#shitcollectorssay: Dear everyone, please stop saying these six phrases. Thanks in advance.
Zach BlassEditor’s note: Andrew here. And of course I’m chiming in because I’m nervous. Which is a polite word for the Australian equivalent: shitscared. For example, if I Google ‘workhorse’ on Time+Tide (which I’m frankly too terrified to do), there will almost certainly be 100 responses. If I Google ‘beater’, perhaps several hundred. We are guilty of just about every example here. So please understand, we are not above the law. We often break the law. Please forgive us, forgive yourselves, but let’s try to be better in 2021. OK? Thanks Zach, take it away …
The watch enthusiast and collector community is a growing niche, with interest rising every day. Due to the march of digital watch media, more information is available than ever and, as a result, the consumer has never been so detail driven. To the initiated, very little gets by the eye and there can be a great deal of push back and criticism when things don’t meet certain peculiar parameters instituted by self-proclaimed horology experts and influencers.
One of our humble missions at Time+Tide is to make the industry more accessible and inviting – cutting through the noise to provide honest advice for those introducing themselves to the world of watches. Horology is a science for the watchmaker, but for the consumer it is art. The homogenisation of our hobby is partially a result of some of the dumb stuff we say and standards we perpetuate. Maybe it is time to re-evaluate how we engage with each other on the subject? Here are some phrases watch collectors say that we can leave in 2020.
“It’s a workhorse movement”
Yes, ETA, Sellita, Miyota, among others, make many more movements than other manufacturers and the term “workhorse” is not necessarily demeaning. But what it implies, though, can be a tad ignorant. While mass-produced and reliable, they are not all utilised in the same way across brands.
Some manufactures will simply assemble and insert these movements into their watches, but others will actually work to revamp the mechanism to meet a greater standard. Brands such as Longines, Bremont and Ming all utilise ébauches from ETA, but through modification, assemble movements that are very different than what was originally supplied. To simply dismiss these upgraded movements that utilise a familiar or common architecture as a base demeans the efforts made by the brand and its watchmakers to provide a reliable and cost-effective engine to create value-driven offerings for us consumers.
“Is the movement in-house?”
There is nothing necessarily wrong with the question; it is really more the intention behind it. Do we really ask if a movement is in-house to better understand the novelty or thought behind its architecture, or is it a tool we use to assign value to a watch offering?
If the query is more about finding out the level of finishing to the movement, then I will spare you a lot of time and headache. Watches that utilise top-tier bevelling and anglage are typically movements designed in-house, with more common movements from ETA and Sellita comprised of more rustic finishes. I won’t regale you with all the issues that can come with an in-house movement, but never forget the timeless words of Biggie Smalls – “Mo Movement, Mo Problems.”
“Did you buy it at retail?”
The issue with this question is the two implications it has. On the one hand, it’s an attempt to network and find a way to get a better chance of finding hot watches at retail. It is very rare that someone has the kind of pull to make your desired model magically appear inside a case at your local AD. On the other side of the coin, it is a backhanded way of asking someone if they overpaid for a watch.
Most watches depreciate the moment you unbox it and put it on your wrist, and there is definitely a strong value proposition to be found in the pre-owned marketplace. That being said, some consumers save their money and look forward to the day they can step into a boutique for the “full experience”. The harsh reality is if nobody bought these watches at retail, there would be no opportunity to get them secondhand – so there is really no benefit to discouraging people from buying in-store new (especially when you may be able to negotiate a discount from full-price).
“This is my beater” in the wrong context
While some watches are tougher and more robust than others, it’s hard to justify the term “Daily Beater” at times. Unless you have a one-watch collection, or serious wrist favouritism, chances are you are not wearing the same watch every day. Ironically, in more formal daily settings, dress watches may dominate your wardrobe – a category not typically associated with the daily-wear label. We all have different methods and rotations for what we choose to wear – watches to wear when it’s raining or to the beach, watches to wear to the office, watches to wear while doing chores/physical labour, or even playing sports.
But who are we kidding — the idea we beat up our coveted watches is a little bit ridiculous. Sure, I worry less with my Black Bay Fifty-Eight on my wrist, but if I doorknob the watch I would definitely not be a happy camper. Short of being an ambassador for a brand, does it really make sense to wear a timepiece worth thousands of dollars when playing a few sets of tennis or tackling a striker before he gets too close to goal on the pitch? If you genuinely “beat” or put the watch through its paces, then feel free to use the “Daily Beater” label, but if you’re telling me your yellow gold Submariner is your daily beater, don’t be surprised if I call you Pinocchio.
“Does it hold its value?”
If it’s not your money, or the organic subject of conversation, why should we care if a watch does or does not hold its value? It’s damaging to the overall industry to only focus on watches that hold value, as they are only a select few. The irony is through our purchasing habits we actually dictate which watches do or don’t maintain their value, and convincing others to buy your scarce timepiece is almost like legal insider trading. It may benefit you to keep demand high on certain models that you own, but then don’t call a brand unoriginal at the next trade fair when they release their own take on the hottest selling watches of the year.
Calling every integrated stainless steel sports watch “Genta-inspired”
A little bit of a reality check here: if consumers skew towards stainless steel designs with bracelets that integrate into the case, then brands are going to make creations that will satiate that demand. It’s almost not fair to the legend himself to draw the comparison. The Royal Oak Offshore was a direct descendant of one of his designs, and supposedly he thought it far from honoured the elegance of his original Royal Oak design. The truth is there is a limited number of formats a watch can take, especially if the brand wants to generate sales. Can any one brand own Arabic numerals? Blued hands?
When it comes to integrated designs, and the phrase “Genta-inspired”, I would caution you to ask yourself the following question. Are the majority of the design elements borrowed? Or has the brand introduced a novel design in a familiar framework? JLC does not own square watches, and we don’t cry plagiarism when yet another conventional circular watch is released. When musicians remix a song, it maintains the essence of the original while bringing a new flavour into the fold. I would argue these watches are not Genta-inspired, but rather “consumer-inspired” as we voted with our chequebooks – telling brands that if they want our dollars, they have to release integrated stainless steel designs.
Disclaimer: And with that, I send you forth into the world, hopefully with one or two less cliches in your bag. Thank you for reading, and again, apologies in advance for all the ways we at Time+Tide, will completely disregard this advice in future.