The Watch Industry’s Sentiments

A few years ago a consortium of high-end Swiss watch brands known as the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) began a publicity campaign with the message that “Fake Watches Are For Fake People.” I don’t think that the message truly resonated with an English speaking audience, but it showed a serious effort on their behalf to pressure people into buying the real thing. I was at a dinner a few years ago where speaking before a large audience, a famous Swiss watch brand’s CEO measured the group’s annual success by indicating a large amount replica watches with their name on them having been seized at the Swiss border. Apparently the more fakes made, the more popular one’s brand is. It was a telling sign of a lighthearted approach to the issue. Why wasn’t he more concerned?