OK, so I want to be the new watch man

[yahdmon]

A few years ago, everyone was predicting the demise of wrist watches.

They were saying it would be one of the things that will be non existent after not too long, as the cell phone became more prevalent. They reasoned that because everyone had time on their cell phones, many were already not wearing a wrist watch and would not wear one as cell phone saturation hits the world. That has not happend as far as I can tell.

Prices of watches have come down however, but one can still buy, and many are still buying, watches and high-end watches... I did and many of you have, I am sure.

Anyway, I will be creating a new wrist watch.

I have several improvements for the watch with design not now in the marketplace and I have been searching for weeks now. I won't say my improvement but you can help by saying what are the annoyances of a wrist watch to you.

I have found weight or size does not matter, as each person has different tastes in watches; in fact, I have seen some watches on wrists that were you to remove the band you could hang it on the wall and have a clock. I have seen thin ones, fat ones, long ones (for real) and short ones so this is a very broad market with differing likes and dislikes.

No, I have not chosen a watchmaker as yet.

I do not have a name for it as yet.

I do not have the sales outlet defined as yet either.

But I have found that all that does not matter starting out as it relates to fastlane items.

What matters is that one get in their fastlane vehicle and start moving forward.

You see, what many do not know is that there is a preprogramed GPS already built into that fastlane vehicle you are getting into and it will guide you along the journey on the fastlane. One only need to heed the voice of this device. I have proven this. Many of you have also.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

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[Vigilante]

The generation starting with 20'somethings doesn't wear watches. However, that doesn't mean if you come up with an interesting niche you can't sell it from 30-60 year olds. Just be mindful of who the market is. If the watch does anything that an app can do, you still lose the upcoming generation.

 

[rocksolid]

I am a left handed person and all watches seem to be made for a right handed person. I wear my watch on the right wrist. The dial to adjust the watch is on the right side of the watch. Now, this is not that big a deal, but is a bit annoying to me

 

[yahdmon]

Thanked you..

It addresses this issue perfectly featurewise.

I am a left handed person and all watches seem to be made for a right handed person. I wear my watch on the right wrist. The dial to adjust the watch is on the right side of the watch. Now, this is not that big a deal, but is a bit annoying to me

 

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[Jake]

Mechanical or Digital? Do you know what type of movements you'll be using?

I'm under 30(not much longer) and I appreciate nice watches. They're definitely NOT coming down in price, that's for sure

 

[mayana]

I'm not sure if it's really true in all cases that watches are losing popularity among the younger generations. I have a teenager (...where did the time go?) and all of her friends wear watches. She has several (not expensive). I'm sure that when they start earning their own money they will buy more expensive watches. I don't know about boys her age, but I'd be willing to bet that they wear watches, too.

Wearing a watch is a lot more convenient than pulling a cellphone out of your pocket/purse. Also, there are places you can't or shouldn't bring your phone to, but you still need to know the time.

I say that the watch market still has a few decades left to it... and that's enough for you!

 

[Kak]

The generation starting with 20'somethings doesn't wear watches. However, that doesn't mean if you come up with an interesting niche you can't sell it from 30-60 year olds. Just be mindful of who the market is. If the watch does anything that an app can do, you still lose the upcoming generation.

I love watches. I currently wear a baume and mercier riveria chronograph diver.

Im 22.

Heres the thing with watches, if it is not a switch watch I won't buy it anymore because I have 2. I am fine with spending a spare few grand on a watch because it is about like wearing a small savings on your wrist. You can usually get the money back if you got a good deal. I also just like them.

Watches under $500 are typically fashion watches that are made in china and break in a year. Id rather just not wear a watch.

 

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[yahdmon]

They will be mechanical types.

I am not a watch engineer so I do not know the makeup of a watch. I will know more than I know at the end of this journey, thats for sure, right now however I am not the expert I will/need-to be.

Mechanical or Digital? Do you know what type of movements you'll be using?

I'm under 30(not much longer) and I appreciate nice watches. They're definitely NOT coming down in price, that's for sure

 

[Jake]

They will be mechanical types.

I am not a watch engineer so I do not know the makeup of a watch. I will know more than I know at the end of this journey, thats for sure, right now however I am not the expert I will/need-to be.

Time to get educated! A lot of companies were using ETA movements. It's a popular Swiss movement but they semi-recently stopped selling them to the outside world and now only produce for the Swatch group. A lot of companies who were using ETA's made the switch over to Miyota which some people say is just as good, and cheaper, but it's not Swiss which carries a lot of weight in the watch world.

I'd do some reading and figure out what it is that you want to do because building a movement from the ground up is going to take a lot of money and expertise. Much easier to create a new design while using a time-tested movement to power it.

Keep us posted as it's something that I'm interested in even if it is just designing a watch for my own personal enjoyment.

 

[Jake]

I am fine with spending a spare few grand on a watch because it is about like wearing a small savings on your wrist. You can usually get the money back if you got a good deal. I also just like them.

Exactly. Savings you can enjoy. It's good to store some value outside of the financial system as well.

 

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[GuestUser152]

I am 17 and absolutely love watches. Yes, I keep my phone on me 24/7, but I love watches. I get them for my birthday, Christmas, and pretty much anytime in between. The younger generation may not be as out of things as a lot of people seem to think. Also, this made me think of another potentially fastlane business. I have a friend who has an AquaMaster watch that was given to him. It's worth about 15 grand. For those of you who don't know AquaMaster is a luxury watch brand who services a lot of rappers, (50 cent, Sean Combs, etc.) so anyways the pins that hold the links in this watch broke and he called AquaMaster to order new pins. Well, first they asked who he was to which he replied, "Carson" they then asked "Carson, who?" lol. So pretty much they weren't interested in helping him out because he wasn't a celebrity. So anyways finally they told him pins were $12 a piece, but then they never answered his calls after for him to make an order. He has gone to several watch shops and no one can repair the pins because the AquaMaster watches have a special screw/spring loaded pin mechanism. So the point of all this is that if someone wanted to make watch parts that worked with these high end luxurious watches for cheaper I'm sure they could have a great business going. Not just AquaMaster, but just providing an alternative to any high end jeweler. It's a great business tactic for them, creating a problem to which they only have the answer, but it's a better one for a third-party to provide another solution.

 

[awesom-o]

They will be mechanical types.

I am not a watch engineer so I do not know the makeup of a watch. I will know more than I know at the end of this journey, thats for sure, right now however I am not the expert I will/need-to be.

I deal in luxury wristwatch spares and have connections within the trade. I can tell you that if you strike the right balance there is a lot of money to be made in this industry - perhaps designing your own watch isn't the way to go there are other ways you can get into this niche and be very successful.

Watch making is an art and requires at least 3 years attending a swiss 'watchmaker school' then become an apprentice for a number of years before you become of the standard. At the very least you require understanding of the internal workings of a time piece this above suggests otherwise.

Not sure if you're aware but a recent project for an ipod nano based watch on kickstarter raised almost $1m.
TikTok+LunaTik Multi-Touch Watch Kits by Scott Wilson + MINIMAL — Kickstarter
Defiantly one of those 'why didn't I think of that moments' simple yet brilliantly executed.

 

[Vigilante]

Better take a photo of this post and save it for posterity. ;-)

I was wrong. Looks like (from the responses on this thread) that the 20 somethings are still fair game for watches!

 

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[Kak]

It may be an entrepreneur thing... Fine watches are a symbol of success. (notice I didn't say status, most of us want success more than status)

 

[Rickson9]

The mistake is to believe that watches are used to tell time. Perhaps for your grandfather it is. Patek Philip watches are used to tell time asmuch as Lambos are used to go from A to B. Fossil watches built an empire over the last dozen years selling status and cachet for your wrist.

To advertise one's success is to advertise one's status. The ego is never satisfied.

 

[JEdwards]

I'd do some reading and figure out what it is that you want to do because building a movement from the ground up is going to take a lot of money and expertise. Much easier to create a new design while using a time-tested movement to power it.

It's about TIME someone created a new watch company... Do not build your own movement, just make the look and feel and market the hell out of it.

I went to the JCK show last year, the Jewelry store convention in Vegas. (not open to the public) Pretty cool when a company pulls out one tray of diamonds that is half a million bucks.. just to look and see they have 50 trays.. Billions are represented.

Saw a diamond that was 1 million bucks.. wholesale... I am not easily impressed.. but that was pretty neat.

You need to make time to go there, set up a booth, Thousands of jewelry store owners will walk by, Pitch them.. Easy..

 

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[andviv]

selling status and cachet for your wrist.

Ding ding ding ding...

This is it.

You are selling fashion, not time-telling.

To advertise one's success is to advertise one's status. The ego is never satisfied.

Correct-o-mundo!

And that is why the market will probably keep moving between the super-expensive/fancy/luxurious and the $10 a piece to match some casual design.

 

[Jake]

It's about TIME someone created a new watch company... Do not build your own movement, just make the look and feel and market the hell out of it.

I went to the JCK show last year, the Jewelry store convention in Vegas. (not open to the public) Pretty cool when a company pulls out one tray of diamonds that is half a million bucks.. just to look and see they have 50 trays.. Billions are represented.

Saw a diamond that was 1 million bucks.. wholesale... I am not easily impressed.. but that was pretty neat.

You need to make time to go there, set up a booth, Thousands of jewelry store owners will walk by, Pitch them.. Easy..

I'm not a diamond guy and I definitely do not want diamonds on my watches but while on the subject:

"Many companies are targeting high-end buyers these days, but Hublot is taking it a step further, by introducing a watch loaded with more than 1,200 diamonds worth a cool $5 million."

 

[Mike39]

The generation starting with 20'somethings doesn't wear watches. However, that doesn't mean if you come up with an interesting niche you can't sell it from 30-60 year olds. Just be mindful of who the market is. If the watch does anything that an app can do, you still lose the upcoming generation.

Well I wear (wore) a watch,

There are 2 types of watch wearers my age, the I can afford a nice watch kids and the I wear some crappy digital watch kids, then there is the majority of kids who don't wear watches at all but rather spend their money elsewhere. But you won't sell a kid a $1,000 watch that's for sure.

I don't really wear it much anymore because (for us kids) it is just another materialistic item used to project wealth, there is no REAL reason to have a watch at our age, you can just pull out your phone and check the time.

In fact I have several watches from over the years:

 

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[Mike39]

They will be mechanical types.

I am not a watch engineer so I do not know the makeup of a watch. I will know more than I know at the end of this journey, thats for sure, right now however I am not the expert I will/need-to be.

There is a watch I bought more than a year ago at nordstroms, it was like $15 and it is STILL keeping time perfectly, all it says on the face is Titanium Quartz, and Metal Bezel Japan Movement on the back base, just thought that was an interesting fact you might want to look into, I am not sure about the price range of your watches but that may be a low production cost option!

 

[yahdmon]

I am a can-do type of guy and is realising this of late and reading MFL only helped to solidify who I thought I was. You ain't seen nothing yet. Much more to come.

Noted all you have said and I thank you. I figure it will be a 2-3 year plan so it will be a while.

Right now just waiting on name-inspiration genie to show up. Once that happens, once we have a name it will be off and running with images and brands and covering the bases and then begin talking with persons who can help bring this to fruition. Its all a dream now, but after not too long it shall surely be a physical entity that one can touch and feel, better yet -- BUY.

 

[Kak]

So what will your pricing strategy be? On one hand prestigious watches are really cool and worth a lot of money. On the other hand, the quote from someone asking which company you would rather own, Rolls Royce or Toyota comes to mind. Of course Toyota is worth much more because its product appeals to a wider range of people.

 

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[Rickson9]

Tom and Kosta Kartsotis started Fossil almost 2 decades ago. They named their company after their father, whom they thought looked so old they called him a 'fossil'.

Originally the brothers had the idea of going to China and having knock-offs made of expensive watches at the time. Margins were slim and competition (especially in China where everything is copied) was brutal. They switched gears and tried to find a way to differentiate themselves. They hit upon old Americana designs that started selling really well. Over the years they continued to branch out, becoming a design-house for companies who wanted a watch line but didn't have watch-making expertise. They started making watches for the NFL, Disney, Burberry, Diesel, DKNY, Armani, Michael Kors, etc. Many watches are created by Fossil, but the public doesn't know it. Each watch line has their own branding so there's no need to identify it as a Fossil watch.

The brothers own approximately 20% of the company. 15 years ago they were a 'small' $500m company generating approximately $70m in profit. Today they are 10x bigger and the Kartsotis brothers went from having nothing to $150m in Fossil stock (when I found them) to billionaires today.

I basically made 10x my money doing absolutely nothing except ride the coattails of a couple of talented entrepreneurs. It just goes to show you that if you don't have the ability to be an entrepreneur doesn't mean you can't make a bit of money - you just need to find really talented entrepreneurs and have them carry you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil,_Inc.

 

[yahdmon]

This is a very inspiring story Rickson9 and as you have spoken about them, someday someone will speak of me in the same light, though it might not be from having created a high end watch brand, but I know I will be doing something great.

Thanks for the inspiration and your time... gave you some speed for it too.

Tom and Kosta Kartsotis started Fossil almost 2 decades ago. They named their company after their father, whom they thought looked so old they called him a 'fossil'.

Originally the brothers had the idea of going to China and having knock-offs made of expensive watches at the time. Margins were slim and competition (especially in China where everything is copied) was brutal. They switched gears and tried to find a way to differentiate themselves. They hit upon old Americana designs that started selling really well. Over the years they continued to branch out, becoming a design-house for companies who wanted a watch line but didn't have watch-making expertise. They started making watches for the NFL, Disney, Burberry, Diesel, DKNY, Armani, Michael Kors, etc. Many watches are created by Fossil, but the public doesn't know it. Each watch line has their own branding so there's no need to identify it as a Fossil watch.

The brothers own approximately 20% of the company. 15 years ago they were a 'small' $500m company generating approximately $70m in profit. Today they are 10x bigger and the Kartsotis brothers went from having nothing to $150m in Fossil stock (when I found them) to billionaires today.

I basically made 10x my money doing absolutely nothing except ride the coattails of a couple of talented entrepreneurs. It just goes to show you that if you don't have the ability to be an entrepreneur doesn't mean you can't make a bit of money - you just need to find really talented entrepreneurs and have them carry you.

Fossil, Inc. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[BrucetonGuy]

By reading this thread, I lost track of time......sorry couldn't resist. Thought I would spill some humor with my 100th post.

 

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[theag]

I'm curious where you will go with this idea. I'm 22 and I loved watches since I can think, as does my dad. My everyday watch is a $100 fossil, a present from my girlfriend. I also own a omega speedmaster special edition in carbon look, which was previously owned by my dad and a present from him for my graduation, but right now its at home in the safe until I'm worth wearing such a watch. Definitely looking forward to spending my own money on a few nice pieces in a few years

 

[yahdmon]

When GM wants to build a new vehicle, they put together the plan, start design and then allow the designers to do what they do and then the buyers source the various parts which will makeup this new vehicle.

Sometimes it works well, sometimes it does not.

I'm curious where you will go with this idea. I'm 22 and I loved watches since I can think, as does my dad. My everyday watch is a $100 fossil, a present from my girlfriend. I also own a omega speedmaster special edition in carbon look, which was previously owned by my dad and a present from him for my graduation, but right now its at home in the safe until I'm worth wearing such a watch. Definitely looking forward to spending my own money on a few nice pieces in a few years

I am at the gathering stage, putting together the various elements that make up a quality watch. The designing of the external shell will follow and then we source that. Mind you, I do not know exactly how that process goes. The engine of the watch will probably be swiss, I do not know if they can do the outer parts too or if I will need to get someone else to do that and that is where I am now -- two days after speaking my vision.