u/pooter6969

It's genuinely perplexing how many people are enraged by the moonswatch/blancpain/AP collabs. Yes, they're cheaply made. Yes, they're cashing in on a more prestigious brand's reputation. Yes, the releases are overhyped and overpriced for what they are. Yes, you can get a better quality watch elsewhere for the money. But honestly.. who cares.

It's a marketing exercise that is harmless and fun, with the upside that some of these classic designs are getting more exposure with a generation that isn't particularly into watch buying.. and won't be able to afford the real models for decades. Might bring more people into the hobby and serve as a jumping off point for watch collecting in the long run. It's also kinda great that these brands are willing to slay the sacred cow and finally get rid of some of the deeply ingrained snobbery that goes on in the watch world.

Time will tell, but I think this is a smart marketing move because swatch group hasn't been beating rolex at the prestige game, so they took the exact opposite approach. Be the brand that appeals to the masses with fun options, instead of being the brand doubling and tripling down on their exclusive, borderline douchey reputation.

Lastly I'll just say if you're worried a plastic AP x Swatch model is going to cheapen the brand or cache of your real AP.. I think you just have severe insecurity. Stop worrying about what others are doing.

Solar watch - sun hits watch = solar powered watch

Battery powered - heavy metals formed in stellar explosions and/or the big bang used to make batteries - battery powers watch = solar powered watch

Mechanical auto or manual wind - watch powered by your movement either winding or movement of your wrist - your movement powered by food - food created through photosynthesis and/or animals eating plants then you eating those animals - sun powers photosynthesis = solar powered watch

At the end of the day every argument about watch movements is just how convoluted you want the path to solar power to be.