Im not used to being a blogger

I may sometimes drift in and out of blogging. Some times its because I am busy and other times because I forgot I blog.

Here is is a little show and tell that will make some happy and others indifferent! This is to make up for not blogging the past few days.


A comparison of my Rolex Milgauss GV with my friend's Rolex Daytona in Stainless Steel:

 Im not a super Rolex professional like these people here(click me for an enlightened life) but it is evident that the lugs on the Milgauss GV are slightly broader. If you look at the last image, you will notice that the shoulders (lugs in watch world) begin to emerge slightly wider and deeper into the watch case than the Daytona. The bracelets are identical though.
Also the Daytona bezel(where units per hour is written and the numbers gauge) is slightly flatter than the slanted polished (chrome) Milgauss bezel. I guess the flatter bezel aids in calculating the units (speed for example or products processed) per hour.

In my opinion both watches are beautiful and cannot replace each other. Meaning they are not substitute goods, they are complimentary goods. The Daytona is the sportier model (evident from the more robust shape and chronograph)  for sport or active occasions whereas the Milgauss GV is for more casual or sport chic occasions. They compliment each other nicely.

Although the Milgauss GV is popular and has a waiting list, its not even comparable to how popular the Daytona is. Firstly, the average wait for a Daytona (due to high demand and low production numbers) is about 3 years (world finance state dependant -hint hint). The Daytona is an icon from at leasy 25 years ago. I think hundreds of small time companies (catering to the budget consumer) have emerged and existed ( and some even flourished) simply from:

1.  the success of the Daytona design 
2. the acceptance it received from the market

There are hundreds of fake Daytonas and thousands of look alikes. Nothing says more about a brand than imitation in direct form (thanks China) or indirect form (no need to mention the brand's name).

I will not go into why or how but I will say one thing. One of the major reasons (IN MY OPINION) for it's success was simply marketing in the correct way. Rolex did this in several stages. First they utilized Paul Newman's liking to it to publisize it and make the consumer identify it (Rolex) to a rolemodel or super cool guy Paul Newman. Later on in the late 90s (this upset me) they aroused demand by limiting production. Rolex almost mass produces watches (compared to watch houses like Audemars Piguet or Vacheron Constantin), so why limit the Daytona? And why in the comfortably priced model (the stainless steel)? You can buy a solid gold Daytona any time of the year without any difficulties. Obviously they knew that there was demand for the watch, so how to fuel the fire of demand? Dont get me wrong, I am a capitalist but an honest one (is there such a combination?). Rolex can easily provide the neccessary quantity of Daytonas to market, the only reason they're not is to increase demand which increases thier revenue. Sure they may argue that they want the end user ( the buyer ) to feel special i.e: exclusive, "i've got a high demand watch" feeling and that thier only reason. I would  be convinced if the watch sincerely needed to be produced at a controlled level due to limited resources such as natural resources or financial resources or man power resources. I am not convinced this is a "special watch" because :

1. It can easily be mass produced (mass in Rolex terms not Japanese/Chinese terms)
2. Nothing physically/naturally makes it limited. Its not like it needs to be hand made by highly skilled watch makers who are rare.
3. It is only in high demand because it renders the owner a feeling of exclusivity for having to have waited for so long or paid a high premium to own one instantly and less commonly - bought one during the 2009/2010 financial crisis (hahahah).

Simple economics dictates that when supply decreases , which is what they drastically did, demand increases. I know a couple of people who got on the waiting list only because it existed hahaha. Had the watch been readily available they may not have bought it (they would probably have been on another watch's waiting list as some people need to feel exclusive while others need to feel like pioneers for newly launched products - probably to feel exclusive- the loop never ends haha). I have been offered the Daytona in stainless steel about 4 times since the financial crisis began less than a year ago. Economic theories are rarely wrong. Demand is decreasing and therefore supply is increasing.

What do I think deserves the title rare and limited? The Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art Les Masques collection. Basically they produce watches with mask for a certain culture in compelte replica form of the actual. The little mask is hand made by an artisan who copies the original mask and come in a set of 4.

Here is the 2009 release:
I will not argue that the metals are precious ( they are, red gold, yellow gold, white gold and platinum). Nor will I argue that the movement in these 4 watches is superior as Rolex or any watch house has the right to claim superiority. So I will only argue that the idea from plan to execution required an ambitious team to think of replicating famous cultural masks to finding the higihly skilled craftsman to do it. I will not argue about dial background design as again any watch company has the right to claim that thier designs are the best. But in the area of innovation, Vacheron Constantin dominated.     
 info: site 1 site 2                                                                             

I will say though, the Daytona is the nicest looking chronograph watch out there. The 3 counters balanced inside the dial using the combination of size, location and colors outruled any sports watch out there.