Which watch was ACTUALLY a <competitor’s watch> killer?
I feel like the XX microbrand is a Rolex explorer killer trope, or whatever other iconic luxury watch you want to go after, is overused these days. Like yes, I’m sure your $1000 micro is exceptionally well built and probably a much better value than an explorer, speedy, or whatever, but if everyone had unlimited funds, I bet the majority would go for the “real deal”. Affordable alternatives are hardly a “killer” of the mainstays of the watch world.
that said, I was wondering if anyone knows of some examples of watches that actually did significantly beat out a competitor‘s watch, to the point where that other watch had significantly reduced demand? Thought this might make for an interesting discussion.
I’ll start it off with a very low hanging fruit… any quartz watch, ever, in the 1970s.
oooohhhh...
I hope there are some interesting responses here.
This...
... is in the process of effectively killing anything under $4k.
Look at Swiss export volume...
Swiss export value...
Which means massive contraction in anything below ~$3k
https://monochrome-watches.com/top-50-swiss-watch-brands-2020-market-share-sales-editorial/
And lots of growth for stuff above ~$4k
https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/03/morgan-stanley-watch-industry-report-2022.html
Timex was a brand killer everywhere that they went. They perfected cheap movements that would last just long enough so that it didn't seem uneconomical to replace watches rather than repair or service them. So, they destroyed affordable watch brands in the USA, UK, France and elsewhere all while simultaneously helping to undermine the mom and pop service industry.
Pretty neat trick, and it didn't even require quartz. Timex was not a plucky underdog and friend of the working man. They were a villain.
Timex was a brand killer everywhere that they went. They perfected cheap movements that would last just long enough so that it didn't seem uneconomical to replace watches rather than repair or service them. So, they destroyed affordable watch brands in the USA, UK, France and elsewhere all while simultaneously helping to undermine the mom and pop service industry.
Pretty neat trick, and it didn't even require quartz. Timex was not a plucky underdog and friend of the working man. They were a villain.
Not valid cuz there’s no fancy graphs…
😉
But didn‘t Seiko did the same thing with the invention of quartz ??!
The WWI trench watch singlehandedly destroyed the entire market for pocketwatches -- a market that had lasted as long as the watch itself.
Not valid cuz there’s no fancy graphs…
😉
But didn‘t Seiko did the same thing with the invention of quartz ??!
Ultimately yes, but not initially, and not intentionally -- the early quartz watches like the Astron and Swiss pieces powered by the Beta 21 were actually very expensive compared to traditional watches.
The WWI trench watch singlehandedly destroyed the entire market for pocketwatches -- a market that had lasted as long as the watch itself.
I agree, but I write to point out that this transformation was more glacial than other watch industry shifts. The railroads held on to the pocket watch requirement for decades because they were so much less expensive to maintain to railroad standards. Also, the international market was slower to adopt the wristwatch. There is still at least one factory that produces only pocket watches (Molnija). Widespread use of pocket watches is just beyond living memory for most of us. In the 1950's and 1960's there were still plenty of folks who never switched over to wristwatches. I have owned vintage suits that still had watch pockets.
Ultimately yes, but not initially, and not intentionally -- the early quartz watches like the Astron and Swiss pieces powered by the Beta 21 were actually very expensive compared to traditional watches.
Look closely at the timing of the Quartz Crisis and you will see that the watch industry was already unhealthy in many markets before the Astron. In the US: Gruen 1958, Waltham 1958, Elgin 1968, Precision Time Co. 1963, all of these had stopped producing watches before the Astron in 1969. Clinton and Ball were very small producers. Benrus and Helbros tried to follow Timex and reduce production costs by shifting case production to new countries. Steve McQueen's famous Benrus was the company's last gasp. Benrus had been sold to stave off bankruptcy in 1967, a move that only delayed the inevitable.
It would take an hour to unwind the Swiss industry as it limped into the 1960's. Suffice it to say that quartz was just one of many factors that changed the Swiss industry.
Always in this period, Timex was churning out low cost disposable watches from factories in Hong Kong. Timex even crowded dollar watch maker Westclox out of the market. Westclox found that alarm clocks were a more profitable niche.
This...
... is in the process of effectively killing anything under $4k.
Look at Swiss export volume...
Swiss export value...
Which means massive contraction in anything below ~$3k
https://monochrome-watches.com/top-50-swiss-watch-brands-2020-market-share-sales-editorial/
And lots of growth for stuff above ~$4k
https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/03/morgan-stanley-watch-industry-report-2022.html
I think you're overstating Apple Watch in what is happening. Basically nobody (or very few) who own(s) an Android phone buys an Apple watch and Android is the predominant mobile phone operating system (72% globally).
I would agree that wearables are reducing demand for lower cost watches. But I'm not going to buy into the Steve Jobs / Tim Cook reality distortion field. :)
Look closely at the timing of the Quartz Crisis and you will see that the watch industry was already unhealthy in many markets before the Astron. In the US: Gruen 1958, Waltham 1958, Elgin 1968, Precision Time Co. 1963, all of these had stopped producing watches before the Astron in 1969. Clinton and Ball were very small producers. Benrus and Helbros tried to follow Timex and reduce production costs by shifting case production to new countries. Steve McQueen's famous Benrus was the company's last gasp. Benrus had been sold to stave off bankruptcy in 1967, a move that only delayed the inevitable.
It would take an hour to unwind the Swiss industry as it limped into the 1960's. Suffice it to say that quartz was just one of many factors that changed the Swiss industry.
Always in this period, Timex was churning out low cost disposable watches from factories in Hong Kong. Timex even crowded dollar watch maker Westclox out of the market. Westclox found that alarm clocks were a more profitable niche.
If you ever plan on distilling all of your knowledge about horological history into a book, I for one would be very interested in obtaining a copy.
If you ever plan on distilling all of your knowledge about horological history into a book, I for one would be very interested in obtaining a copy.
It would be a very thin book, but thank you.
It would be a very thin book, but thank you.
Also can you make with colorful pictures so I can understand 😂
Some watches offer better specs or finishing than its competitors but usually those competitors have horology and/or brand recognition to make up for that. Some watches wear better even if they have lesser specs, etc. I don’t fully believe in “killer” watches that kill the competition. Watches are so personally because different people value different things and everyones wrist and wearing preferences are so different. Don’t just buy a watch because it has better specs or better value. Take in consideration all factors, especially ones you find important and definitely at least try to get it on your wrist before deciding or writing something off.
I would say the Casiotron. They sold like hotcakes and no one has dethroned Casio from the digital watch market since.
Timex was a brand killer everywhere that they went. They perfected cheap movements that would last just long enough so that it didn't seem uneconomical to replace watches rather than repair or service them. So, they destroyed affordable watch brands in the USA, UK, France and elsewhere all while simultaneously helping to undermine the mom and pop service industry.
Pretty neat trick, and it didn't even require quartz. Timex was not a plucky underdog and friend of the working man. They were a villain.
that’s wild, it makes sense now that you say it but I didn’t realize how dominant they were.
it kind of reminds me of how us enthusiasts think of Seiko as a plucky underdog brand because they’re not Swiss, but like…. No they’re a massive corporation.
The WWI trench watch singlehandedly destroyed the entire market for pocketwatches -- a market that had lasted as long as the watch itself.
Wow! Would you happen to know what features made the trench watch so far superior to pocket watches? Or was it just the fact that it was so widely distributed?
Also can you make with colorful pictures so I can understand 😂
Me too. I grew up on comics. I need pictures.
Wow! Would you happen to know what features made the trench watch so far superior to pocket watches? Or was it just the fact that it was so widely distributed?
Trench watches were just pocket watches which had lugs welded on so that they could be worn on the wrist. Men discovered that it was far more practical to just look at their wrist in battle than to use a pocket watch.
You have to hand it to Timex with their incredibly cheap no jewel movements. They lasted longer than they were designed to last. No jewel quarts movements run around $5.00 now
Look closely at the timing of the Quartz Crisis and you will see that the watch industry was already unhealthy in many markets before the Astron. In the US: Gruen 1958, Waltham 1958, Elgin 1968, Precision Time Co. 1963, all of these had stopped producing watches before the Astron in 1969. Clinton and Ball were very small producers. Benrus and Helbros tried to follow Timex and reduce production costs by shifting case production to new countries. Steve McQueen's famous Benrus was the company's last gasp. Benrus had been sold to stave off bankruptcy in 1967, a move that only delayed the inevitable.
It would take an hour to unwind the Swiss industry as it limped into the 1960's. Suffice it to say that quartz was just one of many factors that changed the Swiss industry.
Always in this period, Timex was churning out low cost disposable watches from factories in Hong Kong. Timex even crowded dollar watch maker Westclox out of the market. Westclox found that alarm clocks were a more profitable niche.
And ironically:
This...
... is in the process of effectively killing anything under $4k.
Look at Swiss export volume...
Swiss export value...
Which means massive contraction in anything below ~$3k
https://monochrome-watches.com/top-50-swiss-watch-brands-2020-market-share-sales-editorial/
And lots of growth for stuff above ~$4k
https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/03/morgan-stanley-watch-industry-report-2022.html
Bro, information overload. I stopped reading after the Apple Watch photo.. 😂
It would be a very thin book, but thank you.
Thin is in...and as you say, quality over quantity.
I think there are a couple of easy ones in mechanical land.
The Omega Marine dive watch was killed off by a vastly superior design, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms who was in turn vastly reduced by the Rolex Submariner.
The Glycine Airman was the only GMT watch during it's debut in 1953 but Rolex debuted the GMT Master the following year and we all know how that went.
The Chronomatic movement (which powered legendary automatic chronos with names like Autavia, Monaco, Navitimer, and Chronomat) was supplanted by the great El Primero movement (then powering Ebel, Daniel Roth and, of course, the first Rolex Daytona) which was in turn supplanted by Rolex's inhouse movement on the high end and the Valjoux 7750 on the low end.