Quote Originally Posted by Saltine View Post
did Josh/Andrew/Angus give you a bunch of models they want to push sales on and this is how you marketed them?

My only criticism is the Panerai talk. Rolex is stuck in a box as well, all their cases have the same lines. All the watch makers have things that make their watches look like their brand. Granted Panerai is a bit more subtle then most with the changes since they don't add blue dials, orange bezels, diamonds or two tones.

I am looking forward to your post about PAMs when you finally "get it".


I wished I was getting kickbacks! You hear that Angus, Josh or Andrew? I'm for sale. YET AGAIN. Seriously, I'm glad you read it and enjoyed it!

As for Panerais, I do "get it" WITH SOME. I mentioned two I liked in the conclusion of my post. But, as I said, it's selective and those two are the only ones I've seen that offer anything in the way of actual design and visual appeal, with one of them being a complete flight of someone's imagination (which I commend him on). The Ferrari Panerais are wonderful. But Ferrari is known for spectacular design and the watch associated with those magicians from Maranello had better have that, which these particular models do.

But in regards to design, I'm like Britney Spears in Missouri:"Show Me and then Gimme More." To make this analogy accessible to whole other segment to the American Idol portion of America, I'll just says I'm like Simon Cowell.

I see mediocrity all the time and quite frankly it gets old which is why I demand something to be interesting. I mean this with books, music, art, etcetera. Something that looks like someone TOOK TIME to conceive it should be lauded.
I'm a fan of design. People sitting and thinking of ways to make a product either better performing or visually interesting deserve recognition. ****genization is HORRIBLE and I will rail against it whenever I can. Panerai is that scourge.

Rolex, like Louis Vuitton, is not really stuck in a box. They have achieved a level of brand recognition and profitability that allows them to be more creative than people think they could or should be. They can take chances and win with designs that step outside of their perceived "look". Rolex does it with designs like this:



Louis Vuitton sent shockwaves through the fashion industry with this, their most expensive and outrageous handbag ever created:




But it paid off for both brands because they sold out of the iteration of each. So, they may have core products and designs but they are not chained to them as much as you would think. They play with ideas of what their brands are and challenge perceptions of their marque continually, in many ways from sponsorships to advertising to products.

Patek could never do to their 5070 what Rolex did to their Dayton above. They'd damage the brand's image and hurt not only themselves, but thousands of Patek owners. Coach could never take a piece of each of their handbags from each line and make the purse Louis Vuitton did above. They'd be considered insane. But Louis did and sold every single one of them at $45,000 each.

This is why creative brains like Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton, apparel), Thom Browne (Brooks Brothers, apparel), Donatella Versace (Lamborghini, cars) John Bartlett (Ghurka, luggage), Philippe Stark (Leviev Boymelgreen, architects) and Carlos Dias (Roger Dubuis, watches) are called upon to bring DESIGN to these otherwise staid things.

Design is KING and I am its QUEEN.