The Lasting Influence of The Nineties

A look back at the decade that saw an industry recover from crisis and steady itself at the cusp of a new millennium.

- Bilal Khan

Jurassic Park is the biggest movie in the country, wide-legged jeans are everywhere and the masses are going crazy for Swatch. If you've somehow missed it: the nineties are back and people are obsessed with reliving the final decade of the analog era before digital technology completely took over. Somewhat ironically, the nineties were a time of revival and reinvigoration after the Quartz revolution nearly gutted the entire industry. The nineties ushered in a mechanical watchmaking renaissance through the embracing of rapidly developing computer-aided design (CAD) programs that sparked a high complication craze among brands like Patek Philippe and IWC, enabled the production of versatile high quality "everyday" movements from names like Zenith and Girard-Perregaux, and made the now-ubiquitous independent watchmaker a plausible reality.

The restoration wasn't just Swiss. While this story would merit an article of its own, there was another watchmaking renaissance happening right across the border in the town of Glashütte, Germany. The proud tradition of German watchmaking dated back to 1845 but had been devastated by World War II and its aftermath. The late eighties and early nineties heralded a second coming for German watches, particularly three brands that are now practically ubiquitous for collectors: A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original and Nomos Glashütte.

And then there are the cultural and societal changes over the course of the decade that empowered minds like Franck Muller and Jean-Claude Biver to revolutionize the way brands approach marketing. In a demure and conservative industry, these two saw the value of showing some swagger and brashness.