Hmm, interesting; I think this might spell doom for Omega's vintage lines for collectors if Omega were to follow suit. I'm assuming that any watch given to Omega for such a program would be met with the standard 'LET'S CHANGE EVERYTHING AND MAKE IT SHINY NEW!'
But what if the original manufacturers started to offer "museum restorations" where they would work with the owner to determine the exact level of restoration or conservation required? I know some smaller makers offer similar services. While we in the UK are blessed with STS, I could see such a service being inundated with work from the far east, middle east and maybe even the US. The obvious stumbling block would be getting the personnel - even in Switzerland - because such talent can set up on their own relatively easily and name their price. I say this while sitting outside one of my watchmakers' waiting for him to come home, with a wallet full of 20s and a bag full of watches.
This could be the start of a wider trend in the industry....
Mr. Büsser emphasized that the models will be limited editions no longer available at retail “because I don’t want my retailers to think I’m competing with them”
“If you can create a certified secondary market then it’s going to change a lot of the dynamic in the gray market,” said Edouard Meylan, chief executive of the boutique Swiss brand H. Moser & Cie, which plans to start selling certified pre-owned models on its website this year.
Similar to what a lot of the luxury car dealers are doing. Take a trade-in from a customer, give it a full service with factory replacement parts if needed and sell for 50% to 80% of new, but with a warranty similar to that on a new watch. AP Royal Oaks would be good candidates for this treatment.
At 10:40 François states his intention to enter the pre-owned AP market in 2-3 yrs...sees this as the next big thing in the watch industry (similar to certified pre-owned cars).
That would certainly be amenable, however I suspect that there might be issues with recreating certain parts from old movements, as well as bits like bezels, crowns, endlinks and the like. Also, they need to be functionally reliable as well as being cosmetically true.
Though, maybe if there was enough scale, they could be able to produce them. Then inversely, I think, the value of pre-loved watches would climb, offering 'real, actual, genuine' crowns etc as opposed to 'period correct', 'replacement' or 'service' items from the certified pre-owned watches.
Ofcourse, all of this is purely hypothetical....
I'm far from an expert on this but I would think that given the advanced capabilities of laser scanning, 3d printing, and rapid prototyping, re-creating "original" parts would not be cost prohibitive. With a suitable original part in hand, how difficult/expensive would it be to re-make various bits?
I'm far from an expert on this but I would think that given the advanced capabilities of laser scanning, 3d printing, and rapid prototyping, re-creating "original" parts would not be cost prohibitive. With a suitable original part in hand, how difficult/expensive would it be to re-make various bits?
