Vacheron Constantin

Imagine if you were Chanel; and you had such a competition.  Would the Chanel Maison want to admit that Lagerfeld's designs are better than the current designer Matthieu Blazy's?  

 
Every brand has its duds. The Patek Philippe brand has had many design duds. The Patek 5091 wasn't a good looking watch. And many dial iterations of the Patek 5080 weren't great looking neither. 

 
A true competition of elegance would pit different bands against each other in specific categories. For instance, 1970s sporty dress watches with integrated bracelets would have submissions from multiple brands and a winner is chosen. 

  

Lastly, competition of elegance doesn't work when there are commodity products. In the car world, upscale older cars (at the high end level, not the mass-produced Ford Model T level) used to be unique objects. A chassis was made (by Rolls Royce), and then a coach builder (like Mulliner Park Ward) would build the body and interior. Each car was essentially unique. Let's say you have two unique cars that are both highly judged by the judges in a competition; they're both 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom IIs, you're still going to have one that is in better condition than the other and one with a slightly different design than the other.  In the watch world, dozens if not hundreds of identical models exist. Let's say you and I both own Series A Royal Oak models. Both of ours are in perfect and unworn condition, with box and papers. And let's say both of us want to enter our watches to be judged. Well, if one of us wins, doesn't that mean there would have to be a tie? 

 
Now, perhaps I've given this more thought than the organizers hoped.  Marketers want us to think simply and superficially.  And also, perhaps I've tied in much more of the car version of Concours d'Elegance than what they hoped too. But, as a watch person with watch industry experience, I can tell you this is a very imperfect marketing exercise. The entrants are heavily chosen (because you can't have two identical watches submitted from two different entrants). If two identical watches existed (and remember these were not unique objects), only one would be entered in the competition - by the owner who has a closer relationship with Phillips or Vacheron Constantin. Meaning there is heavy politics at play here.  And you're comparing within one brand.  You should be comparing multiple brands across one sub-category (like 1970s sports watch would be a good category).

 
Thus, as a concept, the "Concours d'Elegance" in a watch world just simply wouldn't work. You simply can't compare a single brand with itself. Especially with entrants chosen by Vacheron Constantin and Phillips. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt, and not one that was thoroughly thought out. Thierry Stern at Patek Philippe would never allow such a competition in his own brand. Stern would think he hired the wrong person if anyone in his company or any Management Consulting firm came to him with such an idea. Would Chanel admit that Lagerfeld's designs are better than their current designer's designs?

And for the record; I ADORE the Vacheron Constantin brand. I VERY MUCH LIKE Christian Selmoni (and his suits). But, this whole concept is hedging that the average consumer doesn't know the details nor the implications of the concept of a "competition of elegance."

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