Watch catalogs

One of the first things I did when I started investigating the world of high-end watches was to visit various watch company websites and attempt to order catalogs. So far, this hasn’t exactly been a smashing success.

Several watch companies don’t provide printed catalogs at all, with a few providing silly online catalogs that attempts to mimic the look and feel of printed catalogs. I find these very tedious to use, as they’re slow to load, make you use the mouse to turn animated pages, and often require you to zoom into each page individually if you want to read the contents. If they’re going to put their catalog online, they ought to at least take advantage of the benefits of the web and provide direct links to individual pages, search, etc. And please, use HTML instead of Flash! Catalogs need to be clear and accessible, not animated and flashy…

Some companies do have printed catalogs, but require you to pick up the catalog from an Authorized Distributor, e.g. an AD. I’m not a fan of this option, but I suppose it’s understandable given the cost of catalogs and a general desire by the companies to support their distributors and crack down on grey market Internet sales. Alas, the last time I visited a local AD they were out of stock for many catalogs I was interested in.

My experience so far with different brands is:

• Omega: After two online requests and a trip to Tourneau, I still don’t have a catalog. I’m not sure if their catalogs are just in very high demand, or if they’re just stingy with them.
• Ball: Received my “2007 Watch Guide” very quickly after ordering it. It’s more of a pamphlet than a catalog, but it does the trick.
• Oris: Another company that quickly sent a catalog, along with a separate sheet listing MSRP for each watch. Very nice.
• Kobold: They sent me a note indicating they were out of catalogs and would ship me one as soon as the new catalogs are printed, but in the meantime they shipped me two magazines with interesting Kobold articles. A very nice touch!
• Ebel: Sent me their very nice 2007 catalog after I filled out the online form. Before it arrived, I stopped by Tourneau and they gave me a copy of the same catalog.
• Baume & Mercier: I picked up their catalog while I was at Tourneau. It’s another nice book-style catalog, similar to Ebel’s.
• Chronoswiss: Shipped me a nice catalog quickly.
• Alpina: Also sent me their glossy book shortly after I requested it.
• Ocean7: No catalog is available, but their website is laudably easy to navigate, so that’s some consolation.
• Breitling: Has probably my least favorite of the watch company websites. They seem to want you to visit an AD to pick up a catalog.
• IWC: Their website has a form you can fill out to order a catalog, but so far (about ten days) mine hasn’t arrived. In the meantime, your option is their horrible online “catalog”.
• Bell & Ross: Another really annoying website. The only catalog option from their website is their “online catalog”, which is tedious to navigate. I have not yet attempted to get a printed catalog at an AD, so I don’t even know if such a thing exists.
• Longines: I filled out their form for a catalog, and got a nice email confirming my catalog order, but so far (six weeks) I haven’t actually received the catalog.

One note regarding the catalogs is in order. My understanding is that the watch world revolves somewhat around the annual Basel World trade show, which was just held last week. Since new products tend to be announced at this show, it may be that the watch companies try to hold off printing and distributing their new catalogs until after the show, and thus the 2007 catalogs may be in short supply prior to this show. Hopefully I’ll have better luck getting catalogs now.