Whenever a new model is released, I ask myself, “Did they use a focus group?” The reason I ask myself that is because I read comments all the time, so I know what’s trending, and 9/10 times, I know what people are going to say about a model regarding various elements: size, date, font, the list goes on (I know you you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition). Anyway, A lot of brands can’t afford to make these mistakes. I suspect that many of these brands haven’t been profitable for the last several years. Good thing they have deep pockets! Other, more popular brands, because of popularity, can pretty much do whatever they want and get away with it. I know Patek can produce ANYTHING in limited production and sell out as long as it has “Patek Philippe” on the dial. Who do you blame? The brand? The consumers? I’m interested to see how all of this plays out. Right now, I would say the new Holy Trinity is Rolex, Patek, and AP; Vacheron has created a very Strong line up but needs to do some serious marketing; Richard Mille is it’s own beast; Panerai has failed to surprise us; Hublot is fashionable but not haute horology; and Breguet is like the talented student who never became anything special.