Dimitri Musafia

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Of course it's a promo made in Cremona! But by whom and why is the question.

That's a very interesting report, Shelbow, thank you for posting it. I believe that numerous parallels may be drawn between the Swiss watch market and the high-end contemporary violin market. First and foremost: "Our legacy is our future". Brilliant.

When I graduated in 1982 there were about 35 established shops in town. Today various sources put that number at about 140-150, likely not counting employees. For a city of 71,000 people, it's rather astonishing actually, although only time will tell if it is actually sustainable in the long run.

My compliments, GeorgeH, excellent research. It's worthy noting that the production of 1982 is still above what it was in 1949; it would seem (IMHO) that the Swiss catered to the luxury end all through this time and that they managed to maintain it, while the market itself branched off into different directions. If more recent data were available it would be interesting to see how things went after 1982. I would imagine that most established luxury brands have seen a general increase paralleling the increase of wealth of the famous top 1%. Be that as it may, I can state with authority that since 1982 the number of luthiers established in Cremona has increased four fold since 1982. Anyway thank you.

If there is one guy treading on thin ice these days, it's the owner of Alibaba. I'm certain his publishing output reflects that.

GeorgeH, I'm curious, and you seem to be in the know. So let me ask, did the Swiss actually lead the market for lower and middle-priced watches as well? I can think of long defunct American brands like Gruen, Elgin, Hamilton, Bulova, and Timex (well, the latter two still exist but are now foreign-owned and no longer manufacture in the U.S.), weren't they at the lower end of the marketing spectrum and the Swiss always at the top?

I must really say it, all your answers here are a tribute to the intelligence and diversity of humanity. Thank you. It's an ecouraging thing: when we are all convinced/coerced/forced to think the same way that it becomes a problem, as Orwell explained. Cheers!

Respectfully, the Swiss watch industry has been purveyors of luxury goods now for many decades. So what if the Apple Watch outsold Rolex, Breitling, Baume et Mercier, and all those firms put together by unit? I'm sure that if instead of units sold one looked at turnover, the picture may be different. Do you now how many Apple watches can be purchased for the price of a Franck Mueller? And ten years from now, what will be the Apple watches resale value?

Don, I believe you have it nailed. But maybe it's just me, yet I find that "gloating" pretty typical of the government. I was once (early 2000s) at a luncheon where the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. was guest speaker. Present were Buffett and Paul Allen, at the table beside mine, just to give you an idea of who was there. Anyway, at the podium, the guest speaker did not beat around the bush. He said basically said, the last century was yours, this century is ours and you're gonna have to live with it. We were all looking at each other saying "did he really say that??" and a few people (not many) even walked out. reminded me of one of those military parades with the missiles and the tanks.

Well, that was because Stradivari just came, to say he was going.

You may have been stumped because you were chasing a red herring, ehm, sturgeon.

Thank you, my friend! :-)

Violinjon, of course I see your point. It's the title of the SCMP reposting and the subcontext that irk me. They've even posted the video with an Italian title and translation, as to rub our noses into it. Maybe I am indeed overly sensitive to the subject because I've spent thousands of $$ in litigation against Chinese companies that have tried to copy my cases, my trademark, and even my surname. Musilia, Musacia, etc. It gets tiring after a while. Now it seems that they go after my whole town... :-)

Thank you for the link, Violonjon. Crude copy-pasting, why I am not surprised.