Luxury Watches and their Brand Names
In Shakespeare’s immortal romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks: What is in a name? However, for the serious student of
the art of branding, name of the product is no trivial matter. This is
especially true in the case of luxury watches that spell class. If we make a
study of the nomenclature of luxury watches a pattern emerges.
A glance of the watch names show that there are good many of them
bearing the names of people. If the names of forty great brands are studied
thirty of them are named after persons. Many watches bear two names as in the
case of Patek Philippe or
Vacheron Constantin. So an impressive 75% of the brand names are personal
names. This tendency speaks volumes of the great pride the watch makers had in
their trade. Their glory in their names is not vanity; it is the glory of true
contributor to the world of technology and luxury.
It can be found from the study of the 40 brand names seven represent
abstract qualities. In this category comes celebrated names like Omega, Zenith, Rolex, Hublot, IWC,
Corum and Rado. Omega, the last Greek alphabet is symbolically associated
with the idea of highest perfection. The word Zenith has astronomical connotations
and stands for the highest point and certainly symbolizes excellence.
Rolex is a deliberate coinage echoing the winding of watch and
ideally suited for pronouncing in any language. IWC is perhaps the least
romantic of all words. It is an abbreviation for International Watch Company.
While Hublot is a nautical term which means a porthole, the origin of Rado is
still shrouded in mystery.
Just three of the forty under study have place names. They are
Montblanc, Glashutte and Longines. Montblanc is the highest mountain in Western Europe and symbol of the highest possible
perfection. The brands Glashutte and Longines are place names that are long
associated with Swiss watch making. There is certainly something that spells
class in these names when they are associated with luxury watches. The lure for
the celebrated watches are so strong that many of the companies are able to
make a waiting list of customers looking for years before they get the
watch in their hands.
Caring your Watches
A luxury watch is a dream come true. You have
paid much and it is not a trifle. A luxury watch from a good house has been
manufactured with precision standards which will give you good service for many
years. However, any good equipment however costly and well made needs a
reasonable degree of care to ensure smooth and trouble free performance. The
following tips might take you a long way in receiving excellent service from
your treasured watch.
There are some common enemies to watches. They are shock,
magnetic field and dust. All luxury watches have been supplied with shock
resistance movements to a great degree. Ensure to what extent it would tolerate
shock. A machine should not be tested beyond its capacity for shock. So when
you are engaged in work that involves definite shock like hammering a nail to a
hard wall it is advisable to remove your watch before your start your work.
Magnetic fields influence the movement and might affect precision or it may
even come to a stop. So keep the watch away from it. Dust is terrible enemy of
the watch. A loose or partially broken crystal (this indeed rare in a high-end
watch) might allow dust to penetrate into the watch and might affect the
precision.
It is fine to have a dependable service center which is the
approved service point by the company with necessary equipment for attending to
the normal maintenance of the watch. It is not advisable to carry the watch to
different service centers. To service the watch by yourself, unless you know
very well about it, is the worst that you can do to your watch.
Automatic watches derive their power from movement and if they are
not in use may stop after some time. In this case the crown should be turned
clockwise a few times for giving the necessary momentum to the watches. A
manual watch needs to be wound at the same time everyday preferably in the
morning. It is better to make it your habit. When you experience a little
resistance then stop winding them.
Water resistance is a complicated thing as there are diverse
levels to water resistance. No watch should be tested beyond its water level
resistance. It is better to ascertain the water resistance quality of your
watch from the dealer and abide by his instructions.
Fascinating Shape of Ancient Watches
Man has been using portable equipment for measuring time for the
past 500 years. In this glorious march of time many a men labored hard to give
shape to the perfect watch. In these attempts world witnessed a
a thousand innovative shapes and designs. However, a round shape
seems to be most tried one with occasional incursions into the squire and
rectangular.
Early watches were somewhat cumbersome and usually came with a
lid. To know time the lid should be opened. Some were designed to be kept on a
flat surface and others meant to be suspended on a chain. They had different
shapes like round, sphere and oval.
Ancient watches were predominantly crafted in Europe and Christian motif is strong in the
designs of the clocks. Thus the universal shape of the cross-captured in some
watches design. Who on earth would expect a watch to be designed after the
human skull? But such design originated in 1655. The square watch appeared only
in1660 and ever since it is a popular choice in shape.
Watches were not merely devices to mark time. They were
channels for the artists to give vent to their creative urge in varied shape
and hues. So more evolution took place in design like the eerie looking watch
significantly called The
Chimera which impersonates the
movement of a dolphin. Christ crucified is captured in some watches in
the shape of the cross as well as the enameled painting of the Christ on the
cross. Familiar themes caught the imagination of the watchmaker. The egg shaped
watch is the result of such a fancy. Today’s
high-end magnificent watch makers in fact stand on the shoulders of these very
old watch makers.
Why People Buy Luxury Watches at such Fabulous Prices?
It is matter of great curiosity why people shell out such fabulous
sums of money for such small like the watch? Why some watches cost so much? Why
people search endlessly for their dream watch? These questions have not been
perhaps fully explored by human behavior scientists. The front section of the
New York Times on once hosted forty watch ads. In one ad an ordinary stainless
steel model is priced at $1500 and the 18 carrot gold model of the same watch
cost $4950. The price of 20 grams of gold is not more than $700. How is the
price hype justified? The same paper carried an ad of Mickey Mouse watch for
collectors priced at $5750 of course hand-crafted.
Did the eternal supporter of children, Mickey, himself handcraft the priceless
watch? A Da Vinci by IWC, a masterpiece in 18K gold
could be priced at $19,995. Perhaps the most expensive watch Vacheron Constantin could cost $360000.
It is good to make a study of the pricing of watches? The pricing
of watch mostly depends upon the legend, lore and the galore of celebrity users
of the brand. Added to that, the Swiss
made stamp makes a big
difference. In the world of horology there are no competitors for Swiss
watches. One might ask who the second great name is. Answer is that there are
no second or third positions. Where is Japan
Another factor that adds to the price of the watch is the slogan
in ads handcrafted ads. We know that quartz is more
precise than and the mechanical watches. However, quartz reduces the prize;
mysterious isn’t it? A hand crafted Rembrandt or Picasso we can understand, how
the rule works in watch making. There is a singular delight when a person winds
the keys of his Vacheron Constantin, Ulysses Nardin or Patek Philippe similar
to the extraordinary experience of the proud owner of a Rolls Royce as he holds
the wheels of his car. A grand experience at a great price! In the luxury world
of glitter and glamour the more costly a product more the demand for it and the
limited edition trick ensures the uniqueness of the owner.
Vintage Watch Auctions
The impact of auctions on the watch industry is very high. Watch
industry is positively impacted by the mind boggling prices of vintage watches
at auctions in the great centers of fashion the world over. It is very difficult
for very many people to understand the raison d’etre behind these unbelievable
prices. Man by nature looks beyond the functionality of any product that he
uses. In other words an object gains value not based on its use but based on
hidden or subliminal factors. That is why most artistic products like
paintings, sculptures, ancient manuscripts, vintage cars, celebrity used
objects and old watches become such priceless objects that the world loves.
This fascination for old watches does have a great impact on the watch
industry.
There are a couple of auction houses which are famous the world
over. The most well-known auction house of the world is Christie’s which was
started in 1766. Though the house was established in London Bond Street London and
has today a very strong presence in the US
At this point of time the question why do people purchase
antique watches at such unbelievable prices is certainly relevant. The answer
is to be found in the human fascination for art. Ancient watch making was a
craft rather than the modern assembly line production. You can make only a
limited number of watches at a time when you approach watch making as art. So,
one of the reasons for the great prices of ancient homological pieces is the
limited number that has been made. Another reason for the great demand for
these watches is the people who owned them. Any way, when any great watch is
auctioned at a great price at Christie’s or Sotheby’s its demand in the
high-end watch industry is felt.
Some brands are heavily influenced by the auctions. What are the
watches that obtain enormous prices in the auctions? First of all we have to
consider the horoglical trio that has stood the test of time as great watches
used by the Kings, Queens , Popes and other Nobles of the world. They are
Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Ulysse Nardin. If we add another list
then there are watches like Breguet, Rolex and Omega. The auctions of these
watches make the Patek
Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin, Breguet, Rolex and Omega make famous among the watch
lovers. These are the watches that are frequently auctioned in these centers.
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