$600 too steep? The concept we each have of value is of real interest to me .... I can see the hours of work and months/years of thought that has gone into the crafting of this case - to me, it is true craftsmanship and worth far more than the money that will buy one - and it will age beautifully over many years and LAST many years as well. Imagine how cost-effective it is when the buyer of one of these NEVER again has to even think about buying another one. (until you need more watch space of course.....heh)
I design and make cabinets that cost $5000-$9000 and people sometimes sh1t themselves when I tell them the price - I respect that the price comes as a shock to folks because we live in a world where throw away crap seems cheap (until you find yourself buying 5 or 6 of the same thing over your lifetime, instead of the right one once, that lasts many generations) and because so many of us have no real concept of what goes into producing a product ... so I explain that it takes at least 40 hours to design a one off, (not including years of research - and ongoing study .... I have a design library at home, approaching 800 books on the subject of period architectural design) then I will buy the materials which may range in price from $1000 - $3000 for example. Some material like knobs and handles come from other countries because in Australia, the offering is pretty crap - the last cabinet I did I bought the handles from Italy and they cost $370 for two .... theyre handmade in Pewter and around 12 inches long. Anyway, I do the research into these kinds of things, then strongly urge clients to invest in them over the locally available things.
Then I personally go and get the base material (timber or manufactured board etc.) so I can ensure it is correct, dry enough and free of faults. Then I start to make. This process is closer to prototyping than manufacture, because only an ultra small number will be made, then there won't be any more. In my case, each piece is usually a one-off.
... so I make it, finish it, authentically age it if required (this isn't hitting it with a rock every few inches), deliver it, install it, warranty it blah blah blah.
The hands-on process alone can take weeks.
So, in the case of my last piece it took 3 weeks to physically make and materials cost $1157. I got $5100 for it. So I made $1300 per week, NOT including design, research, purchasing and pickup.... and I haven't taken tax, rent, utilities, fuel, insurances, phone or marketing expenses out yet.
Understand that I am NOT complaining for a moment - I have made my life like it is and am grateful every day to be above-ground and doing something I truly love. To survive though, I do 20 hours per week as a branding consultant ... this helps pay the bills and and avoid paying divorce lawyers.
Apologies for the rant ... OK back to work! heh
... for anyone interested, here is a link to some of my work, such as it is
http://photobucket.com/SteveAClientWork