u/Singapore_Marc

Friends,

Marc Michel-Amadry (MMA), the Managing Director (MD) of Girard-Perregaux came over to our house in Singapore for dinner last night. It was a pleasure to meet him with my family in a casual environment.

My mother prepared local delights which we were thrilled to see he enjoyed. Otak Otak (grilled fish cakes wrapped in banana leaves, nasi lemak (coconut rice) and more). Who knew that MMA would love chilli so much. 😃

MMA kindly brought us some honey from the bee hives in front of the GP Museum. The hives are managed by hobbyist beekeepers who are also GP Master watch makers 🐝. My mother and wife loved the flowers and MMA knew of my adoration of the Laureato 8010 and brought me two posters from the launch in 1995.

After dinner and dessert, we chatted until midnight about watches and the collector mindset. He made it clear that collectors would be the primary focus for GP.

Everything must rotate around the collector.

MMA is well aware and supportive of our Facebook fanclub group. He is appreciative of our passion. 👏

(https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18iXGBiqd8/)

So out came my own GP collection and it was fun to talk about the history of each model. Though it was our first meeting, we chatted with the comfort shared of old friends. (We are both 56, Catholic, love GP and named Marc. His wife and mine are also the same age. Oh and we are both bald 🥚) 😃

I tried on the prototypes of the 41 mm 3-golden bridges Laureato as well as the 46 mm new minute repeater.

How lovely to see, feel and hear the product of such expertise in these mechanical marvels.

There will be some very interesting releases over the next few months. It is going to be exciting. 🤐

His car came to whisk him back to his hotel just past midnight and he left Singapore for Switzerland the next night.

🤝

Well known collector 👍

You will note that he is CRAZY about GP and he has an ample number of Patek, AP and VC as well.

He especially loves GP Neo-vintage as well.

For folks that are new to GP, it is very good for you to see what the super experienced collectors have in their collection.

You can follow him on Instagram if you like:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYWN4DYIwgr/?igsh=YnZoMGk5dnV1YWZi

🤝

Marc Michel-Amadry (MMA) is the Managing Director (MD) of Girard-Perregaux has said that collectors must be the core of what the brand is doing. 👏

Here are my own thoughts

Op-Ed:

Quartz saved the Swiss watch industry ...

Yes, the humble swatch quartz watch that many of us grew up with helped spur a revival of an ailing Swiss watch industry.

Lebanese-born Nicholas Hayek Senior was the CEO of the SWATCH Group and he realized that the Swiss watch industry needed to connect to a younger audience.

To build the habit of collecting... for aspiring collectors to not stop at just one watch. To build sets. A series. A collection.

This passion would then evolve into collecting mechanical watches when these collectors began working and earning more.

His vision was radical.

While often named the "Quartz" crisis, Hayek saw that the real underlying problem was the " Swiss Watch Inefficient Manufacturing" crisis ... what I refer to as SWIM. It was disjointed and supply-chain management was archaic in Switzerland.

Quartz technology didn't cause the crisis, the inability to scale manufacturing did.

So, the Swiss watch industry was sinking and it would need to swim.

Today, we again see a crisis for the Swiss watch industry. And some progressive brands are taking the initiative to take steps to preempt its effects.

For too long, the Swiss watch industry has disintermediated itself from collectors. And we are talking about existing customers here. Authorized Dealers were assigned the task (yes, looked at as a task or burden) of building a relationship with customers.

So what more for the 16 year-old gen Z/Alpha today?

Totally forgotten ... and in 10 years, the potential future customer for the brand?

Many Authorized Dealers today are entirely focused on sales and often less interested in brand protection and building lasting relationships with customers. "Relationship" to many an Authorized Dealer translates to "Buy more and I'll look after you".

Life doesn't work that way. It takes time to build relationships that last and this is what the Audemars Piguet collaboration with Swatch is about.

It's risky but it's necessary and urgent. For this, I salute AP. Perhaps it's telling that AP no longer sells watches via any Authorized Dealers. They have gone direct to the customer.

Today, the biggest risk to the Swiss watch industry is inaction.

Marc Naidu

GP Laureato Fanclub FB Group

(Please credit if sharing)

Image credit Swatch

Op-Ed:

Quartz saved the Swiss watch industry ...

Yes, the humble swatch quartz watch that many of us grew up with helped spur a revival of an ailing Swiss watch industry.

Lebanese-born Nicholas Hayek Senior was the CEO of the SWATCH Group and he realized that the Swiss watch industry needed to connect to a younger audience.

To build the habit of collecting... for aspiring collectors to not stop at just one watch. To build sets. A series. A collection.

This passion would then evolve into collecting mechanical watches when these collectors began working and earning more.

His vision was radical.

While often named the "Quartz" crisis, Hayek saw that the real underlying problem was the " Swiss Watch Inefficient Manufacturing" crisis ... what I refer to as SWIM. It was disjointed and supply-chain management was archaic in Switzerland.

Quartz technology didn't cause the crisis, the inability to scale manufacturing did.

So, the Swiss watch industry was sinking and it would need to swim.

Today, we again see a crisis for the Swiss watch industry. And some progressive brands are taking the initiative to take steps to preempt its effects.

For too long, the Swiss watch industry has disintermediated itself from collectors. And we are talking about existing customers here. Authorized Dealers were assigned the task (yes, looked at as a task or burden) of building a relationship with customers.

So what more for the 16 year-old gen Z/Alpha today?

Totally forgotten ... and in 10 years, the potential future customer for the brand?

Many Authorized Dealers today are entirely focused on sales and often less interested in brand protection and building lasting relationships with customers. "Relationship" to many an Authorized Dealer translates to "Buy more and I'll look after you".

Life doesn't work that way. It takes time to build relationships that last and this is what the Audemars Piguet collaboration with Swatch is about.

It's risky but it's necessary and urgent. For this, I salute AP. Perhaps it's telling that AP no longer sells watches via any Authorized Dealers. They have gone direct to the customer.

Today, the biggest risk to the Swiss watch industry is inaction.

Marc Naidu

GP Laureato Fanclub FB Group

(Please credit if sharing)

Image credit Swatch

A few shots of my Laureato 38 mm with the Onyx dial and full steel bezel (instead of the diamond one).

This is the Infinity LE from 2020 where 88 pieces were made in 38 mm.

I think the Onyx dial Laureato is one of the most beautiful models that GP has made thus far.

Excellent execution ... especially the date window.

I also like having a natural stone dial to contrast with the steel. Good energy ☺

More shots here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYOW7elmb-V/?igsh=MWlscTF4Y25xMDNrYg==

🤎

More pics and history ...

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYHAgoVmSil/?igsh=Z3FnMGltYW9kNTV2

This is a picture I took of my rather rare (30 examples made) GP ref 2598.

It is a 38 mm bi-compax central chronograph. Made by Gino Macaluso in 2001.

Neo-vintage GP ❤

Very rare to see the Neo-vintage Richeville 2710 chronograph on its original steel bracelet. It matches especially well with this brushed dial. Classy and balanced.

It houses the famous Lemania manual wind calibre 1872 (of Omega Speedmaster fame). This is the ONLY Richeville chronograph that has the Lemania calibre.

Bi-compax, turned and sunken sub-dials. Heat blued hands. Exquisitely done.

My wrist is 18.5 cm.

🤝