MikaJ
33
Where is JLC headed as a brand?
Jun 16, 2018,07:38 AM
Good afternoon,
I'd be very interested in hearing from the more knowledgeable people here their thoughts on the future of the brand. When I first became interested in mechanical watches (around 2011) JLC was one of the brands that I started to like thanks to their "understated excellence": iconic models (e.g. Reverso), expertise in making ultra thin watches, impressive roster of movements, the value for money their watches delivered (e.g. Master Control with its labour intensive dial and fine movement visible through the caseback) and how to me the brand seemed like one that has a special place within the watch community yet flies under the radar, not being the obvious choice for someone seeking a high end mechanical watch (as opposed to e.g. Rolex or IWC).
However, recently i have started to developed some mixed feelings about JLC:
Firstly, while there still are some of the more iconic watches in their catalogue, I feel JLC is diluting their value by flooding all kinds of variations/ editions of those watches into the model families. These editions in turn seem to come and go. The Reverso line-up is an example of this. Of course, JLC is not the only brand doing this - Omega is notorious for this practice.
Secondly, JLC seems to do the above on the company-wide level as well. See for example the introduction and elimination of entire line-ups (I'm thinking the various master compressors that were around in 2011 which have bee discontinued, and introduction of new line-ups, say the Polaris lineup this or last year, I think). This makes the new models (be they reissues or new) feel disposable. For example, I would not be surprised if the recently introduced Polaris family was discontinued in the next two years. The disposable impression of the watch models/ families makes me prefer to wait for the "next thing" rather than buying one of the current models.
Thirdly, I feel that JLC makes too obvious financially motivated choices in executing some of its (new) watch models. Of course, this may be expected since JLC is owned by a purely financially motivated entity but still. Bringing the watchmaking "integrity" of someone like JLC into question with questionable build/design choices cannot deliver superior value in the long term for the company owners. See for example the (admittedly quite well-liked) sector dial trio (master control, chronograph and geographic) launched this (or was it last?) year. Printed dials (instead of applied numerals, indices etc.) with noticeable colour bleeding and without clearly communicated rationale, no display case back (master chronograph/ geographic) to show the allegedly very carefully finished movement and so on. I have considered buying the sector dial master chronograph but upon closer inspection have started to doubt as the story of the watch just doesn't convince me - partly due to what I have observed on this forum in the discussion threads.
So to summarise, I'm confused about the product families coming and going, I'm confused about the watch models coming and going without a credible story/rationale and feel that this devalues the true "icons" of JLC. Finally, I'm confused about some of the design/build choices in the watches which don't seem to align with what I would expect from a brand like JLC that became known for its "understated excellence".
As said, it would be great to hear what others think. And two be clear, I still like JLC and want to see them succeed but am not convinced how well their recent strategy supports that in the long term. I am very curious as to the direction in which the new CEO plans to take JLC....
Best,
Mika