Best Watch Collaboration Pieces
patrick_y
Watch collaborations are almost always a bad idea. How many brands has Ferrari partnered with? GP (who's now with Aston Martin), Panerai, Hublot, and now Richard Mille? Not only are collaborations fleeting and "in-the-moment" but they're rarely done well.
Some collaborations are a match in one area but a total mismatch in another area. For instance, Breitling and Bentley... Both have a B logo with wings. But Breitling is a solidly mid-end brand when it comes to watches, and Bentley is definitely on the expensive side when it comes to automobiles.
And some collaborations are better. IWC and Top Gun for instance. I see a good fit there. But how many Top Gun pilots actually really get an IWC from the US Navy? I can't imagine many of them get them.
What are your thoughts about collaborations? And watch collaborations are not limited to automobile companies. I think we can all generally agree that they're unnecessary. Which collaborations do you think are exceptionally good? Which collaborations do you find to be classically bad?
I'll start off... The best collaboration I've seen is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando in Titanium! Tadao Ando is a famous Japanese architect who works with minimalism, concrete, and a balance of natural light. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo in titanium looks almost exactly like concrete - Ando's preferred medium. And the spiral (it's a spiral, not concentric circles) has a zen like quality that is exhibited in his architecture! Many thanks to our dear late member, Horology75, who introduced this piece to me!
Comments:
InHavenPro July 5th, 2024-01:17
Excellent example. It's such a hodgepodge of stuff overall, there's few that truly make sense in my opinion. Obviously, one of my all time favorite is the AMVOX line, another good example from the same time and people is the MC Navy SEALs.... Vacheron has that exceedingly c...
patrick_y July 5th, 2024-01:43
I see! Interesting. I never really understood the VC Everest Dual Time Overseas watch - as I didn't see it as a good fit as a watch to go mountaineering in - at least their marketing didn't convince me that it was an especially good fit. Frankly, I find the Vach...
InHavenPro July 5th, 2024-02:09
My love for the Overseas is enormous, it genuinely is my favorite (luxury) sports watch line - collaborations or not. The only thing you state that I don't get is the 'pseudo-sports' label, I've always found the line to be authentically sporty, it unequivocally possesses both the robustness a...
patrick_y July 5th, 2024-03:05
Hmm. You bring up a good point! There's nothing to suggest that the Overseas line is less sporty than say a Rolex Oyster model line - which is a very sporty watch. I just don't see myself bringing a "Vacheron Constantin" to a mountain expedition. But then again, in the old days, people ...
InHavenPro July 5th, 2024-03:34
Actually, phrased as such.... I get what you're trying to say. It's a brand less colloquially associated with such end uses in recent times.... Also, just like you pointed out, there's no objective criteria to prevent one from speaking of that line of products in the same context as c...
patrick_y July 5th, 2024-03:06
And you bring up another good point! The water resistance of the VC Overseas is greater than the Royal Oak! Although I would actually think that the Royal Oak is also a "pseudo sports" watch and more of a luxury watch. But then again, who's to say that a Royal Oak isn't robust to go up a mou...
InHavenPro July 5th, 2024-03:46
Agreed totally. It's just a game of perception, not actual, quantifiable or substantiated reasoning. Price-wise, entirely subjective. You might just as well shell out a quarter million or more for a Mille, and go find out how well it holds up in all kinds of remote terra...
patrick_y July 5th, 2024-21:18
Precisely. Rolex and Omega have a reputation for robust watch movements that are depended upon by explorers and professionals. I suppose Richard Mille has that too - but it's so not "government tested" and so not "military grade." That it feels more like a luxury pr...
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