I remember it was in March last year when I shared a boat ride from the mainland of Malé to my friend Evan Kwee’s resort in the Patina Maldives. I’d been invited to participate in the inaugural “Gathering of the Tribe” for Maximilian Büsser and Friends. We spent several days with Max Büsser and his wife, Tiffany; little did we know at the time that a year later, Max would secure a much-deserved investment by Chanel to purchase 25 percent of his brand. For Max, this was primarily about securing the future and planning the succession of MB&F. As the guy that was the first to catapult independent watchmaking into the spotlight, the security and financial stability brought on by Chanel’s investment is richly deserved and I would like to very sincerely congratulate him.

But back to the boat ride. Seated across from me was a fascinating guy named Wen Hsieh with two PhDs from the California Institute of Technology and who was a managing partner of the legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist firm, Kleiner Perkins. What I would later find remarkable was that as we spent one hour onboard chatting away amiably about watches that he knew, Silicon Valley Bank, an institution that held a massive amount of Kleiner Perkins’ funds and his personal funds was collapsing. He would later explain that he received almost one thousand panicked emails during the boat ride. The reason for his equanimity was that he had already made up his mind. He would not extract all of his funds held in the bank, because he didn’t want to contribute to the run. He would take out enough to ensure that his cash burn for several months was covered and that was it. When I asked him why, he explained, “No bank can survive a run.” Then he paused before adding, “The way it works is like this. Silicon Valley is really small. And everyone remembers you not when times are good, but they remember how you act when times are bad.”

I thought about this a lot when I was preparing the nine Horological Symposiums that I hosted over Geneva Watch Days from August 29 to September 2. I don’t get paid for these. I do them because I want to. What’s the motivation for this “Menschlichkeit”? It’s simple. This industry has given me everything. It’s given me a profession, a passion and a community. I never take this for granted. And so when it’s time for me to contribute back to the watch industry, to help uphold its values, communicate its appeal and broaden its audience, I do so with pleasure. This is true when times are good. But this goes triple when times are tough, which they are right now.

So, let me get this straight right away. Are we in a crisis or a free fall? No, we are experiencing a perfectly normal market correction. Much like the 17th century’s Tulip Mania — the first speculative bubble in recorded history — that saw the price of a single tulip bulb in Holland skyrocket to the equivalent of 10 times the annual salary of a single skilled worker, things had gotten crazy in the watch industry in the last couple of years. That’s because watches were suddenly decoupled from their true value as those perfect objects that combine function, engineering design, craftsmanship and beauty to become objects of speculation. But as with all speculative bubbles, what goes up has to come down because the insane rise in prices were being driven by the twin demons of hysteria and greed. I and my fellow panelists from my symposium on “Post-Hype Collectibility” — Remi Guillemin, Geoff Hess, Alex Ghotbi, Jasper Lijfering, Max Bernardini and Mark Kauzlarich — all love that a new era of rationalism has risen up in its place. Now that we are not looking at watches as speculative objects, we can love them with sincerity, and we can express our passion in the myriad avenues that watchmaking allows, meaning we can purchase what speaks to us without first focusing on their potential secondary value first.

What are the types of watches that will resonate with us most powerfully in the future? There seems to be a rise in interest in smaller watches, shaped watches, independent watchmaking and even upstart brands. To me there will be a core focus on two types of watchmaking. First of these are the watches expressing a strong love for craft. It was for this reason that I convened a panel of extraordinary craft-based watchmakers and brand owners co-moderated by Dillon Bhatt and featuring Joshua Shapiro, Robin Tallendier of Atelier Wen, Danièla Dufour, Luca Soprana and the very cool Simon Brette. Second, I also feel that there will be a renewed interest in fundamental and authentic horology, as expressed by brands like Frodsham, Lang & Heyne, Moritz Grossmann, Ferdinand Berthoud, Chopard L.U.C and others. What I love is the fact that people from outside the industry can today become brand owners as long as they contribute a new vision or energy and back it up with credible watchmaking. It was for this reason I wanted to convene a symposium on Upstart Brands co-moderated by Andrew McUtchen and featuring the amazing Sylvain Berneron, Phil Toledano and Alfred Chan, Thomas Fleming and James Kong, William “Massena” Rohr, Matteo Violet Vianello and Sohaib Maghnam.

One symposium that was particularly well attended was on watch dealers who had become influencers. This highly entertaining discussion was co-moderated by the charismatic and avuncular Roy Davidoff and featured Roman Sharf, Mike Nouveau, Cameron Barr and Sacha Davidoff. When asked how I selected each of them as panelists, I explained I used one simple criterion. I asked myself how each of them has contributed positively to the watch industry. Sharf has become a champion of independent watch brands like Urwerk, Nouveau has been a key force in connecting the appeal of brands like Cartier to the next generation, Barr is one of the hardest working content creators out there and has really encouraged a diversity of tastes in watches, and Sacha, along with his brother, took it upon himself to curate and host an exhibition on vintage Omega Speedmasters and has even written a book about it. Each of them is helping to uplift the industry in their own way.

Similarly, women leaders in the industry have also made huge contributions in generating positive energy around watchmaking. They include Fei Hou of Krayon, Marine Lemonnier-Brennan, Catherine Eberlé-Devaux, Carine Maillard and Carole Forestier, all of whom we learned about in a symposium co-moderated by Tiffany To of Phillips. I thank everyone that participated in these panels, including Oliver R. Müller, Georges Kern, Jean-Christophe Babin, Michel Nydegger, Patrick Pruniaux, Raymond Loretan, Max Büsser, Rexhep Rexhepi, Andrea Furlan, Fred Savage, Tony Traina and Jack Forster. They all get that, together, our responsibility is to uphold the watch industry not only in good times, but, in particular, when times are tough. Because the Swiss watch industry is small, it remembers not just how you act when times are good, but also what you do when times are challenging.