[StefB]

Now that our space will be devoted to historic Anonimo, I would love to get any news, opinions, or maybe even develop a plan from us collectors, to gain a sense of what will now happen with our beloved watch makers in Firenze. If there is any hope of a future for the true Italian watch we love, I say let's start talking about here.

- What will the Ambuchis now do and can we spur or inspire them (or others) to start a new brand to continue the tradition?

- Dino Zei is probably retiring at this point, but I can't help to dream that someone might pick up that line as a distinct brand. So I wonder if its worthwhile to make contact with Zei himself?

- What about the current, dedicated ADs? Will they sell the new crap Anonimo? Would love to hear from ADs about their plans.

- Can any of our collectors or long-time ADs reach out to the folks in Firenze to get a sense of any future plans?

- Should we nominate Nelson as our director of community outreach to bridge the gap between the collector community and perhaps the Ambuchis? b-)

- Is it even worthwhile to reach out to our favorite watchmakers in Firenze?

All this might be wishful thinking on my part, but please do share your thoughts...

 

[JayVeeez]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

I have an idea.

I haven't said a whole lot aboit this issue, and mostly agree the new owner prototypes would look better with poop on them. Yuck, they suck, except the dual time. I think the new dual time is great, but truly cannot draw a firm opinion based on the bad pics and renderings.

Moving right along, is there any way, within Intermational laws to get the Dino Zei name back? Perhaps we could reach out to him, and if he was interested maybe we could go from there, possibly with a collaboration with Federico (if he was willing) pressing the true intention of the brand. Just some collaborative thought...

Federico, with or without Mr. Zei, do you have any thoughts to share? Heck, dumping Dino Zei would suck, but even the Massacesi brand sounds good! There are options right now. Clearly, this is not like other forums that have failed. Any thoughts for any future passion for the brand???

I still have some.

 

[Fatz028]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

I have a thought. Mr. Federico needs to dump his crap brand Full Carbon and buy Anonimo back from the Swiss Morons that wrecked the brand in the first place and get Mr. Zei back in the game and make some watches in Italy again.

 

[Anderic]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

Hel

 

[HistoricDNAnonimo]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

very nice but things are not so romantic as they seem to be
all exclusive rights are probably with the new owners
if you can bypass this no investor is willing jump into that kind of adventure
management of early years and after did succeed to create but not to do business
knowing that, would you put money where your mouth is?

 

[torromoto]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

I agree, not so easy but its great to see such passion for the brand...

 

[whywatch9]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

just a thought. if the new owners wanted to cut tie between the current line up and the historic nimos, such as stop honoring the old warranty and providing parts for the older models, do they have the rights to stop others from trading the historic anonimos, manufacturing spare parts, and providing services?

We might be able to come in from a service aspect of things and prolong the life of all the existing nimos. We can also provide a trading platform for the historic nimos, hell, there are still plenty of NOS out there. By doing things this way, people do not need to quit their day job in the beginning, because we'll just use the resources that we have. For instance, Nelson's watchmaker seems to be able to do excellent job on refinishing his bronze case. If he is willing to vouch for his watchmaker publicly, then it's good for me. When did anonimo ever offer bronze refinishing? Think about the possibility in that.

Although I have no idea whether this will run into the "all exclusive rights" of the new anonimo or not, I believe it's the consumer's right to keep his watch collection alive.

As i'm writing this, I can sort of see a even bigger business plan...

 

[korneevy]

Re: The future of Anonimo's Firenze heritage watch-making?

Guys, I do believe that the new ownership has all irrevocable IP rights over Anonimo designs and manufacturing now how, that's the point as to why one would dream up such an acquisition. I think in its scope, it is similar to that of Vendome buying off the broke, loss-making arm of Panerai that had issued may be 300-400 watches all up in the years preceding the sale (look at them now...and all that marketing that is paying off handsomely for Richemond!). So while the new owners are probably not as deep-pocketed as Richemond by a long shot, they will come after anyone stealing their IP with vengeance (and I'd do the same if I were trying to get my business off the ground). So dont think there is much hope it re-using the old designs as such, unfortunately. On a positive (if you can call it that) note, and after seeing the new line up in flesh on Sunday, I am pretty much sure they will struggle to sell big time...so worse comes to worse, they either go belly up or decide to re-issue the old stuff may be next year or one after next)))

 

[lorsban]

I wonder what their minimum order is for a special order? Wouldn't it be cool to have an anonimist special?

I'm sure the case company has a few designs we can choose from.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Firenze]

I wonder what their minimum order is for a special order? Wouldn't it be cool to have an anonimist special?

I'm sure the case company has a few designs we can choose from.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

50 pieces used to be the minimum needed to have a special edition from Anonimo.

 

[lorsban]

50 pieces used to be the minimum needed to have a special edition from Anonimo.

50 isn't too bad! But considering that Anonimo Corp has moved to Switzerland, maybe the original case-makers left behind will be cheaper to work with. If they were selling their watches from under $2000 with Anonimo, maybe actual production cost is around $500-600? Add other expenses so $1000 all in?

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

 

[DDD3333]

Frankly, I think the best strategy would be to wait a little and see if plans/production actually progress.

The new owners have to be shocked to receive this negative a reaction (from various quarters) and should be re-evaluating their business plans. If they choose to ignore the poor reaction it will be at their expense (and stupid beyond belief).

Agreements and production are not yet in place we are told.

Egos have been at play to the detriment of all. David Cypers left (forced out) and I presume some party has consolidated their position by convincing the principles that they could a) cut costs dramatically b) produce designs better suited to a mass market. To date, no one involved appears astute enough to have concluded this would be at the expense of the very heart and soul of Anonimo.

I presume they do own every aspect of Anonimo (name, designs even Kodiak strap treatment etc) as Korneevy has stated. The exception could be Dino Zei’s name – but I cannot imagine he or his family would be willing to license the name again in the middle of such a debacle.

Yes, it would be interesting to contact David Cypers. However, let’s all bear in mind this has been an extremely stressful and demoralizing period for him - bookended on one side by the lingering effects of an economic recession and on the other, a takeover following which he was ousted. He might have an abiding affection for Anonimo but I would presume David has agreed to stay out of Anonimo matters. He might have even signed a ‘non-compete’ agreement to bar him from potentially working for a direct competitor. Any way to confirm this?

However, before strategizing, I would prefer to hear directly, once and for all, a confirmation from Anonimo regarding the following-
Are the designs finalized? Has production been scheduled? Are the cases really sourced from Italy? When do they anticipate having models in ADs?

Though a statement of sorts was ‘issued’ via a blogger, the facts then appeared to be vaguer or contradicted at Anonimo presentation stand itself.

I noted in another post that I personally wanted to see if the new Anonimo would react to the negativity. If they are clued in, they must understand that Ernie Romers retitling the WUS Anonimo thread was of some significance. If I were in their shoes, I would contact/listen to any leading player in the watch industry who would be kind enough to offer a frank and constructive criticism of their initial moves.

Before Baselworld concludes I would certainly find Ernie Romers and hope he would be generous enough to explain why he had been so dis-heartened with what he found at the new Anonimo.

 

[StefB]

I also just noticed that Topper has removed Anonimo from their website, which is a big deal, considering how invested (and dedicated) they were in the brand. So it seems to me the quality ADs will steer clear of the new Anonimo. Ernie's proclamation that the 'our' Anonimo is dead is serious.

But yes, even after all this, we still need more details from the new owners, (or other informed parties), before we may be able to do something.

I wonder if Stoll (the reliable U.S. service center) has any info to share. Come to think of it, I doubt it!

 

[whywatch9]

Wow even topper is out? Are they really aim to sell at the malls?

 

[lorsban]

Wow even topper is out? Are they really aim to sell at the malls?

Just checked, abouttime and righttime still carry Anonimo. I don't know tho whether this will continue after the new (cheesy dialed) models arrive.



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