I think this type of thread may have been touched upon before but....
In 20-30 years time who's wearing of what will be influencing the Watch market and buyers ?
Like a modern day McQueen, Siffert or Newman.
Or has the whole 'Brand Ambassador' bit finished that off ?
Different now as those watches were chosen by the person like Cousteau using Omega or pilots (Pan-Am) using the first GMTs. Now we all know it's about advertising and if Daniel Craig has an Omega or Statham has Panerai it's because they are tied into the brand.
I doubt we'll ever see those halcyon days again - the nature of consumerism and celebrity have both changed to the point where today's Top 10 teen-throb is tomorrow's incarcerated sex pest in the blink of an eye. Ironically, the faster the acceleration of debasement of celebrity, the more valid and valuable those older relationships seem to become.
SGR
In years to come they will talk about the Higgins* Submariner**.
(*assuming my next plan to become uber-cool and globally mega-famous is more successful than the last 408 attempts)
(**114060 with red (yacht-master) second hand)
I agree with the general sentiment.
The nature of 'celebrity' is so fleeting and debased these days that I can't really see any watch being associated with a specific person, except, perhaps the watch owned by the person during a remarkable event.
For example, Baumgartner's space jump watch (although I forget now which brand it was!).
I've been watching (slowly) all the Cousteau TV programmes over the last few months and the fleeting glimpse of a Ploprof on a diver's wrist definitely spurs an urge to own one (swiftly swept away by the price!), but I never feel the same when I see an actor wearing their TAG across their knuckles or a Kardashian singing their virtues of their latest Rolex...
'Brand Ambassadors' (especially the more 'Brand Whore'-ish ones) do nothing for the long term credibility of a watch or brand, imo.
M.
Last edited by snowman; 19th October 2017 at 12:09.
You can never say never but i do not think we will ever see another "Newman" or "McQueen" phenomenon. These were watches that they picked themselves and stood the test of fashion time. That adds a certain level of authenticity to the story of these watches and therefore there desirability.
The brands are too savvy now in regards to releases and marketing within the media that it no longer seems authentic when a celebrity wears a known brand watch on the red carpet etc.
The brand ambassador must work at some level or they would not persist with them but personally it has never altered my decision because Star XYZ wears (sorry, paid to wear) a certain watch.
Certainly the dealers and even sellers here try to influence the market and hype up the desirability of a watch that does not really exist sometimes and that can be easily spotted with discussions on forums like this.
The Newman, McQueen and Cousteau etc are moments in time that should be savoured as periods of genuine authentic wear and not influenced by the next must have to be hidden away unworn the stickers attached hoping for a buck or two down the time line.
D
Last edited by davidalexander1968; 19th October 2017 at 14:34.
They chose the watches because they genuinely liked them.
It's much more mercenary now, who pays the most.
Any celebrity brand tie ins are an absolute joke.
Same as watch makers/ brand tie ins.
They're just trying to promote a fake story to increase sales.
For example the Navitimer 806 was a watch used by pilots. Not using pilots for promotion.
Not chucking in a bit of muslin to create an image.
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I know Paul Newman wore the Daytona but what watch did Steve McQueen wear? Is it a watch he wore in private or in a famous picture? Any photos?
Originally Posted by nick1
A Submariner 5512 was the watch he seems to have worn the most.
He was also wore a Hanhart 417.
There's also 'the' Heuer Monaco, worn on set for Le Mans. McQueen had been talking to Grand Prix driver Jo Siffert in order to capture the nature of the racing driver authentically. On Siffert's advice, McQueen wore a Heuer chronograph. Ironically, the watch he chose - a blue dialled Monaco - was not part of either the Autavia or Carrera lines more closely associated with/intended for motorsport.
I don't think we will see another 'named watch'. The romantic era has gone re: watches now that they are, to many, jewellery rather than a tool. Also, the whole thing seems to be an exercise in (sympathetic) nostalgia for past times, so maybe there will one day be a watch which is synonymous with a current celebrity, but not whilst they are contemporaries.
Furthermore, was it ever really 'a thing'? Other than the Paul Newman Daytona, there's the McQueen Monaco and the McQueen Explorer II. A less well known one would be the Siffert Autavia. There's not even any evidence McQueen did wear an Explorer II. So that's, to my mind, three genuine cases. I'm probably forgetting some, but is that a trend?
Nonetheless, there are still some special individual watches out there.
Prince Harry's Explorer II, which he had in Afghanistan, for one. The watches of the Top Gear trio are pretty well travelled too. And as for a certain man's Rolex 'President', who could have thought the name would be so apposite later on?
Last edited by Dark Side of The Loon; 19th October 2017 at 22:14.
The interesting point with all of these watches is that although they are hailed as extremely desirable classics, back in the day the stars who wore them were just wearing brand new watches that were available in any store, probably for free for the advertising benefit etc.
Now we refer to Bond, Newman, McQueen watches as grail watches, which maybe after 50 years they are, but at the time they were nothing special.
So who do we get excited about today wearing something from the current stock lists. Roger Federer wears some rather nice watches, about 30 seconds after winning another major!!!
Last edited by Wallasey Runner; 19th October 2017 at 22:40.
Celebrities are not what they were and I can't see any of the current crop having any value in 30 years time. Times have changed.
Wish I was that cool!!A Submariner 5512 was the watch he seems to have worn the most.
He was also wore a Hanhart 417.
There's also 'the' Heuer Monaco, worn on set for Le Mans. McQueen had been talking to Grand Prix driver Jo Siffert in order to capture the nature of the racing driver authentically. On Siffert's advice, McQueen wore a Heuer chronograph. Ironically, the watch he chose - a blue dialled Monaco - was not part of either the Autavia or Carrera lines more closely associated with/intended for motorsport.
I don't think we will see another 'named watch'. The romantic era has gone re: watches now that they are, to many, jewellery rather than a tool. Also, the whole thing seems to be an exercise in (sympathetic) nostalgia for past times, so maybe there will one day be a watch which is synonymous with a current celebrity, but not whilst they are contemporaries.
Furthermore, was it ever really 'a thing'? Other than the Paul Newman Daytona, there's the McQueen Monaco and the McQueen Explorer II. A less well known one would be the Siffert Autavia. There's not even any evidence McQueen did wear an Explorer II. So that's, to my mind, three genuine cases. I'm probably forgetting some, but is that a trend?
Nonetheless, there are still some special individual watches out there.
Prince Harry's Explorer II, which he had in Afghanistan, for one. The watches of the Top Gear trio are pretty well travelled too. And as for a certain man's Rolex 'President', who could have thought the name would be so apposite later on?
What?
As Donald Trump
Last edited by Wallasey Runner; 19th October 2017 at 23:30.
Eric Clapton and John Mayer? Both watch geeks in their own right.
McQueen really admired Siffert, who was essentially a Heuer agent on the side and sold watches to other drivers. When McQueen was asked which overalls he wanted to wear in Le Mans he said he wanted what Siffert wore, Heuer sponsorship and all. When Siffert found out he called Jack Heuer, who immediately dispatched I think it was his German sales manager to France, with around 20 Autavia, Carrera and Monaco chronographs. McQueen chose the Monaco solely because it looked different.
I used to know Jonathan Williams, who was the only full time racing driver employed by Solar Productions, McQueen's company producing the film. I asked him if he'd had a watch (the props manager on the film distributed them among the cast) to wear or if he'd been given one at the end of the film (the props manager and McQueen gave away the watches at the end of filming) but he hadn't. He did say though all the drivers thought the Monaco ugly and no one wanted to wear it! Which probably explains why the likes of the Autavia, Carrera, Silverstone and so on all have links to drivers but the Monaco's heritage TAG like to play up is entirely based on a few pictures of McQueen in a film. Still, those pictures served TAG remarkably well.
"A man of little significance"
Hi all,
I guess it's all about their private life?
As they Wear what they are paid to wear.
E.g. Daniel Craig wears an Omega and is paid to, but privately he wears Vintage and customised Rolex like all good Bonds should😋!
M
To have a watched "named" after an individual it must be earned - it cannot be bought. Perhaps the only recent exception is the Tiger Woods Tudor.
Perhaps this is why the market these days has to rely on comic book heros - batman, hulk, and Kermit
The rest is just marketing hype.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The future lies in the sub culture of sub celebrity , the future is the Squale TGV lion shark 🦈.
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Good call on Prince Harry and his Explorer 2.
He has dragged the Monarchy almost single-handedly into the next Century. I can see him becoming a modern icon. Plus his missus is stunning!
So to move it on a bit....
Who would you inspire you to consider a timepiece ?
It will need to be something not done before i.e first person on Mars,first person to meet Alien life etc other than that i stick to what i have.
Without linking to “celebrities” etc, things of value in the future will require character. Perhaps being linked to some famous faces will help, but just like the watches, those faces will require character as well. Your Steve McQuuens, Paul Newmans etc are generally people of the past. Iconic men who’ve become legends through both their own doing and myths also. Modern marketing detracts from a lot of this these days. This is a very different world compared to when it was cool to smoke and race cars made of scaffolding.
The 5 digit Sub LV always springs to mind for future investment. It’s that type of watch that’s deserving of the secondary market prices that are being commanded. I find so many current watches lack anything “about them” but talking about the crazy prices is another conversation entirely. A watch like the LV will not only be worth money imo, but it will be truly wearable, whereas a lot of the current 4 digit models imo feel fragile and not as wearable as I’d personally like.
David Beckham might be able to sell you on a Tudor right now, but in 50 years, it won’t mean anything.
His father will be proud of him well done James Hewitt,sorry Charles.
I think the mcqueens/newmans will still endure 50 years from now.
I suppose the Panerai slytechs?
Ray mears is a person who is inspirational to me . He’s unpretentious and seems to keep one watch for years .
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Like Steve McQueen
The McQueen link to the Explorer II is a funny one because, if what I read recently is true, there is no photographic evidence of him ever wearing the watch and it’s far from certain that he even owned one. His go to watch seemed to be the Sub.
I have heard that coining the 1655 the 'McQueen' was an attempt by dealers to help move a generally unpopular model.
I certainly have never seen a photo of him wearing one.
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