by GaryG
Well, that was quite a year! Lives, countries, economies, and political systems turned upside down and inside out – and uncertain prospects for the future as we head into 2021. And, yet, through it all the close bonds among the members of our watch-crazy community and the efforts of the creators of astonishing timepieces have brought comfort and more than a bit of welcome distraction from the cares of the day.
Welcome distraction: detail view, double tourbillon of the author’s Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1
As I tie a bow on my seventh (!) year as a contributor here at Quill & Pad, I’d like to thank my colleagues here – especially Elizabeth and Ian – and give not just a tip of the hat but a deep bow to my fellow contributors for their great writing and fascinating perspectives. We may not be the biggest or the flashiest, but I’m really proud of the skillful and honest work that my friends here generate on a continued basis.
On with the retrospective! Let’s meander through some observations on the state of the industry, 2020 occurrences, and my own year in watches with some of my favorite photos from this year’s shooting interspersed to keep it lively.
A two-watch vintage collection? Patek Philippe References 2526 (rear) and 1526 from the author’s collection
The year that was: a completely personal view of industry trends and events
Innovation is alive, well, and expanding in the watch industry and presents both threats and opportunities. New communication methods, sales channels, brands, collaborations, and even economic and financial models are shaking up the traditional, product-centric world we’ve known.
Some of this has been pandemic-driven, but much of it parallels the developments we’ve seen in other businesses. As major brands increasingly focus on direct-to-consumer contact and boutique sales, the number of online publications pivoting into watch retailing and watch clubs commissioning their own watches also seems inexorably on the rise.
And watch resellers, once consigned to the shadowy business of gray marketing excess retailer inventory at deep discounts, have established themselves as kingmakers in the world of small-volume, high-quality brands by taking on extensive inventories of pre-owned pieces, promoting aggressively, and managing the flow of pieces into the market effectively to drive prices up.
At the same time, a new generation of entrepreneurial independent makers is delighting us with both the reinvigoration of traditional watchmaking methods and the creation of exciting, or at minimum successful, design-led brands.
At the high end we see the continued success of Romain Gauthier and Rexhep Rexhepi (Akrivia), among others, as well as the emergence of new faces such as the Peterman Bédat team and Rémy Cools.
Emergence: Romain Gauthier Logical One (center) surrounded by Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1 and A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual
In the mid-range, entrants such as Torsti Laine are straddling the divide between fully handmade watches and those assembled from insourced parts; Ming Watches is steadily migrating upmarket with its design-centered approach; and in more affordable pieces Kurono Tokyo is a great example of direct marketing meeting inspired styling within a low-cost delivery model.
And for only a few hundred dollars, you can join a bunch of my friends in buying a vintage-looking quartz watch from Dan Henry – although I won’t be joining you.
The author’s Kurono Tokyo Anniversary Mori
Collaborations are also quite the rage these days: I very nearly bought a Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein regulator, admired the MB&F x H. Moser and H. Moser x MB&F watches quite a bit, and Kari Voutilainen and his Comblémine operation seem involved with pretty much everyone else, from dial-making for many other independents to the co-branded “By Voutilainen” watches with Schwarz Etienne to the first (and, sadly, perhaps last) watches from Shane Tulloch, with the further involvement of super-designer Eric Giroud.
Collaboration nation: two H. Moser x MB&F watches displayed on a Loupe System x MB&F rocket loupe stand
You, too, can have a mid-line timepiece brand. Well, you can as long as you have the drive, business savvy, and ability to form the right partnerships! Ming to some extent helped to pave the road, and now brands like Massena Lab have issued multiple references – in Massena’s case, at first in collaboration with established makers like Habring2 and more recently solely under his own label.
From enthusiasts to entrepreneurs: Ming Watches Model 17.06 Monolith
It is possible to get it wrong, however; witness Hodinkee’s attempted extension from commissioning and co-branding limited-edition watches with Vacheron Constantin, the Grönefelds, and others into a self-branded timepiece: the much-ridiculed Hodinkee Travel Clock.
Navigating the world of brand relevance from channel to product is not easy: I’d buy a Tiffany-stamped Patek Philippe, but likely not a Tiffany brand watch, for instance. Branding aside, I’ll leave the wisdom of issuing a $6,000 travel clock in the midst of a worldwide pandemic lockdown to your own judgment.
Not a travel clock: movement view of the author’s Philippe Dufour Simplicity
You, too, can be a watch retailer. The blurring of watch media, enthusiast organizations, and watch retailing continues. Groups like Redbar and Collective and private clubs including a WhatsApp group I’m in are commissioning and distributing watches.
And while most watch-related websites have been selling straps, rolls, and other accessories for a while, now sites like Revolution are joining the rush into retail with a variety of limited-edition partnerships with brands including IWC, Bulgari, and Blancpain. Even YouTuber Teddy Baldassarre now represents 26 brands, from Casio to Zenith, as an authorized dealer on his website.
Everything can be virtual, except that it can’t. We’ve all now become accustomed to seeing watch industry figures doing informal online video chats, and major events such as Dubai Watch Week’s Horology Forum have been delivered via virtual formats in 2020 as well.
Phillips conducted its New York auction in December with auctioneer Aurel Bacs shown in front of a video screen in London with cutaway shots to phone banks of specialists who were actually in different locations – and all in all it worked fairly well!
With these experiences and the apparent willingness of many to buy watches they haven’t yet handled, it would be tempting to conclude that the era of in-person dealing is now behind us.
Even better in person: movement view, Patek Philippe Reference 5370P rattrapante chronograph
Not so quick, though – I’ll ask you to reflect on whether your watch-related activities in 2020 have had the richness of those in past years. Whether we’re talking about travel to watch shows or ateliers, trying on watches at a store, or just meeting with your watch buddies for lunch, there’s something about this hobby that benefits – a lot – from the physical presence of others and the tactile experience with the timepieces themselves.
Already we’ve seen the cancellation of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2021; I for one am longing for the return of even the most modest of in-person gatherings with friends.
Everything is limited, except it’s not. I’ve written here before about the phenomenon of artificial scarcity, and if anything 2020 saw the deepening of this development as hordes of buyers rushed after the consensus “hot” watches and sellers caught on to the allure of limitation.
For direct sellers, the badge of honor became how few minutes – or seconds – were needed to sell out an allocation of a new piece; at many big brands steel sport watches were impossible to find or carefully channeled to long-time clients or buyers of bundles of pieces.
Now sold out: 1941 Remontoire from Grönefeld Watches, one of 188 made
Of course, there are abundant supplies (subject to pandemic-driven production bottlenecks) of very fine watches out there that aren’t among the few that are breathlessly sought by the hordes.
For example, when circumstances permit I’d encourage you to try on a Parmigiani Tondagraph GT, one of the 2020 Breitling revival pieces, or any of a variety of other watches from smaller brands and independent makers. You may not buy any of them, but at a minimum you will refine your own tastes and just may find your way to future purchases that are not on the beaten path.
Worth a look: Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Limited Edition II
The big brands are still out there. Many of the big folks, including Rolex and Patek Philippe, had relatively quiet years for new introductions, although that Patek Philippe Reference 6301P sonnerie was certainly a doozy!
A. Lange & Söhne seems to me to be getting some of its mojo back, in part due to inadvertent (production limited) scarcity of the Odysseus pieces and (planned) scarcity of the super-looking Honeygold 175th Anniversary watches.
Over at Audemars Piguet, some more interesting dial variants for the CODE 11.59 line have perhaps allowed the brand to crawl out of the deepest part of the crater that it dug with its catastrophic initial launch strategy, and the (Re)Master Chronograph gives me hope that it can navigate safely to a post-Royal Oak world.
And as a long-time Overseas wearer I’m pleased to see that this Vacheron Constantin line is finally getting some love from collectors.
The return of mojo: the author’s A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in stainless steel
Color is the new color. More about this in my own purchases, but blue continues its popularity, green either is or isn’t going to replace it, and multiple brands including Rolex and H. Moser gave us a variety of cheery colored dials with which to comfort ourselves.
Funky and hunky: the H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph in Funky Blue
The year in auctions, in brief
I will confess that I didn’t quite know what to expect when the auction houses went back into action; while I suspected that there was some pent-up demand, I’m also so dedicated to inspecting auction pieces in person that I wasn’t sure that collectors would jump into the virtual sale world with both feet.
As we saw, I needn’t have been concerned as there were apparently a lot of bored people with money or true believers in the ongoing appreciation of desirable watches out there. Most (and at some auctions, all) pieces sold, and for watches that are in vogue at the moment prices were through the roof.
If you were selling a Philippe Dufour Simplicity or early F.P. Journe brass-movement piece, your timing was outstanding. Have watches, or at least some watches, become a true asset class? I’m not convinced, but clearly there are folks out there who disagree with me.
Timepiece or asset? A friend’s super-rare Patek Philippe Reference 5070J-027 with brown/bronze dial
At the same time, we saw what I can only characterize as a spate of either low-information buying or aggressive aftermarket price support by makers as there were many broadly-available watches that sold for prices well above prevailing market rates.
And in the ebb and flow there remained some pieces whose sale prices seemed below recent results, including a mouth-watering Patek Philippe Reference 2438 at Phillips Hong Kong that, had I found $276,000 in change under my sofa cushions, I certainly would have made a strong run for. Doesn’t hurt to dream!
A past auction purchase, enhanced: the author’s Patek Philippe Reference 2526 with display case back by Voutilainen-Cattin in a composite photo that “removes” the rotor from view
Watches I’d buy with my money and yours
This part is a bit tough as there weren’t that many newly introduced watches I handled this year, but here goes.
- Watch of the year for me was the Petermann Bédat 1967 Deadbeat Seconds, with its revival of a classic dead-seconds mechanism, beautiful movement, and striking dial-side design.
- Watch I’d buy with your money: I’m tempted to say the Patek Philippe Reference 6301P sonnerie, but it would be a close race with the Greubel Forsey GMT Sport – make mine the all-grey debut version.
- With my own money, it would have to be the 1815 Honeygold Rattrapante from A. Lange & Söhne – with production limited to 100, however, not an easy feat!
What I did buy
A 2020 purchase: vintage Mathey-Tissot Type XX “big eye” chronograph
If I cheat and include late 2019, watches I’ve added over the past 13 months include:
- A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in stainless steel with blue dial
- Ming Model 17.06 Monolith
- Kurono Tokyo by Hajime Asaoka Anniversary Mori with green dial
- Mathey-Tissot Type XX vintage “big eye” chronograph
- Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 turquoise blue dial, delivered just a week ago
Incoming: recently purchased Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 complemented by a turquoise ring by Native American artist Julian Lovato
Against pal Terry’s portfolio model, there’s decent balance: I’d call the A. Lange & Söhne and Mathey-Tissot foundational pieces, the Ming and Kurono a mix of patronage and fun, and the Rolex (expect a “Why I Bought It” soon) a fun foundational watch.
I’m also very much in “selling to buy” mode these days as I’ve pledged not to dip into my piggy bank any further for watch purchases; at some point I’ll come back to that and give a sense of which beloved pieces moved on to new homes in 2020, both to fund the purchases above and to build up reserves for a couple of significant pieces that I’m hoping to have in hand during the first quarter of 2021.
Looking ahead to the future, from the past: Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic “Jumbo” made in 1955
Please stay tuned for those as well as a bunch of other watch-related reporting and musings as the coming year unfolds. In the meantime, I’ll look forward to reading some of your own reflections on 2020 in the comments section. I wish you a happy and healthy 2021!
You may also enjoy:
Hands On & Live Photos: MB&F x H. Moser LM101 And H. Moser x MB&F Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon
What I Learned During Quarantine: Flash Shooting With The Hasselblad X1D II And Godox V1 Flash
Heavy Metal: Great (And Not So Great) Watch Bracelets
Wristshots And Online Watch Photography: The Saga Continues, And, Yes, There’s Instagram Too
H. Moser & Cie Funky Blue Streamliner Flyback Chronograph: Not Just Another Pretty Blue Face
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Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
Gary, many thanks for as usually very interesting read. What do you think about the trend when dead brands like Daniel Roth or Roger Dubuis are getting back in fashion, especially when it comes to Lemania based chronographs?
Clearly not Gary, however, it is a great shame the early Roger Dubuis watches are much over looked!
On my auction Wishlist it the Symapthie Perpetual Calendar / Repeater 1/9.
Daniel Roth was also an early favourite, too. It was mid 90’s my watch journey started, Daniel Roth was very much responsible (and some of what GP were doing).
Treasured possession: DR Papillon.
Hello Ilya —
I’m very pleased that you enjoyed the article! I think that the re-emergence of early Dubuis is to some extent driven by dealers who are buying up inventory and promoting it, but at the same time those watches were noteworthy back in the day and many were bought by people whose tastes I admire.
The same may be true for Roth but I follow those watches less so would welcome others’ opinions.
Best, Gary
Watch of the Year: Cramain Mark II Constant Force
Watch I’d buy with your money: Krayon Anywhere Sunrise-Sunset
With my own money: F.P. Journe Chronometre a Resonance c.1520 (deposit down)
Thanks for contributing your list!
I guess I need to learn about the Cramain as to me it just seems like a wannabe Greubel Forsey — but more knowledge may turn me into a convert.
No selling needed on the Krayon — it’s a super piece and the people behind it are lovely.
Congrats on the pending Journe! That’s a watch that I’d strongly consider myself — my only quibble at this point is that the remontoire only functions for the first 28 hours of the power reserve. Again, seeing the watch in person and debating its merits with other fanatics could push me over the edge!
Best, Gary
Gary,
Another interesting article and kudos for your splendid photography.
Obtaining a Ming has been maddeningly difficult and up to now unsuccessful. However, my Kurono Chronograph 1 (dark face) arrives tomorrow and my Josh Shapiro Infinity Meteorite P.01 should be finished by late February. The wife does not know it yet but there is a special watch arriving soon which has been highlighted in several Q&P articles.
I also have 2 pocket watch projects I am working on; am I the only one interested in pocket watches?
At the end of the week I get the second of 2 Covid 19 vaccinations (because I am in the health care field) and am hoping that all who want it can get one ASAP and put this mess behind us.
Cheers watch friends and hoping for a great 2021!
Wow, sounds like you have some great watches coming in, Julien! Looking forward to seeing all of these beauties soon. Congrats on the vaccinations! I too am looking forward to better times in the world. Happy New Year!
What a splendid list of incoming pieces! That Shapiro piece looks especially sweet in photos and I wish you well in navigating the spousal “approval” process for your mystery piece.
You are not the only pocket watch lover, by the way! My dear pal Allen has a terrific selection of those and I’m always fascinated to see what he’s going to pull out of the bag when we meet.
Good on you for getting to the fore with vaccination given your profession — and thanks for the well-wishes for the rest of us!
All the best,
Gary
Another great article Gary. Regarding Breitling, the Superocean Heritage pieces look great in pictures and on IG, but not so good in person in my opinion. My local AD has had a few (and still has one as of last week) and I just wasn’t impressed by the size of the bezel and the smallness of the bracelet. Some compared it to Rado’s recent Captain Cook pieces – I see the similarity. On the other hand, they have a green dialed Chronomat Bentley in the case for a while now. Lovely looking piece. I was tempted but chose a two-tone DateJust with jubilee bracelet instead. Maybe I’ll go back and reassess the situation 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the article! I definitely see your point on the Superocean — to my way of thinking the size was actually welcome as it trod the line between “too small” exact replication of the original and some of the “too big” re-edition/homage pieces we’ve seen over the past few years.
All a matter of personal taste, though! Congrats on the jubilee Datejust — not shabby at all!
Best, Gary
Hi Gary,
Well done and refreshingly honest and direct. Need more articles like this and less PR. Stunning pictures.
I wonder if you can expand on the VC Overseas. I am a big fan an owner of the 4500V blue for a few years, but I often muse why it remains so much in the shadow of the RO and the 5711. Would love to hear your thoughts and why do you think it is finally gaining some appreciation and love.
All the best and a very happy New Year!
I’m delighted that you enjoyed the words and images!
As for the Overseas, I think that the slimmer profile of the most recent third-generation pieces and some of the aesthetic choices VC has made with things like the shimmering blue dials have helped to make the Overseas line attractive to a broader set of buyers. The functionality of the quick-change straps and bracelet are a plus as well. And perhaps to some extent the “unobtanium” status of the RO and Nautilus has pushed people to look for high-quality alternatives.
I actually prefer the second-gen aesthetics to those of the most recent OS watches, which is good since that’s the one I own!
Best, Gary
Gary, I always enjoy your articles but this one was awesome. I think of myself as keeping up on the watch world but I discovered some good new stuff reading this and took a second glance at a few things I probably passed by quickly in the past. The pointers into the less-publicized parts of the watch world are always appreciated. And since you bought the 6301P with my money, I’ll stick with the big brands and buy the Tourbograph Perpetual Honeygold with yours… It’s only fair.
Cheers from another bay area watch enthusiast.
Cheers back, Dave! I’m really pleased to hear that this article hit the spot with you.
I’ll check again under the cushions on the sofa and see if I can scrape together the funds for your Tourbograph Perp HG — keep your fingers crossed!
All best, Gary