In my professional life I’ve tried to train myself to remember that insights alone aren’t worth nearly as much as those associated with implications and possible courses of action. With that in mind, in this Audicle I’m going to outline (with some help from a watch industry legend…) what I think various watch industry stakeholders could do if they believe, like I do, that the lights have been turned on and it’s time to leave the party that’s been happening since 2020.

Going forward, I do believe that the watch industry will face a contraction. However, this does not mean the luxury watch industry is going away, but rather that brands will have to be hyper-focused on the return of their marketing spend.

It seems to me that WRC is an untapped market and presents a favorable test-bed for the development of new markets and customers.

For those who only came into watches during the pandemic, it can be hard to believe that the watch industry would behave in any other way than a rocket ship upwards, but actually the intensity of the market’s recent surge has been nothing short of remarkable.

I’m a huge Omega fan and have previously given a pass to their larger sizes, but the diameters and thicknesses that seem to feature in every new model announcement are leading some in the watch community to ask if Omega is paying attention to what the market actually wants

I have not tried all of the world’s hobbies, but I have a hard time thinking that many of them could be more addictive and bottomless than watch collecting; one day you’re thinking “I’m looking for a nice watch, that’s all I’ll need”, and the next you’re weighing out different GMT options because you’re driving over to your in-laws’ place for the weekend.

One of the more intriguing features ChatGPT is rolling out is “GPTs’’ along with an associated store, where people can create their own chatbots, essentially AI “apps” trained to do one thing in particular.

I thought it would be interesting to create a GPT that enables watch sellers to create better sales listings, of course with the goal of maximizing their sales revenues, and one of the factors I baked in was timing. In other words, if you have the option of waiting “is now the best time to sell, based on industry or macro-specific factors?”

Since we’re at the end of the year, trend predictions for the upcoming one are always popular, so I thought: “why not give the GPT a shot”?

The Ralph Lauren brand set up its watch portfolio in the worlds of motoring, equestrian, and safari-style watches for their collection, but me describing them this way does no justice to the beauty and uniqueness of how some of these watches turned out.

In my opinion, the mismanagement of the mainline Fifty Fathoms (not the Bathyscaphe line) exceeds even the baffling decision by IWC to wait until late last year to join the integrated bracelet sports watch crowd with its own icon, the Ingenieur, and I’m shocked that Blancpain continues to stumble forward with such an important piece of watch history.

Vintage watches are bullshit.

The truth is that if you love watches, you love, well, watches plural, and it will be very hard to commit to just one watch for the rest of your life. Like Jason (and probably every one of you reading this), I’ve tried many, many times to commit to just the idea of one watch, and every time I’ve failed miserably.

A common theme in my writing is a frustration at “zombie opinions”, views that are widely shared, stated almost reflexively, without much thought, and that keep stumbling along despite tangible evidence to the contrary.

The view that Hublot produces nothing but horological trash, undeserving of any respect, is one such opinion. It needs to go from “undead” to fully dead, and there is plenty to work with to make that case.

Luxury watches have an undeniable appeal that goes beyond their mere functionality, and that appeal has only grown with the rise of social media and its associated “flex culture”. Supply and demand considerations aside, the inherent qualities of craftsmanship and timelessness mean that the price tags that accompany them often make them seem out of reach. Fortunately, purchasing a luxury watch pre-owned can be a smart alternative that offers several advantages over buying new.

When we dismiss a watch as a “fashion watch”, we’re making two criticisms at once. First, that the watch is designed to look good for a brief moment in time, in keeping with a trend, after which point it will no longer be needed. Second, because of the fleeting nature of the watch’s looks, it doesn’t have to be made well, so it must inherently be a cheap, disposable object.

Even if your “to buy” list of watches is relatively short, don’t you still have a ton of other watches kicking around in your head?

Some may belong to the “if I won the lottery I’d buy this” list, others are perhaps on the “yea this looks beautiful but I live in sweatpants now” list, and others maybe you just think about because they’re interesting.

That’s what I want to cover today: in no particular order, with no sponsorship dollars behind any of the entries, here are several watches that I can’t get out of my head.

If you have a moment and these seem interesting, I’d be very grateful if you could please check these out - or any of the other projects - and share your thoughts and feedback if you have any. You can reach me at contact@davidvaucher.com, or find me on The Real Time Show!

If you’re looking for something different, please do give The Real Time Show a listen (or two!). If you take the time to do that, I can almost guarantee that you will learn something, and you might even find yourself refreshed by the honest, open thoughts that Alon and Rob share with each other.

Unlike the dive watch, the pilot’s watch has not become ubiquitous in the public view, and when a company like IWC tries to sell a Big Pilot based on how authentically designed and functional it is, I feel as if I’m being sold a costume accessory.

If you’re still unconvinced, consider that I also like to wear aviator sunglasses and Schott bomber jackets. These are two items that, like dive watches, have shed almost completely their military origins, but would I ever wear them together?

The idea itself is clever and while the end-products certainly look cool, I found the execution to lead to a deeply frustrating build experience, and I say that as someone with years of “tinkering” under my belt. I was looking forward to populating my bookshelf with more complex models, but presently I cannot in good conscience recommend these kits.

The One Watch is the endpoint somewhere off in the distance of a journey that is highly personal, but for me, I think I've gotten as close as I may ever get with the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600 m in 39.5 mm sizing, with a black dial (reference number 215.30.40.20.01.001).

In addition to the many article ideas I always have going around my head at any given time, I also have tons of product ideas, huge “favorites” lists on my favorite resale platforms, and a list a mile-long of new “gadgets” I’d like to try.

This is my attempt at channeling some of those disparate things, and though the list above does seem kind of chaotic, I’ve done my best to organize everything into (for now) three separate categories.