THE CHOSEN FEW

It’s boomtown in the Hong Kong watch market again – and the finest Swiss manufacturers are producing ever more innovative and daring models. ROBIN SWITHINBANK reveals his favourite new releases of 2018

ROBIN SWITHINBANK picks innovative new timepieces to strap on your wrist this season

香港鐘錶業再現好景，瑞士的頂尖品牌亦紛紛推出以新穎創意與精湛工藝製作的新款腕錶。Robin Swithinbank推介他的2018心水精選

HONG KONG HAS enjoyed ‘sustained and uninterrupted growth’ over the past year in fine watch imports, according to the latest report from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).

In March, exports to Hong Kong bounced 10.2 per cent year on year, reaching more than 230 million Swiss francs (HK$1.8 billion).

But things weren’t always this rosy. Between 2014 and 2016, the market was in decline. According to the trade body, global exports plunged almost 3.2 per cent in 2015 and a further 9.9 per cent the following year. What happened?

Much, if not most, of the damage was done in Asia, and in China and Hong Kong in particular. In 2014, exports to Hong Kong peaked at 4.1 billion Swiss francs (HK$32.6 billion), making the territory the world’s largest importer of Swiss watches. But in mid-2016, that figure had dropped by a billion and the US, once a distant second, usurped Hong Kong at the top of the watch import pile.

Then in March 2017, things perked up. By the end of that year, exports to Hong Kong and China were up by an exuberant six and 18.8 per cent respectively. And the trend continues. The same is true of Singapore (up 8.4 per cent) and Japan (13.3 per cent), according to the March FH report.

The numbers have brought some relief to Swiss watchmakers, although there’s still work to do. Talk to the chief executives of top brands and they’ll say that their most powerful weapons are innovation and sheer bloody-mindedness. The Swiss don’t give in easily, they’ll say; instead, they think of new ideas and new products that their customers will be excited by. Three centuries of business suggest they know their onions.

While brands like Richard Mille will always push boundaries with hyperwatches like this year’s unfathomable RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough, many others are sticking to tried-andtested classics, like Montblanc with its updated 1858 collection.

Here are some of this year’s most impressive releases.

瑞士鐘錶工業聯合會（ FH)最新發表的報告指出，去年瑞士出口到香港的級高 鐘錶錄得「持續不斷的升幅」。

今年3月，出口額就已比去年同期飆升10.2%，總額逾2.3億法瑞士 郎（ 18億港元）。

不過，業內景況並非一直都是如此美好，瑞士鐘錶業在2014年至2016年間期呈現萎縮的狀態。根據FH的數據顯示，全 球出口額於2015年下跌3.2%，翌年再下跌9.9%。原因何在？

出口下滑的要主 地區是亞洲，尤以中國和香港為甚。2014年，瑞士鐘錶出口至香港的數字直攀巔峰，達41億瑞士法郎（ 326億港元） ，令香港成為全球最大的瑞士鐘錶進口地。然而到了2016年年中，數字大幅削減十億，本來被香港遠遠拋離而屈居次席的美國則迎頭趕上，佔據鐘錶出口目的地的榜首位置。

不過，勢形 於2017年3月再見起色。及至年底，出口至香港和中國的數字分別大幅攀升和6% 18.8%，這個趨勢至今仍然持續，根據今年3月的FH 報告顯示，新加坡和日本亦同樣報捷，分別上升8.4%和13.3%。

這些數字令瑞士鐘錶製造商略為鬆一口氣，但他們仍需努力開拓商機。只要與頂級鐘錶品牌的行政總裁交，談 就會了解他們最強大的武器，就是新穎創意和絕不屈服的精神。他們會說瑞士人從不輕言放棄，反而會致力構思嶄新理念和產品，為顧客帶來驚喜。鐘錶業立足瑞士300年，顯示他們的確對這個產業瞭如指掌。

鐘錶品牌如Richard Mille總是不斷推出超級腕錶，突破傳統界限，巧例如 奪天工的年度力作RM 53- 01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough腕錶；多家品牌亦堅持演繹雋永經典，例如萬寶龍推出的版新 1858系列腕錶。

以下為你介紹幾款今年最出類拔萃的新作。