Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/19/a-lange-sohne-richard-lange-minute-repeater-a-masterpiece-disguised-as-a-secret-agent-reprise/
Presentation style varies throughout the business world as different companies, industries, and even individual employees engage in specific tactics to disseminate information. A presentation designed to sway the board of a multinational corporation to reduce its carbon footprint needs to be wildly different from a design firm presentation pitching a new aesthetic for the 2026 Samsung frameless 8K television.
There are various ways to approach making a point, from using metaphors and allegory to relying on facts and statistics. But whatever the method, the person or group making the presentation will have to choose a style for structure. This is where one focuses on strengths and the goal. There are as many as 13 popular presentation types that can be used as a template to build an engaging (and hopefully convincing) presentation.
The variations for types of presentations include interactive, visual, freeform, persuasive, and storytelling, with others named more for how the presenter acts like the coach, instructor, connector, director, data scientist, or the closer. There are even styles named after people (Lessig and Takahashi for example) showcasing styles formulated and championed by business leaders and used to great success.
All of the styles focus on what needs to be conveyed, how the people hearing the presentation should react, and what type of setting the presentation is likely to be in. The largest takeaways from each presentation style may be entirely different, from trying to cover a lot of information (data scientist and Lessig), to convincing people to change their opinions on a topic (persuader), or inviting people to take action (interactive, coach, closer, and freeform).
When you consider that sharing information, convincing people, and getting people excited can take many paths, then it isn’t surprising to see the variety of watches and marketing in the watch industry. No matter what type of watch is being discussed, there are numerous brands approaching the idea of selling that watch in quite possibly every single one of these ways. What’s more, some brands have different strategies for the same type of watch within its own catalogue.
Something I’ve noticed is that for the high complication pieces – like perpetual calendars and minute repeaters – there are often a few different approaches, even in the physical watches themselves. Instead of a presentation style, the watches take on styles that appeal to different sectors of the collector community.
With minute repeaters I’ve noticed three main ways of visual presentation: the Peacock, the Technical Wonder, and the Secret Agent. The “Peacock” includes all the minute repeaters that have grand engravings on the dial, automatons (especially the racy ones), or are encrusted with precious gems and métiers d’art. The focus is on grabbing attention with glitz and glamour, and the minute repeater plays second fiddle as a bourgeoisie extra.
A “Technical Wonder” is just that: a watch that highlights the mechanism in some way, either by showcasing the entire mechanism on the dial side or opening the dial to show some aspect of the minute repeater. Often these watches are decorated with fine finishing, but the focus is on the mechanism and its function. Sometimes the only visible components are the hammers and gongs with more of the mechanism visible on the rear of the watch, but we can still admire the movement and engineering in some way.
A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Minute Repeater
That brings us to the “Secret Agent,” a minute repeater that looks like a simple, often very classic and understated watch that just happens to have a little button or slide on the side of the case. Anyone who isn’t really into mechanical watches would have absolutely no idea that it is the most complicated watch money can buy or that it makes a lovely sound when the slide is activated unless the wearer specifically chooses to divulge that information.
These types of watches are for personal appreciation, with some makers not even showcasing the repeater mechanism on the rear as it will be hidden beneath the dial. That is why the Secret Agent is the pinnacle of haute horlogerie: it exists for its own sake, not for that of others.
This is perfectly exemplified in the latest offering from A. Lange & Söhne. The new Richard Lange Minute Repeater that debuted at Watches and Wonders 2022 is the perfect Secret Agent minute repeater and the first repeater in the Richard Lange collection. It stands out not only as the most classic minute repeater made by the brand, but also as arguably perfect for preferred discretion in one’s own horological opulence.
‘Secret Agent’: A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Minute Repeater
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Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/19/a-lange-sohne-richard-lange-minute-repeater-a-masterpiece-disguised-as-a-secret-agent-reprise/
