Horological Meandering

There are fundamental differences between Richemont Group and Swatch Group.  One can be said is more individualistic, allowing each brand to retain much of their identity; while the other is more "grouped" together, sharing technology and information to create the best product possible.  

Vacheron Constantin is perhaps the most prestigious of brands.  However, due to management style, it has lost its positioning as the top watch manufacturer to Patek Philippe.  The two companies are similar in many ways, offer similar products, offer a similar level of quality (for the most part) yet the appreciation of Patek Philippe watches (currently) far exceeds that of Vacheron Constantin for the moment.  I attribute this due to the management style of the two companies and the fact that there is no "vested" interest by any Vacheron or Constantin family member does not create a very special limelight.  Whereas Patek Philippe is wholly operated by the Stern family (who have that vested interest) and Lange has spokesman Herr Walter Lange who gives a face of accountability to the company.  

Breguet, like Vacheron Constantin, does not have anyone bearing the name representing their interests and has thus lost the surnamed spokesperson or a long-term vested individual.  

Question: Is a surnamed spokesperson or a long-term vested individual the magical ingredient in the best marketing campaign recipe?  

Answer: It may not be the best one, but it is definitely one of them.  Audemars Piguet still has members of the original families on its boards.  Chopard, like Patek Philippe is another Genevan company sold by the original founders to another private family (the Scheufele family) and has enjoyed unprecedented success.  A. Lange & Soehne has Herr Walter Lange, who re-created the brand that bears his namesake, and which he currently acts as a spokesman for.  And lastly, Patek Philippe has been managed by the Stern family for the past 80 years.  You feel that someone is there for the long-term, not necessarily to make money in the short term and then cash out to retire.  The last thing is one will notice that many of these companies are privately held corporations.  Chopard and Patek Philippe has virtually almost no stockholders.  Audemars Piguet is a company that is held by less than a few dozen individuals.  

These firms that have good will assets as surnamed spokesperson(s) and long-term vested individual(s) and that wield these assets successfully are able to incur large amounts of consumer confidence at relatively little cost.  Breguet, due to its lacking of a surnamed spokesman, the management style of Swatch Group, and the fact that they do not advertise their movement decoration as extensively as other brands creates a [correct or incorrect] perception that the products created at Breguet are not as valuable as those created by their counterparts.  

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