All In The Family

If you ever begrudged brands for making many different versions of the same watch, here’s what they have to say Alvin Wong

Each year, when the time comes for watch brands to pull back the curtain on their latest releases, the people who usually have very little to contribute to the actual thinking and making of those timepieces (meaning us scribes and the rest of the watch buying world) are often the ones who make the loudest noise. And how entitled have we been. Watch companies would pit themselves against each other for our attention, trying their darndest to melt our brains with a groundbreaking this or that that defies human effort and imagination. So, like lords of our manor, we sit back and expect to be entertained. Every. Single. Time.

Truth is, such displays of never-before-seen newness, while undoubtedly exciting, are just a part of a big picture. Equally important to every brand’s annual showcase are what industry folks call ‘line extensions’ – new variations of watches that have already been introduced. These watches may feature different case sizes, materials, new dial executions, bracelets, straps or any manner of (usually) cosmetic tweaks that bring greater variety to a line-up.

Although it is always the latest novelties that hog the limelight, line extensions are the ones doing the less glamorous work of stoking the flames of what was deemed new just a few years ago. And, depending on the brand, such watches can make up to almost two-thirds of the company’s output every horological season.

Marathon, Not Sprint