I arrived into a snowy Dresden from Geneva via Frankfurt back in early December for a visit with several of my independent watchmaker’s, some of whose work I have represented for almost 20 years. The Dresden airport is a shiny example of federal infrastructure funds being put to good use, albeit without fully understanding the commercial situation and location. There is not much call for flying into Dresden, when trains are efficient, economical and go direct to major international airports. Rather similar to many commercial watch brands. Too many un-saleable models, created under the concept that if we build it they will buy. The end user is in the driving seat more and more in todays world and the days of, and the ability, to foist off poorly designed and executed watches on unsuspecting and/or ignorant buyers is rapidly coming to a close. The transparency and therefore honesty now required by buyers is changing the market place, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The money involved in “Luxury Watches” is big and real. The likes of LVMH, Swatch Group and Richemont, are serious players who expect to continue to make good returns on their investments and be paying dividends to stock holders. They are more and more having their proverbial “feet held to the fire” and this is good for consumers. Honesty in the business of watchmaking, has shall we say “Not always been of paramount importance” in the marketing and selling of wristwatches. It’s high time that changed, and that is why I haven’t been associated with that end of the business since 2009. My focus has been the artisanal Independent Watchmaker and their craft. My sense in 2003, when I began along this path was that I was entering into a more honest and authentic albeit tiny niche of horology. The players seemed to represent a different end product, even though there were similarities to the main stream big marketed brands. It was perhaps an educated hunch more so that an analytical evaluation of what they were doing. For one, there was gobs of transparency from the initial watchmaker I began a commercial relationship with, Peter Speake. His fledgling company, The Watch Workshop, produced tiny quantities of watches under the Speake-Marin name. Never before had I come across a watchmaker or brand that used fired enamel dials on their entry level watches, nor had the beautiful hand finishing on it’s rotor. This was massively rare and getting to meet Peter, hear his story during Baselworld 2003, would change me and how I looked at the watch business going forward. His openess about his Caliber FW2012 in the Piccadilly, the base was the “tractor motor” caliber ETA 2824, which began life a Longines caliber from memory, was used for longevity and consistency. His upgrades of the automatic winding bridge and highly hand finished “Topping Tool” motif rotor made for what I believe is a solid and highly reliable caliber. It also allowed Peter to make and deliver watches without to massive investment required to design and execute one’s own “inhouse caliber”. It would be several years later that he was finally able to realize that dream with the SM2 caliber, albeit a short lived production run, prior to his leaving his eponymous company.
I didn’t know the degree to which this seminal meeting would affect me until many years later. I was still working with many of the legendary big marketed brands in my store. However a comment that Peter made to me a couple of years later in 2005 or 2006, remains with me. It was in response to me suggesting to him, that I thought a shop that only carried small production artisanal independent watchmakers work, was the what I saw for the future. This was due to the confusion and lack of knowledge with most watch consumers as to the actual value of fine artisanal watchmaking compared to relative mass produced on a production line watchmaking. Placing a steel Speake-Marin Piccadilly in steel next to Ulysse Nardin San Marco in steel or an IWC Mark XV, with the contrasting pricing, made for much confusion amongst watch buyers. Peter’s response was that, “how would I get buyers into the shop if I didn’t have the big marketed brands advertising of their products?” He didn’t see how it would or could work. In 2006, it probably would not have. However I believed this was the future for me. I have proven this concept could work.
Now, as ever, the retail selling landscape is changing and I now am connected to my clients and watchmakers through various websites, social media, email and messaging. The days of requiring a physical shop, are no longer needed for my niche world of horology. What is still needed for me, is doing the leg work to meet face to face with the watchmakers in their workshops or at the very least, a trade fair, such as the AHCI events held annually. I do have my corp. office in downtown San Francisco where I meet in person with clients.
The tools one has now for reaching the right type of buyers of artisanal wristwatches, has changed the dynamics even more, to benefit collectors and buyers, and it is a better and more honest landscape for consumers to make their best choices. The relationship is still very important, but how those relationships occur is forever changed and I believe for the better!