I've said this before but it feels like Zenith are now going to be making/selling the watches that TAGHeuer aren't allowed to.
Actually it doesn't seem that they are on sale, but here's on for example. Nice rubber strap, 45mm - £5700
http://www.beaverbrooks.co.uk/0105014/Zenith-El-Primero-36000-VPH-Automatic-Mens-Watch/p
I'm not talking about prices but the style/design of the watches.
I look at, for example, the Land Rover model and can't help but see a JCBabin TAGHeuer watch with a Zenith badge on it.
I've said this before but it feels like Zenith are now going to be making/selling the watches that TAGHeuer aren't allowed to.
With this new movement, I do get the feeling that we will not see any more Mikrographs/high end flyback chronographs/haute horology from TAG Heuer, which will be a shame IMO.
Saw lots of El Primero Zeniths at the weekend in the Trafford Centre. They all seemed to be about £5000, isn't that unusually cheap?
Exactly what i am thinking. Its not like i could afford V4 tourbillon at this moment. But to stop pursuing haute horlogerie is i think a step in wrong direction.
VW made the Veyron!
Okay, my mistake... but still.
You wouldn't expect VW to make a supercar.
Oh wait they did, it's called the BUGATTI VEYRON!
JCB is actually applying logic. TAG Heuer is an 'entry level' luxury brand, so it makes no sense to make watches that cost £50-100,000.
I don't like it any more than you do, but it's the same logic as why Toyota make the Lexus.. nobody wants to pay £90,000 for a Toyota.
Yeah but if you often go to watchprosite.com, you'll see a lot of people actually owned V4 (albeit not the tourbillon one).
Its not a failed collection in my opinion. And how hard it is to keep adding just one per year ?
I might be blind as bat about haute horlogerie but i got a feeling V4 might be selling more watch than jaquet droz ever sell in a year.
I expect VW to make supercar by the way....
Scirocco sucks...no offence to anyone driving scirocco...😗
I'm sure you're right about Jaquet Droz, but still... JCB's job is to make decisions and reorganize a company that was in a bit of a mess. He has a vision and he's sticking to it. You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, etc etc... I think he feels TAG was sending mixed messages about their place in the market and he's trying to address this by limiting TAG's high end pieces. He wants TAG to be affordable luxury, which is why the 'cheap' tourbillon makes sense even though it falls outside the accepted price range.
I see it more as the difference between operating TAGHeuer as an independent company versus as part of a conglomerate.
You must remember that when JCBabin was pushing the HH watches, TAGHeuer was still pretty much an independent brand under the lvmh umbrella, as opposed to being an integrated part of a group.
The back end merger with Zenith happened later and hublot didn't join LVMH Swiss Manufacturers until a few years after that.
If the brands were viewed as individuals as they were before then TAGHeuer being the volume seller having a series of halo products, works. But if you see the brands are being branches of the same tree, then what fruit is on what branch naturally changes.
It's kinda obvious how JCBiswatch likes to run things...
Given the current climate, I think it's not a bad method as it sets clear differences between the products offered, minimises internal competition and reduces costs as fewer competing products are put through development.
The thing I'm not sold on, is the design path, which is where my comments about Zenith watches being TAGHeuer watches in style.
and some TAG Heuer watches being Hublot watches in style.
and some TAG Heuer watches being Hublot watches in style!
There is definitely some confusion...
While i don't doubt that marketing them as a "mini" version of another watch will draw in a new group of customers, one that may be more willing to spend money quickly and capable of doing so easily, I'm not convinced it is a sustainable way to go. It seems to set up your products as (sorta) disposable items, ready to be discarded when the next new and improved instagram model comes along, or sets them up as disposable items ready to be discarded when you can afford big brother.
