WatchPro

About WatchPro

WatchPro is the UK's only dedicated business magazine for the watch industry, a B2B title launched in January 2011 to help businesses profit from the sale and servicing of watches. What began as a magazine within a magazine — stapled inside sister title Professional Jeweller — grew into a standalone print title, a daily news website, and a global media brand with editions for American and German-speaking markets. It is published by ITP Media (UK) Ltd from London, with Rachael Taylor as editor-in-chief.

The brand's mission, set at launch, was simple: "to help businesses profit from the sale and servicing of watches." From that B2B foundation it has expanded into major industry events — the WATCHPRO Salon, the WATCHPRO Awards, WATCHPRO Market, the Hot 100 and the WATCHPRO Club — making it one of the most influential institutions in the British watch trade. Its official website is watchpro.com.

Launch Within Professional Jeweller, 2011

WatchPro was launched in January 2011 as a magazine within Professional Jeweller magazine — a separate section with its own front cover, stapled inside the main magazine, that readers could pull out and read as a standalone title. The first issue reflected the watch industry as a whole, from high end to mid-market and fashion brands, with features on affordable luxury brand Frederique Constant, haute horlogerie masters MB&F, electronic ink digital watches and new water-resistance standards.

The logic, as editor Rachael Taylor explained, was that watches and jewellery are more often than not sold side by side, but huge segments of the industry are interested in only one of the two — separating them allowed focused, in-depth content for each. WatchPro was delivered free each month with Professional Jeweller to a circulation of 5,500 named individuals, and it was immediately described as the UK's only dedicated business magazine for the watch industry.

Filling the B2B Gap

The founders' insight was that while Britain had many wonderful consumer watch magazines and supplements, there had never been a B2B magazine focused on the business of selling watches. WatchPro set out to fill that gap: less about the history and beauty of watches — though its team shared that passion — than about innovations in the market that help retailers, distributors and manufacturers sell more of them.

Its philosophy, inherited from Professional Jeweller, was comprehensive: from quartz fashion watches to the highest complications, "if it generates watch turnover, you'll find it in our pages." In a challenging economic climate, the magazine offered serious strategic thought on the business of selling time — a proposition the UK watch industry had been asking for.

Going Standalone

A year after launch, ITP Promedia answered industry calls to make WatchPro a standalone magazine — the UK's first B2B watch title in its own right. Initially published as a standalone four times a year while continuing to appear inside Professional Jeweller in other months, the launch edition reached more than 5,000 subscribers plus a bonus 2,000 copies distributed at BaselWorld in Switzerland, carrying a major preview of the world's great watch fair.

The standalone launch was followed by the launch of WatchPro.com — the only B2B website dedicated to news, views and business trends for the British watch industry — with daily news alerts. All watch stories previously covered by ProfessionalJeweller.com moved to the new site, giving each title a sharper focus. As Taylor put it, the split was "long overdue."

Digital-First B2B Journalism

As a pure business-to-business title in its early days, the digital-first magazine and website quickly gained a loyal following among the trade, both in the UK and in Switzerland — where its investigative reporting, backed by hard facts and figures, was something new. Daily news alerts, breaking news online and monthly print analysis gave the industry a complete information service.

The brand later expanded its editorial remit, launching specific editions for the American and German-speaking markets and creating content that every watch enthusiast could learn from and enjoy — written by a growing team of specialist watch journalists. What began as a British trade title became an international watch media brand.

WATCHPRO Salon and the Awards

WatchPro's events have become institutions of the watch world. WATCHPRO Salon is the UK's biggest luxury watch show, with 50 premier brands exhibiting to packed halls of collectors and aficionados. The WATCHPRO Awards, now in their seventh year in London, celebrate excellence across the industry, while WATCHPRO Market introduces emerging microbrands to the public.

The WATCHPRO Hot 100 — which took place in Las Vegas for the first time in 2022 — recognises the industry's leading figures, and the WATCHPRO Club, with over 1,000 members, hosts exclusive gatherings in London, Monaco and beyond. Together these events make WatchPro not just a publisher but a convenor of the global watch community.

Editorial Leadership

Rachael Taylor has led WatchPro as editor-in-chief since its inception, guiding it from a section within Professional Jeweller to a standalone international brand. Her stated passion — for the history, artistry, technical innovation, people and business opportunities of the watch world — has shaped the title's voice: knowledgeable, enthusiastic and commercially focused.

Publisher Rob Corder, managing director of the publishing group, has championed the brand's expansion in his regular columns, including the announcement of its global push. The WatchPro team works alongside the "peerless team" of sister publication Professional Jeweller, sharing the ITP Media (UK) newsroom at 140 Old Street, London.

Investigative Reporting and Industry Influence

WatchPro built its reputation partly on investigative reporting backed by hard facts and figures — journalism that was new to the often discreet world of the watch trade, particularly in Switzerland. Its willingness to report on the business realities behind the brands, from sales data to retail dynamics, won it a loyal trade following.

That credibility underpins its influence: when WatchPro reports on trends, launches awards or convenes the industry at its Salon, the trade pays attention. The brand has become part of the infrastructure of the British — and increasingly international — watch business.

WatchPro Today

From a stapled-in section reaching 5,500 readers to a global brand with print magazines, daily websites, international editions and major events, WatchPro's growth mirrors the dynamism of the watch industry it serves. Its mission remains the one set in January 2011: to help businesses profit from the sale and servicing of watches.

As the UK's only dedicated business magazine for the watch industry — now with American and German-speaking editions, the country's biggest luxury watch show and a thousand-strong members' club — WatchPro continues to take the business of selling time seriously, every day, at watchpro.com.

From a Magazine Within a Magazine to the UK's Only B2B Watch Title

WatchPro began in 2011 as a magazine within a magazine: a year after ITP Promedia launched Professional Jeweller at BaselWorld in 2010, its watch editorial was split out into WatchPro inside the parent title. A year later it launched as a standalone magazine — initially published quarterly on its own while Professional Jeweller continued to carry it in the other months — answering industry calls for the UK's first B2B watch title. While Britain had many consumer watch magazines, none focused on the business of selling watches; WatchPro set out to fill that gap, covering market innovations to help retailers, distributors and manufacturers sell more watches.

The launch edition in March reached more than 5,000 UK subscribers plus a bonus circulation of 2,000 copies at BaselWorld in Switzerland, carrying a major preview of the show alongside interviews with influential watch buyers and brands. Kate Doherty — who joined publisher ITP Promedia from Retail Jeweller — served as editor and launched two signature projects: the inaugural WatchPro Hot 100 in association with the Company of Master Jewellers, and the debut London Watch Show. James Buttery later took the editorial reins, with Rachael Taylor as editor-in-chief. The magazine remains entirely free to its subscribers, and WatchPro is a publication of ITP Media (UK) Ltd, based at 140 Old Street in London, with its daily news website at watchpro.com.