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| Joined: | Sun Sep 4th, 2005 |
| Location: | Florida &, Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 11288 |
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Hello people of 3T,
It's funny that my first post is actually of someone else's brand, but I think this post is a good indication of how the world of watches works and would like to put forth my opinion on the matter. Being the voice of reason, I just want to say that there is always a method to the madness for certain actions of any brand. You have to ask yourselves, if brand A told you the truth about their manufacturing, would you pay the amount that they think their products are worth based on how much they value their own designs?
The fact of the matter is (and I hate to have to say this), is that branding/ marketing/ product placement is a consumer driven decision. If people did not place such a high importance on 'swiss made' watches, then brands will not purport this, even if it was not true. There is very little emphasis on originality and design as watches are becoming more of a commodity. It must have an ETA inside, it must be 316L stainless steel, it must have C3 superluminova, It must be at least 300m WR, AR coating, domed sapphire, etc etc etc.... the list goes on, and when it's stamped 'swiss made' then the price is ratcheted up another notch. I for one do not see what doxa did wrong because they didn't set the rules for 'swiss made' neither did they break those rules.
We need to start to question 'why' we buy our watches and what is really important to us as consumers and base our decisions on that. Ultimately the online community for watches is but a very very small percentage of the consumer market for watches as a whole.
BTW, Love this forum and hope to contribute where I can.
Agree to a point, but one must realize that " branding/ marketing/ product placement is a consumer driven decision" is developed and paid for by millions upon millions of dollars of promotion, advertising and endorsements, which ultimately become part of the cost of "production" of the watch (not to mention the corporate salaries involved).
Just as in golf, the parts price of a $400 driver is probably less that $20 including graphite shaft, head, grip and assembly, there is a huge investment in sponsorships, advertising and endorsements that comprise most of the manufacturer to retailer price.
Rolex, for example (overpriced by anyones standards) must spend close to $100 million a year (more or less) on advertising and endorsements. Those dollars must be expensed somewhere...does it make it a better watch than many others? No...but the "Johnny Watch" is assembled for a certain cost and then promoted for "pennies" on watch forums, etc. If Johnny were to spend 10's of Millions of $ promoting the "Johnny Watch", it would be perceived to be of a higher quality than it may or may not be.