The Rise of the Microbrands!

In recent years we've seen a myriad of watch companies appear from almost nowhere, but why has this come about and are they any good? Advances in engineering have made the whole 'microbrand' concept possible, keeping manufacturing costs down to acceptable levels. This gives budding designers an opportunity to express their creations in a world previously dominated by the big-brand names who had the funds to expand their portfolio. In the past, we were stuck with a relatively small range of timepieces from which to choose, nowadays we're almost inundated with styles and options.

Do Microbrands Offer Good Value?

The main reduction in cost is due to the name, or rather lack of it. More often than not people buy a watch because they associate the name with quality and they feel happy to be associated with that name; the main ones are Rolex, Tudor, Breitling and Omega, but if I said 'Patek Philippe' or 'Audemars Piguet' to those people, many wouldn't even know the name! This is almost certainly down to marketing, those talented people whose job it is to make a pile of junk the next 'must have' item at any cost! I'm certainly not suggesting that the above marques fall into the 'pile of junk' category, far from it, but neither do they fall into the 'best you can get' category either! For a large number of people, their only knowledge of an item comes from what they are told or read; the 'image' that the marketing people create strikes a chord within their inner self and it's a done deal, so to speak. Is this wrong? No, I don't think so; if something makes you happy and you enjoy the way it makes you feel, where's the harm? For a small number of people, their choice of timepiece is based upon performance rather than aesthetics, although this obviously plays a part. That said, just how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? For those with a background in precision engineering the task is much, much easier; they can often glance at a timepiece and in a minute or so pick-up on a number of things that will give the game away without the need to even remove the caseback. There are a number of microbrands out there now that are giving the big boys a run for their money in the 'performance' watch category, and that's a good thing to see!

A Matter of Trust?

We tend to place our 'trust' in a name, along with the number of years the company has been in business. It's a sensible approach, or is it? A few days ago I visited a large shopping centre with my beloved and, sticking with tradition, I frequented five authorised dealers, Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Tudor and Doxa. Now, although Doxa isn't quite up there with the others they are reputed to be well above average. What exactly did I find? Let's take a look. First up was Rolex, a reasonable range of sports watches on display, Submariner, Submariner Date, Sea-Dweller Deepsea, GMT Master II and Explorer II. Wow! I thought, that's better! Sadly not! Not one single watch was for sale, they all had 'Display only, not for sale' written under them. Next up was Tudor. No Pelagos models at all, not one. Well, after all, it is Rolex so you'd expect the same game really! Breitling was up next and an extensive range on display as always; however, unfortunately, out of the five chronographs I looked at, all five had one or more hands that were slightly misaligned. It's extremely sad but it looks like Breitling's quality control department have gone on an extended holiday once again! On now to Omega, again, a good display and on the whole the consistency of quality looked extremely good; out of a dozen or so chronographs inspected everything was aligned perfectly. It's very sad but Omega just don't do it for me; that's a personal thing and is in no way connected to the quality of the product. For me, I think it's the 'He' crown at 10 o'clock that just spoils the case, along with the 'pretend' screw-down pushers on some chronographs. Now let's take a look at Doxa! I could have been really tempted here! The lady handed me the 300T professional (orange face) on a 'beads of rice' bracelet, 1200m of water resistance and a discreet 'He' valve, what's not to like? The watch itself was all that I expected it to be, and the 'beads of rice' bracelet also hit the mark, although personally I would have gone for the rubber strap option. The clasp and diver extension however is where the whole thing fell apart; the diver extension in particular was, in my opinion, poorly engineered with excessive side-to-side play when extended. The toothed extension mechanism was crude to say the least and 'cheap' looking. The clasp is an important part of the watch, indeed, it's responsible for finishing off the package properly. Sadly, I returned the timepiece to the young lady whose expression suggested that this was not the first time it had stopped an almost certain sale in its tracks. I have to say that I was almost as disappointed as she was! Come on Doxa, you're better than this. Sort it out! My point here is that placing your trust in a large, well known brand often doesn't guarantee that you're getting anything above average, either in the design department, the engineering department or indeed, the service department!

Do Things Need to Change?

Yes, they most certainly do! It's the attitude of the larger, well known brands that have brought about the rise, and success, of the microbrands. Now there's an alternative to this 'take it or leave it' attitude that's been with us for so long. Many of the larger marques seem to have lost their way over the past few years and I feel it's time for the innovative microbrands to take us forward into the next era. The 'complacency' shown by many of the better marques over the last few years is now bearing fruit, unfortunately for them, it's the microbrands that will be feasting on it!

A Negative Outlook?

On reading these few words you could be forgiven for thinking that this article is all about negativity, but really, it's more about reality! No one is more annoyed at these 'quality' marques than I am, but it's their choice to follow this potentially dangerous path and what will be, will be; nothing would make me happier than to see them 'pull their fingers out' so that the situation improves. To me, the microbrand uprising is extremely refreshing and brings hope to what is becoming a boring and stagnant industry.

The Last Word

About four years ago an acquaintance mentioned in passing that he'd bought himself a Rolex; my ears pricked-up immediately in anticipation. 'What model did you settle on?' I enquired enthusiastically. 'I've just told you, it's a Rolex.' he barked.

Enough said.