A new way of pricing hyped watches

In a recent post, I discussed the notion that the “retail price” of a hyped watch is pretty irrelevant when it comes to your purchase decision on that watch. This got me thinking… perhaps there is a way for brands to capitalise on this, and approach the pricing and selling of hyped watches differently.

A new era of marketing in the watch world

Digital marketing expert Carlos Gil runs a marketing agency and social media consultancy, serving Fortune 500 clients and helping them navigate their digital transformation. In his book, “The End of Marketing” Gil offers a wealth of insights and I will share some below. In particular, I’d like to dig deeper into my hypothesis that Vacheron Constantin has formally entered the world of micro-influencer marketing on social media… and it might be the first ‘big brand’ to do so.

Will the Apple Watch kill the luxury watch industry?

According to Neil Cybart at Above Avalon (the world’s top ranked Apple analyst), it took just over five years for the installed base of the Apple Watch to surpass 100 million people, and its growth trajectory continues to accelerate. What does this mean for the ‘traditional’ Swiss watch industry, and how should they react? A 14-year-old who wears an Apple watch today, will have worn nothing else until they’re old enough to afford a Rolex – The question is, when this day comes, will they want one?

A discussion about the pricing of luxury watches

As certain watches gain popularity and resell for multiples of the original retail price, this post aims to discuss some of the pricing dynamics in the watch world, and think through the considerations a brand would need to make before setting the price of a watch. It is simply a discussion and thought experiment, hope you find it interesting.

What’s the deal with Vacheron Constantin?

I never thought I would see the day where I wrote about Vacheron Constantin, and the post was anything other than glowing praise. Many will already know how much I love the brand, and although I only own one watch from their collection, I had, and perhaps still have every intention of owning more of them (although they probably won’t sell me one again). I think the Vacheron executives have become too arrogant, too quickly, and it is extremely disappointing; Even if this behaviour is par for the course with hype brands, people who have seen and experienced the ‘old Vacheron’ have every right to feel disappointed. Sure, this will perhaps become the new normal for the brand, but let’s talk about it anyway.

Ming watches: customer disservice redefined

After yesterday’s post… Someone reached out to me with his own experience and I will share it here today. These are simply screenshots of the various conversations, as-received.