Today was my last day at the Basel Trade Fair and was originally planned for jewelry visits in Hall 2. The hardcore watch fans know that they should not be stucked in Hall 1, 3 and 5. Hall 2, officially the high-end jewelry hall, also has some ‘pearl’ watch brands present there.
Since it was our last day I did not have much time to take pictures, but I do want to share this picture quickly:
One of these pearls in hall 2 is Scalfaro. Therefore, I did make some time to visit my friend Dominik Kunhle, who founded Scalfaro with his brother 7 years ago. They are born and raised in Germany and part of a jewelry maker family. The Kunhle Brothers are great WatchFreaks and in 2002 they started to turn their dreams into reality. Every since, the do not only create interesting designs, but actually manufacture 70% of all the components themselves in their factory in Switzerland.
Unfortunately we did not have a lot of time to sit down relaxed and take that many pictures. But there is something that struck me as off during this fair: the lack of options provided by the watch manufacturers for watch owners to personalize their watches. I personally believe that this is the future (or actually back to the roots) of high-end watchmaking! I salute Vacheron Constatin with the introduction of the Quai de L’Ile collection about year and a half ago. My personal dream is also to design and manufacture a mechanical watch one day. With my family we made the first steps and have a prototype of a case ready, but even I underestimated how much work it takes to get things done. So, I know why high-end watch brands are NOT eager to make custom made watches.
My questions to you, my fellow WatchFreaks:
1. Did you have the need to have your watch personalized?
2. If so, what would you like to personalize? Dial, Case, name on movement, complete model, etc?
3. How much more would you be willing to spend (percentage) to get this done?
I hope that I do not ask to many questions, any input is appreciated.
WatchFreaks 