Wrapping Up with the GoS Stockholm

So just in time before the close of the year, I am wrapping up my review of the GoS Watches Stockholm.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am the North American agent (US, Canada and the Caribbean) for GoS Watches so I will endeavor to keep this as fair and balanced as I can.

Fire at ETA Factory

This is from the SWATCH Group's announcement -

Swatch Group: Fire at ETA in Grenchen put out

Biel / Bienne – Grenchen (Switzerland), 29 December 2013

Today Sunday at around 8:45 A.M. a fire broke out in the galvanic department of the main building of ETA Manufacture Horlogère in Grenchen. While the workshop has been entirely destroyed, nobody was harmed. There was no activity in the workshop at the moment of the incident. Thanks to the swift and efficient intervention of the ETA-internal fireworkers and the fireworkers of the town of Grenchen, the fire could not expand to the neighbouring workshops. The fire was under control at 09:30 A.M. and put out shortly after. 

The reasons of the incident are not yet known. The damages caused by the fire are considerable. It is nevertheless too early today to put a figure on the damage. As a measure of prevention and due to the heavy smoke the Police of Canton Solothurn have informed the population.

A Swiss Watch for $250!!!

I CALL BULLSHIT!

For anyone who dreams of buying a fine "Swiss made watch" brand new, from a certain television network publicizing "shopping from home" - and thinks that they will be buying a "down home" made in Switzerland watch for south of $1,000 - consider this a public service announcement.  You may indeed be getting a watch "knocked together in one of the cantons" for that price.  But nearly every part of that watch - at that price point?  Came from a place where Chinese food is not considered an "exotic" / "ethnic" treat.

Consider this - lunch in Switzerland - nothing too fancy?  $35 US.  Do you really think that if a restaurant can't make wages, etc. based on something lower than $35 US, that the mighty SWISS giants can meet wages for a wrist watch (not a basic lunch) for less than $300?  I will go even further, anything south of $1,000 US - ask to examine the "passport" of the watch in question.  I am not claiming the it won't meet the "heritage" standards as set forth by the latest ruling.  I am saying that as someone who has lived in the US, Japan, Canada, Portugal, Scotland, Portugal and Finland - it might be as "multi-national" as me ; )

You Don't Tug on Superman's Cape

and it would seem that a Dutch arbitration panel agrees.

So by now you have heard that Atlas has shrugged once again, and the world has turned SWATCH's way.  And while it is easy to simply accept that it is the Hayeks' world, and we're just living in it, I have to ask - when will enough finally be enough?

Did Tiffany miscalculate on an epic level?  Clearly.  Could things have turned out differently?  No doubt about it.  Was the settlement fair - I suspect so.  Although when talking about sums of money that exceed GDPs, my eyes start to glaze over at the utter waste of it all.  But when I go over the previous reports of this relationship gone bad, I am struck by what really seemed like the inevitability of the outcome.  

There are owners, and there are partners.  And the SWATCH group are owners.  

I don't think that there are any of us who haven't made miscalculations both personally and professionally.  And if I am really "sharing" here, having experienced the less than warm and fuzzy reception of shopping at Tiffany's, it is a wee bit challenging for me to find too much sympathy.  But by the same token, I keep coming back to the same question for both Tiffany and SWATCH - How could you have been expecting any different result?

These types of strategic partnerships seldom work.  Sooner or later, one will win, and the other will… NOT.

The Death of Anonimo

may not be so much of an exaggeration.

Okay, I have what I would have to sum up as a love-hate relationship with Anonimo.  There are so many things that I loved.  The Militare, the Kodiak strap, the cases that were not stamped, but "scooped".  Cases proudly made in Florence.  And don't even get me started on Dino Zei, I've met some really nice people, but he is perhaps one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met.  I have met the men who carried the flag for Anonimo - the CEOs and they were great , and I can tell you that they were earnest, they were genuine.  And all I can say in the final analysis is that the thing that hurts so much is when you see what Anonimo is now.  F&^*ing golf outings in Luxembourg?  NUTS!  Leopard TREK?!? Double nuts - I have yet to see one of the cycling team wearing one of these.  And the automatic with the "pinwheel" date window - that just looks cheap and tacky.  Sorry, but it does. 

What made Anonimo special was not just the cases, or the water resistant leather straps, or the legend of Dino Zei - because in all honesty there were plenty of supremely ASSED-UP moments!  Service requests that would languish for nearly half a year?  The eyelash of a watch maker staring up at you, hermetically sealed beneath the crystal of your watch when 18 months later you received it from service.  Emails, phone calls, faxes, carrier pigeons and dare I say even smoke signals that went unanswered ; )  But let's be honest, on some goofy level it was just plain charming.  "Oh, this is Italy… things take time…"  No matter how much "spleen venting" took place on various fora, we were all willing to wait.  It was a bit like a Frank Lloyd Wright building.  It was beautiful, and you suffered beyond belief while Mr. Wright turned you inside-out.  And then you moved in, and the roof leaked, and you had to keep a garbage can under the drip.  But in all fairness, you wouldn't have traded the experience for ANYTHING.  And ultimately I think that is the "Ballad of Anonimo".  Like that crazy artistic, free-spirited woman that you dated in university.  She borrowed your car while you were away for a job interview, used it to visit an old boyfriend and racked up seven parking tickets in five days!  But there was something about her…  just like there WAS something about Anonimo.

So now we have the name, we have a group of watches that look about as much like the original Anonimo as Farah Fawcett looked like Elizabeth Taylor.  And why?  Well, let's face some facts - 

Bankers make SHITTY watch company owners.  But let's hope.  Maybe things can be differnent.

A Ghost of Christmas Past...

Happy Holidays!

Courtesy of Alain Silberstein

GRAHAM and SAHARA

I am a pain in the ass to the watch industry.  I nag, I complain, I try to shame them into doing something positive - something beyond simply preening.  And when someone goes out on a limb to support something, well you gotta give credit where it's due!

Courtesy of Graham

So this is just in from the VERY GOOD folks at Graham North America, and thank you Samir Shah for making the effort! -

The Cult of Personality

Let me ask you - who is the CEO of Proctor & Gamble?  How about Costco?  Honda?

Those of you who are hard-core business/investment types might have the answer to these and other questions, but get a bunch of watch folks together in a room and we know so much about the various CEOs that we can even hazard a pretty good guess as to what they had for breakfast.

Now perhaps that is testimony to the power that watches have over us.  But having received yet another  "transfer announcement" this morning, and the invariable discussion that it has generated amongst my colleagues and myself, it has become very clear to me that the actual watch is only part of our fascination.

Now in fairness - I am as guilty of this as anyone, maybe more so.  I am "feeding the beast" on a nearly daily basis.  It is one of the inevitable results of the rescue of the watch industry that the men and women who participated in it would become bigger than life.  The irony in this is many of the "titans" of the industry aren't half as interesting in person as you might think.  I had one of the most UNDERWHELMING experiences of my life when I got my "private audience" with one of the original big dogs of the 80s & 90s.

So ultimately, it is safe to say that  we love watches - but we are also, to a large extent, somewhat addicted to the inner workings of the industry and the brands themselves.  We can't help it!  A watch is ultimately the result of the people who made it, promoted it, sold it and will ultimately service it.  Now if and when someone refers to the next hot CEO as "Dear Leader" we might be having a different conversation ; )

Keep it wound!

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - and Girard Perregaux

Courtesy of Girard - Perregaux

GIRARD-PERREGAUX GIVES LIFE TO A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF IMAGES

THAT CELEBRATES ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES

GOOD DESIGN Award for Ahoi

This just in from NOMOS Glashütte -

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

The sporty automatic Ahoi watch from NOMOS Glashütte has won the renowned GOOD DESIGN Award—making it the third time in a row for the watchmaking company.

She Loves America… but America doesn't Love Her.

This was, albeit the short form, the sentiment that I heard from a blogger colleague of mine referring to the recently appointed replacement coming to "save" the North American subsidiary of "brand x".

What Watch Would Santa Wear?

Okay, I realize that this could be a topic for much debate, but I reckon that Santa is a bit old school at heart, and along with his Garmin, and extra assistance from NORAD, he might count on something like this -

Courtesy of FORTIS

This is the B-47 World Timer GMT from FORTIS.

MARVIN Malton Mini Cushion Quartz

This just in from MARVIN -

Courtesy of MARVIN

Since 1850, Marvin has been a source of new opportunities for dedicated watch lovers to justify their passion or expand their collection.

Flush! The Gilded Age of Watch Marketing

I get a LOT of press releases.

Celebrity "games" tournaments with hundred thousand dollar watches being handed out to "famous friends" who are crowned the "winner" of the game?  And this is supposed to be a charitable event.  And the winner wears the "vaunted prize" for the photo op, and then never wears the damn thing again?  Not to mention the tens and thousands of dollars flushed down the toilet on food, drinks and "entertainment" for people who never write about the event, and will never be customers?

Quarter million dollar press junkets to attend and "cover" a charity event?  Oh, and here's the best part - a staggering five-figure amount generated for the charitable cause… and the outlay for press, "friends" and product?  Get out your calculator and start multiplying.  Let's just say that the brand could have taken 1/3 of what they spent on shuttling people to and from Argentina and would have multiplied their charitable donation by a power of 3.

And then there are the "partnerships" - most specifically I am referring to the now ubiquitous car partnerships.  And as the "fan" or follower out there, we suffer from a certain lack of incredulity.  We assume that these are master strokes of marketing brio, but what we are not really grasping is the back story.

Imagine - you're the CEO of a big watch brand, you've climbed to the top, you want a nice car - dammit you deserve a nice car!  Maybe something with a bit more horsepower that is (perhaps) a little less carbon neutral "friendly".  Unfortunately, your parent company has a policy about such items as "company cars".  Hmm…. what to do…. what to do….Aha!  If you can create this partnership with a car company then it might kill two birds with one stone.  Really, it only seems like good form that you would accept a "loaner" to drive around.  Okay, granted, the "loaner" cost more than most of your employees will earn over several years working for you, but I mean, let's be honest, you are supposed to be partners in this thing, right?  It really wouldn't look right if you didn't accept it, I mean it's not like you asked… and hey, I mean, if you MUST drive one of these…

I guess what I am getting at is that it has been more than a bit of a gilded age for watch marketing and pr.  There is no sense of proportion with many of the big brands - essentially if you throw enough money at the problem, that will most assuredly solve it.  Meanwhile, sales are not keeping pace, retail partners are slow in paying, customers are more and more looking to grey market or previously owned via the Internet.  The game has changed, there is less money coming in, so it seems only logical that you would adjust your plan...

Now point of disclosure, I do work for some smaller, independent brands in terms of marketing and sales.  There is NO budget so we have to make it on the product alone, and when we do put the message out there - it has to be clear, and not clouded.  I sometimes fantasize about what I could do with the type of budgets some of these brands have… I sure as hell wouldn't spend it on myself.

Landeron 248? Tell Me More!

This is the Le Chronographe Replique II from NIVREL

Courtesy of NIVREL

The Robin - Give Me Something Real

No, not a sidekick for a caped crusader, but a beautiful new home for a vintage movement -

Courtesy of Robert Loomes 

There are quite a few folks out there taking vintage movements and giving them new homes.  But very few of them go to the pains and efforts that Robert Loomes has with the Robin.  And I realize that this is not a new watch out on the market, but for whatever reason it is one that escaped my radar.

Tourbillon Gravity Fire

This just in from Armin Strom -

Courtesy of Armin Strom 

ARMIN STROM ANNOUNCES NEW TOURBILLON TIMEPIECE WITH A MICRO ROTOR WINDING MECHANISM – THE TOURBILLON GRAVITY FIRE

Fire Sale!

Okay, imagine that a few months ago you bought a Vulcain watch for full price?  Imagine now that you find it pretty much slashed by over 50% in various grey market locations, and even deeper by various resellers on Ebay - one in particular in New York offering "prices soooo low - they're INSANE!"

"Our operators are standing by!  Prices this low, these babies won't last long!"

Congratulations - if the intention was to irrevocably damage a brand, mission accomplished.

Frederique Constant and Sean Lau

This just in from Frederique Constant -

Courtesy of Frederique Constant

Frédérique Constant, the renowned Swiss watchmaker is delighted to announce Mr. Sean Lau, the famous movie star from Hong Kong, as the Global Brand Ambassador. Sean has dedicated enormous passion to his life and acting. With the excellence in his profession, Sean has received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, including the Best Leading Actor from Hong Kong Film Awards Association and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, which are the most representative and honorable movie awards in Asia. Frédérique Constant is honored to join hands with Sean to embody the brand spirit and value, showcasing the invincibly elegant charm.

Where's the Love? After Sales Service...

Service.

In an industry asking the customer to spend several thousand dollars (and often quite a bit more), it is shocking the lack of actual support that some brands really offer the customer when something goes wrong.  And I will share a little truth with you here - quite often the brand is so focused on getting more watches out the door, that after sales service would perhaps be better referred to as "after thought" service.

It is a sad reality that not every brand truly embraces the idea that the individual buying and wearing their watch is their ultimate customer.  They further don't really get that this is the person who also has the greatest potential to be an amazing brand ambassador.  But this is not the way that most brands treat them.  You go to a big manufacturer, and the after sales service section is often the equivalent of a broom closet.  No wonder it takes months, sometimes stretching to years.  Your customer deserves better than to wait 3 - 6 months (or often longer) for service issue to get resolved.  

It's all well and good to pump money into pr, buy more advertising space, give more watches to celebrities.  But ultimately, shouldn't you be making the people who have service issues a  bigger, more important priority?  We all want to sell more watches, make more money - and there is nothing wrong with that.  But don't make the person who has a watch in need of service feel like a pariah because you are too parsimonious to take care of them.  You have the customer, don't lose them because you are on the prowl for the next one.  Doesn't work when you're dating, doesn't work when you're selling watches.

Embrace your customer - service issues and all.  Love them and they'll love you back!  

The Frisland Classic

This just in from JS Watch co. -

Courtesy of JS Watch co.

Frisland was a large island which appeared on a map in the 1500’s. The island was located in the middle of the Atlantic, just south of Iceland. The island’s appearance has ever since caused great speculation and conundrum among scientists and cartographers. 

Las Vegas Field Trip

So a work week spent in Las Vegas, but I managed to sneak out and visit Breguet, and

Tag Heuer.

And Tag Heuer- if you're listening, this guy is VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE!  This is the type of person you want working in your boutique!  Well done!

Redesign of the LIMES Pharo Cartouche

This is a new take on one of LIMES's classic watches -

Courtesy of LIMES

Eberhard and Ambrí Piotta's MVP - Richard Park

This just in from Eberhard -

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co.

Eberhard & Co. awards prize to Richard Park,
forward from the Ambrí Piotta Hockey Club

Patrouille des Glaciers and JEANRICHARD

This just in from JEANRICHARD -

Courtesy of JEANRICHARD

JEANRICHARD will partner with the legendary Swiss alpine team competition Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG) in Spring 2014. The PDG is the worldwide biggest ski alpinism race and takes place every two years – starting in Zermatt and leading through Arolla to Verbier in Switzerland. 

Zürich Weltzeit 5th Avenue

This just in from NOMOS  Glashütte -

Courtesy of  NOMOS Glashütte


    

Wempe 100:   Zürich Weltzeit 5th Avenue 

Trasmissione Meccanica Chronograph from Giuliano Mazzuoli

This just in from Giuliano Mazzuoli -

Courtesy of Giuliano Mazzuoli

Following the success of the Trasmissione Meccanica line, a new timepiece deriving the imagination and the passionate creativity of the Florentine designer Giuliano Mazzuoli is introduced: the chronograph version of Trasmissione Meccanica. The new timepiece is a new expression of Tuscan creativity that stems from the artisanal tradition, and is enriched with a contemporary equilibrium and elegance.

BRM Abarth 595 V12-44 Limited Edition

This just in from BRM -

Courtesy of BRM

BRM is proud to present its limited edition V12-44 chronograph in commemoration of the Abarth 595 “50th Anniversary.” 

Searching for Abraham Lincoln Breguet

So it would seem a few feathers were ruffled with my missive regarding "provenance".  And based on the syntax, grammar and other tell-tales, I suspect the feedback was from the "home team".  But as has been said, sometimes you will make a bit of noise when you shake a cage ; )

But in fairness, it seems that there are very few 100% down home manufacturers out there.  And it seems even less likely that this is going to change anytime soon.  But I do wonder about the folks in other lands.  So I am starting a bit of a watch journey, to check the "vibrations per hour" of watch makers in China, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Japan, France and goodness knows where else.

As it makes sense to be "local", i.e. be knowledgeable about your own backyard, we'll start this discourse in Los Estados Unidos.  Home to RGM, TWF, MWC, and a little start-up that myself and (I think it is safe to say) hundreds of other watch fans both here (US) and around the world are anxiously awaiting their first release.

So stay tuned...

The Pen is Still Mightier!

This just in from Martin Pauli -

Courtesy of Angular Momentum/Manu Propria

Testusabi-moyô - 
This is the first fountain pen from Angular Momentum/Manu Propia