What about Seiko😉

I don’t think they need to think about it really. Most of the larger Swiss brands are all under the swatch umbrella so they aren’t worried. And Rolex couldn’t care less.

Very cool watch.

I would say they are going to let Seiko have that audience all day, every day, and then send them a bottle of champagne at the holidays to thank them. Now, are they worried about GS? That is a different story.

As far as the micro brands, most the manufacturing happens in Switzerland, and again, short of the brands that play in the $1000-$2500 space, the big names are not worried about that space. Very likely, some of their best employees came from those private label brands. Consider it a bench if you will. Again, a plus for them more than a negative.

As a whole, the people shopping for a Seiko are not cross shopping with an Omega, IWC, JLC, Rolex, etc. They realize many folks graduate from lower priced brands to more traditionally aspirational brands. Seiko makes awesome watches, as do the other brands mentioned. They can all play together and have a very symbiotic relationship.

The Microbrands are selling to the enthusiast, which is less than 10% of the market, and the enthusiasts don’t just buy one watch a year.

Seiko OTOH is a massive company capable of vertical manufacturing across multiple price points. They need to get their QC in order though.

It is a great point on China. While I am the first to quickly dismiss their knock-off brands, they have a lot of folks making headway with original creations and movements. Ditto for Singapore. I would argue this is more of a Seiko than a Swiss problem, but then again Seiko, Casio, and the like already have partnerships there.

I’d say Christopher Ward is testing your microbrand theory.

Not worried in the slightest - if anything it's their "feeder" market. (50 years +)

GMT are only a very small part of the market - very few folks in the real world would buy a GMT out of necessity, & only very few enthusiasts within a group of enthusiasts would want a basic GMT.

We tend to see the watch world from the inside out & get a very warped perspective.

The Swiss need to worry about making too many watches under too many brands and selling them all for too much money. I feel like a massive consolidation is inevitable where, like the auto industry 15 years ago (or the Swiss watch industry 40 years ago?). Swatch is playing the same "badge engineering" game the American car companies played and I think it will end the same way. You can only sell the same products made in the same factories from the same parts under different brand names for so long before your customers either catch on, get confused, or there are just too few left to justify distinguishing between them. You can only coast on the fumes of assumed "brand heritage" for so long. When the only thing differentiating a Tissot from a Longines from a Hamilton is the story being told in the marketing materials and some upscale (but not TOO upscale, because...Omega) touches to the finishing, something's gotta give.

Seiko is better positioned in this sense because while they keep coming up with their own salad of product lines like Presage, Prospex, King Seiko, Grand Seiko, Astron, 5, etc., unlike Swatch, Richemont, LVHM, etc., there's no pretense of these being distinct watch brands They all say SEIKO right on the dial and are overtly marketed as Seiko products. Even their Lorus and Alba brands are transparently called out as Seiko products on their websites and marketing materials. When the market contracts, Seiko can streamline their models and product lines (something I wish they were doing already), but continue to sell Seikos across whatever price points remain viable through their existing dealer network.

I think the Swiss will also have to get serious about the rules governing what can be called "Swiss Made." As they continue to raise prices and as the watches from China (who, let's be honest, are getting so good because they already make most of the cases and movement components assembled in "Swiss Made" watches) continue to improve while established watchmaking companies in Japan, Germany, and the UK, etc, continue to equal or better Swiss quality while offering innovation in design and movement technology the Swiss haven't bothered with for 75 years, luxury buyers are going to want more "single origin" watchmaking to justify the luxury status of Swiss-branded products.