Form & function of luxury mechanical watches : an archival study on the relationship between attributes and price

• Main Authors: Tan, Zhi Qian, Raphael, Elijah Lee, Goh, Elaine Hui Fang
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Marketing
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51541
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Luxury timepieces fall into a category of their own where their value is often misunderstood and difficult to quantify. In an attempt to comprehend luxury, studies exploring signalling theory have been conducted over the years. However, the intrinsic value of a luxury mechanical watch in terms of its form and function is an underdeveloped area of research that has the potential to reveal many new insights in how luxury can be valued as something tangible. The scope of this paper is centred around the concepts of form and function. Specifically, form alludes to the aesthetic complexity of a mechanical watch which comprises colour scheme, ornamental patterns, and anatomy. Function, on the other hand, refers to the mechanical attributes in the watch, namely timing, astronomical, and striking complications. Archival research was carried out to determine which factors have the strongest correlation with price as an indicator of value. In order to test our hypotheses, technical data, prices, and visual representations of luxury mechanical watches were collected from online databases and portals. Statistical analysis derived from three computer software was then utilized to conclude the level of correlation. This study concluded that although both form and function are indicators of price of a luxury mechanical watch, form variables are consistently attributed to higher priced watch models. Despite our findings, limitations such as the decision to discount the power of brand strength and heritage in our analysis do indeed exist and constitute an area for further the research on luxury timepieces.