Shining a Light on the World of Watches

“Maybe the luxury replica watches industry is a little bit conservative, or not quite aware, but they will get a wake-up call, there’s no way around it,” Paul Roeland, a data and sustainability reporting expert with the Clean Clothes Campaign in Amsterdam, said on a recent video call.

This week, the European Parliament is expected to approve the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, a wide-reaching piece of legislation designed to bring sustainability reporting on par with financial reporting.

Aimed at companies that fulfill two of the following three criteria — 250 or more employees, net annual sales of at least 40 million euros ($39.4 million) and total assets of €20 million or more — the directive, and related legislation being developed by the European Union, would force many luxury watchmakers to document their supply chains, in some cases for the first time.

“Saying, ‘We bought the gold at auction in Dubai, and we don’t know where it came from,’ is not going to be acceptable,” Mr. Roeland said. “The same goes for diamonds.”

Once the related legislation is finalized, companies could face penalties for failing to comply with the requirements and in the most extreme cases, such businesses could be prohibited from selling their products in the European Union.

“If there is a credible accusation of forced labor somewhere in the supply chain, a company has two weeks to prove it didn’t happen, which means if you haven’t mapped your supply chain, you won’t do that in two weeks,” Mr. Roeland said. “If companies now say, ‘It’s not our problem,’ it will be.”

The J12 was introduced in 1999, but seemed to take almost a decade to achieve mainstream approval. “Between 2008 and 2012, the J12 was the ultimate status watch, even beyond Rolex and Cartier for fashion watch women,” said Ms. Owens, one of the new generation of young collectors who has turned her passion into a full-time career. In her case, she became a marketing coordinator with the online Swiss watch magazine Watchonista.

When Jessica Owens started collecting watches in 2013, the New York City resident said she often saw the Ballon Bleu on wrists around town. “It is one of the early watches considered unisex, but you still find it mainly on women,” she said. “I am sure the bracelet on the early models is part of why it has become a modern icon.”

The two all-American brands teamed up to create an all-black version of the best-selling Andros, a diving watch with a working bezel. This version is decidedly stealthier than the original, thanks to its black face and a black case made from ionized stainless steel.

The dial features day and date windows at three o'clock, and bold white indices that make it easy to read. And thanks to its tough-yet-sophisticated styling, it'll be easy to pair with pretty much everything that's already in your closet.

Designers of all stripes are stepping away from the monochromatic minimalism that's dominated fashion in the last few years and making clothes that will help their customers stand out.

The new Canfield Cannonball manages to combine a lot of different textures in a harmonious way. Its rich navy pebbled leather strap is something you don't often see in watches, and it works well against the coin edge detail on the 43mm case.

The dial is made for legibility: Its white face features bold blue numerals and minute and hour Rolex Replica Watches that glow in the dark. It also puts the second hand on a sub dial at six o'clock, keeping things open.

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