My watch month: May 2025 - courage and madness
My watch month: May 2025 - courage and madness
My May highlight happened right at the beginning of last month and is called Stubbenhuk Office BuildingIn this very listed building, jeweler Wempe celebrated the opening of its second Wempe store in Hamburg, overlooking the harbor and the Elphi.
"I was completely in love!" Kim-Eva Wempe revealed her feelings upon her first visit to the location, from which the family business, with great courage and considerable financial investment, has conjured up a true gem. A win for Hamburg and the watch world.
On May 5, the numerous guests of Kim-Eva Wempe and her children Chiara and Scott probably all had the same feeling as I did: what belongs together has come together here: Wempe + modernly renovated traditional architecture + Hanseatic values such as honesty, tolerance, reliability, down-to-earthness, and discretion = one of the largest and most modern watch workshops in Europe.
The new Wempe Kontorhaus, with 4,700 square meters, sends a strong signal to watch lovers: three of the seven floors are reserved for the servicing and repair of timepieces.
Scott Wempe, limited partner and co-head of business development, explains this step: "With this, we are signaling to the industry how important this area is to us. On the one hand, we want to be a reliable partner for our customers. On the other hand, we want to provide the best possible support to our brand partners."
And all this at a time that is anything but easy, especially for the watch industry. And that brings us to the bare figures that shaped the May watch season.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH announced its export figures for April on May 27. These figures clearly demonstrate the activism of Swiss timepiece producers in the face of Donald Trump's insane customs practices:
The value of exports by the Swiss watch industry rose by almost 150 percent to just under CHF 852 million compared to April of the previous year and by 180 percent compared to April 2023.
“Ugh, this has probably never happened before.”
Antje Heepmann
Without these "special" exports, the company would have posted a loss. Incidentally, Gucci has been facing a loss for some time now. Unfortunately, this also applies to the number of employees in the watch division.
The exorbitant growth of US exports is therefore not an expression of an upswing, but rather "an expression of a one-off reaction to the uncertain economic situation rather than a genuine sign of a structural strengthening of demand." The FH, which is otherwise rather reluctant to comment, admits this.
Especially since the question remains whether the exported watches will quickly find their way onto US wrists or will instead gather dust in jewelers' warehouses. Unfortunately, I'm already mentally reaching for the Swiffer.
Rising figures are also being reported from Germany. While this sounds good, there is also a catch. First of all, however, a positive mood emerges when you look at the current Statistics of the Federal Association of Jewelry, Watch, Silverware and Related Industries (BVSU) for the first quarter of 2025.
The local watch and watch parts industry reported significant growth in the first quarter of this year. Things are looking even better for jewelry manufacturers in our country. The crux of the matter: the high gold price, which (unfortunately) accounts for part of the sales growth.
“Damn it, I was too happy too soon.”
Antje Heepmann
But now the really good news: The creatives are not impressed by the customs chaos and the highs in the gold price. It seems that the Watch creators full of courage and hard to stop.
Tennis, football, Formula 1, fairy tales, affordable haute horlogerie, personal history, iconic blue, hydromechanics, a special friendship, sparkle, a new UFO and, and, and… there seems to be nothing that timepieces aren't currently addressing.
A wonderful cornucopia to discover and explore.
It's not just about attractive looks, but also about sophisticated interiors. And these require regular maintenance so they provide a lifetime of enjoyment—and beyond.
This brings us full circle to Wempe and all other watch workshops in this country, where, thanks to their outstanding expertise, our ticking treasures are in the best hands.
“Phew – May was actually pretty good.”
Antje Heepmann
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