Honestly was not expecting anyone to think those are great ideas. Okay, let's take them one at a time ...
1) There is something known as High-End quartz. But keep in mind, we're talking about watch brands that want to be perceived as High-End. Not those that already are. How much sense does it make to alienate a big chunk of your core customer base by getting rid of quartz offerings? Especially if some of them are your biggest sellers? Plus, it's not as though it actually turns a luxury brand into a full-on High-End one. It's a perception. More often than not, one put out there by a brand's executives.
2) It's a little thing called not being an absolute scumbag. You don't pull the AD status from independent businesses that have worked hard to make your brand successful not just over the years, but over the decades.
3) It's the watch industry. Sorry, but discounting is a hallmark practice which consumers are used to. Just as they are in the car business. If a typical individual bought a brand new, for example, family sedan; and payed full retail for it ... Everyone he knows would laugh at him. And rightly so! No one pays full retail for the average car. GM tried to pull that boutique-no-discounts BS with their Saturn line of cars. Look what happened there. 10 years, and now Saturn is dead as a brand. 10 years! For a car brand?? Downright pathetic. Now in fairness, more folks seem to be willing to put up with that no-discounts nonsense from watch brands far more than they would from a car brand. "Seem to" being the key words. It would be interesting to see just how many customers walk into a boutique simply to try on a watch in order to make sure it'll be a good fit for them, before going home and ordering that model online from a Grey Market dealer with an excellent reputation. (Honestly, I doubt we'll ever know. Though I'll go out on a limb and say it's not likely an insignificant percentage of shoppers.)
It's one thing if you simply must have a certain model in your collection and it becomes clear that a boutique is your best bet. Let's be realistic though. How often is a WIS or a non-WIS but shrewd buyer going to pay full price for a watch? Even a nice one. Not often. And certainly not if they can find a better price online from a trusted source. It's just something that quite a few watch brands have to learn to deal with ... Consumers expect a discount when they buy a new watch. If you refuse, they'll go elsewhere for a new or a Pre-owned version of it. As a personal example, a little earlier in this topic, I mentioned my growing fascination with the newer 2-dial Omega Speedmaster. I guarantee you, I will not walk into an Omega boutique and pay full price for one. One of the reasons why that will NEVER happen? I would laugh at myself if I did that. It's not a Grail. It's not a model I've lusted over for years which is now very difficult to find and the only place I can now get one is at a place with a strict No-Discount policy. True, the recognized High-End brands are not the realm of "bargain hunters." But some choose to go the Pre-owned route there. And it's a perfectly viable option.
4) I'll admit, this can be beneficial if a brand chooses the right celebrity Ambassador who reflects the brand's image and that of the core customer base they are trying to attract. Still, smart consumers realize that part of the high cost of their watch is to pay off that Ambassador or product-placement in movies. It can attract consumers to your brand. But once attracted, you better be able to keep them interested. That's the hard part. Plus, choose the wrong celeb to endorse your product; and you risk actually alienating customers.
5) Does this one really need an explanation? Really?? How about the fact that it's just bull$#!%. And while not every consumer can "smell it." Many can. Even if they still want your offerings, it goes back to #3 and the whole concept of not paying full price. Actually #3 and #5 have a darker side to them ... It's called price-gouging. While great for certain brands who can get away with that garbage, ultimately; among those who appreciate a true High-End watch, their noses are a little too sensitive to the "smell." They're (literally) not going to buy it. Ultimately the recognized, true, High-End brands have a history that is quite different from those who follow the play-book for a short-cut to being seen as "upscale."
As far as TAG Heuer and its Ambassadors go, the watches are worn that way because thay are photoshopped onto their fists. Perhaps so that the same still pictures can be used later on when newer versions of those models are introduced. Just photoshop the new ones over the old.