Luxury Watch Industry Leader Reacts To Apple Watch: Jean-Claude Biver Speaks

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

With the Apple Watch looming on the horizon for apparent release in the first quarter of 2015, the traditional watch industry is planning on how to react, both from a competitive product perspective, and anticipating how consumers will react. Whether or not you personally want an Apple Watch or appreciate the design, most people agree that it will be a highly disruptive product. Not only is this the first serious smartwatch device meant for the mainstream consumer, but it also takes smartwatches to a new level of design, finishing, and pricing. Whether or not Apple has designed a beautiful watch with appeal to watch lovers is something the Swiss watch industry is currently discussing - and reasonable people can disagree over the impact that it will have.

Sure, I have my own ideas, but I wanted to get better insight from the Swiss watch industry itself. I knew exactly who to ask for an opinion: Mr. Jean-Claude Biver. After successful careers at Omega, Blancpain, and Hublot, Jean-Claude Biver currently runs the watch division at LVMH. That means he oversees luxury watch brands such as Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Zenith. Biver always has excellent and poignant things to say about developments in the watch world (among other things). He also happens to be someone who not only has a good gauge on what consumers want, but is very open-minded to new ideas and designs.

Jean-Claude Biver has experienced a deluge of questions over the last few days since the release of the Apple Watch from media and colleagues all over the world. That means he has had a good deal of time to contemplate not only his own feelings about Apple's new smartwatch product, but also how he thinks it will effect the luxury watch industry overall, and perhaps how they might react. While Jean-Claude disagrees with Apple about the design, he does agree that it is a game-changing device. Jean-Claude doesn't feel that the Apple Watch is a threat to mechanical timepieces with more long-term value propositions, and he also feels confident that the Swiss watch industry will release their own "answer" to the Apple Watch in due course. Will Jean-Claude Biver nevertheless be an Apple Watch customer? Let's find out.

Ariel Adams: What feelings did you experience at the first moment you learned about the Apple Watch? Excited? Surprised? Scared? Skeptical?

Jean-Claude Biver: I was a little bit disappointed because we were awaiting and expecting a typical "Apple Revolution" and what finally we saw just a brave, somehow classically connected, watch. I still believe the next generation Apple Watch will be much better and therefore will not buy this first watch.

AA: Some people with a lot of emotional investment in mechanical watches are claiming that the Apple Watch is "not a watch." Claiming that it is an electronic gadget and exists in another category. Others feel that Apple has legitimately entered the "real watch" territory in terms of materials and design. What do you think?

JCB: The Apple Watch is for sure an interesting information tool to be worn on the wrist. I wouldn't call it a watch. In any case, the terminology and definition of a watch can vary, but for me it's an information or communication tool to be worn on the wrist.

AA: Apple clearly took a long hard look at the watch industry during the design process of the Apple Watch. We know that they hired someone from TAG Heuer as well, a brand that you help oversee. Did you personally have anything to do with helping Apple find someone to assist them? What do you think the watch industry taught them that they wouldn't have ever gotten right themselves?

JCB: No, I did not help them at all personally. However, when one of the managers I oversee got an offer from Apple, I thought it would be a great opportunity for him, and I wanted to think first of his interest and not ours. That's why I encouraged him to take the challenging job. I believed it was a unique career opportunity for a young man. Now that I saw the "iWatch" (Apple Watch) I am a little bit disappointed, but still believe they will improve on it in the future.

AA: People suspected that if Apple was going to release a smartwatch device, it would mostly compete with non-luxury watches given predicted price points and functionality. We then learned that many versions of the Apple Watch will come in 18k gold cases; meaning that they are clear competition to the luxury industry. Does that surprise you? What are your thoughts?

JCB: An Apple Watch - as great it can be - will always be the result of technological and industrial production processes.  As such, in my opinion, it is CONDEMNED to become OBSOLETE. Therefore, after a few years (or less) it's value will drop close to zero, and it will (contrary to Swiss Mechanical watches) never be repairable! Therefore, the Apple Watch cannot compete with any prestigious watch from a prestigious brand. Consumers should consider what the long-term utility is of a gadget made from a precious metal, that will only be state-of-the-art for a year or so.

AA: As is the case with most things, people have mixed feelings about the design of the Apple Watch - which is likely inspired in some, or large, part by the work of Marc Newson. Many critics argue that unlike many mechanical watches, the Apple Watch lacks soul. Do you agree or do you feel that given what it is the Apple Watch offers a lot of personality for smartwatch?

JCB: Yes, of course it lacks soul. But it also lacks of aesthetic tension (yin and yang), and it's not sexy at all.

AA: Speaking of design, do you think Apple got it right? Is the Apple Watch something that can compete with the sophisticated design talents from European watch makers? We know it is one of the best looking smartwatches around, but is it good enough to compete with the expectations of luxury watch aficionados?

JCB: No, at present, the Apple Watch cannot compete at all with European watches. Let's see what happens next, when they will have improved the following generation. For the time being, however, there is no comparison with the designs of Swiss watchmakers.

AA: I suspect that the Apple Watch's price, as well as its many aesthetic and material nods to the traditional watch industry, will cause a lot of new attention to be cast on the luxury watch industry - an industry that, for the most part, has bee insulated from a lot of mainstream consumer attention. What do you think will come with this attention? How can it help and how can it hurt?

JCB: The Swiss watch industry will find an answer to the "connected watch." Not the Apple answer, which, for the time being, is mere a miniaturization of the iPhone. Nevertheless, there will be a Swiss answer to the smartwatch, with their own concept and message. I am quite confident in the Swiss watch industry to find the right angle to the connected watch.

AA: How long will it take for the luxury watch industry to come out with viable competitive products to the Apple Watch in the smartwatch space? With the doors now open and the market created, I think we know that high-end smartwatches have a real future. Will the Swiss watch industry give Apple a run for its money sooner or later? What do you think?

JCB: There is no interest in the Swiss high-end and prestige-brand companies to create, produce, and sell watches whose values will likely vastly decrease over a short period of time, and which one day will not be repairable. That's contrary to the Swiss concept which is more about the creation of "eternity in a box."

AA: I've argued for a long time that anything which causes people to put items on their wrist is a good thing for the watch industry when it comes to attention and awareness. At the same time, smartwatches compete for the same real estate on people's bodies as traditional watches. Do you feel that the benefits of having more people think about watches outweighs the new "wrist space competition?"

JCB: The Apple Watch is certainly a promotion tool to teach the youngest generation to wear a "watch" or information tool on their wrists. Apple is preparing this generation to make it easier one day to wear a real watch, with tradition, culture, heritage, art, and, most importantly, SOUL. As such, I welcome the Apple Watch and thank them for helping to promote and prepare the wrist for us in the Swiss watch industry.

AA: How might the Apple Watch or something similar fit into your life? You are a diehard fan of mechanical watches, but you are also a serious technology lover, and your iPhone is more often in your hand than in your pocket. How will the need to be connected and enjoy the latest technology co-exist with your passion for traditional timepieces?

JCB: As soon as the connected Apple Watch can disconnect from the phone and be independent (which means you can wear the watch without having an iPhone 6 next to you), I will buy this watch. But for the time being, I prefer some other fitness watches that I own.

Ariel Adams is the founder and editor of the watch review site aBlogtoWatch.com.