The watch business loves celebrating milestones, far more than even its close cousin, the jewellery trade. For evidence, simply look at all the watch brand and model anniversaries this year, and the amount of attention devoted to the same. Counting this very story, to say there is milestone mania afoot is putting it mildly. Even without performing a comparison against the big names in luxury, most of which are outside watchmaking, there really does seem to be an awful lot of cake going about. Brands are even celebrating important models and, bizarrely, collectors get into it too.
Still, not every brand engages and one notable absence actually proves that the anniversary fever is real. Rolex was founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis and any fool can tell you that this year ought to be something special. You will not find anything of note about this on the Rolex website though – you will not even find any special mention of the watches celebrating key birthdays this year, the GMT-Master II and the Datejust. To be fair, there is a new authorised and official Rolex book on the Datejust this year, Oyster Perpetual Datejust – A Watch that Made History by Nicholas Foulkes but it feels like it could have been released in any year. The press release does not make much noise about the 1945 debut of the watch, other than to simply mention it, almost as a BTW, to be as casual as possible.
A little across the way from Rolex in Geneva, another brand also keeps it very quiet when it comes to feting itself. Patek Philippe was founded in 1839 and the most notable thing that emerged from the manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates last year was the Cubitus. The brand did make a splash in 2014 with the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175 but this too was more a story about an amazing watch than some kind of anniversary special. Needless to say, amazing watches give relevance to anniversaries, making them impactful far beyond their debuts and whatever anniversaries they might have celebrated.
For watch collectors though, interest in all things Rolex and Patek Philippe is strong. Thus, we know that many will remind us that 1908 is the year Rolex prefers to honour, as evidenced by a certain collection. It has not escaped us, but we also recall that not much happened in 2008 nor 2018. Once again, there might be interesting watches or collections but this only shows that the most important names in watchmaking are keeping it real with a focus on timekeeping. This bit remains true of the other big players who are celebrating in outsized ways this year: Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. Both have standout watches, yet both are also partying hard, especially the latter.
Of course, these are only the tip of the anniversary iceberg this year. The editors of WOW find themselves absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information on major milestones this year, while also being curious about the brands that let the work speak for itself. They may not come to any conclusions, if they ever do, but there might be an ‘aha’ moment or two in the following discussion.
RC: Hello, dear WOW colleagues. I have been on a horological roller coaster ride for the past two months, professionally and personally. For the latter, I should say for the record that I did not win one of the 10 M.A.D.1s watches offered as prizes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of MB&F. It is my second failed attempt to win a M.A.D.1s raffle. Well, maybe one day.
DG: Ah yes, the raffle system from MB&F… Not to rub salt into your wounds but I was recently speaking with a industry colleague and he signed up for the M.A.D 2 raffle just on a whim, saying he’ll probably never get it and guess what? He turned up a couple of weeks ago with one on his wrist. He even went all the way to the M.A.D. House in Geneva to pick it up during Geneva Watch Days. Apart from that, I also found it incredibly amusing that there was the 20th anniversary raffle that will give away 10 Legacy Machine 101 Longhorn priced at CHF 58,000 each to “Tribe” members! What a way to celebrate a milestone.
AS: I’m M.A.D. as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore! I did not enter the latest raffle for the M.A.D. watch, or rather I would have not entered had I not been automatically enrolled… There is a limit to how much hope I can muster and how much disappointment I can take. Of course, I did not win but I am now a three-time loser. So, thanks for that, I guess… If there is ever a M.A.D. Loser edition, count me in MB&F! Also, on a happier note and for the record, happy anniversary Max and all the Friends!
DG: Yeah, not winning the chance to buy a watch is one thing, but not winning a free watch probably stings a little more. I suppose another way to look at it is also like the lottery; there are people taking home lifechanging money every other month it would seem. And here I am never having won so much as lunch money from one of these things…
AS: Well, I did win a watch once, but I think it means more to have the chance to buy the thing, or win it at auction (when you still have to pay). I am not sure how I feel about the watch I won (to whom it might concern, if you are reading this, it is not the watch you are thinking of) but anyway… It is hard to believe that it was 20 years ago that the MB&F story began, and 2005 was also the 250th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin. As it happens, that was my own debut in the world of professional watch punditry so I guess I have my own 20th anniversary to celebrate…just not with a M.A.D. watch!
RC: The day is October 22 now
AS: Well, you guys know that there is literally a new watch for me but that is elsewhere in this issue
DG: I really like the Laureato Fifty as well, I like how they went subtle with their celebrations. Just a nice, classy three-hander, unlike some other brands which we will probably get into later (although those are good too, albeit more complex). And what a motivation to get the Laureato Fifty then Ashok! Most people will settle for a birth year watch, but this is a birth year collection, and even a limited edition to celebrate the same birthday as you do! I would say it would be the perfect way to get over the MB&F raffles, but it seems you already bought another grail watch this year.
“In an industry that places so much emphasis on tradition and heritage, the ability to say ‘look, we have been around for more than two and a half centuries,’ really helps to cement positions, at least in terms of seniority” — Daniel Goh, Editor-in-Chief, WOW Malaysia
AS: Well, as I wrote in the story about the watch I bought (one of them), sometimes the watch finds you, even if you never went looking for it. But I recall reading your story Dan, about watch collection anniversaries versus brand anniversaries – that was in relation to the Hublot Big Bang I think? Something like the Laureato and, of course the Big Bang, gives brands the chance to focus singularly on just one aspect; to go hard on the product, so to speak. Brands sometimes do themselves in with all these anniversaries… I have seen so many Jaeger-LeCoultre ones that I am not even sure what the next celebration will be for; that is just one example but you can also insert A. Lange & Söhne, Blancpain, Breguet, Cartier and plenty more besides, just going alphabetically. The difference here is that the Laureato is not something that regularly gets the spotlight so it makes more sense to be tactical than strategic. I think collectors care more about watches than they do about brands, although there are exceptions.
DG: Yeah, but for Hublot, even though it was a collection anniversary instead of a brand anniversary, I think the Big Bang was pretty much… well the Big Bang for Hublot. In the sense that the Big Bang collection and its ethos practically defined Hublot. Kind of like how the Bell & Ross BR 01, which also celebrates its 20th anniversary, defined Bell & Ross as the brand with a square, cockpit gauge-inspired aviation watch. This design language and identity persists today.
RC: Back when I was a simple collector, I was only partially mindful of anniversaries. I didn’t have to consciously anticipate upcoming brand or collection anniversaries for work reasons. But now I do, and I have gone from looking one year ahead to looking two years ahead already. That is why I can tell right now that Girard-Perregaux will celebrate 160 years of the Three Bridges in 2027, for example. And, to reply to Ashok, we may see some nice Reverso models in April as the collection should celebrate its 95th anniversary next year.
DG: I think also why anniversaries seem more prevalent these days is, one: I feel like there have been more brands added to the luxury watchmaking industry in the last decades. And two: I think in this era of the industry, brands really understand the value of anniversaries. Take Breguet and Vacheron Constantin for example. They celebrate 250 and 270 years respectively and in an industry that places so much emphasis on tradition and heritage, the ability to say ‘look, we have been around for more than two and a half centuries,’ really helps to cement their positions, at least in terms of seniority.
AS: I have gone the opposite way to Ruckdee with regard to anniversaries, and I really do appreciate when brands keep it low-key in most instances. You know, save it for when it really counts, as Daniel rightly points out with Breguet and Vacheron Constantin. Of course, I must bring The Crown into this because that is one brand that regularly deflates anniversary talk and just does whatever it pleases. According to Rolex, this is an anniversary year for the GMT-Master but the brand has kept it on the down-low, as nobody says anymore. There was a nice exhibition in Hong Kong and Singapore, but that is it. Too many special editions and birthdays do not mean much, in my opinion; they can have unintended negative results. Funnily enough, I think it was the Bell & Ross founders who were or are quite dismissive of brand anniversaries. I asked them about it years ago and they just looked at each other and shrugged. But, they feel differently about model milestones.
Read more from original article, all rights reserved The Anniversary Effect: The Meaning of Milestones in Watchmaking
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