THE SOCIAL BUZZ

OF HERMÈS AND THE APPLE WATCH

A Two Week Snapshotof What’s Trending

in the Luxury Watch Industry

05 September 2016 - 19 September 2016

OURMISSION

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 missionsto inform, train, recognise and organise.

Since 2005, we have promoted valuesof excellence and tradition within

an organisation that has the supportof numerous brands.

In this series of trend reportswe aim to discover which stories,

pieces of news and industry developmentsin the world of haute horology gain

the most amount of traction in the digitalsphere - uncovering why these trends

are important to the industry.

Every two weeks we’ll be diving intothe world of digital conversations to discover,

what’s trending.

SNAPSHOTOF THE PERIOD

TRENDING TOPICS AND STORIESBETWEEN SEPTEMBER 05 TO SEPTEMBER 19

Percentage of conversations on luxury watches penetrated by the topic

Hermès team up with Apple once again for the Apple Watch Hermès Series 2 collection

Vacheron Constantin release new 2016 version of the Traditionnelle Chronograph Perpetual Calendar

The Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari Sapphire takes to the small screen in new animated short film

Breitling continue to generate excitement around the release of a Limited Edition Navitimer GMT Aurora Blue

Urwerk release new unique EMC TimeHunter X-Ray timepiece

1.02%

0.88%

0.7%

0.63%

0.6%

VOLUME OF CONVERSATIONSON HIGH-END WATCHES

What’s been published on the HH Journal:

Apple, the world’s number-two “watchmaker”Analysing the truth behind Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook’s ranking of Apple as second (behind Rolex) in worldwide watch sales

Vacheron Constantin – In perpetual evolutionIntroducing the Traditionnelle Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Watch from Vacheron Constantin

Breitling – Home and awayDiscussing Breitling introducing Navitimer GMT Aurora Blue (limited to 1,000-pieces)

ANALYSINGTHE SOCIAL BUZZOF HERMÈS AND

THE APPLE WATCH

Following the launch of the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple have announced that they will be continuing

their partnership with the luxury French fashion house Hermès - with the release of another range

of luxury, special edition digital timepieces.

The new Apple Watch Hermès collection will see watches donned with a new double buckle cuff in

Swift and Epsome calfskin leathers (inspired by the classic Hermés sandals designed by Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermés shoes and jewellery)

which will be available in multiple colours.

The watch will also feature exclusive faces based on the design of Hermès’ own timepieces – the highly popular Clipper, Cape Cod and Espace

Hermès.

The partnership has helped Apple build its credentials as a provider of luxury fashion

accessories (rather than merely being a premium tech brand), with the Apple Watch becoming as

desirable to fashionistas as it is with techies.

“Smartwatches can be clunky and unappealing at times, but when Apple and Hermès come together, you can be sure that the resultant Apple watch is

going to be the chicest you’ve ever seen.”

Vivien, Luxury Launches

Among Influencers

2.28%Penetration of conversations

by Hermès in Swiss watch related conversations

133.33% Increase of Hermès mentions

against the previous two weeks

69.05%Of mentions of Hermès are in relation to the Apple Watch

Beyond Influencers

155All online mentions of

Hermès in relation to watches

330.56%Increase of Hermès mentions

against the previous two week

60.65%Of mentions of Hermès are in relation to the Apple Watch

SUMMARY

Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the Hermès Executive Vice President (who is in charge of the brand’s artistic

direction), says the brands are “united by the same vision, the uncompromising pursuit of excellence and authenticity, and the creation of objects that

remain as relevant and functional as they are beautiful”.

While there have been many who have questioned the extent to which smartwatches have truly ‘taken over’ (despite Tim Cook’s claim that Apple is now

ranked second in the world in terms of watch sales), it is a commonly held belief that the design behind the Apple Watch is of a very high standard – H. Moser & Cie. even appropriated the design of the Apple Watch for their Swiss Alp Watch model.

On the face of it the partnership with Hermès merely elevates the Apple Watch as a symbol of luxury

(commanding a much higher price tag). However Hermès is also well established within the world of haute horology, with the brand has not only gained recognition for their own range of timepieces, they

also have connections to other luxury watchmakers - most notably Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Furthermore, within watch collectors circles, Hermès wrist straps are very highly regarded – arguably

more so than any other watch strap in the world – for their quality of stitching and the smoothness of the

leather.

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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