An Open Letter from Roger W. Smith

[logan2z]

...on the Current State of British Watchmaking. A good read...

http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/an-open-le ... oger-smith

[Pasquale]

The alien from American Dad?

[belligero]

Couldn't agree more with his statements.

People should expect better than cynically re-branded, outsourced production if a company is claiming British heritage and manufacture. He's quite right to point out that drawing on this history for marketing purposes while simultaneously cheapening it by misrepresenting the manufacturing origins is unacceptable.

With so much bullshit in the watch industry, it's gratifying to hear this from someone with his level of experience, expertise and knowledge.

[marchone]

That was a good read and quite the broadshot. Well done.

[pbj204]

Great article.

It reminds me of Haagen-Dazs. They started in Brooklyn, NY. They put the flag of Denmark on the package and a European name and everyone thought it was from Denmark. They never actually said made in Denmark, but it sure helped them sell a lot of ice cream.

Can't blame them for using it to their advantage.

[Ryeguy]

Very good read, and not necessarily limited to "British" watches. There is so much smoke and mirrors in this industry that it becomes difficult to know who to trust.

One interesting point that Mr. Smith brings up is the case of British watchmakers looking to Switzerland for movements, yet we know there is limited "truth in advertising" even there, with examples such as the Soprod A-10 being based upon a (very good) Seiko design.

[namor]

This seems like misdirection to me. Where the movement is made is not nearly as big a concern as the quality of that movement. The reason people value a Swiss movement is related to its quality, and the reputation they've earned over decades for quality of results.

All Seiko watches have in-house movements, but that hardly makes all Seikos worthy of respect. Smith seems to confuse "in-house" and "made in Britain" with "respected" and "worthy of the British history in watchmaking" - which is bullshit. If some Brits built in-house variants of the 7S26 non-hacking non-handwinding movement, I very much doubt Smith would be cheering them on as worthy successors to Daniels et al. How about giving Bremont alittle support for making a high quality watch using British labor, and worry less about where they source some of it.

Or put your money where your mouth is, and "climb the mountain" by building a manufacturing plant in Great Britain that makes movements in volume.

[belligero]

But he's not taking issue with the quality of the movements, he's calling out companies that make deceitful claims about their origins. His point that a £2 hat is held to a stricter labelling standard than a watch that costs thousands of times more is a valid one.

[matt.wu]

It came across pretty self-righteous, but he makes some good, albeit obvious and rehashed, points.

[JBZ]

Bremont's gonna love this.

[toxicavenger]

He came off as a very smug person in this article, I bet in person he is 10 times worse.

[Selym]

He came off as a very smug person in this article, I bet in person he is 10 times worse.

Hard to say without having met him. I figure most anyone cable of building a watch from scratch is probably at least a little socially awkward. I got the same impression from his mentor (George Daniels).

[matt.wu]

He came off as a very smug person in this article, I bet in person he is 10 times worse.

I respect the guy, but that's the strongest message that came across for me too.

But then again, I do like Bremont and their staff - flaws and all.

[toxicavenger]

He came off as a very smug person in this article, I bet in person he is 10 times worse.

I respect the guy, but that's the strongest message that came across for me too.

But then again, I do like Bremont and their staff - flaws and all.

For me even talking to a smug person or someone totally full of themselves I tend to NOT listen to what they are actually saying. Now Bremont I honestly don't have an issue with them and it seems like they take care of their customer's and that is one of the most important things to me when purchase something.

[marchone]

I expect Bremont will have a legit inhouse made in UK movement when they can.

[JP Chestnut]

I expect Bremont will have a legit inhouse made in UK movement when they can.

Probably. Too bad they screwed the pooch 10 years too soon.

[Dogmann]

@belligero

Actually he is talking about a famous Pork Pie not a hat.

@all

Obviously all the Bremont fans don't like what he is saying as its fairly obvious he is having a not so subtle dig at Bremont and hoping to inspire them to better and greater things in the future. There is little point in going over the whole Bremont saga again it is what it was and dependent on whether you are a fan, hater or indifferent each will have their own viewpoint on it. Myself I think they got off very lightly from most of the watch loving community for what IMO they knowingly said and did.

But if he is smug or not its quite easy IMO to read between the lines and see what he is really saying and hoping for in the future.

Marc

[marchone]

Agreed. Arrogant, smug, or not, he's giving Bremont, and others, a chance to make things right for the UK industry.

It also appears likely to me Bremont's recent faux pas was the catalyst for his open letter. So it can be interpreted as solely meant for Bremont but he's cast his net farther than that.

[jeckyll]

He came off as a very smug person in this article, I bet in person he is 10 times worse.

I respect the guy, but that's the strongest message that came across for me too.

But then again, I do like Bremont and their staff - flaws and all.

He seemed less smug in the video. Maybe it's a British thing in the way they write.

[t20569cald]

Just when Bremont thought it was past them

[shane0mack]

@all

Obviously all the Bremont fans don't like what he is saying as its fairly obvious he is having a not so subtle dig at Bremont and hoping to inspire them to better and greater things in the future. There is little point in going over the whole Bremont saga again it is what it was and dependent on whether you are a fan, hater or indifferent each will have their own viewpoint on it. Myself I think they got off very lightly from most of the watch loving community for what IMO they knowingly said and did.

But if he is smug or not its quite easy IMO to read between the lines and see what he is really saying and hoping for in the future.

Marc

Well said

[homathetes]

^ +2

[AtomicTom]

Very similar to what goes on here, and I guess around the world within watchmaking. Really great read Andrew ! THX !

[Jcp311]

However smug this guy is concerning movements, he can't be any more smug than Nick and Giles are about Bremont. They deserved the shellacking they got.

[craniotes]

1. When Smith makes an affordable, in-house movement (for more than 10 souls per annum), and pays full UK taxes on his "British" operation, then I'll listen to what he has to say.

2. Bremont screwed up with the Wright Flyer. Big whoop. Right now they're the only UK-based watch company that actually has a road map to realizing the dream of a proper British in-house movement, and on day that they achieve their goal, I expect to see a lot of their haters eating roasted crow.

3. Ultimately, buy what you like and wear what you buy. (Well, unless you want a Roger W. Smith, in which case, get on an 8 year waiting list and pray to God that you're still a millionaire/billionaire when your number is called.)

Regards,
Adam