Brand Watches

The new Longines Conquest watch collection is targeted at the sportsmen and women who want to achieve performance without sacrificing elegance. At least that’s what the company says.

The fact is, these watches are a little weird. They’re made of a combination of stainless steel and ceramic, all put together in a really ‘elegant’ way, not too flashy but definitely not unnoticeable.

I can’t say they aren’t looking good, but they are simply too simple form y tastes. I don’t see anything that makes them stand out in any way.

The part that worries me most is the ceramic. I’ve nothing against it, but in any sport, you have sudden moves, accidents, unexpected turns that may shatter ceramic. On any other watch, I would understand it, but on a sports watch, that’s a little too out there.

However, the official specification are promising. The watches resist up a 300m depth, have lateral protection for the crown and a triple folding safety clasp.

We’ll see how successful this line of watches will be.

Scott Parham, Head of Market Research at Melrose Jewelers states, “While we’ve seen a slowdown in luxury goods spending due to the economy, higher-end sales pinpointed at the Rolex Datejust line with edgier diamond dial and bezel additions continue to be robust.

Models such as String Diamond Dial Rolex Datejusts, Channel set diamond bezel Rolex Datejusts, and unique Mother of Pearl dial Rolex Datejusts and Rolex Day Date Presidents are helping to re-ignite the mens jewelry industry. People also feel they are getting a bigger bang for their buck with some of the unique diamond dials MelroseJewelers.com and other leading Rolex retailers are beginning to offer.”

The Top 5 Rolex Datejust Watch Models demanded by Men and Ladies in America in Q1 2008 are:

1) The Mens Rolex Silver String Diamond Dial Datejust

2) The Mens Rolex Stainless Steel Channel Set Diamond Datejust

3) The Lady Stainless Steel Red Diamond Dial Rolex Datejust

4) The Mens Two Tone MOP (Mother of Pearl) String Diamond Dial Rolex Datejust

5) The Lady Two Tone MOP (Mother of Pearl) Rolex Datejust w/ Oyster Bracelet

Timex watches, which has gone for a facelift with a new tagline saying, ‘New age Indian’, is aiming at a 10 per cent growth in market share in the current Rs 20 billion watch industry.

Says Timex Group MD and senior VP Asia Pacific Kapil Kapoor, “Currently Timex has a market share of 20 per cent in the relevant target segment. Having said this we are planning to increase our number of brand shops from 60 to 100 by the end of the year as 19 per cent of our revenues comes from stand alone shops.”

Moreover, its brand ambassador, Australian cricketer Brett Lee, unveiled its new collection ‘Conversation starters’. This collection consists of 21 new styles of watches for men and has price ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000.

Furthermore, the company today also unveiled its latest campaign, ‘Conversation starters’. The new campaign is based on the concept that a great looking watch can often act as an ice-breaker between two unknown people even in the most uncommon situation.

“We have invested Rs 150 million in our marketing initiatives,” adds Kapoor.

While the television commercial is already on air, the watch company is also using various other mediums like print, online and outdoor to further promote its newly launched collection. The campaign has been created by its advertising agency JWT.

Apart from all this, the company has plans to unveil new watches under the brand Ferragamo in the luxury watch segment by the end of this month.

In the year 2154, no one will want to wear wristwatches anymore. They’ll probably be out of fashion or too bulky for our hands. The in thing will be the nail watch, known as the TX54. Well, that’s what Timex and design site Core77 think will be the future, according to the global design competition Timex 2154: The Future of Time.” The two held the contest to mark the watch maker’s 150th anniversary.

TX54, the runner-up in the event, is a concept watch by three Americans designers: Napoleon Merana, Steffen Schubert, and David Takacs. The nail watch is designed to be hooked to the thumbnail. The user should be able to view the time in the dark just by pressing the tip of the nail. Wearers can also switch between available colors. It is also disposable. One hopes it’s waterproof as well, just in case you forget to take it off while you’re in the shower.

Although the TX54 is a good concept, I can’t imagine how small the numbers are going to be, probably putting a strain on your eyes.

The Seiko watch company has a compelling story behind their latest watch the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk launched at Baselworld.

The watch has been engineered to withstand the extreme environment of outer space and will be worn on the wrist of Richard Garriott, the sixth private-citizen space explorer, when he takes his trip this fall.

Garriott, a video game designer and the son of a NASA astronaut, will pay $45 million for his trip and plant to viisit the International Space Station and become the first private citizen to do a space walk outside of it.

He will be wearing the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk outside of his spacesuit and so the watch has to be able to survive zero gravity and an environment where temperatures can get as low as negative 22 degrees Celsius.

Battery-powered watches aren’t viable for space and the spring drive was chosen over a mechanical watch for safety and accuracy. The watch was designed to be light and recesses on the sides of the case save weight. It also has a dial with a Lumibrite treatment for readability.

The case is air tight and made of high-intensity titanium. The watch is a limited edition of 100, three will go with Garriott on his October adventure and the other 97 will be available in December and will retail for $25,000.

Casio released the DW-5600EH Eric Haze signature G-SHOCK watch, named after the well-known graphic artist. This new watch is designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the G-SHOCK series of shock-resistant watches, which was celebrated in May 2008.

Eric Haze is a graphic artist active in a variety of fields, including hip hop. The collaboration between Haze and G-SHOCK began in 1999, and this signature watch will be the third Eric Haze model to be released. The G-SHOCK’s 25th anniversary logo was designed by Eric Haze, a demonstration of the close association between G-SHOCK and Haze.

The new DW-5600EH Eric Haze signature model is based on the DW-5600E, which in turn inherited the square shape of the first G-SHOCK model, the DW-5000C. The Eric Haze signature is on the band and also appears with the EL backlight. The basic motif of the watch is a black-and-white monotone, with red accents for the Eric Haze signatures and the watch face. The 25th anniversary logo, designed by Eric Haze himself, is engraved on the back of the case. The watch comes in a specially designed original box.

Profile of Eric Haze:

Born in New York City, 1961. For over 30 years, Eric Haze has been a leader in the worlds of art, graphic and product design. In the 70’s, using the name, “HAZE,” he established his own influential styles of graffiti art. During the 80’s, Haze became one of the first artists to help visually communicate Hip Hop culture to the world via his graphic and logo design. To this day, Haze continues to produce a variety of work and shows at exhibitions worldwide. The collaborative relationship between G-SHOCK and Haze began in 1999, with Haze designing his first signature model, and has continued to progress for nearly a decade.

Aiming to strengthen its presence in the Indian market, Japanese premium watch maker Seiko plans to spread its reach to around 40 cities with 200 models by end of this fiscal.    

“The past one year has seen us emerge among the top three brands in the premium luxury watch segment in India. We have presence in 33 cities with 81 stores and are aiming to cover the remaining major centres in the country,” Seiko Watch India Sales and Marketing Head Niladri Mazumder told PTI.   

 He said Seiko, which launched its brand in India with a dozen models last year, is looking to have 200 models in the country by end of 2008-09 with presence in around 40 cities.    

Mazumder said the first year has seen the company position itself as a high-end brand. As a follow up, the company is now launching its Arctura collection which will hit the market in August-September.    

“While our existing Sportura and Permier collections are available in the Rs 6,700-55,000 range, the Acrtura would have a starting range of Rs 25,000, besides limited editions of above Rs 1.5 lakh,” Mazumder said.    

Springdrive, another international collection, would also hit India this year with a starting range of Rs 1.76 lakh.    

Currently Seiko outlets are multi-brand ones, the company plans to open its first Seiko Corner in Mumbai by August.   

“We have plans to set up eight flagship mono-brand outlets in the four metros, besides Bangalore and Hyderabad in three years,” he added.    

This year a few more cities would have Seiko outlets, including Gangtok, Guwahati, Nagpur, Bhopal and Dehradun.    

“The Indian luxury watch market has an estimated market turnover of Rs 350-400 crore a year and within five years we hope to emerge as the top brand with the maximum market share,” he said.