The fine watch industry’s leading market research company, LGI Network (see Who is LGI?, below)– is launching the first-ever in-depth survey of luxury timepiece collectors.  If you would like to participate visit: the LGI Survey Enrollment page, or click the logo below:

If you qualify as a participant (i.e. you are a high end collector), you will be able to voice your opinions to brands and the broader collector community about your perspectives related to high end watch collecting.  And in appreciation for your time in doing the survey (which will take about 15 minutes), you will be entitled to receive a confidential copy of the survey results.

Feedback from all respondents will be kept confidential & anonymous.

Whether your passions lay with specific brands or with particular complications, the survey results will provide insight into thoughts and practices of an extensive community of aficionados like yourself.  In addition, the results will include unfiltered feedback on brand reputations, purchasing and trade-in practices, pricing, and lots of other information central to leading collecting practices.

To be a part of this comprehensive and interesting survey effort, visit: www.lginetwork.com/collector.html.

Lastly, I want to note that, other than a copy of the survey results, Perpetuelle is not in any way compensated or otherwise affiliated with LGI for this effort.

Who Is LGI Network?

If you are not familiar with LGI Network, the company is basically a market intelligence/market research outfit.  LGI receives point-of-sale data from over 8,000 store-fronts on a monthly basis, and they work with the CEO’s of most of the leading luxury watch brands and who commonly rely on LGI’s information.  They also work with/advise the majority of leading watch retailers across the U.S.

A gorgeous shot of the Panerai Radiomir PAM 425, shared over at Watchesandart.  Click through for a 2nd look, a nice view of the U-Boat on the dial (barely visible in this shot).  The guy who runs Watchesandart runs through quite a few nice pieces on a regular basis and always puts up nice photos of each  — I enjoy following his blog and it is definitely worth adding to your reading/watch list as well!  Watchesandart

Panerai Radiomir PAM 425

photo: watchesandart

Following a lawsuit filed August 2012, luxury powerhouse Richemont last week won a $100m default judgement against counterfeit selling websites.  The lawsuit, Alfred Dunhill Limited et al v. Chen et al, includes the Richemont brands Alfred Dunhill, Roger Dubuis, Officine Panerai, Lange Uhren (A. Lange), and Cartier as plaintiffs.  The defendents were several named websites hawking counterfeit versions of Richemont’s premier watch brands.

The judgment follows several other recent high profile cases brought by luxury accessories manufacturers against hundreds of Internet sites selling fake versions of products:   Coach (won $267m in damages), Hermes, (won $100 million in damages), and Burberry ($100 million in damages).   In all these cases, the judgements have been by default.  That is, the named defendants in the lawsuit did not respond to the lawsuit.  Resulting from these lawsuits the brands were able to see the offending websites shut down, and they were also provided with seized funds from PayPayl accounts.

Interesting to me is that while these anti-counterfeiting efforts are proving successful, though somewhat symbolic, they solve only one aspect of the problem:  distribution.  But I believe that there is a bigger and more pressing problem — and the issue which will likely cause counterfeit markets to exist — demand.

Did You Know?

Counterfeit Watches, according to the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH)

Around $1bn a year is lost to counterfeit manufacturers, according to 2010 estimates from Swiss group the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, with around 40m fake watches sold each year compared to 26 million genuine items.  Efforts are broadly supported by the Swiss Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), which has been actively committed to the fight to end counterfeiting since 2009.  In recent years the FHH has implemented a series of measures to raise public awareness of a global problem that plagues the luxury industry in general and watchmaking in particular. You can read more about their anti-counterfeiting campaign here.

Your 110% Unscientific Year-in-Review…

As I have done in prior years, a casual look at some of our articles that “went viral” during the year.  All in good fun people!  (those of you TV dinner eaters gettin’ bent out of shape in the comments — may I recommend you ring in the New Year with a bottle of Krug1996 Clos d’Ambonnay, it will surely brighten your spirits.)

I wish a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2013 to you all!

The Most Popular Watches on Perpetuelle During 2012

WINNER:  The Rolex Deepsea Challenge

click here to see our full reportage on the Deepsea Challenge

picture:  Explorer James Cameron after successful voyage to deepest known point in the ocean

2. Olympic Sprinter Yohan Blake’s Richard Mille Watch

3. PGA Tour Golfer Bubba Watson’s Richard Mille Watch

4. Panerai PAM 422 Luminor Marina

5. Panerai PAM 448 and 449

448

449

Krug
1996 Clos d’Ambonnay

A very Merry Christmas to all Perpetuelle readers!!!  Onward and upward to 2013!

Kyle

Rolex, the leading luxury watchmaking brand and a pioneer of sports sponsorship, will become a major long-term partner of Formula 1 from 2013 as Official Timekeeper and Official Timepiece.  This reinforces Rolex’s commitment to motor racing and its support of global sport at the very highest level, and hey how about that just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Daytona (2013)!!!

It should be noted that Rolex is replacing Hublot who was the Official F1 Timekeeper since 2010 and who I think set the standard for the “Official Timepeice of F1″ with its superb F1 Series (see them all here).  It will be interesting to see if Rolex — a brand known for moving slowly — can bring as much dynamism and creativity to its new title role.  Also for what its worth, according to industry insiders, Hublot claims to have essentially let the F1 sponsorship go in favor of forming a tighter bond with Team Ferrari.

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of the Formula One group stated, “Without question Rolex is the partner of choice for a world class sporting series like Formula One.  The brand’s prestige, the excellence of its watches as well as Rolex’s passionate and long-standing commitment to motor sports gives it true credibility. This partnership is something that many people interested in Formula One will have been waiting for and should rightly be excited about. Rolex has incredible sporting heritage and therefore Formula One is the right place for Rolex to be.”

More at Rolex.com.

January 2013, the Geneva Time Exhibition will take place for the fourth year running.  The event is held concurrent with the Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) which also takes place in Geneva in January 2013 , The Geneva Time Exhibition is now recognized as a leading showcase for independent watchmakers.   Perpetuelle will again be covering this event as well as SIHH, bringing you looks and analysis of all the latest and greatest luxury and avant-garde timepieces from the world’s leading watch brands.

From our friends at Xetum, also an advertiser here @Perpetuelle:

If you are looking for a superb, and I mean SUPERB, Christmas or Hannukah gift then be sure to check out our tourbillon cufflinks and pens by TF 1968 of Geneva.  You’ll make someone super happy!

Click through below to our official shop pages which include live pics, hands-on video, and purchasing info!

Tourbillon Cufflinks

your choice of metals and colors, from $485

click here to see and shop all cufflinks

Tourbillon Pens

from $930

click here to see and shop all pens

Greetings Watch Friends!

Just a quick note to wish all Perpetuelle readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Particularly those of you in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere who are celebrating this wonderful holiday today.   Thank you for reading Perpetuelle and for engaging with in the discussion by commenting here or on Facebook or Twitter.  I am thankful for each and every opportunity to connect with you and all other watch owners, collectors & enthusiasts around the world on a daily basis!

Whether your day is filled with family, friends and lots of good food — or in service to others — I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.

And last thing — if you haven’t donated a few bucks to help employ disabled Veterans, please take a quick minute to check out the Minuteman Watch Co.’s ongoing initiative.  Please make a small donation (as small as $3!) — Perpetuelle is matching all donations to this worthy case.

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Thanks again, and Happy Thanksgiving!