Tom Ford is a stalwart in the realm of luxury clothing. In menswear particularly, their suits are some of the most easily recognised, and highly coveted ready-to-wear garments in the world. In fact, many very wealthy and famous people choose to wear Tom Ford suits. Their reputation is gleaming, and for good reason, they have an uncompromising attitude to quality that is meticulously upheld in all of their products. Their suits are made by Zegna to incredibly high standards – at least equal to or perhaps to a higher level than Zegna’s own Premium line – making them comparable to the likes of Kiton and Brioni.
So it’s clear that Tom Ford likes to be among the best of the best in the luxury segment, however I think you’d be forgiven for being a little bit sceptical about their latest watch release.
The premise of it is admirable and deserving of praise – the watch is made from recycled ocean plastic (excluding the caseback, which is stainless steel), making it one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly luxury watches on the market. The black strap is woven from fibres engineered from recycled plastic, and even the packaging is made from the ocean-salvaged material. In fact, Tom Ford states that 32 bottles of plastic waste is used per product. The watch comes in a black 40mm case, and has a matte black dial with a time- only display, which is protected by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The movement is a Swiss quartz one courtesy of Ronda, and it is because of this that the watch does not have a second-hand. Tom Ford himself has stated in the past that he hates the clunky tick of the second-hand in a quartz-powered watch, therefore all Tom Ford quartz models forego one in order to eliminate this problem!
Now, onto the price – the watch costs £895 – nearly £1k for a battery powered watch made of actual rubbish that had been tossed in the world’s oceans…
Ok that was a deliberately provocative summary, but you see what I’m getting at. Besides, when you can get respectable automatic watches in stainless steel for similar prices it’s not unreasonable to question what exactly you are paying all that money for. Unfortunately it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that, as with many other luxury brands, you are primarily paying for the branding on the dial, which is a shame as Tom Ford has always had the luxury and quality to match their price tags, certainly in the realm of clothing at least. But this time it’s hard to see how the £895 can be justified, given that it is an almost entirely plastic watch, and if that is what you want Swatch has lots of choice under £100 for you. If you specifically want your plastic watch to have come from the sea, then Triwa will sell you a recycled ocean plastic watch for just £119. Ok Triwa’s doesn’t have a sapphire crystal, it uses mineral glass instead, and is powered by a Japanese quartz movement, but it still has a case and strap made entirely from recycled ocean plastic.
It is possible to respect Tom Ford’s effort to help the planet and tackle the issue of plastic in the oceans, while simultaneously being a bit sceptical of the price they’re charging, and the associated mark-ups they are generating off this good deed.
Personally I couldn’t justify spending nearly a grand on a plastic watch, but I’m sure there will be people out there who can.
Am I being too harsh, or do you agree with me? Let me know your thoughts.
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