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The importance of being entry level – Hamilton, Frederique Constant and Oris

Pусский
August 2009



In today’s value conscious world, entry level mechanical watches are more important than ever before. In the past, people in the market might have jumped right into five or ten thousand Euro timepieces, not thinking much of the expenditure. What a difference a year makes.

As the crisis continues, people are being much more careful with their money, which means that value-priced watches, to which entry level mechanicals certainly belong, are a very attractive alternative to higher-end quartz.
That being said, it takes the right combination – knowledgeable sales people and the right entry level brand – to get customers to buy into the mechanical world.
Once they are in, however, they rarely leave and can easily become a valued customer for higher-end timepieces for the rest of their lives. The retailers who turn clients onto mechanical watches can expect loyalty from these customers, at least more loyalty than the brands will get, as these new watch lovers discover different brands while building their collection.
Here is a close look at three of the best entry level mechanical brands: Hamilton, Frederique Constant and Oris.

Hamilton Watch Company
Hamilton is a famous, classic American brand. Even those people who don't know watches well have heard of Hamilton. This is a great advantage in the rough and tumble world of watches, but with it comes a responsibility. With a famous name, the people within Hamilton have to make sure that they are living up to the history, the expectations and the tradition of innovation that distinguishes Hamilton from other brands.
Hamilton Watch Company was formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1892. The company was named after Andrew Hamilton, the owner of the land on which Lancaster City was founded.
It was during the First World War that Hamilton started making and selling men's wristwatches and was a key supplier to US troops. Hamilton continued its military effort in the Second World War, earning the coveted ‘E’ for excellence supplier designation.
During the war years and after, Hamilton developed its reputation for innovation. Hamilton's research and development teams were always looking for better ways to do things – oils, synthetic jewels, new materials, new technology, electric watches, quartz watches and more.


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JAZZMASTER SLIM by Hamilton


Hamilton was also very innovative in design, coming up with unique looking watches using different case and dial shapes. As an example, Hamilton’s successful Ventura watch is a 1950's design that really changed the shape of cases and turned the watch industry on its head. Hamilton was successful as an American niche brand for many years then was acquired by the company that would eventually become the Swatch Group in 1972 and the brand's headquarters were moved to Switzerland several years ago. For a little while, Hamilton was one of the smaller brands within the Swatch Group, but that has changed. With the brand's success in recent years, the Swatch Group is realizing how important Hamilton is and the brand is finally getting the respect it deserves.
One particular strength of Hamilton is the entry level mechanical segment. Hamilton offers mechanical watches starting at US$325, which is a way to get people into mechanical watches and keep them there. “Entry level mechanical watches are very important to Hamilton,” says Matthias Breschan, CEO, Hamilton Worldwide. “Mechanical watches have grown everywhere around the world. Here at Hamilton, we bring mechanical watches to the market at a very democratic price level.”
Hamilton's mechanical watches, using ETA movements and with a great attention to detail, might be the best value for money of any mechanical watch on the market.
“The first mechanical watch often has a special, emotional value for its owner,” says Breschan. “However a brand must continuously invent, evolve, innovate, surprise, seduce...without losing its core brand DNA in order to keep customers loyal. We receive countless letters and emails from customers telling us their experience from their first Hamilton they bought until their latest one.
“There is no secret: highly trained and friendly personnel, a good assortment and excellent service are the keys,” he continues. “A mechanical watch is an anachronism. They require regular adjustment and they are more prone to failure. Nevertheless, the ‘old world’ craftsmanship of mechanical watches attracts consumers more and more because they have a soul...and any soul needs to be taken care of.”


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JAZZMASTER TRAVELER by Hamilton


Frederique Constant
21 years ago, Peter Stas and his wife Aletta were frustrated by the lack of reasonably priced fine watches. So, they decided to start their own watch company offering accessible luxury and Frederique Constant was born.
At the beginning, Frederique Constant was a typical Swiss watch company, designing watches, buying ETA or other movements and outsourcing just about everything else from the excellent network of suppliers throughout Switzerland. Then, Stas saw the writing on the wall as suppliers became overloaded, movement availability was restricted and customers started to focus on the ‘guts’ of the watch.
“We still purchase about 45,000 mechanical movements (from ETA and others),” Stas explains. “But, we were not allowed to buy any more movements, so to grow, we decided to do our own production. In the atelier here, we assemble between 8,000 and 10,000 of our own movements. To get the Heartbeat movement oriented exactly the way we wanted, we had to do it ourselves.”
In 2005, Frederique Constant moved into its current manufacturing space, a purpose-built facility in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, close to some of the giants of watchmaking like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Piaget. Here, Frederique Constant assembles its own movements, including its in-house tourbillon. Frederique Constant has its own design department, utilizing state-of-the-art computer systems, as well as its own CNC machines to make critical parts, which enables the company to respond to market conditions quickly.
“Entry level automatic watches are in demand around the world and this is an important segment for us, representing about 20 percent of our turnover,” says Peter Stas, “Automatic watches at the entry level are perfect to attract and sell to younger men, aged 25-35. Incidentally, this is the prime target group of Frederique Constant: accessible luxury watches.
“We feel that customers who started with entry level mechanical watches will trade-up when their budget allows a higher purchase,” he continues. “For these target groups and collectors, we offer our Maxime Manufacture, an automatic watch with a manufacture calibre below Euro 2,000. It is important for the brand to have a logical and interesting 'trade-up' in the collection.”


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MAXIME MANUFACTURE AUTOMATIC by Frederique Constant


Oris
Oris proudly does nothing but mechanical watches, with its distinctive and trademark red rotor. With over 100 years of history, Oris is an intriguing choice for entry level mechanical watches, as there is a ton of value in their watches.
“Entry level mechanical watches are becoming one of the most important segments of the watch business,” says Mark Wasserman, President, Oris North America. “Quality mechanical timepieces retailing from US$800 to US$2,000 are becoming the shining star price ranges in this new economy. Entry level mechanicals are extremely important to allow consumers the opportunity to upgrade from a quartz or to invest in a mechanical watch for not a huge jump in price.
“Oris is among the finest mechanical watches in the world within our price range,” he continues. “We are right on target for the male consumer who wants a fine watch and wants to spend under US$2,000. We fill a specific void in the industry that includes high quality and unique design for a mechanical timepiece at a very affordable price. Value is synonymous with Oris.”
Oris is aware that customers who buy entry level mechanical watches often ‘graduate’ to more expensive watches, which is why they have a range of products, including limited editions.
“Customers often buy more expensive watches as their income provides, but many also remain loyal to their first brand if their experience with the watch is positive and gratifying,” Wasserman details.
It’s important that retailers work hard to educate customers about entry level mechanical watches. “Providing they have a high quality reputable brand, retailers have to be able to educate their consumer of the benefits of having a mechanical watch,” Wasserman explains. ”With the right brand, you don’t have to compromise quality when buying into an entry level mechanical. There are so many products that exist which can be equally satisfying both mechanically and aesthetically.”


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CLASSIC DATE - WILLIAMS F1 TEAM DAY / DATE by Oris


Entry level mechanical watches are very important for the watch industry and for all retailers. It’s in this segment that customers are introduced to finer mechanical watches. Do this segment right, with the right products, the right presentation to your customers and the right price points, and you’ll cultivate lifelong customers.


Source: Europa Star August-September 2009 Magazine Issue