Vanity, they say, is a mortal sin, it is the most diabolical. Therefore, marketing devils use this weakness of the human soul to the fullest. It seems to me that the success of companies producing luxury goods is largely due to vanity - watches of a certain price segment are rightly attributed to this group.
In order not only to have a beautiful watch, but also to inform others, without opening your mouth, with just a demonstration from under the cuff, how successful you are, you agree to pay a lot - unless, of course, your circle of contacts understands the brands and cost of watches and in your team, this way of self-affirmation is welcome.
Let's look at a specific example.
The Aero Commander collection of the Swiss watch company Delma (which will celebrate its 2024th anniversary in 100) has a chronograph on a steel bracelet with a black dial.
Outwardly, this model is not much different from other watches with a chronograph, date and day indicators of the "pilot" series - a large round case (here it is 45 mm in diameter and 14,7 mm in height), round chronograph pushers, a large, fluted crown, standard for models with such a set of complications, the layout of the dial (counters at 6, 9 and 12 o'clock; date and day of the week at 3 o'clock), a triangle and two dots on the sides at 12 o'clock are a tribute to the pilot's watch from the time of World War II B-Uhren (this a commonly used abbreviation for Beobachtungsuhren, literally: observation watch).
The hour and minute hands, as well as the small hands of the chronograph counters, are wide and easy to read. Of the design accents characteristic of the Delma Aero Commander chronographs, we note the central second hand in red, the red, in tone, the triangle contour at 12 o'clock and the edging of the chronograph button at 2 o'clock. Cover the logo, forget about the red elements of the “decor”, and if you are not new to watches, then you will agree that in front of you is nothing more than an IWC Pilot chronograph on a steel bracelet. The steel case, however, is smaller for IWC, 43 mm.
Before the fans of the brand from the Swiss city of Schaffhausen throw stones at us, let me add to the comparison of appearance the study of internal content and characteristics. In Delma watches (located, by the way, the company is in the commune Lengnau in Switzerland; from Schaffhausen, the birthplace of IWC, it is 151 km, i.e. less than 2 hours by car) uses the ETA Valjoux 7750 movement. Its self-winding rotor is decorated with the Delma logo (visible through the transparent cover on the reverse side), the movement provides 48 hours of power reserve. Guess what caliber IWC uses? Own name 79320, aka ETA Valjoux 7750, custom-made for IWC. Power reserve, however, the brand indicates less - 44 hours. The case back of the IWC Pilot IW3777-10 is solid, with engraving, water resistance up to 60 m (for Delma Aero Commander - 100 m).
Delma is a copy, and IWC is the original? Even though the collection of pilot's watches appeared at IWC before Delma did, the latter did not infringe a single patent - the design of pilot's watches is why we learn so quickly that watches of similar shapes and designs are produced by many companies. As with diving watches, there are defining, functional and stylistic elements that are versatile. Is it possible to say that 56 years of difference in the age of the companies play such a significant role that it is worth paying an additional almost 9 euros for it?
The efforts made by IWC to promote their product are huge, require huge costs that are passed on to the buyer, but is the brand worth such an extra charge with equal product characteristics? If you unconditionally believe that yes, see the very first paragraph. If in doubt, take the Aero Commander in your hands and look, examine the finish in the smallest detail, try it on your hand. These chronographs are, in addition to black, with blue and now fashionable green dials, on steel bracelets and on leather straps.
