Stephen Urquhart plans to end a 17-year career main Swatch Group AG's Omega brand, leaving prime lieutenant Raynald Aeschlimann in cost to keep fightingcheap longines watchesand Cartier for first location in the Swiss view industry.

Urquhart, who turns 70 at the conclusion of Could, will perform on particular projects and consult for the company, Swatch said Wednesday. Aeschlimann, who has actually been filling in for Urquhart when he couldn't make it to events, will succeed him as of June one.

"Aeschlimann is prepared for this role," said Rene Weber, an analyst at Bank Vontobel AG in Zurich. "The marketplace knows him, and he's currently well-regarded, and its therefore a logical succession. It really is on just one hand a rejuvenation, but also shows continuation."

More than a dozen Swiss watchmaking executives are approaching age 70. For a new era of managers takes about, they encounter new worries as smartwatches flood the lower-end marketplace and producers study how to replace hand-crafted parts with 3-D printed parts. Extravagant spending has been under attack in China, the industry's largest export market place, though financial crises and offshore account scandals are turning community opinion against the extremely rich.

Urquhart often hosted dinners and shop openings with stars which include Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford and George Clooney. In an attempt to lure a younger crowd towards the manufacturer, he recently has signed on 34-year-old Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne like a brand ambassador.

Omega's sales have been about two.fifteen billion francs ($2.three billion) in 2014, only surpassed by Rolex's 4.5 billion, according to estimates by Vontobel's Weber. cheap tudor watchesprobably was neck-and-neck with two.14 billion francs, he has said.

He said in an October job interview that getting young people interested in mechanical watches is usually a obstacle, and to address that, he unveiled two designs linked to James Bond final 12 months. He also reintroduced the Omega Ladymatic to get a lot more girls interested in automatic timepieces. Rudder Steady

"Mr. Urquhart is actually a very well-regarded govt; as this kind of, his retirement could be seen as somewhat disappointing, particularly given the importance of Omega on the group," Zuzanna Pusz, an analyst at Berenberg in London, wrote within a note. She estimates Omega generates about 30 percent of Swatch Group's sales.

Switzerland's two other best-selling check out brands have had executive changes in current several years, even though Urquhart led Omega for more than a decade. Rolex named Jean-Frederic Dufour as chief govt officer previous yr, the third switch due to the fact 2008. Stanislas de Quercize, the former head of Cartier, stepped down about 3 decades into the job, and Cyrille Vigneron changed him in January.

Urquhart, who holds Swiss and British citizenship, was born to the Caribbean island of Trinidad to a Scottish father as well as a Portuguese mom. He started his career at Omega in 1968, before Swatch owned it, then moved on to lead competitor Audemars Piguet.

Urquhart, who plays golf, sails and skis for fun, began working at Swatch Group in 1997, starting at Blancpain. He was then picked to lead Omega just as the brand was adding British horologist George Daniels's new invention, the coaxial escapement, to its timepieces to reduce the need for maintenance. He also helped guide other technological advances such ascheap tissot watches' magnetic-resistant timepieces. Under the government, Omega expanded its network of boutiques, opening a lot more than 200 stores across the globe.

Aeschlimann, a Swiss national who turns 46 this yr, joined Omega in 1996.