我曾在帖子中提起过JOHN GOLDBERGER,http://bbs.xbiao.com/847/747041_1_p6.html。
JOHN GOLDBERGER被人熟知或许是因为两件事,其一是这位兄台著作等身,百达翡丽、劳力士、欧米茄、浪琴等品牌一一被其纳入笔下,更可敬的是,JOHN GOLDBERGER将卖书的钱全都作为善款,捐给了慈善机构,比如我在帖子中提到的《100 Superlative Rolex Watches》。其二是这位老兄曾在HODINKEE的节目中用一把奶酪刀打开了一枚价值100多万美元的劳力士的后盖。
两年前,a collectedman对JOHN GOLDBERGER进行了一次采访,其中部分内容谈到了浪琴。我们常说,浪琴的没落源于“石英危机”,源于集团对浪琴的重新定位。这不假。但建议各位看看JOHN GOLDBERGER对浪琴的看法,简短数句,或能帮助各位更全面的看待。为避免理解偏差,直接贴上原文。试过了,如果用翻译软件进行翻译,也能翻译出大意。
问:What is it about Longines that you find so interesting?
答:For me, Longines were the best chronograph producer in the 1940s. I think they were better than Patek Philippe, Vacheron and Rolex because they made their caliber in-house. The only other brand producing the whole movement at this time was Universal Genève, and there was a big difference between that and what Longines were producing. They were using much cheaper materials and cost-saving methods of construction. Most of the other brands were using Valjoux movements.
问:The evolution of the brand has seen it go from a higher-end producer to more of a commercial producer…
答:Absolutely, they were very strong from the 1930s to the 1950s, because a lot of their customers were military-affiliated. After the 1950s, they lost a lot of that market because they started selling a lot of watchesthrough Wittnauer, which were not very special watches. They didn’t evolve enough in a time that Omega and Rolex, for instance, developed 'tool-watches' for divers, scientists, aviators, racers and explorers.
问:They lost their footing…
答:They didn’t notice this niche in the market at the time, and they ceased production of the 30CH chronograph movement. They became part of the Ebauche SA company and then the Swatch Group after that.
问:They’ve developed into something very different these days…
答:Yes, they are making a very large turnover in Asia and they are a very profitable brand within the Swatch Group. They now use all of their parts from brands within the group, including the movement, the dials, the
glass. They have divided all of their brands into different price segments, so they don’t have competing brands under the same roof.
问:What do you think of their modern watches?
答:They make some errors from time to time, but the modern version of the Conquest was good. The brand works very well, and they take their heritage very seriously, with acquiring watches for the museum and re-issuing iconic pieces.
问:It would be quite something if they re-made the 30CH or 13ZN chronograph movements…
答:Definitely, but the manufacturing costs for these are very high.