Earlier this week, I watched Studio Underd0g’s recent video with the distinctly Wes Anderson feel (video below). One thought led to another, and the result is what you will read in the post below…
Before we get in to the weeds, let me refresh your memory on my previous Studio Underd0g takes. I once described their watches as “horological candy – sweet, enjoyable, but not to be mistaken for a substantial meal.” I questioned whether they were pushing watchmaking forward in any meaningful way, and called their designs “more like toys or novelties than serious watches,” and further suggested they exemplified “an industry where marketing and novelty often trump horological substance.”
I even shared feedback from collectors who “fell for the hype, bought one, and now admit they never use it, nor do they plan to ever use it again.”
Mea culpa.
In my defence, mere months later, my view had already softened after their collaboration with Fears, and I noted that whilst I somewhat stood by my previous assessment, “The Gimlet suggests they might eventually be capable of serving something more nutritious.” I did however maintain that “Studio Underd0g hasn’t cracked the serious collector nut yet.”
So have my views changed? Well, yes and no, because while I do credit their video for unlocking another perspective, this essay is not necessarily about Studio Underd0g themselves. In fact, this is more to do with re-framing the question, and with the general notion of re-evaluating what role affordable watches could play in a larger collection which spans the price spectrum.
The crux of this essay is to address the sometimes dismissive attitude toward the lower end of collecting, and consider the role which affordable watches can play in improving how we experience and appreciate watches across the board, from Greubel Forsey all the way down to Studio Underd0g.
Estimated reading time: ~ 9 minutes
The Video
First, please watch the video (less than 2 minutes):
This specific line stood out to me…
“Unlikely is the ink with which we write ourselves into the tales of our time. It’s what makes our story worth telling.”
That line stood out because of how philosophical it felt, and I say this because the messaging works on multiple levels. First, there’s Studio Underd0g’s own unlikely success story in that a watch design project somehow exploded into a constantly sold-out watch brand making what the watch world politely calls “affordable” and not-so-politely refers to as … “shitters.”1
Next, there’s the unlikely reality that serious enthusiasts or collectors who own more reputable or expensive watches, actually buy these watches. And finally, there’s the most unlikely truth of all, which is that most of us never expected to end up where we are right now.
What do I mean by that?
Well, which of you reading this would have guessed, twenty years or so ago, that you’d own a five, six, or even seven-figure watch collection? For an average luxury watch enthusiast, I’d bet their whole journey feels, well, unlikely! Yet here you are, a person who might sometimes be scrolling through Chrono24 at midnight, wondering if you “really need that 50 grand watch” which just popped up on your watchlist.
I mean, who does that?
When I shared that Studio Underd0g video on Instagram, many responses flooded in; I think there were close to 100 responses ranging from “very original and refreshing” to “better than anything the big Swiss brands have done, ever.” One person called it “one of the best videos from a brand I’ve seen in the last ten years” and another likened it to early Moser ads, back when they weren’t as ‘corporate’ so to speak.
I ask about many things on Instagram, and the volume and positivity of these responses tells me the video hit the spot. No spin, no pretence, just a way to connect with people who understand that sometimes the most interesting choices are in fact, unlikely ones. Studio Underd0g just happens to have ‘claimed’ this narrative as their own (as Patek has claimed the ‘generational’ narrative).
Anyway, all this got me thinking, why do serious collectors buy watches they know aren’t ‘serious’ in the way they envisage their collection to be? Why does marketing like this make wearing a so-called “shitter” feel like an enjoyable experience, as opposed to wasted wrist-time?