As other publications go to the wall by the dozen, Monocle magazine has been setting a shining example of the benefits of knowing your market and brand building by releasing a series of collaborative items of clothing and accessories.
You can wear the Monocle x Aspesi jacket, ride the Monocle x Skeppshult folding bike, whilst carrying a Monocle x Porter bag over your shoulder, which would contain, among other things, a Monocle x Valextra leather-bound notebook. And all the time you'll be honking like a forest at sunrise, courtesy of the Monocle x Comme des Garcons Scent One.
So far so good. The Monocle brand quality is reinforced by the high-end collaborations, which all goes to cultivate the international jet-set image.
The latest release is the Monocle x Beams watch, a collaboration with Japanese department store Beams. This is a tough call, because any international traveller worth their salt is going to need a reliable, and therefore serious, watch on their wrist, which means Swiss, like Rolex, Breitling or Zenith. They might stretch to Panerai (Italian with a Swiss movement).
The only timepiece that springs to mind in terms of Japan is Casio.
At £95 the Monocle x Beams watch isn't going to break any travel budget, and it looks quite good with its classic Submariner styling. But that's really the point - it looks like a Submariner, but clearly isn't. Which puts in the realms of the Toywatch brigade, or worse still, a cheap copy. And frankly, no self respecting traveller is going to be seen dead with one of them on their arm.
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