INSIGHT-RADAR: Industry News in Brief
Bianchet, Beda’a, and Jaeger-LeCoultre showcase three ways brands tell their stories
Cover photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre “THE VALLEY OF INVENTIONS” IN SHANGHAI
Three stories from the international watch industry illustrate how differently brands are building visibility today: through sports, their own boutiques, and immersive exhibitions. The focus here is less on individual product launches and more on how brands build and consolidate their brand universe and make it accessible to new target audiences.
Bianchet harnesses the energy of professional sports and the personal story of two brothers. Beda’a creates its own physical brand space with its first flagship boutique. Jaeger-LeCoultre translates heritage, precision, and craftsmanship into an exhibition format in Shanghai. Three approaches, one common finding: Today, watch brands tell stories not only about their models, but also about their contexts.
Bianchet: Performance and Personal Stories
Bianchet is expanding its brand family with two new faces from professional sports. The independent Swiss watch brand welcomes NFL players Chase Brown and Sydney Brown as brand ambassadors. In the brand’s communications, the twin brothers embody a theme that Bianchet strongly associates with its own family history: diverse talents, shared aspirations, and collaborative achievement.
Chase Brown plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Sydney Brown plays for the Atlanta Falcons. For Bianchet, the partnership is less of a traditional endorsement and more of an attempt to bring together haute horlogerie, performance, and U.S. sports culture. The brand places team spirit, resilience, and the idea of complementary strengths at the center of this initiative.
On their wrists, the brothers wear models from the Rotondo UltraFino line. Chase Brown wears the titanium model with sky-blue accents, while Sydney Brown wears the high-density carbon version. Both models feature the UR01 automatic flying tourbillon caliber with a 60-hour power reserve and shock resistance up to 5,000 G.
Bianchet: Rotondo UltraFino in titanium with sky-blue accents and the high-density carbon version
What’s interesting here isn’t so much the press release itself as the shift in the narrative. Bianchet positions the tourbillon not only as a classic symbol of haute horlogerie, but also as an expression of lightness, resilience, and performance. In doing so, the brand operates in a context where technical sophistication and images of physical performance are deliberately intertwined.
Beda’a: A Boutique as a Brand Space
Beda’a is opening its first flagship boutique at the Mandarin Oriental in Doha. This is a significant step for the independent brand: for the first time, Beda’a has its own permanent space dedicated entirely to showcasing its collections. At the same time, the boutique signals a stronger international focus; another boutique in London is planned for late 2026.
To mark the opening, Beda’a is presenting two exclusive Boutique Editions: the Angles 37 Boutique Edition and the Angles Mecaline Boutique Edition. Both models draw on the distinctive geometry of the Angles collection and combine a vertically brushed silver-colored dial with Breguet numerals, gold-colored hands, and a blue strap. The design also references the new boutique, whose interior is characterized by shades of silver and black.
Bedaá: Angles 37
The Angles 37 Boutique Edition features a Ronda 1062.1 Slimtech quartz movement, a 37-millimeter case, and a thickness of 5.3 millimeters. The Angles Mecaline Boutique Edition brings the same design to a mechanical version with manual winding, a small seconds sub-dial at six o’clock, and the Peseux/ETA 7001 movement. Both models are available exclusively through Beda’a boutiques.
In this way, the boutique itself becomes part of the collection’s narrative. The models are not merely new variations on an existing line; they also reflect the colors, atmosphere, and architecture of the space. Here, Beda’a uses retail as an extension of its brand identity: a place where product, interior design, and exclusivity converge.
Jaeger-LeCoultre: Heritage as an Experiential Space
Jaeger-LeCoultre brings its heritage from the Vallée de Joux to Shanghai. From September 10 to 23, 2026, the Maison will present the exhibition “The Valley of Inventions” at Zhang Yuan W4. The exhibition is open to the public free of charge and explores the influence of the Vallée de Joux on the development of modern haute horlogerie.
The focus is on more than 190 years of ingenuity and precision. The exhibition is divided into four themes: Precision and Chronometry, Precision and Tourbillon, Precision and Multi-Axis Tourbillons, and Precision and Complications. The exhibition is complemented by new Hybris and women’s timepieces, an Asian presentation of new one-of-a-kind Reverso Enamel models, live demonstrations, an Atmos gallery, “The Collectibles,” and a dedicated space for the new High Precision Guarantee.
The format is interesting because Jaeger-LeCoultre not only showcases its products here but also explains its role as a Manufacture-Atelier. The Maison highlights 82 workshops, 108 crafts, and 235 techniques all under one roof, as well as more than 430 patents. This transforms the exhibition into a brand space where heritage, technical expertise, and artisanal practice come together.
The Vallée de Joux is presented not only as a geographical point of origin, but also as a cultural and technical space of resonance. Landscape, climate, workshops, inventions, and precision become elements of a larger brand narrative. This is precisely where the strength of such exhibition formats lies: they not only make watchmaking visible but also allow visitors to experience it spatially.
