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…
