Jay (Eire)
9155
My expectations vary based on price point.
Feb 06, 2021,10:40 AM
I’ve bought indies across several price points, starting at $1.5k and moving materially higher, and found satisfaction in all.
What’s important to me first and foremost is dial and case design. No amount of finishing or horological genius will compensate. On other aspects there may be a little bit of play, can I forgo finishing for innovation or vice versa? Yes. Can I be happy with a major design feature which defines the watch and its style while the movement may be generic? Yes, that works too. But again, price plays a big factor here.
From the lower price point Indies which I’ve had exposure to, most fail to me on the case. You mentioned you’ve got a somewhat complex case design, so maybe this is something you’ve noticed too.
When I see the number of people moving towards indies, be it Laine and Kudoke or Urwerk and MB&F or Journe and Gauthier I have to think if you can position yourself right there’s market share to be won.
I will be honest however in saying, I’m not overly keen on non watchmaker driven brands. However, even in saying that it can be done right and that hurdle can be overcome. But the one example I’m thinking of has quite a considerable amount of design and industry experience on their team and also had a first mover advantage.