Rick wrote:Kip,
Did Chris say if these watches are going to be produced in Switzerland ?
The prototypes give the impression that they may be

He didn't say, I did't ask, but I would bet on it. I think he will do what ever he thinks is best.

C7 made to take an auto?

Pleeeeeease let that be the next forum LE!

I never doubted Chris was on the money as far as the direction of CWL, but its good to hear it officially

Market forces (quartz sales) and economies of scale (more sales = more development funds) are the bread and butter of any business but its true what Chris said, it has certainly sparked some good debate!!

With the news that the new C7 will take an auto movement, I too vote this to be the next Forum LE

And the last piece of good news from Chris, the Rose Gold/Black Face C15 is going to be made Where is my place in what me thinks will be a rather long queue??

Thanks Kip for the update from Chris.

Its good to know that auto or mechanicals are on the drawing board somewhere. I notice though that there is a definite split in opinion in here between quartz and auto but I also notice something else. Those of us that now have a few CWL watches are starting to gag at quartz but those with less are still defending them but I still reckon that as the others catch up in the coming months they are going to eventually lose interest in the quartz too. Lets call it "natural progression " or even evolution. I just cant see anyone wanting to end up with 12 quartz watches in their possesion. I certainly dont especially from the same manufacturer.

I do think also that Chris will start to find that some models will start to conlict with each other from a sales point of view though. Does that person who may just buy only one now go for a C7 at the expense of a C4 ??? I can see it happening for sure so some watches will do well but at the expense of others.

Of course I am not totally done with CWL. Both the C2 and the C7 will still be on my radar despite being quartz if only because they look the dogs b*ll*cks but I still think it is a worthwhile excercise to point out to Chris that as people increase the number of CWL watches they own then they are likely to be less inclined to keep on purchasing quartz models. Im certainly hitting that brick wall now and I will not be alone. As the months progress and more people end up with a few watches then I reckon their will be more voices with the same opinions we have heard in here the last few days. So Chris basically has to make the decision as to wether he wants us to keep on coming back for more. Im not trying to tell him how to run his company but if he is made aware of how his customers feel then he can at least consider how to react to it so the discussion is not in vain.

Having known of CWL for a good while I've recently dipped my toes into the waters and found it very welcoming. Love my C3 chrono. Definitely am getting a C8. Might well get a C7 because it looks so damn good. Then we'll see.

When I have enough quartz to start a rock garden it'll be 100% mechanical for me... and there will be another newbie to take my place. No need to worry at all.

It's all about loss leaders and cash cows. Quartz is the cow that can and should be continued to be milked. Shift tens of thousands of quartz units to give Chris enough in the back pocket to visit the Swiss, source some movements, develop beautiful autos and sell a couple of hundred to the likes of us lot in here at possibly lower margins. Meanwhile, those very same autos attract the attention of more newbies who - due to cost/availability reasons - plumb for the latest CWL quartz.

And so the cycle continues...

Whilst I love the smooth mechanical movements, I am almost leaning back towards quartz, because they keep going when not being worn so when you have a few watches to choose from its easier to just pick the one you want and put it on.

There's room for both in my collection..........

Thanks for the post Kip; a great and timely response from Chris. LE's always seemed to be the logical way forward for automatics. Like T2 said though, C7 would have been on the radar anyway as it's such a good looking watch.

Kip wrote:

Rick wrote:Kip,
Did Chris say if these watches are going to be produced in Switzerland ?
The prototypes give the impression that they may be

He didn't say, I did't ask, but I would bet on it. I think he will do what ever he thinks is best.

Watches featured in the 'on the drawing board' page have SWISS MADE on the dial.

ch33ky wrote:

Kip wrote:

Rick wrote:Kip,
Did Chris say if these watches are going to be produced in Switzerland ?
The prototypes give the impression that they may be

He didn't say, I did't ask, but I would bet on it. I think he will do what ever he thinks is best.

Watches featured in the 'on the drawing board' page have SWISS MADE on the dial.

That is why I bet on it.

Kip wrote:

ch33ky wrote:Watches featured in the 'on the drawing board' page have SWISS MADE on the dial.

That is why I bet on it.

LOL. Forgive me for stating the blindingly obvious Kip but I only noticed it yesterday (for some reason). You know what, it really doesn't matter to me: wherever the watch is put together it's not like Chris would allow any sloppiness is it (an ETA 2834-2 is still as sweet were it lovingly installed in any other place). For others and non-believers though, I can understand the caché that the phrase brings.

I would love to see the watches be Swiss Made. Not only for the increase in value it would add to them, but for the (expected) increase in quality. Hopefully, some of the issues some members have experienced here in the past would be thing of the past, or at least far more rare.

Can someone answer me this please, as I genuinely don't know the answer...

Why are / Are Swiss watch manufacturing facilities more capable than Japanese? I mean, Japanese automotive and technology firms lead the world in terms of quality and reliability, so why is it different with watches? What is it that makes Seiko (Spring Drives, Grand Seiko etc) inferior, for instance? Does it really matter if Swiss movements are put on a plane and then put in cases in Japan?

I'm not taking the mick... I'm just ignorant. How much is it down to perception and snobbery?

ch33ky wrote:How much is it down to perception and snobbery?

IMHO, a very high percentage of it. There are some serious brand/movement/cost snobs on other forums where watches are discussed.

But going back to the points about Swiss made, the only thing 'Swiss made' about most watches (apart from the identical swiss made movements) is that the movement is fitted in Switzerland. The majority of other watches (with swiss movements) are made up in either Hong Kong (better quality), Korea or China.

Japanese made watches are a different entity all together. The perceived lesser quality of Seiko, Citizen etc is more because they are built to a price. They also have large advertising costs (not as large as some swiss), retailer margins etc that impinge on these costings, so quality is good but not as good as it should be. Try handling a £1k-£2k Japan only Seiko model (Grand Seiko, Prospex) and then you will see the best of Japanese workmanship. Here is a link to the Seiko Prospex Flightmaster auto @ £1700 approx.
http://www.higuchi-inc.com/SBDS001-2.JPG
http://www.higuchi-inc.com/SBDS001-back.JPG

Some of the issues faced by members on here will not necessaily be eliminated by CW watches becoming Swiss made, humans still have a part to play in the assembly process!! Even Rolex have there problems.

ch33ky wrote:Can someone answer me this please, as I genuinely don't know the answer...

Why are / Are Swiss watch manufacturing facilities more capable than Japanese? I mean, Japanese automotive and technology firms lead the world in terms of quality and reliability, so why is it different with watches? What is it that makes Seiko (Spring Drives, Grand Seiko etc) inferior, for instance? Does it really matter if Swiss movements are put on a plane and then put in cases in Japan?

I'm not taking the mick... I'm just ignorant. How much is it down to perception and snobbery?

It'll be for the best. With an unknown brand like CW at least people can say "it's Swiss, you know" when questioned about their watch.

President wrote:
It'll be for the best. With an unknown brand like CW at least people can say "it's Swiss, you know" when questioned about their watch.

110% correct and a very important step for the growth of CW watches. Sad but true.

The perception of the vast majority of people is that the Swiss make the best watches depsite few of these people actually knowing anything about watches other than seeing its colour/style and knowing it tells the time. The power of advertising and price!! CWL's mantra is 'the cheapest most expensive watch in the world' and a good way of achieving this is by owners being able to say its Swiss made and those checking the website reading Swiss made.

Perception, its a wonderful thing, take people who own Italian cars and complain about Italian electrics, they are actually nearly always German made electrics or German made BMW's that are actually often made in South Africa and Russia. The list is endless but the mind is not