As our smartphones get Leica cameras, better optics, faster processors and biometric security sensors, you’d think they’d be getting more expensive. But they aren’t, in fact they’re getting cheaper. In 1960, a young computing engineer from the University of Pennsylvania introduced us to the concept of…
A recent survey report compiled by The Reputation Institute (RI), a Boston reputation management consulting firm, has uncovered that for a second consecutive year that Rolex has lead a list of the most reputable brands on the planet. Rolex’s retention of the top position underscores the market’s perception of the undeniable…
Given its importance in our perma-growth model of global economics, conspicuous consumption makes the world go round. In general, the luxury industry stands as a world unto itself, it defies traditional business models in that it supplies a desire for goods that people arguably need, at super-premium prices (thus enjoying exceptional profit…
Over 20 years ago, Patek Philippe had unified all of its operating and production units from a scattering of facilities across Geneva into a central campus in Plan Les Ouates. While that might seem good business sense, it was a high risk decision made during the 1995-96 period of industry turmoil. Yet, two decades down the line Thierry Stern…
Increasingly, watch fairs like SIHH and Baselworld are headlined by the complications of the grandest and most expensive forms. They’re beautiful, head-turning and as a result, outclass most of the other watches a brand might release. A common joke (warning: it’s fairly gauche) amongst men is the fear of going to bed with a…
It’s always a major travesty when brands like Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and Jaquet Droz don’t get enough discussion simply because we miss the interesting calibres for the pretty Plique-à-jour enamel trees. It’s not hyperbole either when I describe the travesty as a major one, Van Cleef &…
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In a recent 2016 BBC news story, it was reported that Chimpanzees had entered the stone age for some 700 years now: Excavated ancient stone tools used by monkeys had given scientists a glimpse into the evolutionary process of simian technology. Analogously, there has been some grumblings amongst industry insiders that Swiss watchmaking has…
Imagine yourself in this situation: you need to head down to a supermarket that is ten minutes away to grab some ingredients that have just run out. As a Watch-Idiot-Savant (WIS), you would not want to leave the house without wearing a watch, and yet you also not want to wear something that is too pricey too. Well, what will you choose?…
It is a commonly held belief that Gerald Genta’s Royal Oak watch launched in 1972, saved Audemars Piguet from collapse during the quartz crisis. However, the truth was the Royal Oak was almost universally panned when unveiled at the Baselworld Fair and there was another which played a crucial role – the Audemars Piguet…