Low Built quality on Highly rated expensive Swiss Watch brand!

[daevildog]

Bought a Breitling Navitimer from Tourneau 15 years ago (before I got into this hobby)... low quality piece of crap. Loud, rough sounding rotor, stopped working after a year requiring servicing. The bracelet was better made than the watch.

[Alou]

Maybe it was not serviced well,and if the watch had a vajoux 7750 ,yes they are a bit loud.
Eventough it never bothers me ,i am surprised when i read people that they hear their watch rotors!
Even so Foblin grease!
Still even if it was a "Bad" Breitling is a 2000 -2500 priced watch on the low series!

[Alou]

That AP name on the front is a big part of the price.

Probably 70% !

[Emilio]

[jbglock]

You know I got kicked from a watch forum for making basically the same argument about different brands. The fact is some watches are way over priced for what they really offer other than a name while others are way under priced for what they offer. Tell someone it is your opinion that the watch they happen to own is over priced and you get nothing short of a holy war.

The best advice I have ever seen after over 3 decades of this is collect what you enjoy and ignore everything else.

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[Alou]

I totally agree with you ,keep in mind that most of the people that buy the overpriced watches buy them because they are overpriced,to show they are overpriced!If they were cheap they wouldn't buy them. Sounds crazy but that's how it is.
Only a small percent are watch educated and now what to but or collect
Others buy a watch based only on their name fame and not the quality fame.
On the other hand,there are some highly priced watches that are worth some extra value and value but they are a little overpriced .
In allot of cases the really known brands you usually pay in their retail price their advertising costs.
Also a very well know watch maker (don't want to name it because a war will start like you said) produces thousands watches of the same models per year after years completely machine assembled,while others even cheaper ones run a few hundred per year hand inspected with high quality build .

I was looking the other day of a small brand that produces 200-300 diver watches per year ,selling them at around 500-800 a piece,
Swiss made.The quality of the build and the materials used on the case impressed me!Way better then dive watch costing 8000 or more from another Swiss maker that builds by the thousand ,millions maybe and there bracelet feels it will brake on a heavy impact.

Of course i am not talking into account the high horology makers that hand built 2-4 watches a year with high complicated movements to display the art and craft of horology.That is a different area ,price value is different there.

So this is were i agree with you is collect or buy what you enjoy and ignore everything else.

Have fun enjoy what you like and not what they enforce you to like! No Holy wars please! Peace and LOVE

[jrlmsla]

All this plus Swatch’s death grip on the industry leads me to the following timeline in fine watchmaking:

US pocket watches with Swiss trying to copy and catch up
Swiss wristwatches with Japan trying to copy and keep up
Japan dominating quality and cost value with Swiss dwindling and raising prices and cutting corners to maintain profit
Japan dominating all aspects of watchmaking
China churning out copies all the while

[jbglock]

All this plus Swatch’s death grip on the industry leads me to the following timeline in fine watchmaking:

US pocket watches with Swiss trying to copy and catch up
Swiss wristwatches with Japan trying to copy and keep up
Japan dominating quality and cost value with Swiss dwindling and raising prices and cutting corners to maintain profit
Japan dominating all aspects of watchmaking
China churning out copies all the while

It amuses me when a China maker takes a Seiko movement, makes a 200m wr watch, includes a sapphire crystal (Hardlex I find to be no more scratch resistant than mineral in my own experience), and then sells it for less than half what it would cost if Seiko branded and sold it.

These two cost less than a single Laco. The Laco in question having a Miyota that hand winds but doesn't hack. No offense to any Laco owner. If resale value or history is a concern I can see the Laco then making more sense.


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