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Walrus
·How hard can it be it’s a little thing you put on your wrist that tracks a man made concept big deal
Anyone here who's started a watch brand?
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Foo2rama
··Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...I think it will be basically 100% marketing. Watch aficionados are total sheep these days. Find the right IG influencer and you will go viral. Otherwise, you'll sink like a stone. All that other "design" stuff barely matters. Given that dynamic, it's completely uninteresting to me.
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Dan S
·IDK I did the math a few years back and dug into it. There is room sub 1k for profit on a 50 piece run of something I would buy. No need to find the influencer... but good forum work, and some strong cheap targeted FB advertising could pull it off.
I buy that, but the OP seems to be talking about more than just making a few thousand $ on a small run. Or maybe I'm just reading things wrong. But he mentioned starting a business and making a living.
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Risto
·I am talking to some people and the math is cruel.
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Scooterino36
·I am talking to some people and the math is cruel.
Let’s hear it
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Foo2rama
··Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...I buy that, but the OP seems to be talking about more than just making a few thousand $ on a small run. Or maybe I'm just reading things wrong. But he mentioned starting a business and making a living.
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Walrus
·I think it would be an amazing thing. I know a few people who started businesses and did very well. It’s only now I can look back and appreciate all the work and risk they took. Like you said it’s your dream and your passion. If you could make those come true it must be quite a feeling. One needs major cojones to pull off such a task success is certainly not guaranteed but hot darn it would be cool to pull off and have it come together.
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RonJ
·I think innovation might be the key to success in launching a new watch brand.
Not in the modern digital world (e.g. you'll never out-do Apple at making the next Apple Watch) , but in modern ways of re-creating the vintage world.
For example, could someone make a totally new kind of watch bracelet.
A bracelet that has no clasp and automatically tightens to the customer's wrist size.
Imagine a bracelet that looks like an 1171 Omega, or Rolex Jubilee, that has micro servos in it.
There is a hidden switch in it that you swipe over with your other hand.
The swiped switch either robotically loosens or tightens the bracelet.
To get the watch off, you swipe it and slide the watch off your wrist.
So, it looks like a classic watch band, but it is unique because there is no obvious clasp to it.
If you patent the design and make it part of every new watch you sell in your new watch brand, it becomes your "hallmark" for the brand.
Just a thought.
.
Not in the modern digital world (e.g. you'll never out-do Apple at making the next Apple Watch) , but in modern ways of re-creating the vintage world.
For example, could someone make a totally new kind of watch bracelet.
A bracelet that has no clasp and automatically tightens to the customer's wrist size.
Imagine a bracelet that looks like an 1171 Omega, or Rolex Jubilee, that has micro servos in it.
There is a hidden switch in it that you swipe over with your other hand.
The swiped switch either robotically loosens or tightens the bracelet.
To get the watch off, you swipe it and slide the watch off your wrist.
So, it looks like a classic watch band, but it is unique because there is no obvious clasp to it.
If you patent the design and make it part of every new watch you sell in your new watch brand, it becomes your "hallmark" for the brand.
Just a thought.
.
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.Here's a watch brand that I think is doing something different, using quartz, plastic, some wire, paint, a piece of leather, a great eye, a sense of horological fun and some great marketing. Every single one of those is cheap or free.
There is more than one person working there, mind you. As discussed it depends what you want to do. But this is all done and out of the door at a very collectable price.
Laz'engennlemen.... The Electricianz CableZ out of Bien/Biel/Omegatownville. I do not wear this watch to airports.
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Nobel Prize
·Honestly, unless you partner with some major watchmaker that designed watches for some major brands and is launching his own movement the last thing I would do being you is start with in house movements.
there are plenty of great movement makers that will sell or custom for you. Sellita? ETA? Hell you can even do a swatch stile quartz design move. Killer affordable designs with reliable quartz movements. Perfect for MANY people.
yiu make the movements, your cost is more than double. Manpower, manufacturing plant, supplier of parts ( not easy and most will factor volume into price discount points... so.... expensive.
So. Make a great design and grow from there, then eventually if you make it a couple of levels up you can do a second run of investment to trigger automatic or mechanical.
the other factor I would consider before spending a single cent is marketing and distribution. You can have the best watch on earth but, if it doesn’t leave the lab, it’s not a business, it’s just a project.
there are plenty of great movement makers that will sell or custom for you. Sellita? ETA? Hell you can even do a swatch stile quartz design move. Killer affordable designs with reliable quartz movements. Perfect for MANY people.
yiu make the movements, your cost is more than double. Manpower, manufacturing plant, supplier of parts ( not easy and most will factor volume into price discount points... so.... expensive.
So. Make a great design and grow from there, then eventually if you make it a couple of levels up you can do a second run of investment to trigger automatic or mechanical.
the other factor I would consider before spending a single cent is marketing and distribution. You can have the best watch on earth but, if it doesn’t leave the lab, it’s not a business, it’s just a project.
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ghce
·I don't think its too great a challenge to make your own watch brand, in fact in my eyes pretty easy.
Manufacturing any product requires a certain perspective of the possible and the practical.
Over the years I have designed and built many products from the basic internal components to the exterior casings, this has given me a very trained eye as to what goes into the manufacturing process of any product and watches are very very simple especially as there are so many excellent off the shelf movements as has been mentioned and they certainly are not expensive when compared to the retail cost of just about any mid priced watch.
My motto when it comes to product development is that you don't need to reinvent the wheel ( though in many cases I did) doing what others have done in the past can reduce your costs but in the case of a watch due to its simplicity I don't think it matters as any "new development" you do is small and of little cost difference in the big scheme of things.
Having said that I wouldn't go with an existing case manufacturer as you need to truly stamp your own uniqueness on your product and beleive me materials and machining costs can be surprisingly cheap and nothing gives you more satisfaction than knowing your case is unique.
Provided you have an attractive design that you like ( love) others will too and has also been mentioned some points of difference add to your marketing campaign as every happy purchaser likes to boast why he bought it and that other people don't have feature XYZ.
If you have the design skills and can combine that with effective marketing the road to success isn't that hard, one only needs to look at the likes of Invicta to know whats possible when you get the marketing right.
Manufacturing any product requires a certain perspective of the possible and the practical.
Over the years I have designed and built many products from the basic internal components to the exterior casings, this has given me a very trained eye as to what goes into the manufacturing process of any product and watches are very very simple especially as there are so many excellent off the shelf movements as has been mentioned and they certainly are not expensive when compared to the retail cost of just about any mid priced watch.
My motto when it comes to product development is that you don't need to reinvent the wheel ( though in many cases I did) doing what others have done in the past can reduce your costs but in the case of a watch due to its simplicity I don't think it matters as any "new development" you do is small and of little cost difference in the big scheme of things.
Having said that I wouldn't go with an existing case manufacturer as you need to truly stamp your own uniqueness on your product and beleive me materials and machining costs can be surprisingly cheap and nothing gives you more satisfaction than knowing your case is unique.
Provided you have an attractive design that you like ( love) others will too and has also been mentioned some points of difference add to your marketing campaign as every happy purchaser likes to boast why he bought it and that other people don't have feature XYZ.
If you have the design skills and can combine that with effective marketing the road to success isn't that hard, one only needs to look at the likes of Invicta to know whats possible when you get the marketing right.
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Nobel Prize
·I don't think its too great a challenge to make your own watch brand, in fact in my eyes pretty easy.
Manufacturing any product requires a certain perspective of the possible and the practical.
Over the years I have designed and built many products from the basic internal components to the exterior casings, this has given me a very trained eye as to what goes into the manufacturing process of any product and watches are very very simple especially as there are so many excellent off the shelf movements as has been mentioned and they certainly are not expensive when compared to the retail cost of just about any mid priced watch.
My motto when it comes to product development is that you don't need to reinvent the wheel ( though in many cases I did) doing what others have done in the past can reduce your costs but in the case of a watch due to its simplicity I don't think it matters as any "new development" you do is small and of little cost difference in the big scheme of things.
Having said that I wouldn't go with an existing case manufacturer as you need to truly stamp your own uniqueness on your product and beleive me materials and machining costs can be surprisingly cheap and nothing gives you more satisfaction than knowing your case is unique.
Provided you have an attractive design that you like ( love) others will too and has also been mentioned some points of difference add to your marketing campaign as every happy purchaser likes to boast why he bought it and that other people don't have feature XYZ.
If you have the design skills and can combine that with effective marketing the road to success isn't that hard, one only needs to look at the likes of Invicta to know whats possible when you get the marketing right.
That’s interesting.
“As they say, nothing is difficult or easy, it all depends on how much you know and how ready you are”
To me It seems at the very least challenging, to you it seems easy. Clearly you know more about it than I do.
whikst I do agree the actual “making a watch” part is not difficult with the current cupola chains, the business side of it definitely seems challenging to me.
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ghce
·I absolutely agree with you, its not the making but the selling that determines success and is by far the hardest to achieve.
Having the passion to create is one thing but a good marketing team is essential.
Having the passion to create is one thing but a good marketing team is essential.
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Risto
·It all depends on how many watches to sell and what's the price.
I would have a hard time selling 3-5k EUR watches to the local market.
A local watchmaker has sold his 100 pc runs to the local market. He has 30-40 customers who are millionaires and always buy his watches. He lately released one new model, the price was around 2k, limited to 25pc, and sold them in 5 days.
He doesn't do any marketing.
Just website, Instagram, and Facebook where he updates with new info.
I also think the case should be unique.
For me, the dial and the case are the most important components of a watch.
I think I will start with a prototype. Hopefully, that local guy will help me out. He did tell me that I shouldn't create my own watches 😀
He also has some machines and knows 3D etc...
I would have a hard time selling 3-5k EUR watches to the local market.
A local watchmaker has sold his 100 pc runs to the local market. He has 30-40 customers who are millionaires and always buy his watches. He lately released one new model, the price was around 2k, limited to 25pc, and sold them in 5 days.
He doesn't do any marketing.
Just website, Instagram, and Facebook where he updates with new info.
I also think the case should be unique.
For me, the dial and the case are the most important components of a watch.
I think I will start with a prototype. Hopefully, that local guy will help me out. He did tell me that I shouldn't create my own watches 😀
He also has some machines and knows 3D etc...
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Risto
·One another thing I was also thinking, was to get a used vintage watch that has a deteriorated dial and create a new one. Just for a start.
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.Listen to @Nobel Prize .... Sergio knows his business. As an RGM customer, I’m always amazed at what it takes to get a brand out of the gate and into the world. I think Baltic is another template. Oak and Oscar too.
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorI’m after a bezel free field watch that’s at least 300meters waterproof.
Make one, I will buy it.
( must be a 2824-2 )
And there is a niche for you.
Make one, I will buy it.
( must be a 2824-2 )
And there is a niche for you.
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Nobel Prize
·I’m after a bezel free field watch that’s at least 300meters waterproof.
Make one, I will buy it.
( must be a 2824-2 )
And there is a niche for you.
Also don't use titanium or any light metal....make it heavy. You don't grow Hemsworth muscles by pussy-ing around on your watch!!
Oh, and remember they are upside down so the dial has to be reversed with 12 at bottom. Lastly the second hand should rotate "counter-clockwise" like their toilettes....
So yeah...there's a niche for you!
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorWatch out here!! when he says "Field Watch" he means "Australian Field Watch" so...very very tough, and must be able to be used as a tourniquet on a pinch to stop any position from spreading. Also heavy enough that it can be used as a weapon against Alligators. On top of that Australians tend to be very big and good looking (at least in movies) so at least 68mm dial and "fashion forward" The case back should be able to be used as a mirror to reflect and signal and....to be able to do his hair on a rush because...Australia. The Cristal should be domed so it can be used as a loupe to start a fire. One PM and 2 PM should be marked thirteen and fourteen, but spelled "Thirdeen and Fordeeen".
Also don't use titanium or any light metal....make it heavy. You don't grow Hemsworth muscles by pussy-ing around on your watch!!
Oh, and remember they are upside down so the dial has to be reversed with 12 at bottom. Lastly the second hand should rotate "counter-clockwise" like their toilettes....
So yeah...there's a niche for you!
The saltwater crocodiles ate all the alligators, poison spreading, don’t mind my positions spreading, like the mirror back idea (we should trademark that one quickly Sergio) 42 is my preferred size Australian not Italian. Only mark I need is a red dot at 10 ( most Australian pubs open at 10 ) that’s a start drinking mark
And your upside down thing is wrong
That may seem obvious, but my 'upside-down' map confounds most people who see it. But of course it does: Even NASA has been known to flip photos of the Earth taken from space which depict south on top of the globe to avoid creating confusion.
Edited:
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