Something happened recently that created a blip so small you probably missed it. It was the kind of kerfuffle that really doesn’t warrant the use of the word for how insignificant and unnecessary it was. The sort of issue that you don’t realize is an issue until someone makes it an issue. Two different small brands made two different dive-style watches based on the same thing and released them almost exactly 12 months apart. The brand that released its watch first (Brand A) got angry and shared a rant about the impropriety of it all: How could this other brand (Brand B) make another dive watch using the same source of inspiration? There were two assumptions underpinning this lament: Small brands shouldn’t make similar watches, and inspiration is somehow protected intellectual property.

Regarding the notion that small brands shouldn’t make similar watches, I think there was a feeling of “We’re in this together,” with added notions of honor and decency. The two brands at hand are similarly positioned in the market, based in the same country, and the inspiration was particular to that country — there’s more overlap than just two random brands making two similar watches. Perhaps Brand B should have given Brand A a heads-up. There’s no obligation here, but there is a sense of community amongst smaller brands, especially those in the same country. Moves like this threaten to create fractures in that community, and though I don’t know the specifics, I do believe in common courtesy, and perhaps that wasn’t given when it should have been.

The second assumption — that two watches shouldn’t have the same inspiration — is more flawed. There is nothing illegal about using the same inspiration for the same type of product, nor for being inspired by an existing product and then doing your own take. Further, while in theory there are unlimited sources of inspiration, in reality, a fraction of those are suitable for marketable watch design. I think about motorsport-inspired watches and the blue and orange Gulf Oil colors that TAG Heuer uses in an official capacity, and that plenty of others have used in their own chronograph designs. The Gorilla Fastback Thunderbolt above doesn’t explicitly mention Gulf, but it does refer to its orange and blue colorway as “recognizable” and “synonymous with motorsport.” We all know what the brand is getting at. These are very different chronographs that take inspiration from the same classic motorsport colorway. Other examples include Fossil and Seiko both making Pokémon watches and both Brew and Singer making watches with scales for timing espresso shots.

I started writing this with a firm belief that Brand A needs to chill out. As often happens, as I wrote, I realized that the issue at hand is more nuanced. The more similar two watch brands are, the more questionable it is when they release similar watches. The more specific the source of inspiration, the more questionable it is when it’s used by two contemporary brands. There’s a difference between a huge brand like TAG and a small upmarket brand like Gorilla using the same iconic motorsport colors, as opposed to two small brands from the same country using the same very specific inspiration. The more specific the inspiration, the more overlap the brands and resulting watches, and the more contemporary the releases are, the more potential there is to raise eyebrows.

Brands should strive to create new and different things. The hobby gets boring when we keep seeing the same thing over and over again. I also understand that inspiration is finite, and sometimes an idea seizes you and you can’t shake it. (That’s how many of these Wait a Minute columns start: I have an idea that I need to write about, even if others have done so before me.) When it comes to inspiration, I say take it where it comes. Applying that to watches, it’s exciting and interesting to see how different brands use the same source of inspiration differently. With a more general inspiration or style, like integrated bracelet watches, I’m exhausted but nevertheless intrigued every time a brand releases its take. With more niche inspiration, I’m always eager to see what can be done, because the highly specific nature of the inspiration applies more constraints and demands more creativity. Ultimately, where I end is this: As long as brands aren’t just copying each other, more is more, and more is better.