Interview with Michael Kobold

* Michael Kobold - May 2009 at Camp 1, near Mount Everest. Mt. Lhotse in the background

 

 

T2W = RED

MICHAEL KOBOLD = BLUE

 

First of all, thank you Michael for taking the time for this interview. It has been a long time since we collaborated on an article, way to long if you ask me.

Now everyone has heard stories of how you got started and your roots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but for the record and for old time’s sake, could you give is an overview of how you got started? Also, could you speak about your relationship with Helmut Sinn and Gerd-R. Lang?

I fell in love with mechanical watches when I was 12 and by the time I was 16 I had decided to work in the watch industry. So I thought the best way to start was by getting an internship at one of the watch companies. After getting rejected by most companies, I had little hope that my favorite watch company, Chronoswiss, would even consider my request. To my surprise, its founder -Gerd Ruediger Lang- contacted me and agreed to meet me. Soon thereafter, I found myself learning from one of the best in the industry. Mr. Lang and I became friends. One day, he said, there would be Kobold watches, which is something I couldn't even envision then. It certainly had never been my desire to start a watch company of my own. A few years later, when I was ready, I got in touch with another industry legend, Helmut Sinn. It was he who helped me assemble the first collection of Kobold chronographs.


Now Kobold brand watches started off as an internet based business; selling watches to connoisseurs. Over the past few years, you have entered the world of retail. How difficult was the transition and what have you learned in the process?

The transition wasn't so difficult because we had a lot of help from the good people at WorldLux, our first retailer. Soon, brick-and-mortar retailers complemented our distribution channel and today, Kobold watches are available both factory-direct and through authorized dealers.


What do you say to some of your internet based customers that feel that “going retail” has raised the prices beyond their reach?

The cost of doing business has increased for everyone in the watch industry, regardless of brand name or brand position. Kobold prices rose sharply mainly because I decided to take Kobold more seriously and to turn into a real business what was until then only a hobby and a college class project. When you think short-term and don't invest in product development, branding, service, etc., you can afford to sell watches at ridiculously low prices. But those prices weren't realistic. Pretty shortly after I decided to pursue Kobold's interests in a professional capacity, I realized that if the company was to survive, then it would have to go another direction. Of course, in an effort to recognize our roots, we introduce so-called introductory priced watches every few years. We just recently introduced the Arctic Diver and had a huge success based on that old, direct-to-consumer model. But it certainly won't ever be the mainstay of the Kobold philosophy.

* Arctic diver line-up

Do you miss being a “boutique” brand with direct ties with your client base? Not that you are difficult to get a hold of should a customer need you.

We are still very much a boutique brand, with annual production numbers of fewer than 2,500 watches. Those direct ties with customers is what allows us to navigate more gingerly in terms of product development and customer service. For example, although making an American watch like the Spirit of America Automatic (the first watch in 40 years with an American-made case) was my dream, I didn't get a sense that the time was right until we started getting a lot of positive feedback from our customers about such a watch.

* Sample of Spirit Of America collection

You have also managed to get quite a few celebrities to sponsor your watches. How did you do this? I mean, it is pretty easy for Rolex to approach Roger Federer. How did Kobold approach James Gandolfini? Or was there a prior relationship?

The secret here is that we never approach a celebrity, neither through product placement, which is how most companies get their product on celebrities' wrists, or through an individual celebrity's agency. If we have the good fortune to count a few celebrities among our paying clientele, then it's because we don't give anything away. We also never pay for endorsements. That garners respect, especially in circles where everything is handed out for free. The Jim Gandolfini story has been told too many times, so I won't relate it here. Let's just say he's a long-standing customer and a friend of the company.


Is it possible that I have seen your watches on CSI:NY? Worn by Mac, the character played by Gary Sinise?

Gary Sinise and a few other actors -Kiefer Sutherland and DB Woodside on '24', Jeff Daniels on 'Law & Order Criminal Intent'- can be seen wearing Kobold watches but again it's important to stress that we don't pay for those placements and that we don't give away free watches to those actors either. Of course, to have such monumental exposure is a huge privilege that I personally take very seriously, but we treat our celebrity customers just like we treat those guys I consider to be the real celebrities - members of our armed forces, police officers, firefighters, you know, the hard core professionals.



Are there any other celebrities you will be partnering with in the near future?

Recently, we shipped 24 watches to a Hollywood film studio that is working on a feature film with a so-called A-list actor. I won't reveal the name, perhaps someone will spot one or two of the watches in the film, which probably won't be out until late next year.


I have noticed also that Kobold has been partnering with Landrover, which seems like a good fit to me. Exploration watches & exploration vehicles go hand in hand. How did this relationship get started? Did you approach them or vice-versa?

Land Rover was impressed with the fact that our brand ambassador in chief, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, is also the face of Land Rover in the UK. That's how the whole thing started. Sometime later, I got a call from the U.S. office in Irvine, California asking me to design a dashboard clock as well as matching pairs of his and hers watches for their 20th anniversary Range Rover. That was a tremendous honor, especially since I am a huge fan of Land Rover.


Any plans for Landrover branded watches made by Kobold? Like the Bentley watches made by Breiting or Ferrari by Panerai?

We have made about 160 of those (see above). They are part of a limited edition, which is now sold out.


 

 

Now moving onto the watches themselves; I once reviewed the Kobold U.S.S. Pittsburgh Limited Edition. Are there any plans to make small runs (250 and under) unique Limited Edition pieces? What I mean is not just a watch from your line-up with a different dial, case back or engraving. Something standalone, like the Pittsburgh was…

The Richard E. Byrd Chronograph was limited to 60 pieces and that watch was unlike any of our previous models. The Sir Ernest Shackleton handwound was also a limited edition piece. But our Soarway case is really the centerpiece of the collection, so we will continue to make limited editions with Soarway cases.

* Richard E.Byrd (left) & Sir Ernest Shackleton (right)

 

Your watches predominately use ETA based movements. Are there any plans for using other watch movements?

ETA are very reliable and tried-and-tested movements, which are perfect for our clientele - active professionals. And unlike many competing watch companies, we enjoy a very good working relationship with the Swatch Group. I can certainly understand their position in terms of sharing technology with competing companies. Imagine if Ford and GM shared their core competencies! We do have a non ETA movement that we use in our watches with U.S.-made cases. That movement, K. 2651, is based on a Foerster movement made in Germany. It is an in-house movement in the sense that we have the exclusive supply of that caliber and have modified and updated the movement extensively.


What can we expect to see from Kobold in the very near future? Any new models?

The last two years have been busy for Kobold in terms of releasing new models, so we're going to get caught up with what we offer so far and reduce the time our customers spend on one of our wait lists. It's not good if you keep offering new models that you cannot ship because this or that supplier is late with a component. So nothing new on the horizon.


Where do you see Kobold Watch in 10 years? 20 years?

Hopefully, in 10 years, we will have a completely U.S.-made watch, although that is going to be very difficult to achieve. Kobold has spent a considerable amount of money and resources on getting the U.S. Congress to amend a law that determines how a product can be labeled Made in USA. The law is too rigid, in my opinion. In fact, if the same law were to exist in Switzerland, a great majority of the watches that are labeled as Swiss Made would not be in compliance. You have to keep in mind that America used to outperform Switzerland in the field of mechanical watch production, both quality and quantity wise. I think especially in today's environment, where we're shipping jobs overseas, cutting domestic production down to dangerously low levels, and are importing far more than we export, we ought to consider how we can help the American watch business flourish. If us American watchmakers can lead by example, who knows...perhaps someday there'll be a renaissance of American manufacturing across other areas.


Now you used to spend a great deal of time on the watch forums,  do you still frequent them? Do you participate on any of them? And which is your favorite? (*caugh* equationoftime.com)

Very rarely. I used to read them all the time but over the years have gotten away from that. Instead, I get out more and meet customers, get to know them, and of course Ran Fiennes and I partner up from time to time for adventures of our own.

 

 

Thank you Michael for taking the time to speak to me. Continued success my old friend!

 

For more information on Kobold watches, click on Mike's picture:

 

Thank you for reading,

Marc