Welcome to Point/Counterpoint, an aBlogtoWatch column where two of our resident horological aficionados duke it out over a point of contention. Last time, we debated over “Conservative or Personal Choice As First Nice Watch,” and now Ariel Adams and James Stacey spar over so-called “fashion house” watches.
Ariel Adams: I am of the opinion that watch lovers are unfairly prejudiced against watches whose brand names are those of large fashion houses. Not that these are “fashion watches” per se, as that term often refers lower-priced watches that borrow design elements from more high-end watches. Rather, we are talking about high-quality unique designs from brands that also happen to make clothing, fragrances, and accessories, often with a heavy focus on women. Think Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Bulgari, or Louis Vuitton. What does it matter whose name is on the dial if the watch itself is otherwise attractive, of a high-quality, and contains most of things a timepiece aficionado looks for? It’s not like most of these watches are ugly. If anything, most of them succeed because they look pretty nice.
James Stacey: Call it separation of church and state, or perhaps a blue-collar chip on my shoulder against the flashy nouveau riche lifestyle marketing of most fashion brands, but I want my watches made by watch manufacturers. While I think many, or even most, watch brands lean far too hard on their ability to market their watches as things for rich people, I can’t help but see a watch from a fashion brand and be reminded of Juicy sweatpants, Calvin Klein underwear, and shiny Louis Vuitton belt buckles.
At the end of the day, we don’t want a bad watch from a fashion house or an established watch maker. The name of the brand simply doesn’t matter. We simply take mental shortcuts to trust a brand when we as consumers are sometimes too lazy to make the effort to research the product itself. I think many watch consumers simply “trust” established names more so than they have analyzed and rejected the best watch offerings of fashion houses. We are all entitled to a little bias and prejudice now and then as it’s utterly unavoidable, but as sophisticated and educated consumers of complicated products likes watches, we owe it to ourselves to be more open-minded from the outset.
James Stacey: Putting aside my complete and utter apathy toward a car made by Google or Apple, it’s worth noting that Tesla is a car company, certainly young and innovative, but still a car company. I love young and innovative watch brands like Halios or Autodromo, they operate without the marketing force and brand cache of the established players, and I think there is an enthusiastic legitimacy to their product. While I think in a vacuum the perception of a product should be solely based on the qualities of that product, that’s not at all the reality of how marketing works or the way that humans interact with products. Studies show that wine tastes better if it’s from a more expensive bottle, coffee tastes better if you’ve been lead to believe it to be higher quality coffee, and Coke is better than RC.