Readers of Perpetuelle know that I rarely cover the sub-$1,000 watch market, save for some interesting mechanicals or pieces that catch my eye. This new Technomarine “Night Vision” piece from Technomarine caught my eye. Speaking of Technomarine — wayback when, the brand was very considered fashionable and trendy, but that’s the problems with trends — they fade away. This is more or less what happened to Technomarine. But starting last year, the brand started to be reinvented and reinvigorated with a more sustainable product lineup (this started with Vincent Perriard and some other industry veterans — Perriard has since left the brand to start his own, more interesting venture HYT Watch).
Anyway, at Baselworld 2012 (March is right around the corner!) Technomarine will be showing off its new “Night Vision” watches. I find the the Night Vision watch to have a cool look to it, worthy of wrists ranging from armchair watch enthusiasts to more higher-end watch buyers who want something fun to wear. In addition to the green color set you see here, the watch will also come in white, blue, black and orange.
Technomarine “Night Vision” Watch
45mm steel case with black PVD coating, 200 meter water resistance, quartz movement, black silicone strap
VIDEO, courtesy Technomarine:
My, my…that was fast….
Just 18 months after taking the helm with huge promises, the romance between Vincent Perriard (formerly Concord) and Technomarine is over. It was just last July when I first wrote about Perriard coming to Technomarine to re-ignite the brand in close efforts with Christian Viros (formerly TAG Heuer). From the get-go, Perriard came with big promises, nee – a GUARANTEE of a new era for the troubled brand. You can read some of this big talk in a Dec’09 interview with Perriard by my watch friends at The Watch Lounge.
“Expect the unexpected” Perriard said. I’m just not sure this “unexpected” he had in mind! I don’t know much and won’t speculate on the ‘why’, but I will say that whatever the circumstances of this departure, this does not reflect well upon Perriard nor Technomarine.
Good work by he who is always in the know” (aka Gregory Pons of Business Montres (en francais)) on this scoop!
Finally got some good high res pics of the first watch from the “new” TechnoMarine. What can I say I am intrigued. I recommend a good assessment of this new watch by a man who knows dive watches – check it out over at OceanicTime. Cheers Lex!
Did You Know?
TechnoMarine was founded by entrepreneur Franck Dubarry in 1997 in the French resort, St. Tropez. In 1999, TechnoMarine became the first brand to put a diamond bezel on a diving chronograph and, later, was the first to introduce colored ceramic watches.
Revamped Technomarine Emerges with Vincent Perriard at the Helm…
So far so good for Perriard and his team in what was surely a very fast 6 or so months (at most) – a nice re-work of what is and will likely remain the brand’s core collection…the “Cruise Collection”…this one will be available in 40mm and 45mm versions. Well I now have at least the start of an answer to my question (posed graphically – see Vincent Perriard Gears Up To Transform TechnoMarine, July 29 2009), but the ocean is vast and there is much more to come before we say if TechnoMarine can “get its cool back” 
Got to start somewhere, though…here it is:
In Quest to Rebuild a Brand New TechnoMarine CEO gives first online interview
If you did not know, after first being a “trendy” brand for a few years watch brand TechnoMarine lost its way and stopped being cool. ”Trends” come and they go, as they say! However – seeing potential in the brand, new and forward thinking TechnoMarine Chairman (since 2006) Christian Viros (former Tag Heuer CEO) cleaned house and brought in industry visionary Vincent Perriard (and his demonstrable track record) as CEO to shake things up a bit. Steven Cohen (Movado Group Canada / Ebel) was also brought in to help steer the ship into new and uncharted waters.
So what a nice surprise it was to see this morning an excellent interview of TechnoMarine CEO Vincent Perriard by Lex who runs Oceanic Time dive watch blog. Lex asks some great questions, and receives some great answers. In fact this is quite an OUTSTANDING and probing interview – very well done Lex!
Here are a couple initial thoughts I had after reading it:
First, in addition to wondering who initiated this interview, I think that the choice of “venue” (ie a dive watch blog) is perhaps quite revealing as to the future direction and positioning of TechnoMarine. My thought here is further reinforced by some of the discussion in the interview. Is TechnoMarine going to define the dive watch market in ways never before seen? Mr. Perriard will admin nothing, but I think that signs are pointing to yes.
Second, I would like to share here one excerpt from the interview which really caught my attention:
Lex As you know the internet has become a powerful marketing tool for modern watch companies, with sophisticated and expensive websites and Facebook accounts. What will TechnoMarine be doing to market themselves in Cyberspace?
Vincent We are going to invest more than 3/4s of our marketing money in electronic platforms and channels of communication. The watch industry keeps thinking it understands this media… That’s not true. A few brands have understood it. We (my new team and I), we are part of these few brands and we will maximize our efforts, I can guarantee this.
Why did this pique my interest? Because Vincent Perriard is 100% CORRECT in his analysis here, and it bodes well for the success of the brand re-launch – which is of course highly contingent upon a successful marketing & PR campaign. As Perriard notes, the watch industry keeps on thinking it does understand online media – when in fact 90% of all brands have NO CLUE as to what they are doing online (witness, for one recent example, Tag Heuer’s recent online accessory boutique in which they offer 8gb flash memory cards for a ludicrous price of $360). While I was not overly impressed with Concord’s use of online and social media under Vincent Perriard’s guidance, they proved particularly adept at building buzz for the C1 QuantumGravity, and the brand did demonstrate a deeper understanding of what matters “online” than the other 90% of brands out there. So I am quite surprised, and impressed, and excited to hear that 75% of TechnoMarine’s marketing resources will be dedicated towards “electronic platforms and channels of communication.” This will only mean good things for the brand relative to spending its marketing/PR budget elsewhere (ie static print ads).
Like it or not, online media is the future, and those who embrace this will prosper over the long run. But more on this subject later!
Click here to read the full interview of TechnoMarine CEO Vincent Perriard by dive watch enthusiast Lex at Oceanic Time. I highly recommend it! Enjoy!
Question is Not If, but How Perriard & Team Will Remake The TechnoMarine Brand
TechnoMarine is not a brand that interests me. Mid-range, sometimes tacky, fake-bling, quartz watches. Right or wrong, that’s what I think of.
Yawn*** Blink***Yawn. But wait, what’s this? A new sheriff (cowboy?) rides into town?
His name is Vincent Perriard – you may know him from his former transformation of the Concord brand – and he certainly has the grand ambition and vision to do something for TechnoMarine. But what will he do? Surely you remember most recently the Concord C1 Quantum Gravity – a watch with Perriard’s ambitions all over it – and a watch not without some controversy for its radical concepts (love it or hate it, I think) – but a watch that seemed to boldly deliver the icing on the cake of Perriard’s swift, bold remake of Concord. All in all, his track record speaks of great success; there was the Grand Prix of Geneva award for the C1 Tourbillon Gravity, for example!
One thing is for sure – Mr. Perriard has hinted at GUARANTEED a new era for TechnoMarine. One of disruptive, innovative and creative watchmaking. He tells us to “Expect the unexpected.” He sees that the worldwide crisis brings new opportunities and promises to deliver a surprising brand positioning within the next few months. There will be new momentum, a new mission as well as a strong vision.
You have my attention, Mr. Perriard. I’m most certain you don’t plan to move down market – only one way to go, and that is up, right? For sure-this is the only way to live life! Good luck.
