Brand Dilution
OPINION
What do you call pieces like the Aquanaut minute repeater and Travis Scott Quantiemme Perpetual? They feel like anomalies or aberrations when held against the respective brand’s portfolio of work. A sports watch with no water resistance and “cactus jack” scrawled on the dial of the QP. These things make an armchair consumer like me ask what was going on in Le Brassus and Plan-les-Ouates.
The Royal Oak collaboration with Travis Scott is marketing. It is a marketing move that encroaches on the brand identity. When your company has more products that function as marketing than as product you lose your brand to the associations of your collaborators or your product falls into the limited edition vortex. “When everyone is super, no one will be” to quote a potential Royal Oak collaborator (Pixar another Disney-owned potential collaborator?).
The AP QP feels particularly on trend of fast-and-loose collaborations which add no value to the broader world of horology. At least with the Marvel watches you can argue there is some value-added through the sculptural carving of the figures on the dial. Imagine if the QP had some sort of actual complication or animation?
It doesn’t matter what I think of course, but it’s interesting to ask what the net effect is of design choices such as these, on their respective brand. These questions have been endless since the debut of the Moonswatches. Do haute horology brands need democratization? They do not. I don’t want my opinion to be misconstrued as simply disliking Travis Scott having a collab or distaste for a Swiss brand working with a rapper because that is far, far from my opinion. I simply think that two names coming together should yield something greater than a new color and some squiggly writing.
I hate a “collab” in 2023 which is merely the addition of a logo, line of text, etc. These collaborations were born of historically rare watches that used co-branding as acknowledgment of the work that a partner retailer contributed to the distribution of a watch brands product. The analysis of collaborations can go deeper but let’s keep it horological.
The valid and historical collaboration products:
Are unique
Have a purpose
Are creative
May be tasteful or discreet
Bring something to the table that could not be accomplished by one company alone
The Opus series from Harry Winston is an example of good collaboration. MB&F is an example of good collaboration. This QP has “unique” down. I actually kind of enjoy the materials and hand written dial. That’s about it. My dislike for this watch is conceptual.
Does Travis Scott contribute to the distribution of AP? Has AP been tracking referrals to the brand from his music? It’s contrived. A job well done to Mr. Scott’s business team, as I’m sure the checks are fat. He has moved like a whirlwind through every conceivable collaboration opportunity. McDonald’s, Fortnite, Nike, PlayStation, Reese’s Puffs. This is what the vaunted AP brand is aligning itself with. A series of cheap mass-market appeals to the covetous nature of humans who need popular acceptance. The “happy meal toy” analogy is perhaps even more appropriate for the Travis Scott QP than the Moonswatch with this brand alignment in mind.
Lest we forget, a key element of this release was the “merch” on the Cactus Jack website. There were dozens of AP X TRAVIS SCOTT items… t-shirts, hoodies, jewelry. Mayday, mayday: the Supreme-ification of product launches has reached horology. Again, this is something that the Swatch moonswatch release hinted at.
Regarding the bedazzled Aquanaut, my issue is not the use of gemstones. It is that PP has released so many gem-set pieces recently that this feels less like a magnificent unveiling of a grand undertaking, which could push a brands boundaries and instead appears more like a cash grab. This reference is the answer to the question “how can we put a 1-2m USD price tag on the Aquanaut”. As an enthusiast this rubs me the wrong way since again, it does not appear that PP is creating a piece for the pursuit of horological advancement but for the benefit of the people who need to relocate 1-2m.
Refer to Rolex 16568 with baguette bezel and dial with emerald indices. This is a rare watch and it’s meant to be. It also did not forego its water resistance for a feature no one needed in their water resistant chronograph. Unfortunately in the case of the PP, it just feels again, like buying into a trend.
Trendiness, collaborations, marketing stunts, and all of the forces that draw eyes will kill some brands, and the careful application of these techniques will lift others. It is my view that the watch world is smart enough to know the difference between a company that is pursuing the immediate dollar for the long term golden egg.
I would like to see a heritage brand release a real, new complication with input from an up and comer. Something like Rexhep & Louis.