Wednesday, August 7, 2019

IN HOUSE - WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?




THESE ARE THE NOTES FOR MY VIDEO YOU CAN WATCH HERE:

I MUST CREDIT THE GUYS AT WATCHESBYSJX - I LEANT VERY HEAVILY ON AN ARTICLE ON THEIR SITE. YOU CAN SEE THAT HERE:


INTRO

LUXURY WATCHES HAVE LONG BEEN MARKETED AS STATUS SYMBOLS

IVE DONE A COUPLE OF VIDEOS TOUCHING ON THIS AND THEIR POWER AS POSITIONAL GOODS.

I INCLUDE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE POSITIONAL POWER OF WATCHES IN MY WATCH REVIEWS.

A LUXURY WATCH IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF “CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION”

KEY PART OF THE LUXURY WATCH SURVIVAL STRATEGY

BUT DOESNT REALLY WORK FOR “IN-HOUSE” MOVEMENTS.

NOT CONSPICUOUS NOR IS THIS A HISTORICALLY RELEVENT THING - ITS ACTUALLY A VERY RECENT DEVELOPMENT - WHATS GOING ON?

FIRST SOME BACKGROUND


STRICTLY SPEAKING, AN IN-HOUSE OR MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT IS A MOVEMENT PRODUCED IN A WATCH BRAND’S OWN FACTORY.

IF WE LOOK AT THE LITTLE INDEPENDENT LIKE FP JOURNE THIS MAKES SENSE.

BUT IN THE 21ST CENTURY WHERE ‘BRANDS’ ARE SIMPLY THE MARKETING ARM OF HUGE MULTI BILLION DOLLAR ENTITIES SPANNING THE GLOBE

ALMOST ALWAYS OFTEN BROKEN INTO CHUNKS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TAX/LABOUR/IP/SCALE ISSUES

ROUTINELY THESE GROUPS ARE THE RESULT OF DECADES OF ACCRETION WITH ONCE INDEPENDENT SUPPLIERS BECOMING PART OF THE GROUP BY ACQUISITION WITH ONLY LOOSE CONNECTIONS TO THE REST OF THE GROUP

AND WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN?

I’VE BEEN RESEARCHING THIS FOR A FEW WEEKS AND I CANT FIND A DEFINITION I TRUST AND CAN USE IN GOOD FAITH.

MAYBE ITS UNIMPORTANT TO DEFINE - MAYBE ITS IMPORTANT NOT TO DEFINE?

BECAUSE THE AMBIGUITY IN MEANING SERVES TO HIGHLIGHT EVEN MORE JUST HOW EMOTIONAL THE DESIRE IS TO HAVE WHATEVER THIS IN HOUSE THING IS

THAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE INTERESTING TO KNOW WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT AND WHY NOW?

HISTORY

IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY UNUSUAL IN THE SWISS WATCH INDUSTRY FOR INHOUSE CONSTRUCTION

HISTORICALLY, MOST SWISS WATCH BRANDS RELIED ON A NETWORK OF COOPERATIVE AND INTERDEPENDENT SUPPLIERS FOR MOVEMENT KITS (KNOWN AS ÉBAUCHES) AND COMPONENTS - CASES, HANDS, DIALS CRYSTALS ETC.

THIS WORKED PERFECTLY WELL FOR CENTURIES AND ENABLED EACH SUPPLIER, EVEN VERY SMALL OUTFITS, TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIES OF SCALE - AND AMAZING LEVELS OF WORKMANSHIP IN THE PRODUCTION OF SPECIFIC COMPONENTS.

BUT ALL THIS HAS CHANGED. SOME TIME IN THE LATE 1990’S IT SUDDENLY BECAME IMPORTANT - WHY?

A ‘CLASSIC’ ARGUMENT WOULD BE OUR OLD FRIEND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

BUT IT DOESN'T QUITE WORK.

AN IN-HOUSE MOVEMENT IS OFTEN INCONSPICUOUS, KNOWN ONLY TO THE BUYER AND MAYBE A FEW EDUCATED WATCH ENTHUSIASTS.

PROFESSOR ELIZABETH CURRID-HALKETT, AUTHOR OF THE SUM OF SMALL THINGS: A THEORY OF THE ASPIRATIONAL CLASS, MIGHT HAVE AN ANSWER: CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION.

WHAT IS CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION?

THE THEORY OF CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION SUGGESTS THAT THE VALUE OF A PRODUCT IS DERIVED PRIMARILY FROM A DISTINCTIVE PROCESS OF CREATION.

PAY MORE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE BREWED FROM SINGLE-ORIGIN BEANS,

SMALL-BATCH BOURBON WHISKEY,

CRAFT BEER BREWED LOCALLY OR

BOUGHT A WATCH BECAUSE IT HAD AN IN-HOUSE MOVEMENT,

WHY DID CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION BECOME A THING?

THE RISE OF CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION WAS DRIVEN LARGELY BY THE RISE OF INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY AND A BACKLASH AGAINST GLOBALIZATION AND THE COMMODIFICATION OF EVERYTHING AND THE FLATTENING OF DIFFERENCE.

FROM THESE TRENDS, A NEW SET OF CONSUMER VALUES EMERGED THAT PRIZED THINGS LIKE TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP, TRANSPARENCY, QUALITY, AND DISTINCTIVENESS.

BRANDS RECOGNIZED THAT AFFLUENT CONSUMERS WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR THINGS, EVEN ORDINARY CUPS OF COFFEE, IF THEY WERE MADE IN A WAY THAT ALIGNED WITH THESE NEW VALUES.

THIS ZEITGEIST EMERGED ACROSS THE WESTERN WORLD - THE RETURN OF THE INDIE GARAGE BAND AND GRUNGE, THE RISE OF CRAFT BEER, THE EXPLOSION OF WHOLE FOODS AND TRADER JOES, LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS POPPING UP IN MIDDLE CLASS SUBURBIA. REALITY BITES WAS OUR FAVORITE MOVIE.

CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION APPEARS TO HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON PRODUCT CATEGORIES THAT ARE DIFFICULT FOR CONSUMERS TO JUDGE AND UNDERSTAND.

WINE, COFFEE, AND BEER ARE PERFECT EXAMPLES, SINCE MOST CONSUMERS CANNOT CONFIDENTLY DISTINGUISH TASTING NOTES, OR TELL ONE BRAND FROM ANOTHER BY TASTE ALONE.

IT’S MUCH EASIER FOR CONSUMERS TO UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS LIKE ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC, SMALL-BATCH, AND OLD-VINE,

AND THESE CAN BE STAMPED ON A LABEL.

SO WHATS ALL THIS GOT TO DO WITH WATCHES?

REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS HAPPENING - THE MID 90’S/2000’S

IT WAS THE RISE OF INTERNET WATCH FORUMS - USUALLY SIMPLE TEXT BASED BULLETIN BOARDS - AND WATCH COLLECTING WAS GROWING AND DEMOCRATISING

OLDER COLLECTORS WILL TALK ABOUT HOW PRE THIS TIME WATCH COLLECTING WAS A SOLO AFFAIR AND MOST PEOPLE WOULD NEVER TALK TO ANYONE ELSE ABOUT WATCHES

IN THIS WORLD, FOR THE FIRST TIME, COLLECTORS BEGAN TO NOTICE JUST HOW MANY OF THE WATCHES THEY WERE BUYING WERE POWERED BY AN ETA 2892 OR VALJOUX 7750.

THE PROBLEM FOR CONSUMERS WASN’T IN THE USE OF THESE MOVEMENTS, BUT RATHER IN THE INHERENT CONTRADICTION SIMULTANEOUSLY TOUTING THE SUPREMACY OF ONE WATCH OVER ANOTHER WITH WHILE THE WATCHES ONLY DIFFERENTIATED IN WAYS THAT WERENT EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND COMMUNICATE.

THE FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE FROM ONE WATCH TO ANOTHER ARE OFTEN NOT GREAT

MOST PEOPLE STRUGGLE TO ARTICULATE OR UNDERSTAND SUBTLE NUANCES OF HAND FINISHING.

AND EVEN THATS EASY - HOW ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE HARD STUFF, THE ARTY BITS, WHERE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS LIKE PROPORTION, HARMONY, CONGRUENCE, COMFORT AND TENSION.

WHILE THE NET HAS STILL AND MOVING IMAGES THE DIFFICULTIES IN UNDERSTANDING AND ARTICULATING COMPLEX AND OFTEN ARCANE CONCEPTS LIKE GOOD DESIGN HAVEN'T REALLY GONE AWAY.

LIKEWISE - THE CONTINUING GROWTH OF THE HOBBY MEANS THE ‘COLLECTING’ COMMUNITY IS RELATIVELY IMMATURE AND LESS CONFIDENT

SO ALL IN ALL THE WATCH WORLD IS THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR THE IDEA OF CONSPICUOUS PRODUCTION TO TAKE HOLD.

I MIGHT STRUGGLE TO DESCRIBE WHY THE TAPER OF THE LONGITUDINAL CURVE FROM MID CASE TO LUG END IS PARTICULARLY PLEASING BUT I CAN SURE AS SHIT TELL YOU THE WATCH HAS AN IN HOUSE MOVEMENT.

SO WHY I UNDERSTAND BUT DON'T FEEL THE PUSH

FIRST RE-EMPHASIZE WE ARE TALKING THE BIG GUYS - NOT INDEPENDENTS LIKE FP JOURNE ETC

IM A POSTER CHILD FOR THAT MOVEMENT OF THE 90’S AND 2000’S FOR ALL THIS ARTISANAL AND TRANSPARENT STUFF. MUST OF THAT STUFF ABOUT COFFEE ETC IS ME.

I TALK A BIG GAME ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND SUCH.


AND YET I FIND MYSELF NOT REALLY CARING - WHAT GIVES?

LETS GO BACK:

WHAT DO WE WANT AND WHY:

CRAFTSMANSHIP, DISTINCTIVENESS, ENGINEERING PROWESS, AUTHENTICITY, AND THE PRESERVATION OF UNIQUE SKILLS; ALL GOOD THINGS.

AND WHY? WHY GLOBALISATION AND TRANSPARENCY

I DON'T THINK IN HOUSE MOVEMENTS ARE GIVING US THAT:

IN FACT I’D POSIT ITS DRIVES THE REVERSE.

WHILE THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THERE IS A MUCH LARGER NUMBER OF IN-HOUSE MOVEMENTS ON THE MARKET TODAY THAN IN THE LATE 1990S OR EARLY 2000S THESE MOVEMENTS ARE EFFECTIVELY SUBTLE VARIATIONS OF A FEW BASIC DESIGNS AND IN THE MASS MARKET OFFER LITTLE OR NO INNOVATIONS.

INSTEAD HUGE AMOUNTS OF INTELLECTUAL AND MONETARY CAPITAL IS GOING INTO DEVELOPING RELATIVELY PEDESTRIAN IN HOUSE MOVEMENTS.

THIS DESIRE TO INVEST IN BASIC PRODUCTION FACILITIES IS COSTING US PRODUCT PEOPLE CAPABLE OF DESIGNING US SOMETHING NEW.

I ALSO BELIEVE ITS USED AS A WEAPON TO DISCREDIT THE SMALLER PLAYERS - TO EITHER MARGINALISE THEM OR DRIVE THEM TO THE WALL BY FORCING OVERINVESTMENT.

BECAUSE LETS REMEMBER ITS ONLY THE REALLY BIG GUYS OF THE BIG GUYS THAT CAN AFFORD THIS.

REMEMBER THAT CONCERN WE HAD ABOUT GLOBALISATION - ITS VERY INTERESTING THAT THIS PUSH FOR IN HOUSE MOVEMENTS ACTUALLY DOES PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE - IT SUPPORTS THE GLOBAL CORPORATION AND ENSHRINES THEIR POSITION.

AS FOR CRAFTSMANSHIP AND AGE OLD SKILLS VIRTUALLY NONE OF THE BIG BRANDS CAN CREDIBLY ASSERT THAT THEIR WATCHES ARE HANDMADE OR THAT THEY POSSESSES UNIQUE EXPERTISE IN DESIGNING MOVEMENTS.

THEY PLAY UP THE IDEA THAT THEY PRODUCE THEIR MOVEMENTS IN-HOUSE, WHILE PAYING LIP SERVICE TO THINGS LIKE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND AUTHENTICITY BY BUYING BANKS OF CNC MACHINES CHURNING OUT MILLIONS OF IDENTIKIT MOVEMENTS

HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW PICTURES OF THESE GLEAMING NEW FACTORIES SHOW PEOPLE ASSEMBLING WATCHES BUT NEVER EVER SHOW THE MACHINES THAT MADE THE PIECES.

GO TO ROLEX AND YOU’LL SEE PICTURES OF A FOUNDRY AND GOLD POURING FROM A CRUCIBLE BEFORE MOVING SEAMLESSLY TO AND WATCH MAKERS AT BENCHES - BUT IN-BETWEEN? NEVER!

SO IN THE END I DON'T CARE ABOUT - OR EVEN FOR - FOR IN HOUSE MOVEMENTS

I’D PREFER MY ETA OR SELLITA - YEAH THEY ARE MASS PRODUCED THIRD PARTY MOVEMENTS - THEY REALLY ON MACHINES ETC ETC - BUT THEY DON'T LIE TO ME AND THEY DON'T COST ME THE REAL DIVERSITY AND DISTINCTIVENESS I VALUE IN WATCHES.

13 comments:

  1. I read your post and got it quite informative. I couldn't find any knowledge on this matter prior to. I would like to thanks for sharing this article here. Citizen Promaster Watches Online In USA

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing about teeth resolving criteria that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job Man,Keep it up.buy vintage watches online

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice article, Which you have shared here about the the watches as we also provide vintage watches online at affordable price.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The option is there to buy brand new or second hand, which leads to you the consumer to get the price you want and the replica rolex watch you want. You might be asking why would I want a second hand watch.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer. Want to buy second hand watches then, you can find at second hand watches.

    ReplyDelete
  6. With the innovation of the modest spring the universe of tickers and watches brought a goliath jump into the forward. Men didn't wear wrist watches, harking back to the 1800's they were believed to be too female and just women wore them. my site

    ReplyDelete
  7. In the beginning people could only tell the time from sun dials which they placed over doorways of their homes or businesses, showing midday and the four stages of the sun as it travels throughout the day. Montre Escada


    ReplyDelete
  8. This information is meaningful and magnificent which you have shared here about the Luxury Sport Watches Under 1000. I am impressed by the details that you have shared in this post and It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. I would like to thanks for sharing this article here.Luxury Sport Watches Under 1000

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. Compro Rolex Torino

    ReplyDelete
  10. A very delightful article that you have shared here. Your blog is a valuable and engaging article for us, and also I will share it with my companions who need this info, Luxury Watch Pawn Shop Boise Thankful to you for sharing an article like this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I found decent information in your article. I am impressed with how nicely you described this subject, It is a gainful article for us, Pawn Shops That Buy Rolex Watches Thanks for share it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You have done good work by publishing this article here. I found this article too much informative, and also it is beneficial to enhance our knowledge. Grateful to you for sharing an article like this. Affordable Stylish Mens Watches Online Usa

    ReplyDelete
  13. A very delightful article that you have shared here. Your blog is a valuable and engaging article for us, and also I will share it with my companions who need this info, Electronic Shopping Online in Dubai Thankful to you for sharing an article like this.

    ReplyDelete