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Let's just say what it is like: 2020 was a brutal year for the watch industry.

The corona pandemic has meant that even companies with very popular products can be happy if they lose less than 30 percent in sales this year - and so far nobody knows whether that will change significantly in 2021.

Because even if vaccines put the brakes on the pandemic soon, it will be some time before the all-important luxury tourists really have access to airports and foreign countries again.

The way into the future can only be to look after local customers who want to buy a watch in their place on the one hand, and to promote online trading on the other.

Both have their pitfalls: people who buy in their home country have higher demands on expertise and service than people who are just passing through.

And in the digital world, as long as the two industry leaders Rolex and Patek Philippe do not participate, online stores will not be able to offer many particularly sought-after timepieces.

It will be exciting to see how the crisis affects manufacturers' model policy.

The first harbingers could already be seen this year.

Companies like Bulgari and Breitling woo millennials with reduced prices and materials like aluminum or a high-performance quartz movement.

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The German market is dominated by robust sports watches with a steel bracelet.

Ten years ago nobody would have dared to wear such eye-catching pieces in the office, but now firstly the dress codes have become much lax and secondly you can have whatever you want on your wrist in the home office anyway.

But of course you can't possibly ask a stubborn Lower Saxony like me to join this trend as a friend of classic dress watches.

My favorite watch is therefore Zenith's redesigned “Elite Classic” in blue.

The corrugated dial gives it an individual touch, the price is high at 5700 euros, but not exorbitant.

All in all, a model for people who want to appear as if they don't have to work too hard for their success.

And now let's be honest: don't we all want that - crisis or not?

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

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