The thing about watches is that there are so many personalities to a watch, that once you start getting into it, you'll want more than one. Of course, it all depends on what you can afford.
BaselWorld goes on until Wednesday. It's mainly industry people, but great place for collectors to see the watches up close and personal.
A GBP 10 Casio keeps better time than any watch made in Switzerland but of course looks pants and cheap.
My opinion that any watch over a few hundred CHF, perhaps a 1000, comes under "law of diminishing returns" and you're into snob territory
If you are looking for a fashion accessory or work of art then the CHF1000 mark isn't going to get you very far. The ones I like in that category tend to be well over CHF100K
I really am curious and am also in the market for a "Swiss" Watch while I am living here. Any comments as to which are the best values? Not the cheapest but I am interested in "good value for money."
Thanks,
Brian.
Yes they have machines like that. I haven't seen one, but they must be far more of a mechanical marvel than the watches they produce!
Swatch is the giant in the industry, and supply the majority of movements to other brands. These are good, dependable watch movements.
What's depressing is that they only make a tiny variety. The Swiss watch industry collapsed in the 70's with the onslaught of cheaper and more accurate quartz watches. There were many movement makers up to that point, and what happened is they were sort of forced to merge and that eventually became ETA (one of the movement makers), who then made a select few of the other maker's movements under their name. ETA is now Swatch group.
Looking at the quality of every-day watch movements from the 50s-60s, it's a sad thing to me to see what's being produced today. The finish is terrible, compromises are made to speed up production and the longevity of the final product is diminished.
I personally would not buy a new watch, even from some of the esteemed makers such as Jaeger or Audemars. I think it is far better to buy a vintage piece and use the money saved to have it properly serviced by a competent watchmaker (this can run from several hundred to much more for 'restoration' work). But that's just me . When I wear a watch it's either a manual wind simple Omega from the 50's which is beautifully made, or an IWC auto from the 60's which is also beautifully made. Both are still serviceable and parts are available. Neither was very expensive. Both are light years away from what those makers are doing now, with the possible exception of IWC.
If forced to buy new, my top choices would be IWC, Glashutte (not swiss), or A. Lange (not Swiss either ). But I couldn't afford them, that's for sure. In a dream world I would buy a Philippe Dufour.
There are also constant innovations in the industry. There are companies that are pushing the edge in terms of design or material. I like how the brand Century is making use of Sapphire glass, and the brand Urwerk is innovating new ways of representing time.
Try trebling it. There are 2 sizes, all the details on the site posted.
All 100% hand-made! I can personally vouch for that.
Price Range: 8,000SFr. to 350,000SFr.