Druk oponderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
The Watch Aficionado
Voor de horlogeliefhebber
01-07-2013
High End Luxury Watches
High End
Luxury Brands
Brands
like: A. Lange and Söhne, Audemars Piguet,
Blancpain, Breguet, Fank Muller, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Mardin, Vacheron
Constantin
Price range:8.000-... no limit
Things to
look for in this region:
1. Precious Metal Construction
It should
go without saying that a high end expensive watch should be constructed from
quality materials. This means the best possible materials and so forth, but it
is also a good idea to ensure that the metals involved are inherently valuable.
Take for instance a luxury watch that is 18k gold versus titanium. Which one is
going to have more value in the abstract? Not only that, but it is a good idea
to investigate how much precious metals are used. Parts of the case? All of the
case? Are the hands and hour markers gold? When talking about watches at 15.000
and up, you should expect see a fair amount of precious metals being used in
the construction and execution of the watch. The most common metals are of
course the various colors of gold (yellow, rose, pink, red, white, etc...) as well
as platinum. Silver is rarely used for cases, and a bit more commonly used for
traditional looking watch dials. It also goes without saying that precious
stones also are a desirable component given the style and variety of the watch.
2. Natural, Quality Jewels
If there a
precious jewels in or on your watch, you want to take a close look at them. The
first thing to look at is the origin of the stones. The major options are
natural or manufactured. Natural stones are obtained the traditional manner. There
is an inherent romance to the concept that a stone was derived from the earth,
discovered, cut and polished, and then used on your luxury item? The other
alternative is the manufactured stones. These are not synthetic stones, but
real stones that have been grown in a lab. So real stones, not naturally made.
Probably the most popular synthetic stones in watches are sapphires, diamonds
to a degree. Of course the most valuable stones are the natural ones. Ask for
the total carat amount and ask where the stones came from.
3. Manufacture Made Movement
Most watch
companies in the world do not make their own movements. They source movements
from various movement suppliers. The most well known European watch movement
maker is ETA, and is part of the large Swatch Group. Some companies purchase
movements and use them as they are, and other times they modify or add to
movements (modules) making them more unique and complex. This also involves
various types of decoration that a watch maker might include on a movement. The
best watch makers design and construct their own movements in house, even if
they dont make other components of the watches. Youll find that the top
houses such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piquet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, A. Lange
& Sohne, among others each make their own movements. Having an exclusive
movement made by the watch brand almost always ensures a high level of
decoration in a beautifully made and sometimes very complex watch movement.
4. Seal of Geneva
The seal is
a certification of quality and origin. The seal is applied directly on the
movements of specific watches that satisfy the stringent rules as applied by
Swiss law. The seal of Geneva is placed on certain watches that have movements
which are mostly created and assembled within the canton of Geneva in
Switzerland. The movements must also have various technical and decoration
requirements in addition to their place of origin. Only a handful of watch
makers have movements with the seal, and it is very hard to get. Just because a
watch does not have the Seal does not make it bad, but those that do enjoy the
Seal of Geneva are most always impressive high luxury timepieces.
Brands
include: Cartier, Chopard, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe
5. Exotic Materials
The last
few years have seen an impressive number of luxury timepieces being released
that make use of interesting materials in the case construction as well as the
movement. These materials range from unique allays exclusive to particular
watch makers, to exotic compounds youve never even heard of, as well as
innovative ways of using materials for watches that were not previously used
for watches. In an ongoing effort to differentiate themselves, watch makers
have gone to great lengths to use exotic materials for watch making. Sometimes
even improving a watch in doing so. For example, something called silicium is
being used in some watch movements by companies such as Patek Philippe and
Ulysse Nardin. The exotic material does not require lubrication and thus helps
the longevity and accuracy of a watch movement. On the outside you have
ceramics used that are very hard and much tougher than metal to scratch.
Besides these, you now have materials being used like, rubber, carbon fiber,
titanium, various leathers,...
6. Many Hours of Hand Construction and Assembly
A question
you should always present to a watch retailer is, how long does it take to
make this watch? They should know the answer, and be proud of it, even if it
is a number of months. High-end watches are handmade and assembled by master
watch makers. Sometimes a team of people will be involved in making the watch,
other times a single watch maker toils for as long as a year or more on a
single watch. As each part needs to be fabricated, decorated, assembled and
tested. You can imagine that the process takes a long time. The longer it takes
to make a watch, the more refinement and decoration will be found in and on it.
There is no specific amount of time that you should look for, as it depends on
the company. Rolex for example uses complex robotics and departments to make
watches, even though their most expensive have jewelers who hand set the gems.
Rolex can take just a few days to make a watch, while a less industrialized
brand can take several months.
7. Complications
High-end
watches dont just have beautiful mechanical movements, they have complex
movements. A watch costing in excess of 15.000 should often do more than just
tell the time, or it should tell the time in a special way. Other complications
effect how accurate a watch is or how interesting the movement is to look at
while in operation (i.e. various types of tourbillon escapements). Other common
complications in high end watches are perpetual calendars, rattrapante
chronographs, sonneries, fuse and chains, moon phases and multiple time zones
along with world timers. Be cognizant of what complications the watch you are
looking at has. When looking at high end watches, you might want to ensure that
the complications you are interested in arent available at lower prices to
help secure the value of your purchase decision.
8. Highly Refined Designer Looks
A high end
watch should be beautiful. It should have a large amount of time and effort
invested in the design, meaning that the beauty of the watch should not wear
off like the novelty and relevance of a new computer. The best watch makers are
skilled in making unique designs, but ones that are instant classics. You
have to have a good eye to spot the best, but there are things you can do to
test this aside from recognizing that a watch has a famous designer. First,
look at the watch again after you saw and loved it the first time. Do you still
feel good about it the second time? Also, look at a series of other nice
watches. Is the watch you like still your favorite when you return to it after
seeing other nice watches? Next, and trust me on this one, if you have the
watch in front of you, then wear it, and also have someone else wear it. Seeing
it on your wrist is not nearly as good an indicator as seeing it on someone
elses wrist. The best designs will look good on anyone. Lastly, when looking
at a designer look, you want to make sure it has enough unique qualities to
justify the exclusive item you are thinking about buying.
9. Limited Production
The best
luxury things in life come in small quantities and are made in limited
productions by dedicated people. Besides, having too much of anything cuts the
value and the intrigue. So look for limited edition or highly limited
production watches. Ask how many of a particular model have been made and
whether or not there are a 1.000 or 100.000 of them out there. The more limited
a watch is, the more exclusive it is, which is a major component of true luxury
goods.
10. Investment Grade Acquisition
The lucky
high end luxury watch buyer will be able to afford a timepiece that has the
potential to increase in value. On the one hand there are certain brands that
commonly have their most exclusive models increase in value (such as Patek
Philippe and Rolex), but certain other watch models or brands may have this
same quality. It is very difficult to gauge whether a watch will increase in
value, but do your best to follow the above guidelines and your might first
yourself with an investment grade timepiece. In the end, you arent buying a
watch for its value alone, but it would be at least nice to know your
acquisition retains its value.
Save for
limited circumstances, if you are buying a mens watch for over 2.500 it will
most likely have a mechanical movement. If it does not, youll want to make
sure it is a pretty special type of quartz movement such as Superquartz (such
Breitlings thermoline quartz movement that is accurate to 5 seconds a year).
Otherwise, the name of the luxury watch game is having the best possible
mechanical movement. Why? This is not an easy answer to be honest because
quartz watches are actually more reliable and accurate for the most part.
Still, a mechanical watch movement never needs a battery, represents the
classic way of making watches, and offers a certain emotion value that the
tick, tick, ticking of a quartz watch simply cannot offer.
2. Anti Reflective Coating
The enemy
combatant here is glare, and you want as little as possible when trying to
read the face of a watch. Compare the dial of a higher-end versus a less
expensive watch in the light and youll see what I mean. Similar to the anti
reflective coating on glasses, on watch crystals the coating really can improve
legibility dramatically. There are two places that AR coating is applied. It
being on the front and the rear of the crystal. Preferably you want the coating
on both sides, but you should at least want to have it on the bottom. One issue
with AR coating is that it can wear or scratch off and may need to be
reapplied. Lastly, the more curved a sapphire crystal is, the more likely you
are going to want full AR coating on it, which is often referred to as double
anti reflective coating.
3. Screwed Links in Bracelet
This is a
pretty simple concept. Metal bracelets are made of links that are connected
together. The two types of items used to hold the links together are screw bars
or pins. Pins are small rods that come in various styles and qualities. They
are pressure applied using a small hammer or device that inserts them in the
bracelet. To adjust the bracelet a small pressure tool must be used to remove
the pins and then reinsert them. Alternatively you have small screw bars that
go into a bracelet using a tiny screw driver. These are considered better
because they are of higher quality, look nicer and will last longer. Both types
of link bars can be adjusted by you if you have the right tools.
4. Chronometer Certification
This is
something that not all mid range (or high range) luxury watches have by any
means, but can add value and reliability to your watch. In fact, only a very
small percentage of Swiss watches are COSC Chronometer certified. Chronometer
certification is a process where a watch movement is sent to the COSC and
tested over a period a days. The movement is running and tested in various
different positions. This testing is specific to each movement, so it is more
than simply a test of the movement design. During the testing, a watchs rate results
are observed to determine overall how accurate it is. For a watch to be
Chronometer certified, it must be within the -4/+6 seconds a day accuracy on
average between all positions. Meaning a movement cannot lose more than 4
seconds or gain more than 6 seconds a day. Just because a watch is not COSC
certified, does not mean it would fail the test, but rather that the movement
hasnt been sent to the COSC for testing. Having a movement that has been
Chronometer certified helps you appreciate the reliable nature of the movement
and add an additional part of the watchs life story. Quartz watches can also
be Chronometer certified, but have a different set of accuracy criteria.
5. Quality Case Finishes and Polishes
It is that
super mirror polish on steel that is very hard to achieve and needed to be
constantly polished. At some point fake chrome was invented. The memories of
fake chrome were from the 80s when youd see it peeling and flaking off of
cars. That was not real chrome, it was some cheap coating or surface over
cheaper sheet metal. Take this concept and apply it to watches. Not all nice
look watch surfaces are real or well done. At the highest level you have milled
steel blocks that are precision cut and then polished by hand. On the cheapest end
you have stamped or injection molded metal that is not as nice or durable. The
better the metal underneath, the better the polish and finish can be on the
surface. Some of the best cases have different types of polish on them. And not
all polishes result in the same look. Say the sides of the case are polished
but the top is in a brushed metal finish. A lot of this comes into place on
higher end watches, but in a mid range luxury watch you want to closely inspect
the metal to see how well done the edges are. Overall a good polish will
preserve its look for a long time, while a cheaper polish will fade fast.
6. SuperLumiNova Luminant
Just because a watch has a luminant compound
applied to the hands or face, does not mean it will glow well in the dark. One of
the best luminants is SuperLumiNova. It is certainly the most popular quality
luminant, but not the only one. Thus, if there is a luminant that is knows to
work well, but has a different name, it will probably be ok. Having a good
luminant compound is just step one. A watch should also have enough layers of
the luminant and it should be on a large surface area. Testing a luminant is
easy. It should not require bright lights to charge in, and simply cupping your
hands over the watch should be enough to have the shine of the luminant pop
out. Make sure you get a watch with a good luminant compound.
7. Brand Pedigree
This is a
bit of a though to explain topic, because you have all of these mainstream
brands that people are familiar with, and then you have many less knows brands
that are sometimes much better than the mainstream brands. Because there are
100s of watch companies out there, you cant rely on name recognition alone to
identify whether a brand is worth getting. Instead, if you arent familiar with
a brand, see that it has at least some story behind it and perhaps has a story
behind the designs as well. You may be thinking, Well if the price is right
and the watch looks good, who cares? Youd be surprised how important the
story of a watch and its brand are. Just ask any collector about the brand of
their favourite watches. So what I mean by brand pedigree is to look for either
well-known brands familiarized for making good watches or iconic designs, or a
brand with a special story or interesting founder. If you arent familiar with
a brand, and unsure about them. Ask someone who knows.
8. Observable Dial and Movement Decoration
Mid range
luxury watches should all have at least some manner of decoration, even if it
is hidden on or in the movement and you cannot see it. This can be as simple as
a special polished finish on an automatic movement rotor, or a textured dial on
the face of the watch, just perhaps just in the chronograph sub dials (if there
are any). These little features help make the watch feel more valuable, and are
proof that effort went into the little touches. Think about certain hotels and
their attention to detail. Thus, look for things such as machine engravings on
the dial, as well as a variety of potential polishes on the movement. Sometimes
youll even have decorations on the case of the watch. Even your basic Rolex
Submariner has some decorations on the movement rotor even though you wouldnt
know it from just seeing the watch on the outside (see figure below). These
features will make a watch more memorable to you.
9. Unique Design
There are
essentially three types of overall watch designs looking above the mere genre.
First are totally original designs that arent based on any specific watches
from the past. These types of designs are often a mix between classic watch
genres and the designers own interpretations of watch making. Then you have
homage watches that attempt to strictly replicate an iconic, emblematic or
specific watch (e.g. all the Rolex Submariner homage watches or aviator style
watches). Then you have a mix between the two, where a designer takes one or
more well-known looks or styles and adds their own twist or two to the design
execution. Pretty every watch out there falls in one of these three types.
While there are plenty of homage watches in the entry-level luxury watch range,
at the mid-level range you want to see as much originality in the design as
possible. Above that, every watch should be almost totally original. You dont
want people to mistake your 4.000 watch for a 400 watch because both homages
are of the same style. Make sure the design is original. If you dont know, either
ask around or use your gut and decide whether or not the watch looks unique
enough for your taste.
10. Value Retention
This
principle will really only apply to a few key brands, but you can do a lot to
ensure your watch holds as much value as possible. The key factor in value
retention other than having a watch from one of the major collectors brands,
Rolex, Breitling, Omega, etc... is to have a watch that satisfies as much as
the previously mentioned items to look for in a luxury watch. Having a good
movement, attractive and original design, and high level of craftsmanship using
quality materials, will all keep demand for a watch healthy. Most of the time
you are not going to be able and sell a watch for more than you purchased it,
especially at this range, but you dont want to be insulted at what the market
will offer you if you plan to sell your watch at some point. Then again, if you
are the type of person who will die with his or her watch collection, none of
this value nonsense is at all important. The Watch Afficionado
Brands
like: TAG Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Longines,
Bell & Ross, Tissot, Raymond Weil, Oris, Rado.
Price range:500 - 2.500
Things to
look for in this region:
1.Sapphire Crystal
A watch
crystal is the transparent cover over the face of the watch. Crystals have been
made using different materials over the years, but only a few major materials
dominate the market today. Most of the watches youll look at have one of two
types of crystals; mineral glass or synthetic crystals. Mineral crystals are
cheaper and offer one benefit over sapphire they dont tend to shatter if
struck hard. Meaning they will crack, but not shatter. Shattered sapphire
crystals are relatively rare and typically occur with a harsh impact. The
better the watch, the thicker the sapphire crystal will be, and thus less likely
to crack. Sapphire crystals are incredibly scratch-resistant though. You often
see well-worn watches with beat up cases but a flawless crystal. Thus,
sapphire crystals are more desirable to mineral crystals and should be
preferred the majority of the time.
2. Solid Metal Construction
To some
people it might be obvious to get a watch out of solid metal, but youd be
surprised at how some cheaper watches cut costs. Steel watches should be made
from grade 316L stainless steel. Plus, the watch case and bracelet links should
be solid pieces of metal rather than folded metal or anything hollow. It is
easy to tell a solid bracelet by looking at the side of it. In watches at this
level, cases are best made from the fewest amounts of pieces and using the most
metal possible. This means the least (or no) amount of materials such as
plastic or otherwise.
3. Swiss movement
Switzerland
is known for making high quality watch movements. Most of the time Swiss
movements come from ETA or Ronda, especially if they are quartz movements
(though this is not always the case). Lastly, at this price point you dont
need to worry too much about finding mechanical watches, you are fine with a
quartz movement, even though there are plenty of mechanical movements
available.
4. Solid Feeling Construction
You want
your watch to feel well put together and solid. Check to see how well the strap
or bracelet fits to the case. There should be little to no wiggle room. Put the
watch on your wrist and see how well the clasp or buckle operates. If the watch
has a rotating divers bezel, again twist it around and see how much movement
it gives in a resting position. A good watch should not make too much or any
noise when shifting around briskly on your wrist.
5. Designed by Actual Watch Makers
Consider
that two types of people are designing watches. Those that care about how well
a watch functions as a timepiece, and those that just care about how they look.
The best watches are designed using fundamental watch design principles that
value function AND form. The alternative fashion watch may look nice, but
actually have superfluous design cues. Worst case scenario is a watch that is
so poorly designed it does not even function properly. Examples of this are
missing chronograph sub dials, inoperable measuring scales just placed for show
or hand that are too small or the wrong size. So when buying a watch, allow
yourself to take the time and really look at the dial and all its features,
figuring out what each function does, along with making the decision whether it
is usable given your standards.
6. Locking Deployment Clasp if on Metal
Bracelet
Cheaper
watches with metal bracelets still have what is called a single locking clasp.
This is the type a bracelet that literally just snaps or clicks into place. The
best metal bracelets have what are known as double or triple locking clasps.
The image below has a bracelet with a double locking clasp (deployment). The
piece on the left locks via clicking down when it attaches to the bottom
segment. That is the first lock. The second is the little metal flap that
locks again over the first piece to secure it being closed. A triple lock
often features a push-button in the mix, or there are also double locking
clasps with a push-button instead of a fold over flap. The bottom line is that
you want a watch bracelet that will stay secure on your wrist no matter what
you are doing.
7. Weight
Watch
weight is a polarizing concept. Some people love heavy watches, others want
something very light. On more expensive watches you start to see materials such
as titanium which are lighter than steel, but in this price segment, weight is
often a sign of quality. At this price level, you are only going to get that
nice crisp quality look with steel. So in this segment weight is often a sign
of quality, so feel the weight of a case and bracelet to make sure it is
substantial enough to justify your investment.
8. Signed Crown and Buckle or Clasp
A good
watchmaker is more often than not a proud watch maker, and is fully invested in
each watch they design. This means there are typically four places that youll
watch to see the name of the watch makers. You can find these on the face of
the watch, the caseback, on the crown and on the deployment clasp or strap
buckle. The manner of signing can vary, but at this price level it is usually
some type of light laser engraving. Higher priced watches have logos and
graphics done relief. Cheaper watches have bare crowns and deployments which
make it too clear that these parts are taken from a parts bin and have no
personal touch.
9. Good Dial Lumination
Not all
watches are expected to have dials that illuminate in the dark for low light
viewing, these are typically the more classic or formal watches. However,
almost all sport and casual watches have some type of luminant that is applied
on the hands as well as somewhere on the dial. The quality of luminant greatly
varies. Some is so impractical that it should not even be there. An example
being that you need to shine a bright light directly to the face of the watch
for a minute or so, and then the dial dimly glows for a few minutes.
Alternatively you have luminant that charges easily with exposed room or sun
light and glows for hours. Watches will never indicate the source of the
luminant, but look for LumiNova, or better yet SuperLumiNova if possible. An alternative
to luminant are watches that use tritium gas tubes. These tubes are made by
just one company in Switzerland and glow by themselves for almost 25-30 years.
Tritium gas tubes are not tough to find as a few watch brands almost exclusively use them and can be had for reasonable prices.
10. Consistent Pricing
The vast
majority of watches, especially at these price levels, are sold below retail
prices. The difference here is that you have authorized dealers and
unauthorized dealers. If for example you find a watch at an authorized dealer
for 500 and a little but father down the street you find the exact same model
for 350, then you know there is something wrong with the value of the watch.
By definition luxury watches are going to be higher-end items that will
cost more than basic watches. Nevertheless, it is good to know what type of
money youll need to spend when your wrist has earned its first fine timepiece.
Why do you want a luxury watch to begin with? Whether it is professional
performance or a sense of class and status, high-end watches are emotionally
gratifying. I like high-end watches because they are made with quality, and can
be one of the only things even very wealthy people own that are potentially
hand-assembled and highly detailed.
In a world of mass produced and disposable
items, a beautiful luxury timepiece is a wonderful way to assert your
personality and carry around an appreciation for tradition and craftsmanship
for everyone else to see. There is no specific price point where luxury
begins and mainstream ends, but you are generally going to spend at least 1.000
or so when buying your first luxury watch. How high does that number go? How
high can you count?
