Vacheron Constantin

Esharp
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Robust? Yes. Stable?!?

Well, Augean stable, perhaps...?

I can only interpret the introduction of the base 56 model as ‘desperate’.

Said in no strategy meeting ever were the words, “hey, sales are GREAT! Clearly our existing strategy and positioning are working fabulously! Everyone pat yourselves on the back! Tell you what, let’s introduce a new product with a fundamentally different proposition from what we have made in a very long time. Let’s buy in an engine from somewhere else and drop it into the base model of this new line, devaluing the brand with lower standards of finishing so we can offer punters something cheaper than ever before and give fans of the brand a reason to question their devotion to us. Everyone up for that?”

In case you can’t tell, I’m not convinced by VC’s strategy with the new 56 - sorry, Fifty-Six - base model. Just that awkward date window alone is enough to cause sleepless nights! Not to get into arguments over in-house and sourced movements - we all know the history of the industry - but given that they have been pushing their own manufacturing and finishing for so long, and putting the Geneva Seal on all their watches, getting something in from elsewhere in the group without the seal looks very questionable to me.

To be clear: I have no issues with them offering watches in steel - bravo, in fact! - or with the other two models in the new line, each with an existing known VC movement with Geneva Seal. And I am very impressed by some of the other pieces shown here.

Best

E.