When Taylor Swift introduced her engagement to Travis Kelce, it wasn’t simply the massive diamond ring that despatched followers right into a frenzy. For watch fanatics, it was the uncommon gold and diamond Cartier timepiece she was carrying.
The famous person sporting the discontinued Santos Demoiselle cemented the model as Gen Z’s most wished, upending the watch market within the course of. Cartier is on the forefront of a shift to smaller, dressier fashions, disrupting the decade-long dominance of chunky sports activities watches, and serving to its proprietor, luxurious conglomerate Cie Financiere Richemont SA outperform the trade’s largest names, together with Rolex, this yr.
Taylor Swift Is in Her Cartier Era
To hint the recognition of Cartier, we have to look to a different movie star: Kim Kardashian. Around a decade in the past, the Kardashian sisters started displaying off Cartier’s Love bracelets.
As prosperous younger girls have been stacking the bangles on their wrists, Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier’s chief government officer from 2016 till final yr, was reworking the storied home. He moved away from sophisticated timepieces, and as a substitute centered on Cartier’s heritage of extra uncommon formed but expertly crafted fashions.
The masterstroke got here in 2017, when he relaunched the Panthère. The marketing campaign movie, shot by Sofia Coppola, that includes a younger girl in Los Angeles and set to the pulsating beat of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, tapped into the Gen Z zeitgeist. As a part of the refresh, Cartier invited clients with current Panthères to deliver them again, to be repaired without cost, with a two-year guarantee. Many girls fastened watches that had been languishing unworn, and gave them to their daughters or granddaughters, creating a brand new technology of followers.
Vigneron didn’t cease on the Panthère. A yr later, he relaunched the Santos De Cartier with a marketing campaign that includes Jake Gyllenhaal and continued to reimagine different iconic traces, such because the Tank and Baignoire, extending some ranges into mini-watches.
The altering nature of luxurious has additionally contributed to Cartier’s success. As the worth of purses has skyrocketed, shoppers, notably youthful consumers, have turned to jewelry. One of Richemont’s strengths throughout its jewellery companies, which additionally consists of Van Cleef & Arpels, is sustaining entry degree costs, and this carries over to watches. A mini metal Panthère is obtainable for about £3,500 ($4,600), roughly the identical as many purses. Cartier watches are additionally extensively obtainable, though there are ready lists for some fashions. Those encrusted with diamonds, as favored by Swift, are notably well-liked.
Cartier Watches Are Sought After on the Secondary Market
All this has put Cartier on the prime of Gen Z’s want listing. Young consumers are shifting from cumbersome, principally metal sports activities watches, led by Rolex, to smaller, predominantly gold fashions. The kinds are being worn not solely by girls — a few of whom are stacking them like bracelets — but additionally males, corresponding to Cartier ambassador Timothée Chalamet. The model doesn’t phase its watches by gender, however about 55 p.c of its gross sales are to males, and 45 p.c to girls, estimates trade adviser LuxeConsult.
Cartier Is Over-Indexing Among the Young
According to watch-trading platform Chrono24, Cartier’s share of cash spent by Gen Z clients on its web site jumped to six.8 p.c within the first half of this yr, from 1.7 p.c in 2018. Cartier’s share amongst all age teams has risen to five.4 p.c presently from 2.9 p.c in 2018.
Gen Z Has Disrupted the Decade of Watch Super-Sizing
Second-hand costs for Cartier watches rose 10 p.c between March and October, in response to Subdial. The UK-based buying and selling platform is often requested to supply Panthères, in a manner it was not two to a few years in the past, maybe reflecting their reputation with influencers and on TikTookay.
Cartier Watches Have Been Changing Hands for More
But progress is much more spectacular for brand spanking new fashions. Cartier is a part of Richemont’s jewelry division, so it doesn’t disclose the model’s watch efficiency. But Vontobel Equity Research estimates that Cartier watch gross sales rose 15 p.c from January to September. This is forward of Rolex, estimated to have elevated gross sales by a excessive single-digits share, and the broader Swiss watch trade, the place gross sales declined.
Cartier watch gross sales might attain €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion) this yr, analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate, overtaking Richemont’s different watchmakers for the primary time in 20 years.
Rolex Remains Dominant within the Watch Market
Cartier is anticipated to supply 715,000 watches this yr, far lower than Rolex’s 1.2 million, in response to Vontobel. So, there’s a lot to go for, notably amongst Chinese shoppers, for whom Cartier is more and more resonating.
But secondary costs have slipped over the previous month, whereas Chrono24 has seen a slight dip in demand for costume watches in Asia and North America. Some younger US shoppers are underneath strain from inflation, rising scholar mortgage repayments and a weaker jobs market.
Rivals have seen Cartier’s success. Rolex launched a brand new costume watch assortment, the 1908, two years in the past. In its metal fashions, it’s experimenting with playful colored dials, corresponding to pistachio and lavender, together with in smaller sizes. Rolex discontinued the 26mm Lady Datejust in 2015, as watches super-sized. But this mannequin, which has the identical previous cash vibe because the Panthère, is popping up on TikTookay, and altering arms at increased costs. Reissuing it could be a wise manner for Rolex to compete.
Richemont has a wealthy heritage inside Cartier, which its new CEO Louis Ferla can proceed to use. There are additionally fashions throughout the firm’s watchmakers that would choose up any slack. Jaeger-LeCoultre has relaunched the Reverso, which works equally nicely for women and men, whereas Piaget has launched the uneven Sixtie.
But after all, the coup could be bringing again the Santos Demoiselle. Watchmakers hardly ever give clues about their future plans, however what higher technique to hold Cartier’s momentum going than reworking the “Taylor Swift Cartier” into TikTookay’s subsequent It-girl watch?