Regular readers of the blog - brace yourself. And no, I have not taken leave of my senses, and have not been drinking heavily. But enough's enough. The following post contains some blue language and some true opinion. Anyone prone to offense, I suggest a different watch blog tonight.
So tonight I'm a bit put off. I'm tired of chicanery, contrivance or downright bullshit. I want to write about watches, not about marketing strategies. Reading some of the dreck limping out these days it is not unlike this magic moment -
So watch brands - give us something! Tell us about some REAL PEOPLE, not mega-wealthy patrons, not super mega-sportstars - they make far more money than me - let them save their allowance and buy a watch on their own. Watch "ambassadors" change "teams" these days more often than a professional footballer - so when I hear phrases like "member of the family" or "special friend" I suffer from a bit of incredulity. Tell us about a real watch - or tell us about a true watch maker - a true defender of the realm! Show us something beyond a show pony for the wealthy - make something that real people could possibly afford - and be proud of. Take our breath away - you can do it! A simple hand-wound watch is still a beautiful and wondrous thing - don't run away from the basic - basic is not stupid - it is elegant. I mean no offense, but I could care less than zero as to which watch a formula 1 team is GIVEN to wear.
ROLEX, to their credit have come up with a BRILLIANT advertising campaign! And it is elegant and poetic - I saw it in Monocle - I truly wish that I could create something so good. So there! There is a RIGHT way to do things. As in many things - look to ROLEX.
So quit the horological masturbation! I'm not talking about REAL BREAKTHROUGHS! Girard Perregaux gave us something truly brilliant with the Constant Escapement - this was special!
Peter Speake-Marin creates horological poems that can be worn on the wrist. Angular Momentum are in the business of creating time machines. There is a lot out there to be admired from the mighty as well as the humble - but give us something special. So much to fascinate us without the use of a paid endorser. A watch from the likes of ochs und junior, G0S, Girard-Perregaux, and dare I say it the new ROLEX GMT is a bit special as well. These are things to be desired, to be sought after.
But another co-branded "Mad Men" watch bearing the fictitious logo of a fictitious advertising company? This is somehow status? This somehow "elevates" the wearer?
WRITE YOUR OWN STORY! Is your own story, your own family somehow inferior to an AMC series about advertising in the Atomic Age? Keep it real!
Moreover, I don't want to see how many complications you can jam up the backside of a wristwatch. Make a watch, not a Turducken! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken
I don't care what Liberace said - too much sometimes is too much.
I'm done.
So tonight I'm a bit put off. I'm tired of chicanery, contrivance or downright bullshit. I want to write about watches, not about marketing strategies. Reading some of the dreck limping out these days it is not unlike this magic moment -
So watch brands - give us something! Tell us about some REAL PEOPLE, not mega-wealthy patrons, not super mega-sportstars - they make far more money than me - let them save their allowance and buy a watch on their own. Watch "ambassadors" change "teams" these days more often than a professional footballer - so when I hear phrases like "member of the family" or "special friend" I suffer from a bit of incredulity. Tell us about a real watch - or tell us about a true watch maker - a true defender of the realm! Show us something beyond a show pony for the wealthy - make something that real people could possibly afford - and be proud of. Take our breath away - you can do it! A simple hand-wound watch is still a beautiful and wondrous thing - don't run away from the basic - basic is not stupid - it is elegant. I mean no offense, but I could care less than zero as to which watch a formula 1 team is GIVEN to wear.
ROLEX, to their credit have come up with a BRILLIANT advertising campaign! And it is elegant and poetic - I saw it in Monocle - I truly wish that I could create something so good. So there! There is a RIGHT way to do things. As in many things - look to ROLEX.
So quit the horological masturbation! I'm not talking about REAL BREAKTHROUGHS! Girard Perregaux gave us something truly brilliant with the Constant Escapement - this was special!
Peter Speake-Marin creates horological poems that can be worn on the wrist. Angular Momentum are in the business of creating time machines. There is a lot out there to be admired from the mighty as well as the humble - but give us something special. So much to fascinate us without the use of a paid endorser. A watch from the likes of ochs und junior, G0S, Girard-Perregaux, and dare I say it the new ROLEX GMT is a bit special as well. These are things to be desired, to be sought after.
But another co-branded "Mad Men" watch bearing the fictitious logo of a fictitious advertising company? This is somehow status? This somehow "elevates" the wearer?
WRITE YOUR OWN STORY! Is your own story, your own family somehow inferior to an AMC series about advertising in the Atomic Age? Keep it real!
Moreover, I don't want to see how many complications you can jam up the backside of a wristwatch. Make a watch, not a Turducken! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken
I don't care what Liberace said - too much sometimes is too much.
I'm done.
I TOTALLY agree with you, and this post feels like a bout of fresh air. I love watches, but I read blogs on a daily basis where all I see is the glorification of certain brands that have no real substance beneath the polished dial surface.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of Rolex, but I concede they do many things right. To your point, I will ask a follow up question: what other brands are worthy of our attention? Why wasn't NOMOS included on this list?
Any other brand that is doing things right (with some in-house movements perhaps) that escaped the baselworld radar frenzy?