3-Watch Thursday #50
Time for a sprinkle of some opinion
Good morning team,
I hope you’re all well. Welcome to 3-Watch Thursday #50. Apologies for missing last week’s issue. I was super busy settling into work and it completely passed me (onboarding definitely took its toll).
That said, back to our normal scheduling this week and hopefully with a couple of small changes going forward.
One big thing I’d like to do is expand on 3-Watch Thursday a bit from recommendations into some slightly longer researched pieces.
Recommending 3 pieces of watch media each week has been great through uni to stay engaged, but as I find myself with more well-defined free time I hope to throw in a few more researched pieces of my own here and there.
Hopefully, that sounds like something worth subscribing to.
Recently, www.owenlawton.uk went live!!!🥳
It’s a portfolio website bringing together all of my work (including this weekly newsletter).
I would 11/10 appreciate a bit of traffic if you get some spare time, you know for the *algorithm*
:))
This Week’s Big News
2 big stories this week with the Blancpain X Swatch release (lol) and the new Apple Watch Series 9 & Ultra 2.
Starting with the Blancpain X Swatch, as a new Blancpain loyalist thanks to *that* set No. 1/99 Blancpain Masterpiece Collection, the Fifty Fathoms has never really been a watch that appeals to me.
I get the history of being the oldest diving watch etc etc, but compared to something like the Rolex Submariner it’s always felt like a watch that’s failed to modernise (much like the brand as a whole).
Blancpain’s golden era for value is truly the early 90s under JCB.
So where does this new release leave the brand?
Undoubtedly it’s brought eyeballs from far and wide to the brand but with it a lot of scutiny. Scalpers will scalp, but there appears to be less hype for several reasons.
Firstly, the price.
More expensive = less accessible.
One of the big things the Moonswatch had was it was in that range that a young person could feasibly save for. When I mean young I mean in school. They might have to save hard, but they definitely saved and bought Moonswatches. The Blancpain is almost twice the price means they’re priced out.
Brands fail to realise this is the generation that drives the hype side of the internet. To take off on TikTok, reels, or shorts these are the people who need to be behind it. They consume, like, share and interact with content at ungodly speeds.
Secondly, the recognition.
As someone who’s been aware of Blancpain for most of my watch journey so far, I’m not about to sit here and just expect every person who bought a Moonswatch to even have heard of Blancpain, but this is more than just the inevitable poorly made sequel.
Blancpain just isn’t as recognisable as Omega.
I’m curious about the measures for success internally at Swatch for this release. Are they the same as the original Moonswatch measures that were surely shattered? Or are they inflated by the success of the Moonswatch?
With the lack of mainstream hype for this drop, I suspect the watches will be readily available in all colourways soon.
Finally, the sustainability.
Before this week, I believed that luxury watch brands could say whatever about sustainable commitments and people would buy.
Greenwashing or genuine, I perceived sustainable credentials as being low on the list for most consumers when buying watches.
Then the Blancpain X Swatch dropped with the Sistem 51 movement.
While certainly not a luxury watch I have never seen so much hate from the mainstream hype and culture media over a lack of sustainability in a watch.
People noticed.
The same people who drove the hype of the Moonswatch.
The same people who care about the climate, the oceans and saving the planet.
The oceans that this watch represents.
It all seems too poetic really that the Millennials and Gen Zers that this watch is primarily targeted at are also those who tend to get behind the social causes that this disposable, consumable watch is at odds with.
lol
For what it’s worth, that’s my opinion.
I guess in the eyes of Chris Hall this qualifies me as an armchair watch brand consultant, but as someone who engages in the content that drove the Moonswatch to stardom and who engages in the mainstream watch media it’s been fascinating to compare the two launches and consider the differences.
I truly don’t know what this could do to Blancpain, all I feel is this watch might well be considered a flop in months to come and it’s a far cry from the golden era of Blancpain.
Side note: If you want some entertainment and unfiltered coverage of what it was like to queue for one of the new Blancpain X Swatch watches, go check out jumpingjalapeno on Instagram for his highlights of spending the small hours with the scalpers.
Apple Watch Series 9 & Ultra
Somehow I feel compelled to write about the Apple Watch releases this week but then again my daily is *shock* an Apple Watch Series 7.
Usually, it’s this time of year I get excited about the new iPhone release, never to buy, but to see the new or old tech that everyone else would spend the year copying from Apple.
This year, no such excitement as the iPhone 15 was no major update over the 14, or 13, or 12 for that matter.
But then the Apple Watch Series 9 dropped with some decent upgrades.
For those interested the new chip uses 5nm processing to pack more transistors than ever into it.
As a science nerd, this excited me greatly.
A human hair is around 10,000 times as wide as 5nm.
Some cool new features were added that I won’t bore you with when you can go watch an MKBHD or Snazzy Labs1 video if you really care, but watches are watches and there’s no reason to hate the second biggest driver for people getting into watches (after the Moonswatch of course2).
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From A Young Founder, a New Luxury Watch Brand
This article caught my attention this week with the release of images of the new Fleming watches.
Many of you will know waitlisted on Instagram as the watch photographer and the COO of Fleming named after CEO Thomas Fleming (pictured).
The story was cool, and it’s interesting to hear the development direction they’re already working on.
Can’t wait to see what else is in store! (and maybe possibly hopefully the chance to shoot them if I ask really nicely and say please a lot).
Cartier’s Luxury Design Philosophy
I would love to know a bit more about Cartier. The information is out there but it just needs reading/finding.
That said from a complete outsider, this little reel of one of my favourite brand analysis Instagramers orenmeetsworld, features Cartier and their design philosophy.
I think he hits the nail on the head. Summarising accurately and succinctly why Cartier is synonymous with elegance, style and class.
If you’re interested in other branding and style opinions, drop his Instagram page a visit.
That’ll be all from me this week.
I really hope you enjoyed the slightly longer form part earlier on.
I’ve got some other topics pre-planned but given the recent news and my already-formed opinion, it felt like a no-brainer to go for the Blancpain X Swatch release this week.
See you next week!
Owen
For those who are into tech, Snazzy Labs is a big watch guy. I think he once did a video of his mechanical watch collection.
This ‘fact‘ has absolutely no basis, please don’t take this comment as fact.