Who Really Made Your Watch?

Sounds like a silly question, because hey - the name's on the dial, right?

Well, yes and no. The majority of watch brands from the small micro to the mighty group member use various forms of white label companies to put their watches together. But wait, there's more! Several so-called white label assemblers don't do any actual assembly themselves either, they farm it out to different sub contractors. Not unlike the construction of a new building is designed by an architect, then a contractor is hired, who then hires carpenters, electricians, plumbers, well you get the idea.

And it goes further. Just as you don't expect the Mayor of Flavor Town himself to be preparing your "Guy-talian Nachos" or "Tex Wasabi’s Koi Fish Tacos", it is ridiculous to think that F.P. Journe himself put your watch together. The good news is that at that level, he (or at this point, whoever is in charge of production) has hired, trained and now supervises the watchmakers. And that is fair enough, by all accounts he is a bit of a hard case and insists on only the best of the best.  And as for the Mayor of Flavor Town? Well that's for you daring would-be culinary critics to determine for yourselves ; )

Shamelessly Borrowed from the World Wide Infoweb

So what am I driving at here? Essentially, there's not really much "there" there. In a few very rare cases you are going to find a watch actually assembled by the actual company with the name on the dial. And I highly doubt you're going to find that at a price under $500. 

So maybe it is time to stop reading the dross that is force fed to you by (I am beginning to believe) the same group of copywriters who are apparently writing for 90% of the Swiss brands waxing lyrical about Savoir Faire. It's almost as if you're stuck in a high school drinking game where every time Savoir Faire is mentioned, you have to take a drink.

Gentle reader, pick a watch because you like it. If you're shopping based on the name on the dial, chances are better than likely that your watch was only finally touched by the brand when the watch finally arrived with all of the rest of the outsourced assembly order to be inventoried and shipped.

But then again, apparently a lot of people love going to Flavor Town, so what the hell do I know?

A bit of credit where credit is due

 If you're reading this, then you are a watch fan of some sort.  Maybe not a high end collector, maybe not even a collector at all.  Maybe it is just that one watch that speaks to you.  You are not so interested in watches in and of themselves, but one watch has caught your imagination and will not let you sleep at night.  I know you.  While working for DOXA Watches I met you several times - on a nearly daily basis.  You were obsessed with Dirk Pitt's watch.  You had seen the watch on the guy from Diners, Drive ins and Dives.  You visited watch stores, googled like there was no tomorrow.  And finally in the wee hours of the morning you stumbled across www.doxawatches.com - and suddenly your problems seemed somehow smaller.  Food tasted better, and you felt more handsome - be honest - you did!

These days we take checking out and buying watches on the internet for granted.  Tissot, Rado and even Longines can now be purchased from the comfort of your living room - in your pajamas!
So the next time you are shopping for a new watch online, say a quick thank you to Rick Marei, and the Jenny family.  More than anyone else, they brought the idea of buying a Swiss watch direct from the factory.  To say the least, it was a risk,  and I think you would have to agree that they not only saw the future, they helped to shape it.

A very happy 10th anniversary to DOXA ONLINE!

www.doxawatches.com