FROM THE EDITORS Letters + Events
The Omega MoonSwatch ‘ Mission to the Sun ’
COLLABORATION THEN & NOW
Gary George Girdvainis Publisher | Gary @ isochronmedia . com
rior to the resurgence of the mechanical wristwatch in the 1990s , commercial watch collaborations were
P relatively few and far between . Typically , these would be turn-key executions of an existing model with the addition of a retail store ’ s logo , family or other crest , or even company logo pad-printed on the dial for watches given as gifts to employees .
These watches did not typically differ in color , functionality , or any other distinction from the non-collab version
These quasi-customized watches have mixed results in the vintage aftermarket with the real value hook being the brand on which these partner pieces were based . Authentic collab dials of Rolex , Patek Philippe , and Omega examples are often “ grail ” watches cherished by collectors and often valued well beyond the base models . “ Lesser ” brand co-branded dials don ’ t fare so well , although these too can be valued above the pro forma models .
Fast forward to today and the unending stream of collabs is truly amazing . It seems a week can ’ t go by without receiving another notification about another joint-venture wristwatch . Recently I ’ ve even seen a triple collab where a brand , a website , and a celebrity all combined to make a limited edition of an inexpensive quartz watch .
What is different today is that more often than not these twin personality timepieces look different than the base models . Colors are customized with bezels , dials , and even straps accented , tinted or otherwise customized with art , embellishments , or a signature
Pantone not available in the run-of-the-mill version . Most often the engineering and components remain the base on which these modern partner-pieces are built .
It beckons the question as to why this recent phenomenon has exploded ? Is it a way to stand out when four Swiss brands own more than 50 % of the market ? Is it due to new manufacturing techniques making it easier to produce smaller volumes of custom dials ? Or is it simply a way to access another platform ’ s following and introduce a watch to a new consumer base ? In all likelihood , all of the above is probably the right answer .
Stretching this chronometric collusion to the limit , the Swatch group ’ s mashup of the Swatch / Omega Moonswatch and the Swatch / Blancpain Fifty Fathoms seems to push the boundaries of these dynamic duos .
Whether lauded as new and unique , or vilified as bastardizing existing designs , at least the modern collaborations are changing the faces of watchmaking in a meaningful way and simultaneously pushing watches into all new crevices of the consumer market
Keep Watching ,
4 | INTERNATIONAL WRISTWATCH | FALL 2023