Ben Gilbert: belief

Transcript context

…And they didn’t really have a good choice after the quartz crisis, other than to do this. I heard an anecdote that Richemont, and in particular Cartier decided that they were going to start acting like a luxury watch brand, and they reconvened the watch industry around them in a luxury way. An example being to compete with Baselworld or the Basel Fair. Richemont started their own thing in Geneva and they said, look, the industry gathers here in Geneva now and we’re going to be fancy about it. No one’s eating bratwurst anymore on the show floor. We’re going to sell watches to customers with champagne, caviar, and a presentation ceremony. If you’re not doing that, guess what? That’s what watches are now. I don’t think Rolex was the driver of that, I guess is what I’m saying. I think the industry went that way, and they happened to be the most prestigious high-volume player in it. They’re trying to figure out what it means to be an accidental luxury brand. I can totally believe that. Go back to Hans Wilsdorf. That was totally not his vision for the company. His vision was a Rolex watch on every wrist.…

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