Not every brand needs to produce a steel sports watch, and if they do it must be true both to their heritage and the genre. If design is storytelling, it must be internally consistent. Nothing is more disappointing in watch design than an oddly-placed date window, a poorly-chosen font, or mis-aligned pushers. Unless there is a considered reason, a symmetrical watch must not sacrifice symmetry for practicality, and a quirky design should not have conventional elements. Every element of a great watch is part of a single story. The design incorporates all elements into a unified whole. But the mechanism is not more important than the style, and must be artistically integrated. Therefore the movement must be part of the design, whether visible or not, and the mechanism must be designed to fit the watch and vice versa. Watch movements have volume and their components take up space. The watch is a true integration of mechanics and styling. How can we spot haute horology in the wild? Here are some tell-tale signs: The Duomètre à Chronographe is as concise an expression of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2007 as the Reverso à Triptyque A “Calatrava” should be a certain thing, and so should a “Journe.” A “Reverso” must flip, a “Submariner” must dive, and a “Speedmaster” must time.Įnthusiasts will be offended if names are misused or expectations are betrayed, and so they should! Marketing should be true communication, not just pre-sales, and should take into account the history not just the product. Nearly everyone on earth knows what “Rolex” means, and not just as the name of a company. Why did the designer bring these elements together? What were they saying about the brand and the wearer? What statement were they personally trying to make? And how does this fit into the history of the model, the brand, and the industry? Objects have meaning.
We must also consider the meaning of a watch. But as I said earlier, a watch is not just a set of components. And not every company has the capability to deliver this level of watchmaking. Great watches, and great watch design, bring everything together into a harmonious whole that is, simply put, true. “Bad watches” are the negative that proves the positive. The Cellini Prince was a rare haute horology piece from Rolex But some watches are simply bad, a poor combination of components, a failure of design, or a betrayal of the spirit of the brand. There have been many cases where I have failed to understand an “ugly” design and, once I was educated, I came to love it.
What makes a “bad watch” should not be in my eye but in the execution of the creator. To be sure, there are many “good watches” that I do not like, and I find some downright ugly. While we cannot expect much of an unknown name applied to a set of off-the-shelf parts, it feels like a slap in the face when an entity with true heritage and credibility puts forward a sub-par offering. This is true of too many mass-market watches, but it is sadly also true of some high-end pieces from brands and designers who should have known better. A great watch is like a book of poetry: It is a unique expression built on everything that went before it.īut sometimes a watch is just a combination of components. To me, the gestalt of watchmaking is a synthesis of 500 years of human progress distilled to a complex artifact that fits in the hand or on the wrist. But as my interest in the world of watches became a study, a passion, or perhaps a fixation, I began to see it more holistically.
I am not sure what most people mean when they say “haute horolgerie” or “fine watchmaking” or “feine uhrmacherkunst” and I do not presume to tell them what to think. Image: Christie’s auction, 2016 Marketing Meaning
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