Marc_Personal
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THIS ARTICLE SHARED IS AN EXCELLENT READ ❤️ Quartz crisis or dinosaur crisis? WHAT HAS AILED THE SWISS WATCH INDUSTRY FOR SO MANY YEARS.
Link at the end of my post.
You may remember that I was quite upset with GP management for releasing what I consider to be yet another dial change reference last week. Solid gold ... so what. Same case, movement etc etc. Green sage. Lazy. And treating collectors as though they are not able to understand what is really being done. Using terms like "glorious" etc. Nothing wrong with the watch's look per se, it is just lazy and boring and one of many such releases this year.
The swiss watch industry has been known to be dinosaurs when it comes to change.
GP however was known for innovation. It was never in the DNA of the brand to be lazy.
In this article, it talks about the "Quartz Crisis" and how it was really a crisis caused by poor manufacturing integration. How it was caused by reluctance to change. How it was caused by extremely high costs and a extremely high swiss franc. It was caused by not being able to execute.
Sound familiar?
The "Quartz crisis" .. that term was only used in 1993. It blamed quartz and also laughed at it being something that had no real importance with collectors.
The reality is that it was more of a dinosaur crisis.
And I say again, the Swiss watch industry must be careful because another crisis is on the way for them if they do not wake up.
One word: China. If China were to stop making stuff for the swiss watch industry, you can say goodbye to it.
Already we know 80 % of what goes into a swiss watch is made outside of switzerland.
The biggest thing the Swiss watch industry has going for it is Heritage. Brand name. History.
And this is the very area that GP has sucked at.
GP better wake up and start getting some real experts in to document and present their heritage properly. They also better start to protect their brand image.
Without both heritage and brand image, they are just another swiss watch brand making gold watches and sitting on the achievements of those that came before them.
PS And this is why I say to look at the Neo Vintage period seriously. the 1990's was when the Macaluso family took over at GP and these were the glory years for GP. Their watches today go for a fraction of what they sold at during that period because many are not aware of their originality, fine workmanship and rarity.
It is a unique opportunity to get watches as rare as some of the ones I talk about at a fraction of the prices of the current production watches.
The current production watches MSRPs are plucked from the sky and it is not GP is doing anything to protect the secondary market prices. They are simply flooding the market with more and more supply with little thought towards control of distribution or true innovation. Simply raising the MSRPs with no correlation to design or technical improvements is a sure direction toward disaster for any luxury brand. Again, nothing wrong with the watches. They are just dated and do not warrant the current prices. GP's lack of control of costs does not mean they can simply take more money out of my wallet for what is essentially the exact same watch from 2016.
You decide.
THIS ARTICLE SHARED IS AN EXCELLENT READ ❤️ Quartz crisis or dinosaur crisis? WHAT HAS AILED THE SWISS WATCH INDUSTRY FOR SO MANY YEARS.
Link at the end of my post. You may remember that I was quite upset with GP management for releasing what I consider to be yet another dial change reference last week. Solid gold ... so what. Same case, movement etc etc. Green sage. Lazy. And treating col...
The neo-vintage period was good in many corners
Daniel Roth was producing beautiful Breguets Jean-Claude Biver was directing the same at Blancpain ….and George Daniels was perfecting his co-axial escapement and working hard to get Omega to take it Probably more Does it suggest that a period of bloom fo...
You might enjoy Clayton Christensen’s book “the Innovator’s Dilemma “
It makes a great case -backed by data - for the argument that industry leaders are slow to adopt innovations even when they arise from within. Short form: the margins from cash cows get all the attention and investment to the detriment of the next gen It’...
It isn't just high tech that has to grapple with this issue
I worked 40 years in publishing, creating various forms of technical books, and we had the same issues as the watch companies (just as the car manufacturers have). Once you have a great product, and you refine the manufacturing or editorial process, it's ...
You’re absolutely right
Clay showed the effect in all sorts of industries, not just tech And yes, the innovation has no innate right to come into full bloom. The ironic part is when the innovation starts in-house, gets stymied and breaks out somewhere else (startup or competitor...
The watch market is overhype. I missed the day where watches get discount be it Rolex…
But Thanks for the link. I have not read Europa star for many many years.
Thanks for sharing Marc
It was a very interesting article, I learned a lot while reading it, it changed my perspective of Swiss watch industry and I also had great time while reading it.
Most welcome Derreck
The reality is that what we think happened/is happening/will happen is not the reality. This is especially true in the watch world. For us to try to determine the present and the future, we have to understand the past. This is my quest.
Wise words and an admirable quest my friend.
I can only thank you for sharing the things you learn along the way here with us.
Alas
I’ve been greatly interested in horlogy for more than 35 years now. And I am still as much today. But I’ve not been very present in the last 5 years as I can’t find much interest in what is done today. I can hardly find a contemporary watch I’d be tempted...
