The new buzzword in the watch industry is 'personalization', with some watch companies now offering web-based services allowing you to choose parts of your watch to come up with something unique to your own individual personality. Interestingly, companies like Cartier don't currently offer this service, perhaps because they value their brand integrity rather higher than some others, because the problem with allowing the public to 'choose' is that, frankly, the public aren't always the best people to make these kind of decisions.
Indeed, some watch companies aren't even that well qualified to design watches and if ever we needed a case study to prove that point.... (drum roll) 'Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome the new Bamford Autavia Limited Edition'.
Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? I realise now that my comments about the new Hodinkee Autavia were... perhaps a little misjudged, since yes it may be tediously unimaginative, but let's be honest, perhaps 'imagination' is overrated. If this is what imagination does, then Heaven help us.
Where do we even begin? Well how about those red hands. Just awful. They don't look great on a £1300 Formula 1, but here they look even worse. And then there's that red minute track, straight off an Omega Speedmaster by the look if things. Then we've got blue hands here and yellow slashes here, it's a bloody mess!
This is exactly the sort of thing you might expect someone to come up with if they were 'playing' with the personalization tool, but to actually make it as a limited edition? How many of these abominations are they hoping to sell? Is it more than 5? Please tell me it isn't.... and how much is it? £5,000... £6,000? Surely no more than that.
I just think the Autavia is the wrong platform, everything about the Autavia screams retro and class, people who buy Autavias generally want something a bit understated, not brash and colourful. The Monaco is a different beast, it's square shape lends it a funkiness that invites playful, colourful editions, but this is so off it's unbelievable.
Still, as an example of personalization this s the business, if nothing else it says - no matter how poor your taste, we can make you the watch you want, exactly how you want it. I'm just surprised they haven't PVD coated it as well...
So that's six Autavias now, with the Calibre11 version at very top and this at the very bottom, how long will it be before we see number seven?
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