Serious
watch collectors pay thousands of dollars for a watch that sports
all sorts of intricate horological complications. The average watch
consumer, on the other hand, is influenced by its design - the "look"
of the watch.
What
comes first when creating a new watch, the look of the watch,
i.e. the design of the case and the watch face (dial), or the
design of the movement that allows us to read the time?
Well,
the answer is more complicated than one would think because many
watches are designed for their "look," as is
the case with many of the famous "fashion" brands, just
as it's true that a watch
manufacturer will create a specific new mechanical movement,
say a chronograph, and then design the "look" of the
watch based upon the movement's specifications. Although there
are thousands of watch aficionados around the world collecting
watches by world-famous brands, for every avid collector
there are millions of consumers who choose their watches because,
quite simply, they like the look of it. True, some may have been
influenced by a mouth-watering advertisement with some exotic
'name' such as Maria Sharapova, Michael Phelps, Nicole Kidman
and Uma Thurman wearing one.
But
where do the watch designers turn for inspiration? Well, there
are brands that have models influenced by classical columns in
architecture (Dewitt), racing cars (Chopard
and TAG
Heuer are two of many) or even ancient tribal masks (Vacheron
Constantin). However, there are many watch manufacturers
that cater to particular professions or sports, such as Breitling
for aeronautics, Corum
and Audemars
Piguet for sailing, Rolex
for golf and tennis, and many more. Nevertheless, when most people
decide they want a new watch, their demands are as high as someone
purchasing the most sophisticated complication.
They want the watch to look good, sit comfortably on their wrist,
elicit the odd, "That's a nice watch," from their friends,
and they want it to keep time accurately.
Tastes
Differ
But the perception of looking good, fortunately, differs from
one person to the next. The simplest watch giving the hours and
the minutes may be perfect for the man about town, but it's not
enough for the person that wants to go deep-sea diving and be
able to see how much air he has left in his aqualung, or an athletically-inclined
New York Marathon participant aiming to beat their personal record
of three hours, twelve minutes and forty-three seconds using a
complex-looking digital watch that also tells them their heart
stopped beating about an hour ago and whether or not its raining.
Today,
however, there is a very strong trend back to timekeeping's origins
- the mechanical
watch. Those are the ones where you can often see and
even hear the heart of the watch ticking away (its main spring)
and, in addition to the mere hour of the day, can offer all sorts
of horological complications like a power reserve, moon phases
or even a complete calendar (famous brands such as Patek
Philippe, Vacheron
Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre,
etc.).
So
it's a question of "you makes your choice and you pays your
money." One watch movement designer likened the question
to automobiles, suggesting, " A normal person won't buy a
car without looking at the engine - they lift the hood to see
what's inside. And that's what's happening today, more and more
brands want their consumers to see the movement functioning."
Create
Something Different
According to TAG
Heuer's product director, the most important phase in
creating a watch is to find an idea that is unique and different
from anything else on the market. He suggested that too often
movements are created by technicians who invent concepts that
have no impact for the consumer. An idea has to be simple and
understandable in a visual way that has an immediate impact on
the consumer. The Monaco V4 Concept Watch is an interesting
example because the unique design of a linear winding weight linked
to a notched belt drive, like an automobile, instead of a main
spring, created a new architecture. In this particular case, the
watch was built around the movement."
In
terms of investment, that watch, or any new mechanical
watch, costs thousands of man-hours and hundreds of thousands
of dollars or more, and guess what, all of that has to be recovered
via sales - using, of course, winners like Tiger Woods, Tom Brady
and Roger Federer in their advertising campaigns!
Staying
Abreast of the Trends
But what about all of the other millions of watches sold
around the world? Do the thousands of perhaps lesser-known and
less-expensive brands that we see in the shops all go through
this highly complex and expensive routine? The answer is no, because
they can't afford it. With the majority of the estimated 1.2 billion
watches made a year, design is king; function and accuracy
are of secondary importance. Put purely and simply: it's the look
that dictates how the watch functions.
A
perfect example is the myriad of so-called fashion brands. Often
named after leading clothes designers or famous couture companies,
these brands, by definition, have to bring out two or three collections
a year in order to keep up with the whims and vagaries of the
fashion industry and be a part of the current trends - maybe a
chocolate-colored dial or a rubber or fake leopard skin strap.
Other features such as the date and day of the week or digital
readouts that give everything from the last recorded lap time
at a race to the time of day down under when the kangaroos come
out to play, all have to be taken into consideration and fit into
a particular price structure.
The
Feel-Good Factor
Whatever your dream, whatever your preference, whether you're
a teenager or retired banker, you almost certainly wear a watch
becausee you like the look of it. It may appeal to your macho
James Bond instinct, or maybe a desire to be Steve McQueen zooming
around the LeMans circuit, but in the end you buy it because wearing
it makes you feel good because it looks right on you, because
you feel it was designed with you in mind.
There's
an old maxim that "manners maketh man." Well, don't
you believe it, it's the watch that maketh man, so if the face
fits…
