This is veering away from the original post but hand made was mentioned...
Here's an example of the pinnacle of hand made watches. Made here in Switzerland by an Englishman, Derek Pratt. Mr. Pratt sadly passed away just a few months ago. He moved here in 1965, spoke perfect Swiss German, and being a very modest man said he didn't speak French but he did and he spoke it with a wonderful Jura accent.
Click the pic for details on the watch (Christie's auction). Every piece, including the case, dial, hands, glass, every screw, pin- everything- was made in his little workshop on manual machines. That's a handmade watch, and Mr. Pratt was the best of the best.
I post this because it grinds my gears to no end the hype that watch companies spew knowing that it's untrue and also knowing that the general buying public will never find out. There are about 2 people on earth who actually make hand made watches still, and maybe a half dozen who are artisans and do enough handwork that it could be called hand made. There are perhaps a dozen companies who make their own movements (not hand made but still class). If you see a glossy ad exclaiming HAND MADE! you can be sure you are being taken for a fool.
This watch was inspired by the work of Louis Cottier who made a similar watch for Patek over 40 years ago. Cottier was a bad-mofo watchmaker, and I give Felix Baumgartner (Urwerk's main brain) a lot of credit for acknowledging the origin for this piece. Felix is a chic type , and in the sometimes slimy world of high end watches that's very nice indeed.
This general style and departure from classical designs has divided the world of exclusive watches; one side is NASCAR and the other is Formula One. Or something like that. A lot of thought and creativity goes in to these modern pieces, but they are largely modeled in heavy duty CAD programs and the files sent to machines costing the same as a nice Zurich apartment or sometimes a block of nice apartments and bingo! there's a new watch. I think I've exposed my leanings in watch style... From my above post, Mr. Pratt was as old school as it gets and liked to say he works in CARD, not CAD, meaning he would make enlarged cardboard models of new mechanisms to test them before he made the real thing in miniature metal .
And tying into Dougal's Breakfast's thread on depraved artists- as regards to the 'art' of watchmaking I have to say that I am very influenced by the man behind the machine. There are a lot of smarmy twats in the business who sometimes have good ideas and though I acknowledge the effort, can't get past the ****. Then there are a lot of really class acts like Felix Baumgartner where, even though I don't particularly like their style, I still get a warm fuzzy feeling when I see their work.
Unfortunately there is a huge descrepancy with watches in usability and being a piece of industrial art which has no limited price. Also collectors pay high prices just because of a rare time piece. E.g. an unfancy Patek Philipe made of steel without complication was sold for 2milion Sfr.
In my opinion mecanical watches are not much usable, once dropped on the tiled bathroom floor they need a service regardless if the wach has a price tag of 500 or 100`000. My guess a 100`000 dollar watch has a higher maintenance cost than a Mercedes.
The price for dropping a rolex on a tiled floor will cost you 500 dollar.
In usability there is no other alternative than a electronic movement which usually does not loose a second within a year combined with skin friendly case material, eg. no nickel aloying,titanium or 24 carat gold.
I also like high end watches, but cant afford many...
I have a Baume and Mercier ladies watch in gold with 24 diamonds. Sadly, instead of buying it 70 km from where I live, in the Jura, I bought it in the US on the internet, because it was 4000 CHF cheaper. Why cant the Swiss match these prices for their own watches?
I also have a 1933 Hamilton in rose gold, with two rubies and one small diamond. According to the world specialist on Hamiltons, this one is unique, and was made for a special order. At this time, Hamilton was American. Is it now Swiss? (previous posts)
When I was a young student I spent a months salary on a gold bangle watch with a movement by Beuch Girod of Geneva. That watch is still going strong today, but the designer that made it, Roy King, has long since gone bankrupt.
Such snobbish posts don`t make sense. The question is where do you wear your Rolex or Patek Philipe ? You couldn`t because there are plenty of envier who also light up or scratch your mercedes.
It is a disatvantage when you can use your mercedes and watch only in a certain society. Wearing a Rolex could be a risk to your health and that is not only because you could develop an allergy on some metal alloy.
I wear a Rolex during the week, and a Patek at weekends in general.
As for developing an alergy to metal alloy, i better get my platic knive and fork out; should i pretend i'm allergic to something or just pretend about flying somewhere ?
Most of us do not live in a favela or slum, but in some of the "somewhat urban" parts of Switzerland. I am trying hard, but I cannot come up with a single place I have been to in Switzerland where I could not wear a Rolex. Given the average salary here in Zurich, easily half of the population could afford one if they really wanted to. So hardly a real status symbol, is it? For me it is rather a symbol of a certain age (I believe they used to be cool in the 80s, I am too young to know). Not my taste, but definitely not snobbery for Swiss standards.
For me, Patek for men and for me an Ebel. My own is 15 years old but as good as new and (I think) has a timeless elegance. My girlfriend has a Breitmeyer which is a lovely watch but I think that you have to be big boned to wear one.
The male version Ebel is quite delicate by today's contemporary chunky standards and wafer thin so would suit slim-wristed gents. My ex husband had very slim wrists and wore a Patek which suited him beautifully. Longines also do some lovely less chunky watches.
I've always been partial to Omegas since, my perception is, they have the quality of the Rolex of years past, but not quite the high profile so more watch for less money - thoughts?