WatchPro (USA)

Roger Dubuis has launched the Excalibur The Kabuto Legacy, a 28-piece limited edition in 18K pink gold that draws on a pivotal moment in 17th century Japanese history – the unification of Japan under Tokugawa Ieyasu and his circle of samurai commanders. The release comes as the Geneva maison looks to grow its collector stronghold in the region, where it already sees strong numbers.

In an industry he describes as yet to have its Age of Enlightenment, Oris CEO Rolf Studer has spent years making the case that sustainability isn’t a marketing layer you apply to a product – it’s the reason the company exists. While the rest of the watch industry quietly dropped sustainability from its vocabulary, Studer never stopped talking about it.

Richemont has recently been described as Cartier with a few watchmakers attached as its iconic jewellery business, which also includes the booming Van Cleef & Arpels, dramatically outperforms its timekeeper division. Fresh financial results for the quarter ended June 30 will go some way to correct that narrative as its Specialist Watchmakers operation spluttered back to life with 8% growth at constant currency or 6% at actual rates.

Ask AI to design a $250 fashion watch and it comes up with a timepiece that might be mistaken for a Richard Mille from across the room, it appears. Fashion house Guess, whose watches are designed, manufactured and distributed under license by Sequel, a division of Timex Group, has unveiled the AI Venix, which is described as a human-crafted model featuring an AI-generated print across its plastic 42mm x 45mm tonneau-shaped case and silicon strap.

Panerai has launched two new Luminor Luna Rossa timepieces to mark the countdown to the 38th America’s Cup, set to take place in Naples, Italy in 2027 – the first time the competition has been hosted in Italy. Both watches build on the partnership with Luna Rossa that began in 2019 and has shaped a series of performance-led releases developed with real sailing conditions in mind.

Rolex accounts for 28% of sales at Bezel, a US-based luxury watch marketplace, but almost one in four of the brand’s watches, 38%, are rejected before reaching a buyer because of pledge to eradicate fakes, Frankenstein watches, miss-described pieces and stolen items from its platform. Every watch sold through Bezel undergoes a multi-stage authentication process.

Audemars Piguet’s UK operation generated sales of £105 million (USD 140 million) in 2025, 29% up on the prior year, and almost double its turnover in 2022. Operating profit dipped slightly, but remained close to an all-time-high of £7.8 million, down 3% year-on-year. 2025 was a breakthrough year for AP in the UK. Audemars Piguet owns 60% of the Manchester business and reported sales in 2025 of £7.4 million and an operating loss of £738 million.

Fashion generates an estimated 90 million tonnes of textile waste every year, while automotive and technology companies are investing heavily in recycled materials, circular production and repairability as consumers demand greater transparency and accountability. Luxury is evolving too, with buyers paying closer attention to sourcing, environmental impact and long-term value. The watch industry occupies a more nuanced position within that conversation.

Citizen Watch UK delivered an 8% rise in sales in the year ended in March 2026 with turnover touching a record £36.8 million. Operating profit was also at an all-time-high of £2.5 million, a rise of 11% year-on-year. The UK business, which reports to the New York-based American office, is responsible for sales and distribution of watches from Citizen, Bulova, Frederique Constant, Alpina and Accutron.

WatchPro editor-at-large Rob Corder. It is a question I have put to many CEOs I have interviewed over the past two years, and their response, almost universally, is that prices are a product of rising costs: raw materials, salaries, utilities, expensive precision machinery, the strength of the Swiss franc, etc; coupled with the quality of the watches now being produced and the R&D required to stay ahead.