Five Questions With Ascension Brands CEO Patrick Aloisio
Prince – Royal Edition I (https://www.ascensionbrands.com/)
As I’ve traveled the world and attended some of the most amazing red carpet events, galas, private shows to learn one thing…you timepiece makes an in-depth mental statement about the wearer. In close quarters, eyes may be on you that you don’t even notice…timepiece and shoes are two of the main benchmarks statements about the person being objectified. For me personally, it was a listening party for an award-winning European violinist. I walked into the diamond rated venue, did the greet and smile thing and stepped to the bar to uh, clear my mind… I elbowed up and the bartender greeted me with…”Nice Watch.” She immediately ventured a guess as to what I might drink all of it penthouse shelf stuff LOL…I suprised her with my bourbon choice, brought to life by a dash of branch water…
Back to the watch…it’s a conversation starter when collectors eye each other for the first time, its a statement about your appreciation for the minute details which make amazing creations even more amazing. In a world suffering from “gotta get there now itis,” the time taken to appreciate and identify with a personal pieces of your wardrobe speaks volumes to those who meet you.
To discuss Ascension’s foray into the fine art of watch and timepiece design, we caught up with their head honcho Patrick Aloisio to weigh in on a few things:
Prince Grande (https://www.ascensionbrands.com/)
How does your watch announce you to others?
What each Ascension watch symbolizes is a high level of capability and potential for the person wearing it. Your peers around you will take notice of what you stand for and your hunger for success. We do have a nice range of options to reflect your own personal style. For example, our Protégé collection is more on the classic side and delivers elegance in a modest fashion. On the other hand, our Prince collection is sure to make you stand out from the crowd and make a bold first impression.
How does the line overall address the needs of a discerning timepiece wearer?
Quality is everything. Ascension chooses 316L stainless steel in all of our collections. It is a grade extremely resistant to corrosion and has an extra-low carbon content, making it ultra-durable and magnetic resistant. We also elect to use sapphire crystal glass for all watches. The hardest material in the world, second to diamond, sapphire crystal is almost impossible to scratch. Each watch also has a minimum 10 ATM water resistance rating, meaning the watch is specifically designed to withstand casual water exposure, showering, and shallow swimming. All of our movements are Miyota Quartz, which is made by Citizen, the industry leader for this type of movement. Our leather bands are crafted by Hadley-Roma. They are made of genuine Italian calfskin leather with alligator grain embossing. This beautiful watchband is Rembordé cut with heavy padding and measures 4 mm thick. The leather is also water resistant with hypoallergenic elements.
The best thing is even our lowest priced collection still delivers a tremendous value. The quality you are getting is comparable to what other big brands offer at around $1000 yet we are offering great luxury at a fraction of the price.
What is the most exciting discussion as your team brings a design or collection to life?
I think the exciting part is actually seeing the written plan coming to life in person. We gather a lot of data on consumer tastes and preferences for different styles at first. Once we have a pretty good idea of what people would like, we come up with a wide range of potential collections that fulfill the initial data findings. After we narrow down the aesthetics further, that is when we dive into the physical components of the watch. There are multiple stages of prototyping and quality assurance tests to make sure that our watches maintain a very high standard of excellence. Finally, after the prototypes have been cleared and approved, that is when we proceed with the full order. It’s a great feeling to have the final product in your hands that turns out even better than what you anticipated in your original drafts. The customer sees a stylish and high-quality watch, while I see the culmination of a ton of research and hard work.
What is a key differentiator between your line and others looking to meet your standard of style, elegance, and construction?
I briefly mentioned this earlier, but our biggest differentiator is easily the value we are providing with an Ascension watch. There are several other brands that claim to be offering the best quality possible at their price point because they “cut out the middleman.” But that’s not the case. As you can see from our quality described above, we are comparable to some brands in the several hundred dollars to low thousand dollar range, yet ours is priced as low as $159. That is a tremendous value.
Our other main differentiator would be the overall range of our watch styles. While quality remains a constant throughout all of our collections, you’ll find a difference in styles that can fit the majority tastes or preferences. We have leather band and steel band options. We have a minimalistic clean dial option, and we also have collections with multiple subdials to create a complex look. Also with our Protégé and Virtuoso collections, you can mix and match any combination of band color, dial color, or case color.
If you were to recommend a starter collection from your line, which would it, be and what are your professional considerations for your selection.
This is really tough since I love them all, but I would have to say the Inaugural G from our Professional Collection. I say that because it’s like having multiple watches in one. In darker areas, the contrast of the dial gives it a really cool look, but in direct sunlight, it shines magnificently bright.
Being a stainless steel band, it can easily be worn in more of an upscale environment, but it can also just as easily be dressed down if you are in a more casual setting. Also, the silver steel color will match with a wider range of outfits than if you had a certain color leather band and you were worried about your belt or shoe color matching. Our Professional Collection can make the best of any situation!
Professional – Inaugural G (https://www.ascensionbrands.com/)
Father’s Day is coming!
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About the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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