Forget it guys, I'll do all the footwork first and then post all the details up... open your minds up to possibilities
You’re going to have much bigger obstacles than a few guys on a forum not being won over.
I'm assuming you are looking at creating a brand and not a one-off personal project - I'm somewhat confused as you seem to be talking about both.
I’ll tell you what my red flags are:
"I might like to take a stab at creating a watch brand that's just as high end as all the brands this site deals with but with a price point closer to or maybe even less then steinhart ocean, ginault, and whatever other ones out there."
Your statement tells me you don’t understand brand and you don’t understand brand positioning. You cannot create a ‘high end’ brand like Rolex, Audemars Piquet or Omega out of thin air. These brands have history, heritage, and have invested millions in establishing themselves and their product. What people are buying into is the brand - none of their products actually contain $1,000’s worth of steel, ceramic and development.
Furthermore, you are never going to get a movement, or level of manufacturing close to a Rolex, and be able to sell it cheaper than a Steinhart. Just compare a Submariner to an Ocean One and tell me they’re not a million miles apart with a straight face. Fact is you're not even going to be able to get close to the fit and finish of a Steinhart if you're selling it for less than a Steinhart.
"Well, see what I wanted to do was incorporate parts of historically significant case designs into one case, therefore itll have that historical presence. I have no money, no advertisering background and no idea how to do any of it, but I do think I have a really good base of an idea thats different. And I feel like if its different enough, and adds the wonder of how its done.. the watch would sell itself... itll take a while to get the design down (which I have something in mind) and come up with a prototype but hey... everything starts with a dream right?"
It’s true that there are designs from the past which have been consigned to the dustbin of history because they never lasted. Can they be revitalised? Maybe - see the Tudor PO1 (Which no one asked for or wants, but I digress…). However, I’d question if they actually are different - I’ll come to that later. Furthermore, the brands mentioned above already have a huge amount of their history / ‘brand DNA’ in their products - see the evolution of the Explorer / Royal Oak / Seamaster.
Trust me -
your watch will NOT sell itself. The market is saturated with brands who do have money, advertising know-how and manufacturing knowledge - and dozens of them fail each year.
"I'm just worried about patenting and all that."
Don’t worry about it - there is almost nothing that Rolex can patent on an Explorer or Submariner - Same for Omega across their entire catalogue. For the most part, watches are just too generic, with multiple instances or prior art / prior example and they don’t use components which can be considered unique, innovative and non derivative. AP have had limited success removing look-alike products on the basis that the look of a Royal Oak serves no functional purpose, and therefore a homage of it is a trade dress infringement.
Moving on.
First thing you need to do is look at the market. It is saturated - and I mean saturated. Have a look here - there are 30 brands in this article from homage to extreme.
https://manofmany.com/fashion/watche...pendent-brands
My point is that there is a huge variation within just these 30 watches - and there are easily 200 other micro brands out there already with an advertising presence on Facebook / Google Ads.
Some more examples
https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-bl...e-watches.html
And some more…
https://www.watchonista.com/articles...dup-watch-fair
A great site which is a little more choosy about reviewing smaller brand watches is Worn and Wound...
https://wornandwound.com/watch-reviews/
OK - had a look at those? Still think you have a unique and desirable product with no overlap of anything you saw in those links? Great. Get some impartial advice on that - because if you want a viable business it doesn’t matter if you like it or not. What matters is that enough other people like it, and you have a way of letting them know, and then have an e-commerce or physical platform to sell it. (and you've actually been able to make your watches)
At the same time, start thinking how much this is really going to cost you - $100k - $500k?
Some examples to read up on Bill Yao / MKII
https://www.mkiiwatches.com/
And see what Doc Vail / Janis / NTH Watches have been up to - he’s been really open about his processes and experiences.
https://forums.watchuseek.com/f71/of...d-1015143.html
Just a couple of examples out of many dozens you may be interested in.
What I’m trying to say is that you need to understand the product (which is watches in general). You need to understand the market, brand and brand positioning. You also need to know, or have enough backing to hire a team which knows, about design, identity, prototyping, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, e-commerce and retail. You’re also going to have to get investment - which means that you need to demonstrate an understanding of all of these things - and be able to demonstrate it in your pitch.
Don’t make the same mistake as a new restauranteur can make, that if they love cooking, their friends and family love their cooking that they are going to be able to open a restaurant and it’s going to be an instant hit.
Good luck.