepiece’s sleek black steel
and ceramic casing, and the rubber strap which has
been designed to mimic the texture of steel mesh
bracelets.

12. Furthermore, while online bloggers have made
note about the obvious ‘50s and ‘60s inspiration,
many have remarked on how the watch is a clear
reflection of modern and contemporary style-
codes.

14. “Breitling’s Chronoliner has long been
one of its cleanest timepieces thanks to
the old school ’50s and ’60s inspiration
behind it. Now the versatile look is
getting a decidedly contemporary update
as the Swiss watchmaker has applied its
Blacksteel treatment to the piece.”
T.S. Fox, HYPEBEAST

15. Among Influencers
5.65%
Penetration of conversations
by Breitling in Swiss watch
related conversations
13.79%
Decrease of Breitling
mentions against the
previous two weeks
17%
Of mentions of Breitling are
in relation to the Chronoliner
Blacksteel

16. Beyond Influencers
5,881
All online mentions of
Breitling
11.88%
Decrease of Breitling
mentions against the
previous two week
1.19%
Of mentions of Breitling are
in relation to the Chronoliner
Blacksteel

18. SUMMARY

19. While founded by Léon Breitling back in 1884, it
wasn’t till 1915 (when Breitling’s son Gaston took
over the company) that the brand would focus on
precision-made chronometers for aviation. In this
year Gaston designed the first chronograph with
a central seconds hand and 30-minute counter,
allowing pilots to perfectly time measurements and
other calculations while flying.
Since then Breitling have become renowned for
their precision-made pilot’s watches, with the
Navitimer (first developed in 1952) arguably being
the most iconic pilot’s watch in Breitling’s range –
in the 1980s this watch would become the official
pilot’s watch by the pilot union AOPA.

20. While Breitling’s new timepiece may lack the
heritage of the Navitimer (which itself was recently
reintroduced in an Aurora Blue), the Chronoliner
Blacksteel watch has captivated online writers and
bloggers, being covered in a dynamic range of
different digital publications.

21. Founded by Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie,
the HH Journal is an online publication covering
watchmaking news in all its forms.
In collaboration with London-based agency RE-UP,
The HH Journal is producing a series of trend
reports to analyse which current topics within the
high-end watch industry are trending online.
Two key social tools are used to gather the data to
analyse the current trends: An in-house database
of 2,000+ influencers and online sources
specialising in luxury and watches – with the
ability to gather insight into 6 months’ worth of
conversations. A social listening tool, allowing to
measure and examines all online conversations.

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