View single post by stew77
 Posted: Fri Apr 12th, 2013 07:42 pm
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stew77



Joined: Thu Mar 26th, 2009
Location: Colorado USA
Posts: 10254
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 I think we've got at least a few fans of Anonimo here at 3T. I've been a fan of the brand since I first discovered Anonimo a few years ago. The brand, IMO, has suffered from a lack of any real marketing scheme and the pricing (at full retail prices) have continued to raise the eyebrows of watch buyers trying to see the value in those sky high retail price levels.

Anyone who has owned the brand likely understands that the watches really make sense when purchased either in the preowned market, or at the deep discount levels that can be found at dealers (grey or other). The brand has never even attempted to offer in-house movements in their timepieces, even though the retail price point might have one expecting it to contain a manufacturing house movement. The designs have historically covered a design space from very classic, simply executed pieces to more polarizing (some would say busy/cluttered designs). Either way, I believe that anyone that has owned one would say they are extremely well built, with much better than average case machining and finishing (including a few unique case finishes...eg. ox-pro, drass), that have served well in reflecting the cool Firenze (Italian) influence that the brand was founded on.

Over the past 6 months or so, there have been changes brewing...the Anonimo USA site disappeared and became http://fullcarbonwatches.com/ , the birth child of an all carbon fiber watch from Federico Massacesi (the original founder of the Anonimo and Dino Zei brands in Florence back in 1997).

And recently, the global Anonimo website was down altogether and reopened a few days ago with this:
http://www.anonimo.com/

...a cover page with reference to the upcoming Baselworld, and a Militare cased watch with a hideously designed dial and handset (my opinion), a tweaked Anonimo emblem, and in general a watch design that appears to be moving far away from its great Firenze Italian roots and into some sort of fashion watch hell.

There are some renderings out there on the web posted by watch-insider, and while I do realize that they are renderings, everything I see here in the design direction rubs me the wrong way.







It looks to me like the Firenze inspired Anonimo of yesterday has been high-jacked and replaced with a 'swiss-made' mish-mash fashion look watch that has lost its connection to the brand. Seems like what may be the beginning of the end for Anonimo...unfortunately. no.gif

Would love to hear what you guys think.

I much prefer the Anonimo of old...