How AI Could Reshape Your Watch Collection
Tradition & Technology Part II: Using AI To Curate your Collection
This week, I was planning to publish the second installment of my AI & Watchmaking series, focused on how watchmakers are responding to emerging technology. But that article still needs time. I’m continuing to reflect on the deeper implications of AI for the soul of watchmaking, and I want to get it right.
That said, AI is already reshaping watchmaking. And not just the product, the entire luxury goods market. From exposure to new brands, brands creating marketing campaigns with AI, to potential buyers researching brands and competitive shopping their choices with AI, AI will impact all aspects of the luxury market, it’s just a matter of time.
As I thought about the ways tradition and technology are colliding, one of the most clear ways that watchmaking and collecting has been influenced is by the rise of social media.
How Social Media Changed Watch Collecting
Social media changed everything. It gave watchmakers a platform to share sketches, ideas, and early renders. It made the “souscription” model viable on a global scale. It allowed retailers and collectors to connect across borders, and it helped create a thriving ecosystem of content creators, writers, and enthusiasts.
Social media accelerated watch collecting — helping to introduce watches to potential customers around the world, and helping to popularize watches, enabling a global market for watches.
AI is likely to bring about another paradigm shift in collecting. I’ve been thinking a lot about what that might look like.
The most obvious use cases I thought of was to design your ideal watch, or suggest your next one based on your preferences and the state of your collection.
The Flawed Pursuit of the Perfect Watch
The idea of designing a “perfect watch” is a bit of fallacy, but nevertheless an interesting prospect. Just because we can design something doesn’t mean it’s technically feasible, or that we should. Still, the process might allow collectors to experiment with different design elements, guilloché patterns, or color combinations in a safe, low-stakes way.
Things start to fall apart when you ask a system like ChatGPT to develop a concept based on a few watches you love. In my experience testing this, the results are often underwhelming, and far uglier than anything you might want to wear. These concepts also don’t take functionality, layout, and design into account.
For example, I once asked ChatGPT to combine a Rolex GMT-Master with an MB&F Horological Machine. What I got back was a visual mess. I probably should have written a better design prompt.
I am sure you can get better results with a more specific design prompt, calling for the shape of the watch, functionality, and referencing specific aspects of each watch that you are looking to combine. Later, I tried asking for a modern take on a Rolex GMT-Master 16750, yellow gold, nipple dial. And what I got back with a Pepsi bezel was flat-out ugly. The lesson: garbage in, garbage out. Here is what I got back:
Not bad, but I guess I should have specified rootbeer bezel, because the Pepsi is just off in this combination. Better prompts probably yield better results, but that’s not where I think the real value lies.
Where AI Can Shine: Collection Curation
In my view, the most meaningful use of current AI tools is in curating your collection, not designing new watches (yet).