Watches, fine or otherwise, are typically distinguished by far more than mere functions, or even finishing, what are parity products?
Watches, fine or otherwise, are typically distinguished by far more than mere functions, or even finishing. The editors of WOW Singapore and Thailand expound on the narratives that distinguish what are effectively parity products.Patek Philippe turns the story of honourary president Philippe Stern into a literal part of Ref. 1938
Now, storytelling and mythmaking in watchmaking are popular, if somewhat tricky subjects. They might even be the same subject… The editors of WOW Singapore and WOW Thailand find a wholesome and completely positive angle to it all. Well, very nearly completely at least. RC: A name can do wonders for a watch. On your point of identity, I can readily think of Monaco. When you say the name to most people, they have an image of the beautiful, coastal, city-state in mind. When you say it to watch people, the picture that comes up is that of a square piece of metal!
AS: Ah yes, Omega and James Bond is one of the great purposeful relationships between cinema and watchmaking, but arguably this brand has something even better: a real story, and one that made an impact on the world – and went beyond our humble little blue dot. Of course, this is the Omega Speedmaster of 1969. No explanation needed there I think!
AS: Well, now we are in quite a different space with Poetic Complications! The Pont des Amoureux is a pure story, with mechanical watchmaking simply providing the kinetic power behind it. So here, the watch is merely a delivery mechanism for a story – a theatre if you will – that unfolds upon your wrist. Genius-level stuff! It took a jewellery brand to make this happen, which is odd given that watch brands have been making automata for hundreds of years.
RC: The whole arrangement is very compelling indeed. The message and the visuals did make a lasting impression, and in such a way that most people can relate to, whether or not they will actually get to own a Patek Philippe in this lifetime. I have a couple of Patek Philippe references that I would love to add to my collection at some point, but they may not be attainable as long as I continue to work as a starving writer .
RC: I checked just now: “A creative adult is a child who survived”. Maybe we did not survive. We are not creative enough :DRC: Ahh … Sorry about that. I have not tried my luck myself. I have handled the first one once in Geneva in 2022. It was a fun watch to have on the wrist.
AS: We can certainly hope that all this success leads to more success, but for others too. Just as Patek Philippe’s success leads to success for other brands too. This is the sort of virtuous cycle that just makes me want a Patek Philippe even more! I guess I marketed myself into it! Thank goodness Patek Philippe continues to advertise, even though they probably have no need to…
RC: I think what Schaller is doing with Louis Moinet is not very different from what Pascal Raffy is doing with Bovet. The stories are artfully woven into the respective brands. The key difference may lie in the fact that the original Louis Moinet was long gone and now re-established through research and acquisition of the right to use the name, whereas the right to the Bovet name was more or less passed from one hand to another through acquisition until it landed with the current owner.
AS: Bell & Ross is a brand that I do find a lot of opportunities to discuss, and it certainly gives us a lot of talking points! These guys captivated the public with a design, so I come back to that Eames chair I guess, but added a tonne of narrative too. As early as the launch of the brand, they already had a collection called Heritage, which was very forward-thinking and bold for a new brand.
AS: In that sense, what you want in a watch is a good story, and Bell & Ross certainly delivers. The brand’s most famous pilot’s watches are all the evidence required there. To me, it matters if any given brand is motivated by a certain spirit, and the watches are representative of that spirit. The opposite are those brands that make clear tributes because that is a pure cash- grab that trades on the willing-seller willing- buyer mentality.
AS: Or Louis Moinet, if Moinet had been famous, which he was not. Ferdinand Berthoud has the good fortune of being in a similar place as some other brands we noted, specifically Bovet, in that it is owned and run by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele as a passion project.
AS: Well ultimately, the stories we tell about the watches we own are the most relevant ones, even if they are not always the most interesting. AS: Thus I thought about whether we would pay for the story of a specific watch – like the story of your Paris “weakness,” for example. The hypothetical auction lot listing would make that point, enshrining your previously personal story into something rather more… well, just more.
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