When smartwatches sales started to pick up in 2015, some worried that another Quartz Crisis was descending upon the watch industry. (Quick history review: the Quartz Crisis refers to the economic downturn that befell the Swiss watch industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s with the introduction of inexpensive and more accurate quartz watches from Asia. Swiss brands lost a lot of market share to the Japanese watch brand Seiko and, even after a handful of bailouts by Swiss banks, still shuttered their doors.)

In this modern edition of history repeating itself, some speculated mechanical watches would become entirely obsolete as the Apple Watch became a ubiquitous accessory, donned by current watch- and non-watch-wearers alike. But Swiss watchmakers didn’t seem all that concerned with the growing popularity of smartwatches.

Because, unlike the Quartz Crisis where the industry was largely playing catch-up to its Asian competitors, a handful of leading Swiss watch brands were already putting their finishing touches on their own novel take on smartwatches: the horological smartwatch.

What is the Horological Smartwatch?
In short, the horological smartwatch marries traditional watch design and smartwatch wearable technology. It’s essentially a smartwatch dressed up (or disguised, depending on how you want to look at it) as a classic fine watch.

A Brief History of the Horological Smartwatch
In 2015, Manufacture Modules Technologies (MMT) was founded as a joint-venture between Silicon Valley’s Fullpower Technologies (the company that developed the MotionX technology found in the fitness trackers UP by Jawbone and Nike Fuelband) and Switzerland’s Union Horologère Holding, the parent company of Alpina and Frederique Constant. In turn, MMT and these select Swiss watch brands set about developing smartwatches that tapped into the quintessential look and feel of a sleek mechanical watch but incorporated smartwatch technology.

Frederique Constant focused on preserving the overall design’s clean aesthetics: a sleek dial, diamond-cut hands, applied hour markers and hand-polished cases. MMT, meanwhile, focused on how to improve the battery life and how to convert the traditional dial into an unobtrusive piece of wearable tech. The result was the horological smartwatch.

Features and Functionality of Frederique Constant’s Horological Smartwatch
Frederique Constant first tasked MMT with developing a smartwatch that doesn’t need to be charged every day. To answer this call, the horological smartwatch platform’s battery is powered by a quartz module for timekeeping and a set of gears that controls the hands on the dial. Impressively, the battery on a horological smartwatch lasts more than two years.

And, as for the original design, unlike a typical smartwatch that uses a digital display, Frederique Constant’s Horological Smartwatch uses its hour and minute hands and crown to read out what percentage of your daily activity goal you’ve reached. The horological smartwatch pairs with the MotionX-365 app to give you a more detailed look at your activity and sleep patterns.

Later updates to the horological smartwatch would include a vibrating motor that, via your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, notifies you of calls or text messages and can automatically update your local time zone.

Looking Ahead in the World of Horological Smartwatches
While other mid-level and fashion-brand competitors have entered the smartwatch circle (including TAG Heuer and Montblanc), Frederique Constant remains the leader in Swiss smartwatch manufacturing, shipping over 16,000 horological smartwatches in 2015 alone.

MMT later broke off as an independent smartwatch and software company in 2016 when the Frederique Constant group was acquired by Citizen. MMT’s ultimate goal is to license out its MotionX-365 horological smartwatch platform to any Swiss watch brand that wants to fold this technology into current and future collections, expanding wearers’ overall selection of smartwatch styles.

While these horological smartwatches are not necessarily meant to compete head-to-head with, say, the Apple Watch, they do offer a sleek alternative for watch wearers who appreciate that classic Swiss look but do not want to sacrifice the added benefits of smartwatch tech.

Raymond Weil watches came about during the Quartz Crisis, a time of great uncertainty for the Swiss watch industry. However, by deftly blending together the tradition of watchmaking and the modern technology, Raymond Weil has left its indelible mark on the watch industry. Here, we explore the fascinating history of Raymond Weil watches.

Setting the Scene: The Quartz Crisis
Before we can delve into the origins of Raymond Weil, we need to understand the precarious situation the Swiss industry was in before and during the infamous Quartz Crisis.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a handful of international watch brands started introducing battery-powered watches, including the Bulova Accutron (1960), the Seiko Astron (1969), and the Hamilton Watch Company Pulsar (1970). While these innovative watches were met with some fanfare, it was the Japanese watch brand Seiko that took the biggest bite out of the previously unrivaled Swiss watch industry.

Throughout the decade, Seiko systematically converted its facilities to support its quartz technology by retraining staff, partnering with vendors for batteries and circuits, and buying up equipment to automate and scale production. By 1977, Seiko had built itself into the largest watch brand in the world in terms of revenue. Seiko dominated the market, thanks in large part to its split between analog and digital quartz watches, hedging out its competition from both sides.

So, Seiko has the lion’s share of the market’s revenue and the traditional Swiss brands are finally coming around to the harsh reality that their floundering industry is in dire need of restructuring. And it’s in the midst of this incredible industry turmoil and uncertainty that Raymond Weil launched his breakthrough brand.

The Origins of Raymond Weil
Raymond Weil founded his namesake brand in 1976 and was wisely ahead of the Swiss watchmaking curve. Born in 1926 in Geneva, Weil cut his teeth working at the Camy Watch Company, which he joined in 1949. He became the company’s general manager and remained with the brand for 27 years. Then, at the age of 50, Weil left Camy Watch and boldly struck out on his own at the height of the Quartz Crisis.

But Weil took a totally novel approach to compete in this tumultuous arena. While his competitors either hopped on the bandwagon of cheap quartz watches or tried to hold out with their traditional watchmaking techniques, Raymond Weil introduced and effectively marketed the “entry-level luxury watch.”

Raymond Weil’s watches were (and most still are) powered by quartz crystals but leaned into the cachet of “Swiss-made” watches and incorporated the classic designs and touches of a traditional Swiss watch. This unique approach was a breakthrough at a crucial time in the industry’s history, appealing to both new and seasoned collectors. Alongside the Swatch Group, Raymond Weil is largely credited with sustaining the Swiss watchmaking industry until its mechanical renaissance in the 1980s.

Today, the brand Raymond Weil remains one of the last remaining independent, family-run Swiss brands. With the third generation of the Weil-Bernheim family at the helm, Raymond Weil holds steadfast to its identity that was built around such a cutting-edge approach: gracefully designed, Swiss-made watches at an affordable price point.

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