Special Effects
Luxury watch companies need to offer more customisation if they want to remain competitive.
After two decades of an upward climb, the luxury mechanical watch industry has finally come to a fork in the road. The tried-and-tested strategies of product development and marketing are no longer enticing people to buy and in a saturated market like Singapore, retail stores have recorded three straight years of declining revenue and foot traffic.
While there are some bright spots left – big collectors are turning to independent watchmakers today – the general sentiment is that there is nothing exciting about the industry anymore. Everything has been done and dusted.
Ever y thing ex ce p t customisation, that is. In an interview with the US edition of Robb Report, Guglielmo Miani, heir to Larusmiani, revealed that of all the watches he owns, which range from vintage Rolex and Patek Philippe to Tag Heuer and Zenith, his favourite is a custom black Patek Philippe Nautilus made by George Bamford that has its original dial. In Miani’s own words: “It’s so elegant and understated that only
a very savvy collector can identify it when I wear it.”
Customisation and bespoke services are usually reserved for a select clientele. But if watch companies extend it to the classic range, allowing more customers the opportunity to personalise the watch, not only will it be unlikely to be resold, but a whole new trend would be in the offing.
Jaeger- Lecoultre’s Atelier Reverso is a shining example, perhaps because the Reverso is the ideal platform for this concept.
The reversible case in the single dial model turns over to reveal a large expanse on which anything from a message to a portrait to an insignia can be applied.
The manufacture’s expertise with a slew of traditional watchmaking fine arts also enable it to realise anything the client desires. www. jaeger- lecoultre.com