I had a great meeting yesterday with a representative of a small Independent brand. The gentleman had sent me a letter prior to the meeting with the usual PR fluff about the latest manufacturing capabilities etc. etc. and that he'd reveal more in the meeting...
I had met the owner of the brand several years ago, when he'd made a trip to the US and stopped in Solana Beach.
I am familiar with the company, it's products and the general brand.
So, in walks a new chap, confident and comfortable in his role...after introductions, he starts in with the fairly typical company info. about what they are doing now and the latest products, that use some of the original founder's (although he is no longer at the bench nor designs anything to do with the current watches) special skills, combined with the modern manufacturing technology and craft of hand finishing and assembly of some 600 watches a year.
After telling him I choose to work with individual Independent Watchmakers, rather than brands he took it in stride and continued to attempt to persuade me that his company and ours could be a good fit, etc. etc. I like the guy, his passion, his knowledge and his presentation were all compelling, but ultimately I'm not interested in representing a marketed brand, which is what this truly is. Small & Independent, yes... good products, yes....passionate representative, yes....but a name acquired and a manufacturing business built in the Swiss tradition, not terribly interested I'm afraid.
Now if I were to open another store that focused on small Independent Brands, they would be in the running, together with some other Independent brands that I think offer good value and make very good products of original designs etc. etc.
This company's technical ability is impressive, and I was shown images of an upcoming unique complication being developed, a working prototype was shown in a video. Very cool!
There is a master Watchmaker who is the technical director of the brand, the mechanical genius creating these wonders, I just wish the focus was more on him rather than utilizing an old name and doing the typical Swiss watchmaking business, that is all too prevalent and less compelling to me, the more time spend in this world of mechanical watchmaking. Marketing and branding isn't for me.
Why write this, well it reminded me of "why" I do what I do and reminded me of the compelling reasons why the Independent Watchmakers make their watches. Understanding "Why" a watchmaker makes a specific watch is more compelling to me than "What" or "How". It's the fuzzy stuff, difficult to quantify, that I like to learn about and share with those willing to listen. In this day and age, there are plenty of watch brands to go around, arguably too many...finding true artisans of horology isn't common, but once discovered, well that is the watch arena where I want to exist.
Cheers to all, have a brilliant weekend,
Tim