Breaking: The end of Carl F. Bucherer watches?

[Paul C]

What's gonna happen to Bucherer jewelry? Will it remain untouched?

[Dom9]

I still want a John Wick spec Manero Autodate!

[INC]

I think the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation made a serious mistake by doing this. By terminating this brand, it will indeed reduce the financial loss, but for a brutally profitable company, this is not a "decisive" aspect.

I think throwing out a functional knowledge and sales opportunity for the production of unique and small series watches was a terribly stupid move: They just destroyed the opportunity to enter the level of the holy trinity.

In fact, they have stated that they do not want to position themselves at a higher level, but rather want to stay where they are, one of the largest mass-produced watch companies in the world.

[BraveBold]

Originally Posted by Dom9

I still want a John Wick spec Manero Autodate!

Definitely not selling mine ;-)

[Cassian739]

Meh, Bucherer made nice watches, but was not a powerhouse brand, and likely never would be. The time, effort, investment/money required by the Hans Wilsdorf foundation to make it a top brand in a crowded category isn't worth it relative to other strategic investments. Plus the risk involved. Plus Bucherer diluted the story away from Rolex and Tudor. Rolex is the better brand to back, at lower risk, for luxury timepiece investments. A third brand just confuses the message. End of an era with Bucherer, but honestly, 99% of watch consumers don't care.

[INC]

Originally Posted by Cassian739

Rolex is the better brand to back, at lower risk, for luxury timepiece investments.

I can agree with this argument with this exception. I believe that the "luxury watch" market is rapidly changing these days with many "new" and some "old" brands. These are the ones that were almost or completely unknown about twenty years ago, but now have long, years-long waiting lists for their 6 and 7 digit watches. And to be honest, it is not a surprise. These are not "old school" designs, but contemporary artworks with new features, new designs, new layouts, new cases, etc. that make them look much "fresher". Of course, I do not mean to say that a Rolex design is "outdated", because that would obviously not be true, but let us face it, their biggest development for a couple of years was the "celebration dial", which is kind of funny when you look at their competitors.

I have a feeling that, apart from their trendy, fashionable watches, the rest are no longer as interesting to younger people as they were to the public here decades ago.

And in the end, I think they would have risked much less with a Bucherer name than with decades of Cellini-like torment.

[garyk]

My wife and I visited one of their stores in Switzerland in 2000. My wife tried a few watches on that day but remarked the logo on the Bucherer dial wasn’t her fav and instead bought an Omega white dial Seamaster which she still wears when we travel.

[Old Expat Beast]

I guess this means they won't be bringing back the teaspoons.

[garyk]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I guess this means they won't be bringing back the teaspoons.

Hahaha

[RotorSelfWinding]

Originally Posted by Paul C

What's gonna happen to Bucherer jewelry? Will it remain untouched?

Completely different asset than Carl F. CFB does a lot of stuff that Rolex already does and a few things it doesn't. The high end horology from CFB will likely just be integrated into Rolex.

Bucherer Jewelry will likely continue, but I suspect their watch sales may change quite a bit. For one thing, I can imagine some of the brands looking for other partners at the end of their agreements with Bucherer.