It is true to say that every day a new brand is born .... meanwhile the funerals of several others happened very discreetly.
One feature of the watch industry is that its core product (the wristwatch)is a very universal product : the time is a universal value shared by the whole mankind and one can find wristwatches all over the world.
One can find wristwatches from 5 USD up to 500'000 USD (or more) and in front of each watch with its price there is a buyer (sometimes an enthusiast)provided the price, the watch and the value as it is perceived are consistent.
That is why watch industry is so fantastic and so attractive.
A 5 USD watch may deserve as much respect as a 500'000 USD because producing a 5 USD priced watch with a 5 USD perceived value is not an easy job.
My opinion is that the manufacturer who produce watches the perceived value of which are consistent with their price will carry on having customers (sometimes enthusiasts). The others will die.
In the Haute Horlogerie segment, that is the same and I am very confident that the final customers are very able to discriminate who deserves interest and who is only surfing on the trend to make easy money.
The only dark point I foresee is for the incoming talentful watchmakers. I am afraid that the entry ticket for them is far more higher than those we had to pay to enter in this business 10 or 15 years ago.
I am quite sure that I will not become a millionnaire, but I can confortably live from my passion as my manufacture has reached the minimum critical size while I remained independant.
My feeling is that a young watchmaker cannot hope the same without a important cash reserve when starting.
And that is a pity for all these talents not to be developped further.