Green Rambles: Experiencing Discomfort in the Business of Collecting

Recently I was at a press presentation for the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the brand’s first fully electric car. We discussed the mustard color chosen for the Spectre and how the brand chose the unique hue. The Director of Future Developments of Rolls-Royce stated that due to the lengthy process of developing a new car, the color is decided relatively early on. The key is, according to him, to pick a color that makes people slightly uncomfortable so that at the point of introduction, the result is an eye-catching design in a tantalizing color that is slightly ahead of the curve. This is not only evocative of general conversation but it is also embraced by press and clients alike.

In the world of watches, things are slightly different. Development times in this industry can also span several years, but it is much easier in most cases to change the color of a dial at any point in the process. This is perhaps also the reason that if one brand starts a trend in terms of dial color, others can follow quite easily. Color can set a product apart from the rest, and especially in the case of a newly introduced watch, it can draw more attention to the release.

However, the slight discomfort that is a caused by using unexpected colors can also happen in other ways. As I was on the hunt for a new watch to add to my collection, I showed the one that caught my eye to a good friend. While he loved the watch, he did ask me why I would add another dress watch to my ménage of timepieces. It was a comment that made me think because while an amazing watch in its own right, it would meet with considerable competition in my collection for wrist time, while it was more of the same. My initial choice was made from my comfort zone, and my friend challenged me to make a choice that I felt slightly uncomfortable with. I did follow his advice, didn’t get the gold dress watch, but opted for a sleek titanium sports chronograph. I felt somewhat uncomfortable buying it, but as you probably already guessed, it hasn’t left my wrist since I got it.