Once a watch was a watch was a watch - the brand might be a draw, but invariably one was chosen on function and aesthetics. It was only with the post-World War 2 consumer boom - with it the very notion of mass consumerism and marketing as a commercial discipline - that watches, as with other products, began to get names.
And, much as the few decades of this pre-Quartz era benefitted from an abundance of more boutique independent watchmakers, able to find a market for quirky designs, so the 1960s and 1970s in particular offered some of the most arresting and adventurous names in watchmaking. Just think of the intriguing Golden Horse (Rado), the tongue-twisting Ploprof (Omega), the pop Bivouac (Favre-Leuba), the bold Conquest (Longines) or the exotic Monaco (Heuer)? Or how about Caravelle’s Bullion? Or those watches of tomorrow, and named for such too: Favre’s Moon Raider, Wittnauer’s Futurama, Seiko’s Astron or Amida’s Digitrend? They all had a certain poetry...
“Inevitably the things we have to think about now when naming a watch means many of watch names chosen by the industry over more recent years can sound a little dull in comparison,” as Zenith’s product development and heritage director Romain Marietta concedes. “The watch market was much smaller in the 1960s and perhaps there was not a sense of just how big some of the brands that survived would get. We could come up with much cooler alternatives to the ones used but often they don’t work for some reason.”
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Festive 2020-Ausgabe von World of Watches.
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DARING VENTURE
Tudor partners Swiss Watch For New Boutique at The Exchange TRX.
GEEKING OUT
The biggest artisanal watch enthusiasts gather in Singapore for a weekend unlike any other in our region of the world.
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Once seen as niche players, independent watchmakers are increasingly visible within the industry as reflected in this year's edition of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
DYING OF THE LIGHT
Hamilton updates the Khaki Field Murph once again, this time with a sparkling new white dial and a robust stainless steel bracelet.
OPEN SECRET
Ernest Borel left no stone unturned when creating the Grandeur Skeleton duo.
GOTHIC INSPIRED
Ernest Borel's Grandeur Big Date leans into the famed European architectural movement.
LIGHT TOUCH
Maurice Lacroix adds ultra-light titanium options to their ever-expanding Aikon collection.
LAST WORD
Longines introduces a smaller version of the Spirit Zulu, this time in titanium.
RACING PEDIGREE
Bell & Ross brings the worlds of motoring and aerospace together in the BR-X5 Racing.
AUTUMN HUE
Grand Seiko continues its celebration of the 20th anniversary of Calibre 9R with the limited edition SBGA499.