It was not intended that we might 'go down that road' again, so apologies if that has become the case.
From a personal perspective, any commercial imperative, any commercial strategy, for any product or any brand, is wholly legitimate whether the end goal is market penetration, market dominance, bulk sales by discount or occasional sales by premium. Provided always that there is no sleight of hand, we can buy into it or opt out of it at our own election: good luck to the wolves, tough luck for the sheep.
Whatever AP does - ditto PP, VC, Rolex etc ad infinitum - is their own call, for the ultimate benefit of their stakeholders. Bravo to the companies who get that right; hard luck those who don't.
This thread had a much humbler, less partisan origin. There are some shiny things with an octagonal bezel; there are some shiny things without - let's see some of the shiny things without. It is clear that you understood those original sentiments, and thank you for that. For those who may not have realised that it was that simple: it was.
Anyhow: how about it, TM? You must have a couple of beauties lurking somewhere on your hard drive; can you be persuaded to roll 'em out?
All the best,
Cheers,
pplater.