Horological Meandering

Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin among brands getting help “Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin have become the first brands to confirm they’re using a state program to retain jobs and avoid permanent cuts. Sowind Group, which owns the two manufacturers,...  

Give people the access to the watches they want instead of feeding everything to the same people. But what do they care I’m one of the few that are done with them and could care less if they stay or they go.

If you say give people access to the watches they want…. I guess you’re talking about mainly Rolex and Patek. Well in the article they name these 2 cause they’re the exception…. These 2 are doing very well So I guess they knew what they were doing and the... 

My comment was to the manufacturers as a whole not brand specific.

And fairer prices…

They should have been saving / investing during the post covid boom.

Nice foresight. Unfortunately when it comes to watches I don’t have such vision. However history has shown us time and time again that most things are cyclical (except death and taxes). As a smaller watch manufacturer , would cutting out the AD’s allow yo... 

It may sound harsh, but I wouldn’t mind a rigorous clean-up and if that means losing some brands it is what it is. Those sales will go to other brands, which will be stronger long-term and they will offer employment to the skilled watchmakers currently at... 

Brands like UN and GP are suffering because their products are mostly uninspiring and their marketing (or lack thereof) reflects it. Both brands have some decent watches (mostly UN with the Freak) but the average price is way higher than their brand perce... 

“Back to the regularly scheduled programming”. The last few years have been extraordinarily good times for watchmakers. I’ve lived through several, similar business cycles in my own arena. When things normalize off of extreme highs, quality companies, pro... 

from the picture, you can sort of guess who is the most financially exposed to their own brand. I believe Breitling did some sort of 'private' crowdfunding this year. This is always a bad sign for me

Heritage is one thing, being nostalgic another one… But if you don’t create compelling offerings ( combination of a lot of different factors) you’re not going to survive.

After such a boom of the past few years, I would’ve expected companies to save and invest into their brands. And not just marketing. And im not speaking about watch quality / design etc. It’s about their management teams. A downturn always separates good ... 

To me, they have no real 'modern' identity any longer. In the 1980s, sure, you knew Nardin, but now? Just visited their website, and some models look like the $500 Chinese skeletons i see flooding the typical sites. Imho first thing is to reduce, it's not... 

Ok, fire management. Get someone passionate who truly understands modern horology (huge huge apologies, i know that sounds like me being a total a---h-le, but i mean there is a (modern) path for luxury goods. Frankly, kill 80% or so of the current lineup.... 

Create, innovate, make us dream again...

Hmmm... my dad was a hired consultant for many decades.... Armani, his longtime friend Ralph Lifshitz (Laren), Izod, Nike... and many others. Am going to bow out of this conversation because (in my humble experience) "free advice" is usually valued as suc... 

Tho do have a nice selection of 'cheap fun' timepieces that probably make zero sense to others. My lovely wife, on the other hand, very much loves the artistic side of mechanical horology, including world time and planetary clocks / devices, so it takes a... 

Like a lot of you, I have been surprised by how rude a lot of watch brands have been to deal with, I suspect they killed a lot of their hardcore collectors and will now eat it. The new faux collectors they decided to chase are not real nerds that buy watc... 

I find the business is both capex and R&D light, not heavy when compared to other industries. When watch brands wax lyrical about spending 60 man days about something I cannot but laugh out loud 😁

most other consumer is significantly easier

Next, GP could easily wipe out 50% of their product offering allowing them to focus on their better/best pieces. Shrink the marketing dollars and pass the savings onto the client by way of more competitive retail prices. Let the watches do the talking wit... 

The work I’ve been doing indexing some 9000 references (so far) has really illustrated to me the difference between the brands who focus on identity and are recognizable vs those who jump all over the map and chase every color, metal, strap, etc

WINTER IS COMING ! 😂

They created some less than impressive monstrosities, trying to be RM, or Roger Dubois, interested of creating a product of heritage and high quality. Enamel dials, repeaters, tourbillons in wearable sizes and costumers will come, classic never fails…

First, when I think of brands that have been standing up collectors with endless waiting lists, bundling at dealers, or gouging on price, UN and GP aren't even on the radar. Second, what specific UN or GP watch has anyone here been struggling to buy? Mayb... 

A few Laureatos and super high end watches from GP ( MR Titanium Tourbillon for example ) and from UN ( Marine Tourbillon Enamel, Executive Tourbillon Gree Wheel WG Osmium Dial 18 pieces 2019, or Marine Grand Deck, Moonstruck )... Compare the new offers t... 

May be my memory is failing but over the last 15y I can't recall many interesting new offers from market darlings - Rolex, AP, PP, etc... Some playing around - yes, but little really new. Instead, IMHO, for successful ones we have 2 factors in play: 1) de... 

These are not the offenders of those general crimes against watch collectors. I think the sentiment is really more that this is a harbinger and the actual offenders may too suffer and folks will be happy to see that. Some of the direct criticisms towards ... 

To me, one of the problems is so much attention is being polarized. One one hand, toward maniac proportions toward Rolex, PP, AP, and to a certain extent toward VC. And only toward a select models. There is still some hope because watch enthusists appreci... 

reverse of fortune. Staying their current course would seem to be suicidal.

I think the management must be restructured. I had high hope on Patrick. I agree with most of the gentleman here. Wipe out 50-60% of the unpopular models noboby wants. Focus on honest product with classic models , modern movement. Reasonable price. I pers... 

Does this advice still apply to the watch industry today? Hear what the legedary Nicolas Hayek had to say circa 1990 or so when this interview took place. 🤝

wish I could watch some interviews with A.L. Breguet!

First of all, the furlough or short work (in the German speaking world) can be a useful instrument for healthy companies during a period of economic difficulties. What it does not do is to solve your problems if these are ‘home made’. One of the issues of... 

The news that Swiss watchmakers like Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin are seeking state aid is certainly a wake-up call for the entire industry. The economic downturn, particularly the sharp drop in demand from China, has forced even some established br... 

My biggest issue with the watch industry is lack of transparency in their products, marketing and sales. The opaqueness prevalent in the industry and seemingly “part of the furniture” so to speak, has lead many buyer/collectors to be rather indifferent to... 

I have little sympathy for brands that have ignored outreaches from dedicated members of this site whilst pissing aways millions to celebrity brand ambassadors. 1) Our requests to JLC for many ideas let alone collaborations have been dismissed out of hand...