The Aventi A-10 Collection, with its bold color options, as well as its flagship 100% Sapphire Crystal Case model, launches in April 2020 via crowdfunding
With the acquisition of Corum by China Haidan Holdings in 2013 and the steady influx of India-based companies into the luxury watch sector, can Aventi hammer yet another nail into the Swiss controlled near-monopoly?
Throughout history, the leaders in horology have changed hands many times over. Germany led the way, inventing the first portable clock, in close competition were the Dutch. French Huguenots, fleeing persecution, brought their artisan craft to Geneva during the Reformation in the 16th century. Britain also enjoyed a time in the horological spotlight.
Due to the high level of craftsmanship of early timepieces, watches were a rare luxury that became the global symbol of wealth and power. Esteemed watchmakers received personal commissions from royal families, their elite clientele waited decades before receiving their much-coveted prize. Unfortunate for early watch aficionados like Marie Antoinette, whose commissioned watch was finally completed by Breguet in 1827, 34 years after her beheading.
In a post-World War II America, Swiss watchmakers employed aggressive marketing to America’s wealthy giving rise to the Swiss-made luxury watch. And like its predecessors, these watches were the exclusive baubles of the ultra-rich.
Not long after, with their slick and inexpensive quartz movements, Japan challenged Swiss watchmakers with proven greater accuracy. Yet Swiss-made watches remained the pinnacle of skill in the world of mechanical movements. A near monopoly that has dominated haute horology ever since, a title that may soon fall due to strategic innovations by microbrands.
Once such brand is Aventi.