HYPE
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEMAND OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY?
On 26 March 2022, the watch industry changed forever. Around the world, 110 Swatch stores had taken delivery of a radical new collaboration: the MoonSwatch, a crossover design that fused the stylings of Omega’s classic Speedmaster Moonwatch mechanical chronograph with 11 colourful, chunky, quartz-powered bioceramic designs produced by sister brand Swatch. Queues had been forming outside boutiques for two days and, as the security guards unlocked the doors on that Saturday morning, all hell broke loose.
Swatch stores in New York and London lasted just hours before they were forced to close, as police restored order to the crowds outside. Some of those lucky enough to have secured a watch promptly sold them at a profit to those further down the line; others found their patient queueing disrupted by “scalpers” whose only goal was to flip the watches at once. It took almost no time at all for the first MoonSwatches to hit eBay and start trading for multiples of their original price.
Amid the frenzy, Swatch’s official response urged patience and restraint — the MoonSwatch, it had been very clear, was not a limited edition, and everyone would be able to get one in due course. As an appeal to reason, it had all the strength of a parent urging a party of five-year-olds to wait their turn for chocolate cake. Anticipation had been stoked, the launch timed perfectly to take place in the week before the watch industry assembled in Geneva for the Watches and Wonders trade fair. It was clear this was something special, desirable and — in terms of the Insta-bragging rights that ownership would confer — far more valuable than its £207 sticker price.
The launch of the MoonSwatch wasn’t ground zero, but it might come to be seen as the tipping point that marks a generational shift in how watches are marketed and sold. It was the most intense, arresting and visible display of the phenomenon that has been building for the past few years: that of the hype watch.
Before the pandemic, the watch business revolved around annual trade fairs where new watches — normally, a brand’s entire annual offering — would be shown to press and retailers and then, three to nine months later, would appear in stores. This status quo was already splintering, thanks to breakaway brands such as Breitling, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, but Covid dealt the hammer blow.
Now, the latest must-have watch might be unveiled on social media or land in our inboxes at any time — encouraging watch fans to stay glued to every possible channel for announcements. Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, says, “We used to ha
