CastorKrieg
419
Disagree on all except JLC and IWC
First of all, thank you for this selection. Second, I understand what you meant and already responded to other reader - watches that 'play a strategic role in the development and growth of a brand'.
1. Cartier - Cartier's history is full of watch designs that failed and were quickly abandoned. Nothing as of now says if Cle will be successful or not. Cartier has been lately pushing their MC pieces, as well as gaining recognition in the field of HH, which they do very well IMO. However the Cle is 100% form, 0% substance. Not a single complication was shown. Of course they will come, but as of now I fail to see the significance. Style cannot be measured, and it cannot be easily quantified - Cle will be successful, or not, but again, right now nothing tells me how exactly did they think it through. The Cle gets points for being clearly designed as a Unisex collection, which was a surprise for Cartier with Ballon Bleu.
2. Montblanc - the brand is pricing very aggressively. sub-10k EUR for steel perpetual, and 11k EUR for rose gold annual. I will not discuss here the opinion that MB watches are starting to almost mirror JLC ones. My point is - MB seems to be basing their strategy on the assumption people will pay for complications alone. That is the point of extremely competitive pricing. Naturally people interested in watches known of multiple brands with better horological pedigree than MB, but a watch of equal complication will cost 3x-4x more (as a reference Patek annual calendars start around 35k EUR, same with Lange). Main question is - will MB find people to spend 11k EUR on a complication watch from outside the top manufacturers? I do not think the answer is so obvious. Regarding the exact watch you mentioned - can you imagine the faux-pas when people assume it's VC and ask about it?
3. ALS - main challenge for ALS at present is not the watch line, but the lack of developed distribution network (which can be a good think - less Capex and more exclusivity, brands seem to be scaling down on distribution anyway), which in turn means the brand is still relatively unknown. Since the iconic design is Lange 1, and not Saxonia, this is where the majority of purchases are concentrated, and it will remain so in the future. You mentioned 'discreet watch lover' and China in the same sentence, doesn't compute. Same with Russia. Please visit the boutiques in Hong Kong, which target customers from the Mainland exclusively, their selection will give you clear answer to what is selling. Luxury is still seen as status symbol in China, and although the citizens of major urban centers - Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen - are moving away from ostentatious logos, at the same time many watch brands have much more refined and expensive offerings than Saxonia e.g. the already-mentioned Lange 1, but also vast majority of PP catalogue.
4. IWC - agreed, brand's first annual calendar pushes it more towards the mainstream, offering yet another complication at a respectable price point. This will be money-maker.
5. JLC - agreed again, it's good the brand is focusing on watches for women, and tries to add meaningful complications for them. AP similarly presents new Millenary models for women, I'm sure Breguet will show something at Baselworld as well.
Overall, both of these are yours and my opinions. I think there is definitely some strategic thinking with all the companies you mentioned, and it will certainly be very interesting to see what will come out of it.
More posts:
SIHH 2015: The 5 most important watches of the Salon (personal selection)
The most important watches, it's always the same story. These are not the ones that impress the most, they are not necessarily the most attractive but they play a strategic role in the development and growth of a brand. As such, they embody a certain idea...
Dear Forvesta
I am surprised. to say the least, by the selection of your watches, and especially but the inclusion of the Montblanc. I share the opinion of one of my good friend on another forum and feel it is a pastiche of a watch borrowing much of its DNA from direct...
But it is not the point of this selection...
I'm talking here about the strategic watches for the brands, not about the most original nor the nicest... ;) Fx
Agreed, in terms of impact.
Foversta, This is a well-chosen overview of economically significant debuts. With the exception of the Lange and possibly the JLC, the watches lack soul and warmth, but that may be the surest harbinger of mass market impact. I do feel as though the AP Roy...
I definitely agree with the first two.
The Cartier Cle (key) and the Montblanc WoldTime (excuse me, Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, way too long of a name) are both beautiful pieces. The Cartier Cle is a great design. But at the price-point, it's too close to a Patek Philippe Calatrava Automat...
I like all 5 of the pieces mentioned...
and understand that Jerome Lambert will do to Montblanc more than he did to JLC, meaning, we ALL knew JLC to be at the top of the pyramid, since they had supplied the "Swiss Trinity" for so long; it was the consumer that didn't. With Montblanc, the brand ...
The Montblanc is the one which intrigues me the most.
I am currently working on a review. There are some cool détails, like the one you mentionned, to be explained. Just the time to have sme confirmations, and to cross some informations, before I can put it on line. Best, Dean. Nicolas
Thanks FX
This Cartier will be important for sure, such a big brand, certainly a big sale. For Montblanc this is a bold move to copy design from sister brand JLC and Vacheron to drop the price, we've seen that with Tudor and Rolex in the past, or the numerous brand...
Agreed.
Your choices, for making your point, are inarguable (although I would have chosen to highlight the Portuguese Hand-wound rather than the AC). But I think the list HAS to be expanded to the top "six", as I do not think Vacheron Constantin's new Harmony wat...
Disagree on all except JLC and IWC
First of all, thank you for this selection. Second, I understand what you meant and already responded to other reader - watches that ' play a strategic role in the development and growth of a brand'. 1. Cartier - Cartier's history is full of watch designs...
Thx a lot, Fx.. Great & Comprehensive pictorial.. Several great offers !.. ;))
.. Mostly they also look very nice on your wrist ! .. Looking forward to your future reports!.. Best, hs
thanks for the summary, I agree with the inclusion
of the Montblanc, due to the fact that it looks impressive and the steel version doesn't break the bank, unlike too many watches do these days; even if it looks familiar to another. Thanks Steve
Great work ...
By digging five watches on the 2015 SIHH. I don't know if I'm too grumpy but this year was very poor in new releases, IMHO. Even those five, I don't see any that deserves to enter on my wish list, like i had on the past years. Let's hope that Basel brings...
