17 minute interview with Mike about the Bel Canto.
There's a link to a much longer one, apparently.




Lovely slow mo photography. I won't give any spoilers.

I just finished the longer podcast with Andrew and Mike, worth a listen, looking forward to the new color ways for the Bel Canto, the SH21 2.0 update in the fall of 23 and what sounds like the Trident 4.0 in May.

^^^ Welcome. Do please visit the Member Introduction section and tell us about yourself.

Yes, the SH21 v2.0 sounds intriguing

He also mentioned that the number of registrations for the “open series” Bel Canto, later next year, is now “into five digits”

Given the investment that must have been made in the movement, it's hard to see how it could have all been recovered in two batches of the Bel Canto, and there had to more use of the movement going forward.

However, at some point, the research will have been all recovered, and I wonder if the prices will then fall back to reflect that.

Whatever, I think it really is excellent for CW to feature on this Watchfinder broadcast, and for Mike to provide so much time with WF, and indeed with other you tube channels. I will try to listen to the longer broadcast.

I was surprised at the plan for future Bel Canto colours to be entirely unlimited series production.

I guess the hand finishing bottleneck wasn't all that difficult to overcome then.

Pity that CW have gone for maximum volumes and short term profit, as they had a once in lifetime opportunity to have their latest halo watch one where demand exceeds supply.

JasH wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:02 pm I was surprised at the plan for future Bel Canto colours to be entirely unlimited series production.

I guess the hand finishing bottleneck wasn't all that difficult to overcome then.

Pity that CW have gone for maximum volumes and short term profit, as they had a once in lifetime opportunity to have their latest halo watch one where demand exceeds supply.

A halo watch is a noble idea, but it isnt good business.

The first 2 batches sold out in around 11 hrs and there is now a 5 digit waiting list, CW would be crazy not to ride this wave for as long as possible.
As others have said, the development of this module would have been expensive, I doubt any real profit will be seen from this watch until a good few more are sold.

David.

JasH wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:02 pm I was surprised at the plan for future Bel Canto colours to be entirely unlimited series production.

I guess the hand finishing bottleneck wasn't all that difficult to overcome then.

Pity that CW have gone for maximum volumes and short term profit, as they had a once in lifetime opportunity to have their latest halo watch one where demand exceeds supply.

Maybe the next release will be a little less decorated with less hand finishing, and therefore less expensive. Maybe there will be a couple of other colour Bel Cantos, followed by a different A Capella or Lieder version, say, for a general release. I expect to be proved completely wrong though

The cost of developing the FS01 is an interesting question. We'll never know the true cost and I agree as a one-off project over three years it wasn't cheap. It's actual cost will be affected by the funding model CW use for this type of R&D. One R&D funding model will say that it's not as much as you think as CW already pays the fab four (Frank Stelzer, Will Brackfield, Jorg Bader Jr. and Adrian Buchmann) so the cost of the project is anything on top of that labour cost. So that's raw materials and any costs arising from third party suppliers as part of the development process.
The other model which is popular in R&D organisations is to bill all costs to a project code for FS01. This will include the labour cost as labour is often the biggest cost in a project. Many companies wouldn't have funded the FS01 on this basis so we should be very glad that CW did fund it.
This wasn't the only project that CW worked on over a three year period. They also launched the C60 concept, C65 Aquitaine, C60 Trident 300 and so on in that time so this wasn't a full time for three year project which makes the cost lower.
Another significant cost for a watch would have been marketing. CW don't spend as much on marketing as many other companies and the Bel Canto sold itself in a way that many other CW watches don't. I'd guess the marketing costs might have been quite a bit less than CW anticipated. Since they sold out so fast I doubt CW will have to account for inventory on this either.
Developing the FS01 won't have been free but it is a module on an existing base and so I doubt that it was as expensive to develop as many think.

billbochnak wrote:I just finished the longer podcast with Andrew and Mike, worth a listen, looking forward to the new color ways for the Bel Canto, the SH21 2.0 update in the fall of 23 and what sounds like the Trident 4.0 in May.

Too lazy to listen. What did they say about SH21 2.0 and Trident mark IV?

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I love the Bel Canto. Unfortunately it’s still a “little bit” too expensive for me, but I’m looking forward to all the great photos here in the forum