Thread: What types of watches do you like?

Originally Posted by Birnando

Then again, wouldn't it be just a tad dull if we all wore $15 Timex watches?

Anything more than the simplest of quartz watches made in Taiwan are about those things you mention.
Heck, if telling time was all we were after, our cell-phones would suffice quite nicely..

Well, that really wasn't what I was meaning. If keeping time is the important thing then yes a basic quartz will suffice. I was talking mechanical watches and as you spend more and more, up until a point you can see increases in quality from mvmt decoration to better casework to nicer dials and better xtls but after that point you pay increasingly more for increasingly less.

To me the point where you get the most for your money is right around the grand mark.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

What erks me is how the big names no longer even make movements,ETA makes everything and most is crap.
My watchmaker will not repair a High dollor modern Omega Chrono and many other famous brands that exsist in name only because he can buy a brand new movement from the maker (ETA) for 150 bux.
You go back even to the early 60s and look at Omega 325s,Navitimers,El Primero Chronos,They were all Crown wheel chronos and are beautifull works of art.
Why people pay thousands for a watch in name only with a cheap disposible mvmt is unbielievable.

People buy because of advertising. They think there is some magic in the case. That's why watch outfits pay so much for celebrity ambassadors and special events and full page magazine layouts. It all works. Rolex wrote the book on all of it and the suckers err buyers pay for it.

Actually there is nothing wrong with ETA Mvmts. They are good serviceable and accurate mvmts that will last as long as you with service. Most outfits can't afford to make in-house anymore. it's too expensive however with the changes in ETA ownership many lessor brands are moving to Japanese mvmts and Chinese mvmts and those outfits who must have "Swiss made" on the dial will either have to find an ETA clone in Switzerland or they will go out of business. That's why you are seeing more and more outfits like tag and IWC advertising their own in-house stuff. They have no choice.

yes you can buy a basic ETA 2824 mvmt at wholesale for less than a hundred bucks but at retail with markup your watch repair dude will charge you $350 or more depending on the nameplate on the dial.

Watch outfits realize the younger generation do not wear watches and this time they won't be getting caught with their pants down like during the Quartz introduction back in the 70s so they are slowly going upstream in price to appeal to the better heeled.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

What erks me is how the big names no longer even make movements,ETA makes everything and most is crap.
My watchmaker will not repair a High dollor modern Omega Chrono and many other famous brands that exsist in name only because he can buy a brand new movement from the maker (ETA) for 150 bux.
You go back even to the early 60s and look at Omega 325s,Navitimers,El Primero Chronos,They were all Crown wheel chronos and are beautifull works of art.
Why people pay thousands for a watch in name only with a cheap disposible mvmt is unbielievable.

That is insane. The ETA movements are one of the most reliable movements ever made. Just because a lot of watch makers use a standard "base" movement does not mean it is bad. It is done as a cost savings measure. In fact, many of the in-house movements are unreliable and not easy to repair. Furthermore, Omega does not just slap in an ETA and put an omega dial on it. The movement is refined, decorated, modified and adjusted (not to mention CSOC certification in some instances). Even very high end watchmakers like IWC or even then BEST (in my opinion), Patek Philippe use tried and true movements from other manufacturers in some of their entry level watches (IWC uses highly modified ETA and PP uses JLC). Omega even has a patent on an escapement (co-axial) that goes into some of their better watches. If your watchmaker is dumping an Omega ETA for a generic ETA, it is time for a new watchmaker and I would punch him in the head!

Is all advertizing,is all B.S,people are paying 3/5 grand for watches,Omega, Breitling,Hublot.the list is endless that cost $400 to make.

I completely disagree, but to each his own! I would suggest looking at some of the movements modified by Omega and to a lesser extent Breitling, but both are nearly unrecognizable.

Originally Posted by TSWisla

I completely disagree, but to each his own! I would suggest looking at some of the movements modified by Omega and to a lesser extent Breitling, but both are nearly unrecognizable.

Baloney,do you know the diff between high end Omega 325 crown wheel movements and cheap ETA (Omega) lever movements??
They are night and day.

I am not going to have this argument with you that has been had a million times in various watch forums. I have been collecting watches for a long time, please do not patronize me because you do not want to recognize an opinion other than your own.

Originally Posted by TSWisla

I am not going to have this argument with you that has been had a million times in various watch forums. I have been collecting watches for a long time, please do not patronize me because you do not want to recognize an opinion other than your own.

If you are a long time watch collector,than you understand what I am reffering to.
This is not an argument,you are not being patronized by me,lets just call it entellectual intercourse.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

If you are a long time watch collector,than you understand what I am reffering to.
This is not an argument,you are not being patronized by me,lets just call it entellectual intercourse.

First, I apologize for mistaking the tone of your argument. I love vintage watches, I wish that we could go back to the 50s and 60s when everyone made their own movements. It made for some very interesting movements and innovations. You have to at least concede that there are two trains of thought here. Remember the Ball Trainmaster wristwatch? It was coveted because it had a highly reliable, highly accurate, highly modified ETA movement where accuracy was a matter of life or death. At the same time, I would take C.89 IWC movement any day over a newer IWC ETA, it is a no brainer. Just trying to make the point that trashing ETA is unfounded, in my opinion and they most certainly are not all the same. Thank you for clearing the air.

Trying to find a competent watch repairer is hard enough. Those who are competent love standard or lightly modified ETA mvmts because they are easy to work on and the parts are easy to source and because they work on them all the time they are very familiar with them. Try going into a watch repair place with a less common mvmt and many if not most won't touch them. Time is money and why should they spend 3x the time on mvmt A over B when they really can't charge more for a basic service on a basic watch?

In the end it's not a matter of worth-once you go past a certain point watches become luxury items and they sell for what they sell for and you buy them if you want them and don't if you don't. Like I said above most of the overhead isn't even in the watch it's all the other stuff. The watch shows and wining and dining. Ever request a catalog from Zenith or JLC? It's a bound book and that's got to cost. You pay for it all when you buy these brands.