You’ve likely seen the news that Rolex will begin issuing certificates of authenticity to accompany pre-owned Rolex watches being sold by their authorised dealer (AD) network, as part of the new ‘certified pre-owned’ (CPO) program. I have yet to see any decent commentary on the subject, so here’s another sh*t analysis to add to the list.
Category: Branding
F.P. Journe increases prices
Recent news about retail price increases across all F.P. Journe collections has been met with mixed reactions, most of which are negative. It is not news to anyone that I am a huge fan of the brand, and do not intend to spew hate in their direction… the intent of this post is simply to share some thoughts on this topic, and as always, leave you with some food for thought. As a useful starting point, I would suggest you read my previous post about the pricing of luxury watches first.
Shorter product cycles and the ‘Enjoyment Gap’ for watch collectors
This post is about something I made up, called “The Enjoyment Gap” which arises as a result of watches being released too often. Collectors keep buying them as a result of the need for dopamine or to fuel the status drive, and the releases keep coming, likely a result of watch companies trying to take advantage of the buoyant market we’re in right now. So how does that play out?
A new era of marketing in the watch world
Digital marketing expert Carlos Gil runs a marketing agency and social media consultancy, serving Fortune 500 clients and helping them navigate their digital transformation. In his book, “The End of Marketing” Gil offers a wealth of insights and I will share some below. In particular, I’d like to dig deeper into my hypothesis that Vacheron Constantin has formally entered the world of micro-influencer marketing on social media… and it might be the first ‘big brand’ to do so.
10 irrational human behaviours and how they apply to watch collecting
Dan Ariely is one of the most interesting people I have ever come across… I could go on about his various TED talks or the rest of his incredible CV – but you can enter that rabbit hole another time. Today, I wanted to cover Chris Yeh’s Outline of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. It’s one of Ariely’s most fascinating books… and takes a peek into the predictable psychology that powers human actions and reactions. As always, I’ll try and pick out some lessons we can apply to our world of watches. Here’s Ariely’s list…
A discussion about the pricing of luxury watches
As certain watches gain popularity and resell for multiples of the original retail price, this post aims to discuss some of the pricing dynamics in the watch world, and think through the considerations a brand would need to make before setting the price of a watch. It is simply a discussion and thought experiment, hope you find it interesting.
ScrewDownCrown 