Do you feel like watch media and influencers are shilling for the industry?

I think watch content creators note that the manufacturers are shifting to smaller case options and/or models that are market research driven. I don't think it's a plot to sell more watches by selling different sizes to the owners of the model, rather it's to sell more watches to people who would not buy existing or new models in a larger case size. Choice is good, allows you to offer products to a wider market of buyers.

IDK. When I first started building my collection I was watching and following a lot of YouTube channels, as well as reading a lot of reviews. Over time, I noticed that there were never any negative reviews or even substantial criticisms of any mainstream watch brands. I also noticed that YouTubers in particular seemed to be claiming to be collectors, yet selling on from pretty expensive watches more than people of normal means could realistically afford. It seemed rather fishy.

It occurred to me, and I have seen a few YouTube channels be open and honest about this (Urban Gentry most notably and it makes me respect him very much), that watch brands will not lend out watches without the expectation that the reviews will be positive.

Influencers and reviewers that are beholden to the brands for access to product to review need to be considered questionable and potentially compromised. If the reviews are controlled by the brand, isn’t this just covert advertising?

Influencers do not influence watch makers, they try to influence buyers. In that sense i think there are plenty of shills out there (but not all). They will push narratives on favored brands, top 10s etc. They will NOT determine manufacture, which usually has many years cycle. I don't see Rolex/Omega, shift their multi tens of millions spend on product development on the words of a person spouting their thoughts/predictions. Besides, influencers opinions can flip-flop all over the place. All should be taken with pinch of salt. It's entertainment.

They can say what they want but it's not making my wrist any slimmer.

@TerminusVox yeah, that’s my reality also! I don’t see going to smaller sizes as doing my any favors, lol!!! A 36 mm makes me fear looking like Godzilla !!!

For the most part, yes.

There are a few that are very honest and upfront about it, and I have huge respect for those individuals. That's why I only follow those few.

It took me half a day to get back to my original idea the skeleton twelve was overhyped when all YouTubers said how great it was. Even Tudor coke now seeing it a few more times before paying for it I don’t like the gilt or gold indices. Well nomos I am buying

Smaller watches bring in more people to the hobby. But not all brands are going smaller just more enthusiast focused brands. The average content creator is probably. 6-7.5” wrist. So naturally a 44-50 inch lug to lug is perfect which usually are 36-42mm dials.

People like us (the only ones who even care what watch influencers have to say) would keep buying new watches anyway. So what difference does it make 😂

This push for smaller case sizes is bizzare. And I’m tired of it. People with “small wrists” are the minority especially in 2024 America!

YouTube really changed their pay structure which means content creators cannot make enough money just saying their honest views. This pushed a lot of them into paid partnership. They also don't get the same level of access or invited to launches unless they focus on the positives

I think most of them still try to be fair, but it's hard to be fair when you know a harsh review means you won't get those watches in hand again

Many, not all, influencers are shilling for brands (ie: trying to push narratives and thus buyers toward specific brands), but in my opinion it happens mostly at the affordable and micro end of the scale. As @WatchMagpie said, brands operating at the scale of the big boys have internal R&D with vast resources and care little about what some random person on the internet who knows far less than they do, thinks they should do.

Why would one care if smaller case watches options exist, esp. if larger sizes of the same model exists? Do you not want people to be able to enjoy a wider array of brands and models - simply because it's not important or impactful to you?

So just my $.02 as a smaller/ midsize reviewer. When it comes to the watch size trend, it's more we follow the interest. It doesn't make any sense to make a video on something if people aren't interested in it, and people are interested in smaller watches. Or at least what the almighty algorithm thinks they are.

Now let me just say, I'm not personally a fan of smaller watches. I'm good with a 40mm give or take. It really depends on the design, and for the most part, I'm convinced those wanting smaller watches aren't really the majority, but more a vocal minority.

Or at least I was convinced. As over the last few months, I've covered a couple 36mm watches, and they have performed really well. At least compared to other videos I've put out in the same time frame. So it's only logical to follow that up with a few more. Which is what I'm sure others are doing as well.

I have everything from 36mm to 42mm watches. Varity is good but, yes the influencers, YouTubers and resellers are all shilling.

@Sluggo I agree that there is no reason to trade in a 42mm watch just because the ‘trend’ says only the new 39mm is the thing to own. For my 7.75 wrist 42mm is the sweet spot, with a 44mm to 40mm range and a lug to lug 50mm max. Of course, bracelet end links can affect the visual perception of a watch also. But I am not ever going to consider trading in my collection just because there’s a ‘trend’ that says I should, lol!

Regardless of who might be pushing what. I am am going to buy what I like. I just look at the influencers/watch media to see what’s out there and learn about watch’s I may have never seen before.

I agree with those saying that influencers are supposed to influence potential consumers, not the watch industry. I don't care if the manufacturers finally have started listening to watch nerds who have been asking for smaller watch sizes for ages, or if they're proactively pushing this trend to make owners of large watches reconsider and thus spend money on new watches. The watches in my first collection were all vintage-inspired smaller models and I took a decade-long hiatus skipping the worst excesses. In the meantime, YouTube developed into my main source of information on watches and I follow quite a lot of watch-related channels, but I don't consider myself influenced in terms of size. I'm just happy to see variety in my favourite sizes making a return. Considering that production cycles in the watch industry are considerably longer than for clothes, I sincerely hope they're here to stay.

I don’t think I ever conceived of the influencers or media influencing the brands. It was more a question of is this a brand driven thing to influence people to want new product through advertising influencers. Anyway, I have to admit to being overwhelmed at the sum of responses on this thread.

I do not pay attention to “influencers” period. I buy what I like not what others tell me to buy or not to buy.

I think most of them are, especially those that sell/carry brands. For example if a channel is selling pre-owned rolex, they'll have a lot more Rolex content, and teddy who has a shop selling watches that are in the more entry level to mid range will have way more content covering brands that are in those price segments to bring attention to them and sell more watches.

There are also channels covering a ton of micro brands/ budget watches and they usually end up coming up with a watch of their own that's produced in collaboration with some microbrand, with similar features.

The thing about this hobby/watch YouTube is that the whole thing is just free promotion/views for brands/watches out there.

Youtuber shills a watch that they like, brand sends them similar watches that they might like, and if they like it they'll make a vid and the brand will send them more watches in the future. It's just an endless positive feedback loop where the brands and influencers benefit each other.

All they have to do is to point out how a watch is an improvement or similar to a well known watch. (Cheaper, better specs, bigger/smaller, revolutionary/new, etc...)

Exactly. We're right in the same range of wrist size. So no, nothing smaller 42mm for me. (Noting: I do have some older or vintage pieces that are smaller.) But don't have some 20 or 30 something-year old preach to me about these smaller watches.

Then, being an Omega guy, Omega brought out this line under Seamaster (I believe). They sized it down and then used a number of pastel dial colors. I simply asked if they were for women. Imagine where that conversation went. Like I showed up at a bon fire with a 55-gallon drum of gas. 🤣💪🤣!

Never got a real answer. Never apologized either.

The almost universal orgasms the YouTubers have for anything Tudor does can not be coincidence or genuine. It's either shilling or an echo chamber.

You should buy what makes you happy . I have big , medium, and small watches , each unique in its own way . If it puts a smile on your face , get it .

Yes but not in the way you are proposing in this example. Many watch influencers have been banging the drum for smaller sizes and thinner watches for years. Way before the market hype. It’s a genuine want and finally trends are changing.

What I do notice is overly enthusiastic responses to new watch releases, especially when working with the brands. The new Skeleton CW is a prime example of this. Some guy was saying if a different brand was put on the dial they’d charge $20k… I called him out for it. At some point a line is crossed and anyone who has experience in this industry knows no brand would charge $20k for a watch of that quality.

In a world where Diesel watches with 6777373mm case diameter used to be marketed as a trend, I don‘t think that smaller case sizes is this kind of trend. You could sell colors, certain materials or watch genres maybe in terms of a trend. But for watch sizes, I think there was a big gap for mid sized watches (would not call a 37-39mm watch small). And I believe that not every wrist is above 20cm.

It is just fashion. Fashions come, fashions go. A few years ago, bigger was better.

Bigger was never better. It was just more popular.

I think it’s a vicious cycle we all perpetuate and less about the brands paying. But the influencers push the content people are watching. The watchers are watching what the influencers put out. The brands grow. Not to devalue them at all, because the pieces they are delivering are outstanding, but you can probably make a case that Christopher Ward is blowing up more than ever due to the algorithm.

Yes absolutely they are. Just like they constantly ram Tudor down our throats 🤯