Consumer versus a connoisseur...what is the difference?
By: bernard cheong (registered) Monday, July 9th, 2007
Part of my "job" last year was to give my personal opinion to private banking folk, I was approached to share with them my personal views.
The study done had nothing to do with me, but I did give certain inputs, all personal points of view...as this was what they wanted. Not industry, and not niche collectors, but they were hoping to "sample" or "biopsy" a collector, and so I end up in Geneva with these words as recorded verbatim in an interview.
Recording: 2006 summer Geneva:
PW inetrviewing Dr Bernard Cheong
PW :Connoisseur or consumer?
Bernard :Well...first off, I don't wish to "pontificate"..and make an absolute fool of myself..(chuckles).The acquisition of fine and often expensive timepieces is often looked upon as a selfish and indulgent way of spending one’s money on nothing more than hyped up pieces of jewelry.
In probably 99 out of 100 of the cases globally, this can be the case. Over the last five years in Singapore, my personal assessment of this situation is more uplifting. I would hazard a guess that we have seen an improvement of 100%; meaning 2 out of 100 purchases are “almost” academic. I take this to be encouraging, in other parts of the world, and this from professional industry watchers, the percentages are much lower.
PW :What is an academic purchase?
(1) The aesthetics of the watch regardless of how it looked on the owner’s wrist.
(2) The potential place in history of horology the watch will occupy.
(3) The brand played no part whatsoever in the decision…the test of fire is to ask oneself…would I have paid $28,000 for this very same watch if it had a label well known for $100 timepieces?
(4) Emotionally the watch did nothing for the buyer, but technically it was an intellectual tour de force.
(5) Technically it was absolutely boring, but emotionally it was the opposite.
(6) There are overwhelming negative press and opinions about the timepiece, but the buyer saw a certain quality and value that did not convince the market, commonly known as “a beautiful product at the wrong time” phenomena.
(7) In spite of potential resale value looking to be disastrous.
A purchase made with the presence of any of the above seven factors, is one move towards an academic purchase.
PW :The street saying goes like this: “ A consumer buys what others would want to buy, a connoisseur buys what he or she wants to buy.”
A connoisseur has the power and luxury of personal choice!
Bernard :The flip side of this coin is what I call the “wealthy Neanderthal Syndrome”.
The symptoms are such that
1. “ the more expensive it is, the more desirable it is, because it must be much better than anything anyone else has”.
2. “ it has to be big, has large numbers painted on the dial, and made of precious metals”
3. “ my friends must have heard of the brand and swoon with awe on the mention of the brand”
4. “ it must have a boutique with fancy furniture”
5. “ it must be seen on the wrists of a football star or his wife”
This caricature of social man is usually not a reader of this publication, yes…I am sure. However, the sad truth is that the mighty plans for Singapore’s integrated resorts do sort of depend on the feeding patterns of this species, and the success thereof.
At the peak, pun intended, of any serious and legitimate collection, there is no room for the wealthy Neanderthal. They generate a danger of reducing the acquisition of fine horology to nothing more than a brash challenge of who can afford it and who can’t.
PW : I assume that fortunately, industry players do recognize this, and often do take subtle steps to prevent the best of the horological pieces from falling into these hands.
Bernard :The subtle reply “ I will check on whether it is available and call you”, may work. There is no need to sell indiscriminately for the next decade. Demand is astronomically high.
The next time you cannot lay your hands on a fine watch, check if you have been labeled as an incomplete evolution. Don’t buy indiscriminately, expensive is usually good, but not always!
The study done had nothing to do with me, but I did give certain inputs, all personal points of view...as this was what they wanted. Not industry, and not niche collectors, but they were hoping to "sample" or "biopsy" a collector, and so I end up in Geneva with these words as recorded verbatim in an interview.
Recording: 2006 summer Geneva:
PW inetrviewing Dr Bernard Cheong
PW :Connoisseur or consumer?
Bernard :Well...first off, I don't wish to "pontificate"..and make an absolute fool of myself..(chuckles).The acquisition of fine and often expensive timepieces is often looked upon as a selfish and indulgent way of spending one’s money on nothing more than hyped up pieces of jewelry.
In probably 99 out of 100 of the cases globally, this can be the case. Over the last five years in Singapore, my personal assessment of this situation is more uplifting. I would hazard a guess that we have seen an improvement of 100%; meaning 2 out of 100 purchases are “almost” academic. I take this to be encouraging, in other parts of the world, and this from professional industry watchers, the percentages are much lower.
PW :What is an academic purchase?
(1) The aesthetics of the watch regardless of how it looked on the owner’s wrist.
(2) The potential place in history of horology the watch will occupy.
(3) The brand played no part whatsoever in the decision…the test of fire is to ask oneself…would I have paid $28,000 for this very same watch if it had a label well known for $100 timepieces?
(4) Emotionally the watch did nothing for the buyer, but technically it was an intellectual tour de force.
(5) Technically it was absolutely boring, but emotionally it was the opposite.
(6) There are overwhelming negative press and opinions about the timepiece, but the buyer saw a certain quality and value that did not convince the market, commonly known as “a beautiful product at the wrong time” phenomena.
(7) In spite of potential resale value looking to be disastrous.
A purchase made with the presence of any of the above seven factors, is one move towards an academic purchase.
PW :The street saying goes like this: “ A consumer buys what others would want to buy, a connoisseur buys what he or she wants to buy.”
A connoisseur has the power and luxury of personal choice!
Bernard :The flip side of this coin is what I call the “wealthy Neanderthal Syndrome”.
The symptoms are such that
1. “ the more expensive it is, the more desirable it is, because it must be much better than anything anyone else has”.
2. “ it has to be big, has large numbers painted on the dial, and made of precious metals”
3. “ my friends must have heard of the brand and swoon with awe on the mention of the brand”
4. “ it must have a boutique with fancy furniture”
5. “ it must be seen on the wrists of a football star or his wife”
This caricature of social man is usually not a reader of this publication, yes…I am sure. However, the sad truth is that the mighty plans for Singapore’s integrated resorts do sort of depend on the feeding patterns of this species, and the success thereof.
At the peak, pun intended, of any serious and legitimate collection, there is no room for the wealthy Neanderthal. They generate a danger of reducing the acquisition of fine horology to nothing more than a brash challenge of who can afford it and who can’t.
PW : I assume that fortunately, industry players do recognize this, and often do take subtle steps to prevent the best of the horological pieces from falling into these hands.
Bernard :The subtle reply “ I will check on whether it is available and call you”, may work. There is no need to sell indiscriminately for the next decade. Demand is astronomically high.
The next time you cannot lay your hands on a fine watch, check if you have been labeled as an incomplete evolution. Don’t buy indiscriminately, expensive is usually good, but not always!
