The Flying Regulator Open Gear Wasp

From Chronoswiss -

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

This is one of two nifty new limited editions from the folks in Lucerne.

Limited to 35 pieces, the case measures 41 mm in diameter and is of stainless steel.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

CH-8753-YEBK 

Stainless steel, yellow and black dial, 

Limited to 35 timepieces
DISPLAYS:
Off-center hours at 12:00, central minutes, small seconds at 6:00

CASE:
Solid 16-piece, stainless steel case, with satin finish and polished, bezel with partial knurling and curved, non-reflecting sapphire crystal, screw- down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal, onion crown, water resistance up to 10 bar, strap holders screwed down with patented Autobloc system

Measurements:
41 mm, height 13.85 mm

MOVEMENT:
Chronoswiss caliber C. 299, automatic, with stop seconds
Diameter:
35.20 mm, impulse-angle 51°
Power reserve:
Approx. 42 hours
Special features:
Skeletonized and galvanic black rotor, with Côtes de Genève and colimaçon, with ball bearing; polished pallet lever, escape wheel and screws; bridges and plates with colimaçon

DIAL:
Elaborate construction on two levels: bottom level hand-guillochéd lacquered yellow, upper level featuring screwed-on skeletonized train wheel bridges and funnel-like constructions for hours and seconds display

HANDS:
“Trigono” shape; lacquered; with Super-LumiNova inlays and tips

STRAP:
Hornback crocodile leather, hand-sewn

Stage One, Denial - Or Deja Vu All Over Again

Anyone who has made it through Psych 101 will be familiar with the Five Stages of Grief. Today we're going to focus on Stage One - Denial. It is ironic, because in the last 12 months Watch Town has already gone through the Five Stages from Denial to Acceptance and all of the sudden, with the panic laden announcements of several watch shows over the past fortnight, it just goes to show that FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and the refusal to objectively look at reality can make for a dangerous combination.

For those unfamiliar, or who spent more time staring up at the undersides of barroom tables, here is a quick refresher on the Five Stages of Grief and how some of the former mighty watch shows have attempted to navigate them -

DENIAL -

For those of us who work with brands in brand management, we got to see this first hand this past March and April. Even when all of the signs were as clear as, well, this one -

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide infoweb

sales agents from the shows kept pestering brands to sign contracts and make deposits - even up to the day before the shows were cancelled. 

ANGER - 

Well, this one was mutual as hotels, airlines, and show organizers invoked the "Act of God" clause which loosely translates to - "Fuck you, pay me!"

And it was met with an equally emphatic reply from the brands:

"Hey, show organizer - Fuck me? Do you read lips? Fuck YOU!"

BARGAINING -

This was where airlines would let you re-schedule your flight (not refund), hotels decided that they would hold brand and retail owners feet to the fire and make them pay for rooms that they would never be able to use, and the shows tried various ham-fisted approaches to make it seem as if - "Hey, we really do care about you!  We're all in this together!  That's why we're not giving you shit, and Jack just left town, so we think it's only fair that you share our pain with us and even though we are not giving you anything, you should help mitigate our loss." Which loosely translates to - we are going to minimize our losses by maximizing yours.  Long story short?  Not too many takers.

DEPRESSION -

Really speaks for itself. This is where several venders and the shows wallowed in self-pity from the self-inflicted wounds they were now acutely feeling.

ACCEPTANCE -

Shows cancelled not just for this year, but next year also. 

So the dust began to settle, some big brands realized that, in fact, they would need to go heavy into shifting to the new reality and go heavy into direct to consumer models.  A few mid-level brands still don't really seem to understand this, so if there's a model you're looking for but the brand doesn't seem to understand the new reality we're living in?  Just sit tight, you'll be able to pick it up in the grey market soon enough ; )

But Watch Town is a funny place, where a lot of decisions are made without any real reflection.  A few of these shows decided, after they said that there would be no show (and making it easier to receive and not return fees), that actually, they would have shows next year, with a new name, and in some cases - a new location! And it would be bigger, better and (to quote that other great commentator on the watch business, Kool Moe Dee) deffer than ANY watch show before or after!

So how ya' like me now?

And had everyone been living in reality, watching the news, realizing that COVID-19 is not on any political or economic side, and is not going away anytime soon it is HIGHLY unlikely that most people are going to want to go near an airplane or a crowded, heavily populated, enclosed space with potential virus carriers from the four corners of the globe.

But as always, we will wait and we will see.

The Frontenac LC9 Automatic

From Louis Chevrolet -

Courtesy of Louis Chevrolet

This is a whole lotta' bang for your watch buck, as I believe that prices start at just south of $750.00

The case is of stainless steel and measures 43 mm. The movement is ETA's 2824-2

And perhaps my favorite part? The date window which is essentially a white square that advances around the, rather than a more traditionally fixed date window. As we say here in Salem, it's the witch's britches!


Here are the pertinents -

Calibre

ETA 2824-2

Movement

Automatic

Case Size

43 Mm

Case Color

Blue
Steel

Dial Color

Blue

Strap Width

22 Mm

Strap Choice

Calf Leather
Milanaise Meshband
Nylon
Silicone

Label

Numbered Edition
Swiss Made

Warranty

2 Years Warranty

The 1887 Remontage Manuel

From Eberhard & Co -

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co

I am, as a rule, not one prone to gushing. Having said that, this is one of the most beguiling new watches I have seen in a few years.

It is available with two different strap options, and although I know that the law of purchasing data would tell you that the black croc is the safe choice, I'm kinda' crushing on the jacquard silk option (below) -

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co

This is, at least in my opinion, a wonderful departure for Eberhard. Don't get me wrong, the Traversetolo, the Chrono 4 and the Tazio Nuvolari (among others) are wonderful pieces and absolutely worthy of all of the praise that they receive. But having said that, this one is a bit special.

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co

I could be wrong as I am writing this without the aid of a press kit, but I believe that the dial is available with a "full-steel" look (above) and my personal fave, with gold hands and indices (below) -

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co

The movement is again, something a bit special -

Courtesy of Eberhard & Co

Hand winding, it is referred to as the EB140.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 41.8 mm

This is listed on the Eberhard & Co. site as a novelty, so I am not sure about its availability, but reach out to your retailer ; )

Basel Is The New Lausanne...

Hi Boys and Girls!  Let's hop in the WABAC Machine and travel to those thrilling days of yesteryear, and go waaayyyyy back in time to...

Courtesy of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

May 22nd or so, 2020! 

Now I realize, that was a long, long time ago, but if you scrunch up your eyes real tight and concentrate, you might recall that the brain trust behind BaselWorld decided that the city of Basel  was the culprit, and if they changed the name from BaselWorld to Swiss Watch Week, and moved it down the road to Lausanne everything would be "New and Improved!"

Courtesy of CBS

Which now, in hindsight, appears to be about as well-thought out as New Coke was back in 1985. 

Apparently Basel was toxic (high priced hotels, less-than-friendly tram conductors yelling at Japanese and Chinese visitors - in German, and $12.00 sausage from a street vendor across the street from Hall 1). 

Well, apparently now Lausanne is so last month! The shot-callers decided that, in fact, Basel is a GREAT location, and they would change the name again!  And HOURUNIVERSE was born!

      HOURUNIVERSE: IT'S WE TIME!  

I have to be honest, I had to double check the calendar this morning to make sure it was not April 1st, but no, there is a website and everything. So straight from the Bureau of Not-So-Great Ideas, here is the press release just as I received it -

MCH is creating a new concept for a global platform for the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries: HOURUNIVERSE.

Two months to listen, analyse, identify; and create. An innovative platform to meet today's needs. To unite and support a whole community that wants to regroup, make a new start and is receptive to change. Open, modern, experimental, inclusive, user-friendly, interconnected, the MCH teams have put all their expertise and the feedback and input from customers and other stakeholders into giving birth to a new platform concept. An extended ecosystem   Live and virtual, active all year round, benefiting from the latest technologies for content, and for networking, the new platform is dedicated to players in the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries, but not exclusively. The new concept is a B2B2C meeting point that places the customer at the heart of its focus, reversing the order of the past. The entire platform is thought out and designed around the customer. This applies to all players of the distribution chain, traditional and online retailers, including those of the CPO (certified Pre-Owned).  Flanking them, the platform will build an extended ecosystem with watch, jewellery and gemstone brands, developers of new solutions in distribution, marketing and points of sale, and other players of the industry. A global, varied, interconnected, unified world. A 365 platform, with an annual live meeting Named HOURUNIVERSE, the platform will be digitally active throughout the year and will host an annual live show.  A community platform that creates bridges between buyers and sellers and all the players in the industry, it is also a place that encourages exchanges, information-sharing, content creation, reflection through talks and conferences that also provide visibility for brands and their products.  In April 2021, the community will meet at HOURUNIVERSE in Basel, Switzerland. The show will be aligned with the watchmaking events in Geneva, in the best interests of the international community which will only have to travel to Switzerland once a year. The show will reinforce contacts thanks to new tools, the creation of content, a maximum of Touch & Feel experiences, as well as moments of conviviality, networking and fully integrated events. Along with this new customer-oriented approach, a new competitive hospitality concept will also be an integral part of the packages proposed, and those associated players of Basel life will not be exempt from this involvement. The detailed concept of HOURUNIVERSE will be unveiled late August in combination with the start of marketing.   HOURUNIVERSE: IT'S WE TIME!

I can only assume that they have not read Tony Bourdain's seminal memoir on the restaurant business - Kitchen Confidential. While it does focus on the restaurant business, it is quite pertinent to the (sorry) shit show that is currently unfolding at MCH. I refer you to Mr. Bourdain's thoughts on what he referred to as: 

Owner's Syndrome and Other Medical Anommalies -

...when business drops, or fails to improve, he panics, starts looking for the quick fix. He thrashes around in an escalating state of agitation, tinkering with concept, menu, various marketing schemes. As the end draws near, these ideas are replaced by more immediately practical ones: close on Sundays...cut back staff...shut down lunch. Naturally, as the operation becomes more schizophrenic - one week French, one week Italian - as the poor schmuck tries one thing after another like a rat trying to escape a burning building, the already elusive dining public begins to detect the unmistakable odor of uncertainty, fear and approaching death. 

Now for the less cynical of you out there, A Blog To Watch has an exclusive interview, so if you're looking for a sweeter take on this slow moving train wreck, I suggest you head over there.

What to say? Well, I think that MCH is really not living in reality. And by that I mean that they do not even remotely fathom how pissed-off watch brands are, nor do they seem to remember how they screwed several brands out of thousands of Swiss francs that they could not reasonably afford to lose. They had no problem playing hard-ass with the people who were supposed to be their partners. It is, if I am honest, not unlike that abusive relationship. Your friends keep telling you to leave, but you say "You just don't understand! I can change them!"  Well, I guess we will see just how forgiving the people are who got hosed.  My guess? Not very.

The Only Way Out Of Winter Is Through It

So the export numbers are in, and they are pretty sucky.

Courtesy of the FH

As the graph shows, while things slightly stabilized, they are still not nearly where they need to be. Also keep in mind that the Swiss Watch Makers holidays are upon us, so there is a desire to push out as much as possible before shipping stops for 3 weeks or so.

Of the top markets, China is the only one that is "up" by 47.7%. The argument could be made that China being the first major economy to pass through the first wave of COVID-19 is showing signs of growth and recovery. Well, yes and no. Let's be honest with ourselves about a few
realities -

1. As has been said here Ad nauseam - Exports Do Not Equal Sales. More likely than a huge uptick in sales, we are watching a fairly large scale shift of stock so that it is "in country" before the second wave hits. Granted, there are sales happening, but not on the scale that would indicate a strong recovery.

2. The big Swiss brands are still refusing to learn from previous lessons. When it comes to eggs, there are 2 rules -
A. Don't count your chickens before they hatch -Simply put, exports do not equal sales.
B. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket -
When you put all of your focus on one market, what do you do when that market is suffering?

If these past months have taught us anything, it is that nothing is likely going to be the same as it was, even once we are past the worst of the current pandemic. Wishing, hoping and wanting things to return to the way they were is not going to magically make it happen.

The Big Bang Unico Sky Blue

From Hublot -

Courtesy of Hublot

Brace yourselves, here is the intro from the wordsmiths at Hublot HQ -

Between the water and the air, the Big Bang becomes the horizon

In the blue of the sea as in that of the sky, aquatic and ethereal, both relaxed and sophisticated, the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue invites you on a journey. From Mykonos to Ibiza via Saint-Tropez, the background is set. Cut out of ceramic, this new model makes an innovative material your new basic.

Courtesy of imgflip.com

So true confession time - I actually like Hublot. But I am honestly scoobied by the lengths the copywriters are going to in an effort to impress an audience that, sadly, is not likely taking the time to read the release.  Because what most of us would view as hyperbolic, seems to have morphed into the everyday lingo in Nyon. 

But because they took the time to send it, here's the rest of it and I will let you, gentle reader, draw your own conclusions -

What if you went on holiday... just by looking at your watch... The time that ticks away on the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue inspires a light and relaxed rhythm. That of the summer, of time for oneself. With its wide 45-mm diameter case, it is an invitation to escape. In all simplicity, it has adopted the colours of the leading summer spots. With its combination of pale blue and white, it arrives on the most renowned of the Cyclades islands, where the blue waters of the Aegean Sea contrast with the whiteness of its lime-washed houses under a clear blue sky. Its relaxed style, sporting a velcro fabric strap with a sky-blue ceramic deployant buckle clasp, travels the blue waters of the Mediterranean to drop anchor in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, where the blues of the water and the sky unite endlessly. Sailboats then reach the wild coves of the White Island, where the nights blend into the days and where the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue puts on its second strap, in sky-blue and white rubber. By serenely breaking up time to the rhythm of the Unico manufacture movement, the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue encourages this feeling of freshness and infinity. From the blue of the sky to ceramic

Beneath a minimalist appearance, its pale blue reveals nonetheless a material whose resistance to wear is undisputed. This is ceramic, which Hublot has come to master. In 2019, Hublot created ceramic in bright colours, a patented world first. Since then, all – or almost all – of the Pantone colours are within its reach. The Big Bang Unico Sky Blue brings together two Hublot essentials—the iconic Big Bang model and the Swiss watchmaker’s material of choice. A watch and a material that have been writing Hublot’s history for 15 years.

Oh, and in case you were actually interested in, the actual watch itself, here are the pertinents -

REFERENCE
411.EX.5120.NR Limited to 100 pieces

DIAL
Skeleton sky blue dial
Satin-finished rhodium-plated appliques with white luminescent

CASE
Polished and satin-finished sky blue Ceramic
Diameter: 45mm
Thickness: 16.30mm
Water resistance: 10 ATM (100m)

MOVEMENT
MHUB1242
UNICO Manufacture Self-winding
chronograph flyback movement with column wheel
Frequency: 4Hz (28’800 A/h) Power reserve: 72 hours
No. of Components: 330 Jewels: 38

CASE-BACK
Polished sky blue Ceramic Engraved “LIMITED EDITION” XX/100

STRAP & BUCKLE
White fabric strap with polished
sky blue Ceramic buckle clasp included
White and sky blue Rubber
Titanium deployant buckle clasp

BEZEL
Polished and satin-finished sky blue Ceramic

PRICE
20’400 CHF 21’200 EUR 21’500 USD 17’800 GBP

Shop Local - Chelsea!

Long time readers will recall that I visited the Chelsea Clock Company nearly four years ago when Wendy and I first moved from California -
A Grand Day Out - Visiting the Chelsea Clock Company

And at a time where we are all hanging in there, I wanted to take a moment to put in a plug for a hometown brand. And I have to say, if you have the means, I think that this would be something special -

Courtesy of Chelsea Clock Company

And why should you want this clock and barometer set? Because unlike so many things in this world, these mechanical beauties were hand made by real people who REALLY CARE about what they do.  How do I know? 

Because I've met some of them!

Any cell phone will tell you the time, and any smart phone will give you the weather as well. But  with this set from Chelsea, you actually FEEL it.

Keep it real, keep it local, keep it Chelsea!

Downsizing - Change Is Inevitable

Now it is not news at this point, SWATCH Group has made the difficult decision to permanently shutter several of its retail stores, and 2,400 jobs are now forfeit. More detail on this can be found in this Bloomberg article -
Swatch Cuts 2,400 Jobs as Watchmaker Trims Store Network

SWATCH Group is many things, and more than anything else, at this moment in time they are the canary in the coal mine of the watch industry as a whole. To put it simply, if SWATCH is hurting, how is everyone else doing? Well, the simple answer is that some brands are (at least by most accounts) doing okay - i.e. Rolex and Patek. But other brands (and sorry SWATCH, some of your babies are in this group) are suffering now from a lack of vision. 

And what do I mean by that? 
Back at the turn of the century, everyone was convinced that Hayek the Elder was the smartest man in Watch Town and (for the most part) incapable of error. And there were some very sharp ideas, and let's be honest, some that could have been better handled. And as it applies to the actions now being taken to close company owned stores, it underscores what had been a long simmering concern with the push to not only "control the means of production" but also to try and control the means of consumption. The amount of grey market products sloshing around doesn't exactly help. The move to exclusive boutiques was maybe (maybe) not the best advised. Here in Boston-Metro we have two pretty glaring errors, the Omega boutique in that (insert sarcasm here) highly visited Boston neighborhood - Natick! For those of you unfamiliar, Natick is actually a different town (yes, designated a town, not a city), in a completely different county, more than 20 miles away from Boston (depending on which route you drive, because... no convenient form of public transit goes from there to Boston unless taking two buses and walking just under a mile is convenient). Ironically, there was, and still is a lot of good retail opportunity in downtown Boston. 

And then there was the SWATCH boutique at Boston's Logan airport. Now logic would tell you that airports are natural choices. But... it was in the International Terminal, and another little factoid about flights in and out of Logan for the uninitiated?  A lot of international flights DO NOT leave from the International Terminal. Strange but true!

Curious to relate? There is a thriving (albeit, pre-COVID) retail neighborhood on Newbury Street, and a boatload of space in the Prudential Center as well as the adjoining Copley Place shopping center. My best sense of these two decisions is that they were taken by people who really did not understand Boston, and really did not put in much effort to do so.

And let's now connect the dots - the majority of watch retail is (for the foreseeable future) going to be online. Now also curious to relate - I can buy an Omega watch online from Omega, and I can buy a SWATCH directly from them. Come to think of it, I can buy a:
Tissot
Hamilton
RADO
but not a Mido, not a Longines... and both of those brands are priced more affordably than Omega. Why not join the 21st century?

SWATCH Group, it is time to pivot. 

The Chronometer Aviator Sea Diver Manual

From Nivada Grenchen -

Courtesy of Nivada Grenchen

Nivada is back. Although not out and available to the general public, it is available for pre-order. 

Courtesy of Nivada Grenchen

In fairness, the prices are aggressive and might make a real inroad in helping to reintroduce the brand.

Courtesy of Nivada Grenchen

The chronographs will be available in a self-winding (automatic) version as well as a hand-winding (mechanical) version with several different dial and hand combinations available, along with various bracelet and strap options.

Courtesy of Nivada

The pertinents for this particular version:

MANUAL - 86012M01

are as follows -

CASE:
Case Size/ Diameter: 38.3mm
Case Thickness:  13.75mm

Case Material: Stainless steel

Case Finish: Polished & Brushed
Case Lug Width: 20 mm

Water Resistance: 10ATM

MOVEMENT:
Movement Type: Manual winding - chronograph
Movement Sellita SW510 M BH B

CRYSTAL:

Crystal: Sapphire Glass

STRAP:

Material: Tropic - Black Rubber

Width: 20 mm

The Open Gear ReSec Chocolate

From Chronoswiss -

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

Here are the pertinents -

Displays: 
Off-center hours at 12:00, central minutes, retrograde seconds at 6:00

Case: 
Solid 17-piece, stainless steel case with brown PVD coating, with satin finish; bezel sand blasted matte with partial knurling and curved, double coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal, screw- down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal, onion crown, water resistance up to 10 bar, strap holders screwed down with patented Autobloc system

Measurements: 
Ø 44 mm, height 13.35 mm

Movement: 
Chronoswiss caliber C. 301, automatic, with stop seconds

Diameter: 
Ø 36.50 mm, impulse-angle 51°

Jewels: 
33

Balance: 
Glucydur, three-legged

Balance spring: 
Nivarox 1

Fine Adjustment: 
Via Excenter

Shock protection: 
Incabloc

Frequency: 
4 Hz., 28‘800 A/h (semi-oscillations)

Power reserve:
Approx. 42 hours

Special features: 
Skeletonized and galvanic-black-plated, with Côtes de Genève and ball bearing; polished pallet lever, escape wheel and screws; bridges and plates with perlage

Dial: 
Elaborate 42-part construction on two levels: bottom level red varnish, upper level featuring screwed-on skeletonized train wheel bridges and funnel-like construction for hour display, as well as a retrograde seconds display and cylinder shape Super LumiNova indexes

Hands: 
“Trigono” shape, especially designed by Chronoswiss; lacquered grey; with Super-LumiNova inlays and tips

Strap: 
Calf leather, hand-sewn

Worth It! The Spitfire

From Gavox -

Courtesy of Gavox

So let's be clear - I am not now, nor do I ever foresee myself desiring to be a pilot. Having said that, there is something so fundamentally right and logical about pilot's watches. Clearly laid out, extremely legible, and accurate. Well, that's what it's supposed to be, but all too often this is not the reality. All too often, brands feel they need to dress up the dial as it it were an F1 race car. Not so with the Spifire.  The dial is elegantly simple. The time is easily read, and owing to the quartz movement, it is going to be bang on time. Which is sort of the main reason why you wear a watch, right?

The Spitfire's case is of stainless steel and measures 36 mm in diameter. And isn't refreshing to have a smaller sized watch? Odd though it may be for some, less is often more and in this case that is absolutely true.

And last but not least?  The price - just north of $200 US!

Here are the pertinents -

Smallest unit displayed 1 Hz

Calibre Seiko Instruments VD75

Autonomy (+/-3 years)

Accuracy (minutes per year) 4

Measurements Ø 36.0 x 41.5 x 7.9 mm

Water-resistance 3 bar (50 m / 199 ft, static)

Time base Quartz Oscillator

Limited Warranty 24 months

Measure between horns (lugs) 18 mm

Sapphire crystal (AL2O3)

Anti-magnetism 1,600 A/m

The Flying Grand Regulator Skeleton

From Chronoswiss -

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

This one's a bit special.  A truly limited edition of only 30 pieces.  

The case is of stainless steel and measures 44 mm in diameter.  The movement is Caliber C.677S, which is manual winding and features a power reserve of 46 hours.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

CASE:

Case back
Screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal

Band width
22 mm

Finish
Partly polished, partly with vertical satin finish, onion crown

Material
Stainless steel

Bezel
Polished screw-down bezel with full thread and side knurling with curved, non-reflecting sapphire crystal

Number of parts
21

Height
12.48 mm

Diameter
44mm


MOVEMENT:

Frequency
2,5 Hz 18 000 A/H

Number of jewels
17

Power reserve
Approx. 46 h

Movement
Caliber C.677S manual winding

Finish
Pallet, pallet-wheel and screws polished, plate and bridges skeletonized and circular grained; gear-wheels skeletonized screws thermally blued


DIAL:

Displays
Off-centre hours at 12:00, central minutes, small seconds at 6:00

Shape of hands
"Poire Stuart"

Dial material
Sophisticated dial construction on several levels. Skeletonized base, galvanic white, with funnel construction, hour´s scale white varnish. Middle level galvanic white with hand-painted individual number of limitation. Top level galvanic white, screwed on foundation blocks.

Design of hands
Thermaly blued and curved; minute hand bent by hand


STRAP & BUCKLE:

Type of buckle
Folding clasp

Strap material
Louisiana alligator leather "Hornback", hand-sewn

Summer Repeat - Embargo, Exclusive, and the Game

Some things never change.  Over the past few days I've seen several brands send the new press release to outlet X, and then to the rest of us.  And when I ask them why, you get the email equivalent of a Gallic Shrug, in essence - if you don't like it, you can suck it.

Well, in all honesty, it needs to change. Essentially the message seems to be that if I CHARGE YOUR BRAND to appear on my site, I can then DEMAND YOUR BRAND give me an exclusive head start of a full day ahead of everyone else.

It is wrong-headed.  The whole damn point of marketing communication is to get your product in front of AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, and frankly, I don't know how you expect to do that when you pander to people who already have their hands in your pockets, and you will only appear in their outlet..

So once again, it the idiotic misplaced hope that this might finally resonate with someone in the marketing departments -

Embargo, Exlusive, and the Game

This first ran a while back, but it seems to still be a problem.  So I thought I'd reheat it for you -

For A Few Dollars More

So, some interesting watch news came out these past few weeks which you did not, and will not read about here. 

Brand PR staff as well as press agencies sent press releases under strict embargo.  They dressed these announcements with sugary phrases like "we really appreciate all of your support" and "we think you're really swell!"

Now what I and many of my colleagues in the fourth and fifth estate have come to discover is that, in fact, the reason for the embargo or intentional delay in sending the press release is because Brand X has, in some instances made an advertising deal with another outlet and part of that advertising deal is not only that Brand X pays a fee to run / promote the brand's item, but they lock down a media black out for everyone else, therefore conveying sense that they are somehow "more in the know", better connected, etc.  And of course when you get the release and post it 1, 2 or even 3 days in advance of everyone else, it would be reasonable to assume that you are somehow better informed.

An exclusive, gentle reader, is the idea that a writer has cultivated a special relationship with a brand, and owing to this, the brand trusts that one writer or outlet to handle their exclusive story or announcement.  Now in the "good old days", that meant communication, effort, hard work and sharing on both parts.  And if you were a big dog that might also mean that some money might have changed hands - but the idea of an exclusive meant that only one outlet would have the item.  And I think that is fair enough.  But an exclusive did not mean that the brand or agency would pay for the exclusive advance release, and then send the EXACT SAME RELEASE with the intention of paying one big outlet, and expecting everyone else to "carry the water".  It's a bit disingenuous and is guaranteed to engender a less-than warm and fuzzy feeling.

To be VERY CLEAR - this is not a judgment about any outlet and how they go about doing their business.  This is very much up to them, and if they can build a better mousetrap?  Well more power to them.  But to the brand representatives and pr agencies, don't expect the rest of us to wag our tails like little puppies under the dinner table waiting for the scraps to fall onto the floor.  We work just as hard, and many of us do it for free.  Don't be shocked or surprised when we don't want to roll on our backs and show you our tummies.

Either do an exclusive or don't, but don't half-ass it.

The Big Payback - ETA

So it seems the words binding and final probably mean something slightly different in French and German ; )

I refer you, gentle reader, to today's news from ARCINFO:
https://www.arcinfo.ch/articles/horlogerie/le-gardien-de-la-concurrence-libere-swatch-group-de-l-obligation-de-livrer-ses-concurrents-956627

For those of you non-French readers, Google Translate gave a pretty fair English version.

ETA has essentially been given carte blanche to sell whatever they want to whoever they want for whatever amount they want.  COMCO essentially reversed their decision and now (if I have understood the translation correctly) ETA is free to sell, or not sell to whoever they see fit.

For those of you unfamiliar as to what carte blanche means, I refer you to that other great commentator on the watch business, Carroll Shelby as played by Matt Damon in Ford vs. Ferrari:
They said I had a carte blanche this time. I looked it up, it’s French for horseshit.  

Yes, I am well aware that is not a literal translation ; ). 
But just as in the movie, what is carte blanche one moment can shift depending on the intestinal fortitude of the regulators. Whether or not it turns out to be horseshit remains to be seen, but the message it sends to the competition right now is that they better get ready for the Big Payback. Payback not from ETA, but from their customers. Because sooner or later it's about sex appeal. And when it comes to buying movements for your watch brand, be it small or be it mighty? The letters ETA on your spec sheet give you the confidence of Popeye after a can of spinach. While other brands are going through their rebuttal books trying to explain that the movement they are using is just as good, or nearly as good as ETA, they are still not ETA. 

If you have positioned yourself as an available, viable solution, while pretty much sticking it to your customers as you fell down in terms of quality, late deliveries, etc., essentially telling them if they didn't like it, they could lump it? SWATCH is likely to open the floodgates. Get ready to say goodbye to a lot of your customers, and your dignity.

If you recently hosed a strategic partner on a newly developed movement, get ready to experience the irony as the karmic whirlwind is about to rock your world in a way that is probably best not discussed in a family outlet.

If you're ETA?  Get ready to start drinking from a fire hose, because your customers have you on speed-dial.

But then again, we need to consider some other factors - we are now in a different world than we were just 6 months ago. COVID-19 has knocked the watch industry's collective dicks in the dirt. So what this is all really going to look like in a few years' time is hard to know. 

COMCO is also drinking from a firehose.  The Swiss government at large has a lot of balls in the air, seeing as we're in the middle of both a global health and global financial crisis. And when you think about it, ETA represents a shit-ton of potentially out of work people that could be, well, working. Making more than a few people redundant is probably not so attractive a proposition.

But as mentioned previously - what is carte blanche today could be horseshit a bit further down the dusty trail. ETA is still being viewed as "dominant", so we shall watch, and we shall wait and see.

Build Your Own Watch

Now to be clear, I have not seen, touched or put together one of the watch kits from ROTATE.

Courtesy of ROTATE

The company is (according to their website) based in Los Angeles.

Courtesy of ROTATE

So for $195, you get the watch components and tools to assemble those parts.

Courtesy of ROTATE

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source.  I want to stress this point, because at a total listed price of $195.00, I sincerely doubt that the movement is an actual ETA 6497-1 ; )

All-in-one kit to build your own mechanical watch. Parts, tools, and a user-friendly guide included.

Specifications:
- ETA 6497-1 model 17 jewel mechanical movement
- Hand-wound & battery-free
- PU leather straps
- 44mm case diameter
- Sapphire glass case, featuring a clear case back