Malaise in the Industry

Hello collector,

I hope this post finds whomever reading it in good spirits and health. While I’ve been quietly awaiting the arrival of the Classic One prototypes, which I hope to receive in late-October, I’ve found myself in deep thought of state of the industry. Not only in terms of the obvious pullback of the secondary markets or the shift in offerings from the primaries; but in the overall…consciousness of the market. Let’s have a closer look.

Up until the late-2010’s, each decade was more or less demarked by the designs, whether an act of artistic expression or necessity within a wider context, introduced by the respective brands of the era. The ‘20’s saw that Cartier debuted it’s Tank and introduced an elegant albeit unique expression of modern artistic design. The following decade was entirely consumed and expressed within the Art Deco movement - LeCoultre’s Reverso and the Calatrava design marked the first time in which wristwatches outsold pocket watches - a foundational shift. World War II continued and necessitated the trend for the decades it succeeded with the wristwatch becoming bigger, a decade that one could assign military watches with large dials for legibility and complications like the chronograph, in large part, it’s defining novelty. The ‘50’s, ‘60’s, and (very) early ‘70’s gradually iterated that emotionality and a certain frivolity be considered in design, on part of the creators, and a new perspective on what it meant to “wear a wristwatch.”, on part of the consumer. Fast forward to today - what would an enthusiast, passionate collector, or even watchmaker say has been the defining vicissitude of our modern-era? Is there one? Would the wider context and phenomenon of rising independence act as a sufficient definition? Are micro-brands and prodigal independent watchmakers, sprouting seemingly every day, the way forward? Would “equity” be a fitting label? These are questions I ask myself almost every day, and admittedly, I have not come up with a concrete answer. In my observance, in my conversations with collectors, I have found a path to what may be formulating an answer - there is a general sense of malaise in the industry. Collector’s are profoundly bored, or burnt out, or both. Brands are iteratively theorizing nothingness. This is not an admission of libel against any particular party; rather, I aim to spark these thoughts and conversations with fellow watch enthusiasts, a label forerunning any other that may be used to describe our collective. I hope to alleviate, in even the tiniest amount, this issue by introducing the Classic One in few months time - a watch I hope captures the essence and spirit of what was, and, my own expression, which is overarchingly molded by what I see, what I like, what I don’t, what should be done away with, and what should’ve been retained. As always, I would love to discuss the matter with any fellow enthusiast or collector. As we know, big changes have small beginnings. Perhaps an honest conversation may be enough to light the proverbial fuse…

A friend, first and foremost, and fellow passionate enthusiast,

Aren J BAZERKANIAN