remarque
808
I have broached this topic in comments made mostly in posts about JLC many moons ago, now long forgotten by all, I dare say...
Jun 20, 2020,09:52 AM
The gist of my observations was thus:
JLC has a long history, and despite it being highly respected within the watch community, it is not a "hot" brand sales-wise. Through the years, releases of model iterations by the dozens have been presented without focus on modernizing movements, or revisiting movements no longer made (e.g. manual wind central seconds).
Given that such movements have been made in the past, and JLC archives have the movement patterns and specifications, it would certainly not take 10 years to recreate such a basic movement, which the JLC fan base has asked for since at least 2014 with the release of the automatic tribute to geophysic.
So, while using JLC as a specific here, but not intending to single out JLC, as I truly believe that these comments apply to all manufacturers, I do not believe that market research plays any significant role in watch case/dial aesthetic or underlying movement design. I believe that there is a small core of elite employees, be they corporate business executives or senior top design executives, who singly or by committee become committed to a design change/variation/iteration, be it small or significant, champion that idea regardless of charm or desirability or long term outlook, and if for no other reason than ego/power/position/lack of truly new inspiration/boldness/creativity, see it through to market in up to maybe a three year cycle. The cycles cannot be much longer than this, because most manufacturers have several lines within their portfolio, and those lines are "updated" every ?5-7 years. So it is highly doubtful that 10 years is devoted to each new line generation, which are always in evolution to production, when the cycle begins again.
All to say, despite specific comments and objective reviews about aesthetic and movement choices by JLC in this forum, with Nicolas as an advocate, historian and observer, I have yet to see any of the solid ideas put forth by any contributor here adopted and integrated by JLC since 2014, when I began participating. Nor have I ever been contacted by the customer division at JLC regarding discussion of new releases and my opinions, both positive and critical, despite my pleas to enter into a meaningful conversation with them.
If JLC uses focus groups for market research, those groups certainly are not people with horological knowledge to any degree, which means JLC is appealing only to a questionable fashion aesthetic by people who are not committed to buying watches as enthusiasts. Which I believe is why JLC has suffered in sales, which has caused them to churn lines in recent years with odd choices... drop geophysic, add "polaris" that is not a real super compressor cases, update memovox without new movement, and on and on and on.
As to why JLC has made these choices, we never know because we are not privy to the strategic plans of Mme Renier at all.
Best to all, M