Editor’s letter
Rachael Taylor
EDITOR IN CHIEF
As I watched a bright-yellow robot selecting timepiece components earlier this year out of 26,000 towering boxes at the Omega production facility in Bienne, Switzerland, one fact my guide shared stopped me in my tracks: that the robots never put boxes back in the same place. Why? Because they don’t need to. Their “brains” don’t work like ours. They simply remember where they last put each box, no matter how long ago, with no need for a sorting system.
Technology is rapidly changing our world, and the advance of artificial intelligence (AI) in particular is ushering in a new era. Our centuries-old industry is not immune. Whether it is a retailer using ChatGPT to write product captions, or AI-powered devices determining the best way to cut a rough diamond and price the polished stones, many businesses are already on board. This issue of Rapaport Magazine is dedicated to innovation. It explores how the industry is adopting AI and other new technologies for sourcing, design and manufacturing, and how retailers are using these systems to demonstrate traceability to consumers. I hope you find the ideas in this issue illuminating and thought-provoking.
The burning question I had about that Omega robot — whose name is Ringo — is how the human staff will ever find anything if the robots go offline. It seems this has already happened, thanks to a cyberattack during the pandemic, and it was indeed a moment of panic. However, the watchmaker is confident that such a breach won’t recur, and to guard against malfunctions, there are three more robots: George, Paul and John.
EDITOR’S DIARY
Light conversation
I had the pleasure of interviewing jewelry designer Jo Hayes Ward during an event at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London. We spoke about her “metamorphic” gold designs that use texture and angles to reflect light in interesting ways, as well as her forays into designing facades — aka “jewelry for buildings.”
House of Hemmerle
The retail environment as we know it is shifting, and a trip to see Hemmerle’s new home in Munich was a cozy reminder of that. After 120 years selling its art-inspired fine jewels from a traditional store on Maximilianstrasse, it has moved to a by-appointment upper-floor boutique in the city with zero frontage. A sense of calm instantly descends as you step inside the soothing space, which feels more like a luxurious apartment than a sales floor.
Quality time
A research trip took me to Omega’s HQ in Switzerland. While there, I had a tour of its impressive production facility in Bienne — a sustainable five-story building designed by award-winning architect Shigeru Ba. I also made time to visit the Omega Museum next door, which is open to the public.
IMAGES: CHARLIE MERCHANT; JULIA SKUPNY/THE GOLDSMITHS’ CENTRE; HEMMERLE; RUTH PELTASON; DAVID BROUGH; OMEGA; RICHA GOYAL SIKRI