Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

14748505253182

Comments

  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    "Hublot: You are, simply, wrong." :D

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,867 ✭✭✭sparrowcar


    I found that very funny. All brands are slagged in fairness so most people will laugh at 99% of it and be offended at the 1% that applies to their watch.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,148 ✭✭✭893bet


    Patek Philippe - Type 2: You are a Russian oligarch. You assert that a hacking seconds “damages the movement”. Though you’ll never say so openly, you are secretly jealous of the finishing on a Lange. You feel reassured when you see one of those “For the next generation” ads.

    Lolled


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,140 ✭✭✭James Bond Junior


    So as many of you may know, I am the principal in a Middle Eastern school. Rich Arab kids are the norm but this took the box of biscuits. One of my older students (think 5th year) rocks up this morning to school in his 4 series BMW. He also drives a 7 series too. As he is late, I ask him the time and he pulls back his sleeve to reveal a Royal Oak Tourbillion. I'm thinking this can't be bloody real, surely!? I did ask him, could not help it, where he got it from. A present from his father apparently, but he prefers wearing his Rolex's (a presidential and a everose daytona with rubber strap) on other days, the AP is only for special occasions he says. There I am busting my arse with the reward of maybe being able to afford a (used) datejust when I finish up in a few years. Had a nice chat about watches in general but it was surreal. God bless the working man!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 804 ✭✭✭Roycropper63


    my god how the other half lives!


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    I knew a chap, also from the ME, a doctor. His family became fabulously wealthy a couple of generations ago and he had a slew of the usual nice watches, but the one he treasured the most was his grandfather's. A "cheap" steel Hamilton IIRC. That was his my house is on fire what do I grab item. Interestingly all his watches were steel. I asked him why and he told me that in Islam men wearing gold is very much frowned upon and because he was a devout kinda chap he wouldn't wear any gold.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65,707 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    My favourites :D

    Christiaan Van Der Klaauw: You are an unusually successful astrophysicist with a NY Times bestselling book. You wear you hair at a rakish angle, and unabashedly use the phase “a priori” in everyday conversation. You actually understand the concept of Sideral time. You first heard of the brand from the oligarch who endowed your research chair using laundered Petro dollars.

    Poljot: In the old days, you were a MiG-23 fighter pilot for the Motherland. Your Poljot, along with your state-issued Volga GAZ-24 sedan, marked you as a man of importance among the proletariat. Sadly, in your current job as grocery store guard, only the old babushkas recognize your former glory. It would kill you to know that 30-year old gamers bought your watch online because they thought the Cyrillic on the dial looked cool.

    Tudor: You assert that the Black Bay 58 is what Rolex “used to be”. You take pride in the quality of the bezel on your Pelagos. You will never admit that you wish you had a Rolex.

    Dornblüth & Sohn: You own a grandfather clock, which you wind daily. Your have the same opinion on Roman numerals as on your ex-wife - cluttered, fussy, and confusing. You drive a vintage BMW - in your opinion, the epitome of a functional automobile - before the snazzy marketing made them much too flashy.

    Gotta get myself a D&S :cool:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,110 ✭✭✭Thirdfox


    Wibbs wrote: »
    I knew a chap, also from the ME, a doctor. His family became fabulously wealthy a couple of generations ago and he had a slew of the usual nice watches, but the one he treasured the most was his grandfather's. A "cheap" steel Hamilton IIRC. That was his my house is on fire what do I grab item. Interestingly all his watches were steel. I asked him why and he told me that in Islam men wearing gold is very much frowned upon and because he was a devout kinda chap he wouldn't wear any gold.

    Platinum is a-okay though I believe - it's just gold that's not allowed :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,599 ✭✭✭Cyclingtourist



    That should be humor, the guy's obviously American.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,140 ✭✭✭James Bond Junior


    I felt a little insecure in my lowly seamaster... interesting on the gold thing. I was adamant when I got married a year ago that I wanted a traditional gold wedding band, went for an 18k 6mm court style. Classic in my mind, the Arabs must thing I'm a nancy!

    On another interesting note, I bought my wife a new ring yesterday from a local jewellers. The jeweller had a nice steel and gold Omega lady constellation on so I asked her about watches. Her family do supply used watches so I'll definitely return to her when the time comes.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,553 ✭✭✭Fitz II


    Ouch...

    Steinhart: You could not afford a Rolex or IWC. While you truly enjoy wearing your Hulk Sub homage, deep-down, you question where the line is between imitation and theft.

    Very rich people are a weird subset of people alright, We really dont have them here in Ireland, in London there are loads, their calibration of what is expensive is just different to 99.9% of the human race. On the plus side James Bond....that young fellow with the AP will never appreciate any watch he has a much as you do your Datejust when you get it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,932 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    I felt a little insecure in my lowly seamaster... interesting on the gold thing. I was adamant when I got married a year ago that I wanted a traditional gold wedding band, went for an 18k 6mm court style. Classic in my mind, the Arabs must thing I'm a nancy!

    I went with a silver and gold Solvar ring, that despite being relatively cheap was quite hard to find

    I knew what I wanted before I started looking, had an image of it in mind, the design of it, in particular, meant a lot to me and both my son and Mrs.
    I knew I wanted a Celtic Trinity knot, to celebrate the 3 parts of our family joining as one (Cheesy! I know ;) )
    S21010.jpg?fit=fill&bg=fff&w=400&h=400&auto=compress

    That and watches are the only jewellery I own or wear (Tho a medical alert bracelet does need sorting soon too.)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,932 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    Fitz II wrote: »
    Ouch...

    Steinhart: You could not afford a Rolex or IWC. While you truly enjoy wearing your Hulk Sub homage, deep-down, you question where the line is between imitation and theft.

    Very rich people are a weird subset of people alright, We really dont have them here in Ireland, in London there are loads, their calibration of what is expensive is just different to 99.9% of the human race. On the plus side James Bond....that young fellow with the AP will never appreciate any watch he has a much as you do your Datejust when you get it.

    I've got a Steinhart I bought from you that I'm honestly considering selling as my one out for an IWC...:o
    I feel like he reached inside my head and violated me :eek:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,110 ✭✭✭Thirdfox


    I felt a little insecure in my lowly seamaster... interesting on the gold thing. I was adamant when I got married a year ago that I wanted a traditional gold wedding band, went for an 18k 6mm court style. Classic in my mind, the Arabs must thing I'm a nancy!

    On another interesting note, I bought my wife a new ring yesterday from a local jewellers. The jeweller had a nice steel and gold Omega lady constellation on so I asked her about watches. Her family do supply used watches so I'll definitely return to her when the time comes.

    Not nancy - just an infidel ;)

    When I searched for why Muslim men may have a fatwa against wearing gold I came (pun unintended) across this article (it was 3rd in my search results):
    http://jhsme.muq.ac.ir/article-1-15-en.pdf

    Very interesting "scientific" view of why men can't wear gold and women can "gold rays through red blood cells" - measures the amount of gold in one's semen as part of research too.

    A tragedy - as for a period the Muslim world led in scientific advances and progress.

    This was a good article I read recent about how "the rich" live (about a millionaire taking the plunge in deciding to buy a private jet and the problems one encounters in such a purchase) - unfortunately I can't find that article now but here's a rundown of what costs one could expect when running a private jet:
    https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33046/heres-what-it-really-costs-to-own-or-charter-a-private-jet

    and what tax considerations you should keep in mind too (good ol' Deloitte has you covered!):
    https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/Tax/us-tax-deloitte-private-aircraft-022615.pdf

    But I can get it - if you're a billionaire where you travel so much around the US/world that you end up spending 2-3 months in airports - doesn't it make sense to get those 3 months of time back in return for a measly 15-20 million dollars? Sometimes - first class actually isn't enough.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,148 ✭✭✭893bet


    So as many of you may know, I am the principal in a Middle Eastern school. Rich Arab kids are the norm but this took the box of biscuits. One of my older students (think 5th year) rocks up this morning to school in his 4 series BMW. He also drives a 7 series too. As he is late, I ask him the time and he pulls back his sleeve to reveal a Royal Oak Tourbillion. I'm thinking this can't be bloody real, surely!? I did ask him, could not help it, where he got it from. A present from his father apparently, but he prefers wearing his Rolex's (a presidential and a everose daytona with rubber strap) on other days, the AP is only for special occasions he says. There I am busting my arse with the reward of maybe being able to afford a (used) datejust when I finish up in a few years. Had a nice chat about watches in general but it was surreal. God bless the working man!

    Assume he has a Snapchat where he puts all his watches on his steering wheel or similar. Generally littered with tasteless “iced” bling.

    When you are truly rich I guess what else are you gonna spend your money on.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,140 ✭✭✭James Bond Junior


    Fitz II wrote: »
    Ouch...

    Steinhart: You could not afford a Rolex or IWC. While you truly enjoy wearing your Hulk Sub homage, deep-down, you question where the line is between imitation and theft.

    Very rich people are a weird subset of people alright, We really dont have them here in Ireland, in London there are loads, their calibration of what is expensive is just different to 99.9% of the human race. On the plus side James Bond....that young fellow with the AP will never appreciate any watch he has a much as you do your Datejust when you get it.

    Dead right. By total coincidence we have a 4 series sitting on the drive at home, bought and paid for through hard work (good luck played a part in fairness) and two Omega's, both paid for out of our own pocket. I work bloody hard, I was at my desk at 7am this morning and just closed the laptop just now at 20.50, a normal working day for me. My wife works with me, also in management and she is sitting across the dinner table on her laptop as I type on boards. The rewards at the end will mean more to us than being handed things. I bought her a diamond ring yesterday for a combined Christmas, our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate her promotion and the gratitude she showed alone made it worth every rial. My AP friend won't ever know what that feels like.


  • Registered Users Posts: 456 ✭✭oxocube


    Tag Heuer: Your first “real” watch was a Link, which you initially saw in the pages of Golf Digest/Tennis Magazine. For the longest time, you had a crush on Maria Sharapova. The chip on your shoulder is slightly lessened when you see photos of vintage Carreras online.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,012 ✭✭✭njburke


    He lumped Zodiac and Doxa together. I guess we all read the brands we own.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,310 ✭✭✭✭Cienciano


    Fair play to him for not going to town on some of the cheaper brands
    Citizen: You work for NASA, and your job is to set the clocks on the GPS satellites.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,986 ✭✭✭✭NIMAN


    Any of you eagle eyed watch officiendos able to identify the type of watch the legendary Pirlo wears?

    https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm0.joe.ie%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F04%2Fpirlo-style.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,932 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    Given the bezel shape and screws visible?
    I'm gonna guess some flavour of AP...

    I'm a novice tho, so one of the experts will no doubt know better.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    It's a big bang.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,932 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    It's a big bang.

    Thanks for that :) knew the cavalry would be along ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65,707 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    It's a big bang.

    The Hublot Big Bang is favored by many ‘new money’ customers like soccer players, rappers, and the real estate broker down the street who recently made a small fortune

    :p


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,553 ✭✭✭Fitz II


    unkel wrote: »
    The Hublot Big Bang is favored by many ‘new money’ customers like soccer players, rappers, and the real estate broker down the street who recently made a small fortune

    :p

    No money and no taste - buy an Invicta.
    A bit of money and no taste - buy a Hublot.
    Loads of money and no taste - buy a Richard Mille.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,148 ✭✭✭893bet


    unkel wrote: »
    The Hublot Big Bang is favored by many ‘new money’ customers like soccer players, rappers, and the real estate broker down the street who recently made a small fortune

    :p

    I suspect a lot of those are paid to wear them?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,808 ✭✭✭micks_address




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,553 ✭✭✭Fitz II




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,561 ✭✭✭Ionised


    If memory serves, Nomos did something similar last year with a competition entry each day in December (not that I won anything).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,599 ✭✭✭Cyclingtourist


    TTWC has a good video up that might interest the military aviation watch-buffs here.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxth143NHw&t=240s


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,561 ✭✭✭Ionised


    Ionised wrote: »
    If memory serves, Nomos did something similar last year with a competition entry each day in December (not that I won anything).

    Doing it again this year too... https://nomos-glashuette.com/en/advent-calendar


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65,707 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    Thinking of Jesse's birthday present to Walt, I tried on a blue Monaco (€5,450 iirc :eek:) in Weir's of Dundrum today. Beautiful watch, but just a bit, eh, square :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 456 ✭✭oxocube


    TTWC has a good video up that might interest the military aviation watch-buffs here.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxth143NHw&t=240s

    Wow. I was not expecting that :eek:


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    oxocube wrote: »
    Wow. I was not expecting that :eek:
    Yeah he's definitely very good at this stuff. Very well produced vid. Though the history was more than a little flawed *pedant*.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,808 ✭✭✭micks_address


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Yeah he's definitely very good at this stuff. Very well produced vid. Though the history was more than a little flawed *pedant*.

    High production value..he seems to repeat the narration from the cutaway segments which is a bit annoying


  • Registered Users Posts: 651 ✭✭✭2shea


    Cienciano wrote: »
    There's a reason why g-shocks are popular with builders. Handy to have for certain activities

    Quartz is king! Perfect for an actual "tool" watch.

    A much better everyday option then a mechanical watch. A solar quartz is as good as it gets if you ask me. Accurate, robust, cheap, lasts for 15 years without replacing the capacitor and it's always ready to go even when you left it off your wrist for a week.

    I love my mechanical watches dont get me wrong. But right now my 38mm Citizen Promaster tough Titanium ecodeive 300m watet resistant
    With micro ratcheting clasp is just my ultimate tool, GADA watch.

    Screenshot-20201207-091244-Gallery.jpg

    Screenshot-20201207-091219-Gallery.jpg


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65,707 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    I prefer that watch on the left :p


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,808 ✭✭✭micks_address


    unkel wrote: »
    I prefer that watch on the left :p

    yes id probably take that one to... i have a similar dial layout on the way in the next few weeks. nothing as expensive as a rolex.

    i find citizen an odd one. Lots of youtubers talk highly of them even equal to seiko etc but they don't seem to get as much coverage as seiko in reviews or top 10s etc..


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,599 ✭✭✭Cyclingtourist


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Yeah he's definitely very good at this stuff. Very well produced vid. Though the history was more than a little flawed *pedant*.

    I left a comment that 1. Hitler didn't 'hold Poland' in 1939 but shared it with Stalin. & 2. that the Battle of Britain didn't 'turn the tide for the allies' as the only allies in late-1940 were British dominions and governments in exile.
    I added that it was a good video and congratulated him on the job he'd done.

    My comment was still taken down. I've experienced this before on a YT channel where even very mild negative commentary is deleted.


  • Advertisement
  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    My comment was still taken down. I've experienced this before on a YT channel where even very mild negative commentary is deleted.
    Really? That's a bit much alright. Funny enough he left my comment alone which included this bit:

    As an aside, the Spitfire/Me 109 comparison is a bit old style WW2 propaganda tbh. For a start the Hurricane shot down more German aircraft. The 109 and Spit were pretty evenly matched, one having an advantage at different speeds and altitudes and vice versa. The main reasons the Germans lost were the channel and fuel and fighter production. The German fighters had very limited time over England. One reason(and watch related) the German fighter pilots privately bought Glashutte Chronos was to keep track of the time they had over England. They had way more bombers but fighter numbers were about equal. Plus if an RAF pilot had to bail out or crash land he was on home ground, the German was not. In some ways it would have been difficult for the RAF not to lose and even so it was a close run thing. As you noted in France and the Low Countries without the channel and fuel issues, the Germans cut them to pieces.

    I even noted the dial design bore a strong resemblance to a pre war German air ministry design for navigator watches. And I didn't like the hands.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Then again when history and marketing collide the latter will win out for most in the general public. Years ago on another watch forum I posted a pic of one of my WW2 German issued watches and one poster went off on me. How dare you! Nazis! kinda thing. Another member who I used to chat with by PM, as it happens a Jewish lad from New York popped into the thread and pointed out that the poster having a fit regularly posted pics of his IWC Big Pilot with no sense of Irony. Well IWC keep the not very marketable direct link to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium(German air ministry) design it uses. As did Patek when they wheeled out their pilots watch line.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 651 ✭✭✭2shea


    unkel wrote: »
    I prefer that watch on the left :p

    Did you manage to get one yet? I haven't been on here in a while.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭Lorddrakul


    It is a pity that the actual information and general presentation of the historical bit is from the 'Big Book of Junior WWII Stories'.

    Great production values, but definitely falls down on the content. It could easily have been 15 minutes shorter.

    Despite being a fan of pilot watches, I'm not that wild about the altimeter look. The alu, engraved plate on the back is nice, but you are not looking at that bit most of the time.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,932 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    Now I have to go and watch that video ;)
    I know that on a high level, the overlap of watches, military and aviation seems quite straightforward.
    But lads, I'll be candid!
    No one I know in real life has more than a passing curiosity, finding Wibbs, CT and others on this little corner of boards really is confirmation I'm not alone in my love of those topics!
    Now...
    We may be outliers?
    But its convinced my wife I'm quite normal!!!
    So thanks, lads :P


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭Lorddrakul


    banie01 wrote: »
    Now I have to go and watch that video ;)
    I know that on a high level, the overlap of watches, military and aviation seems quite straightforward.
    But lads, I'll be candid!
    No one I know in real life has more than a passing curiosity, finding Wibbs, CT and others on this little corner of boards really is confirmation I'm not alone in my love of those topics!
    Now...
    We may be outliers?
    But its convinced my wife I'm quite normal!!!
    So thanks, lads :P

    You would have to count me in that cohort.

    I've always been fascinated by military aviation.

    In the 90s, I served my time and worked as an aircraft mechanic on narrow body airliners. At that time, there were still lots of ex-service people in the trade. I loved getting stories from them about their experiences and exploits.

    Back then, I wasn't into watches as such, but would often note their choices from an uninformed, but appreciative perspective.

    Hence the current collection has a flieger style 7750, a 3133 Navitimer, and the most recent addition is a Ti Aerospace.

    I'm waiting on my vintage Mark II to come back from its deep service.
    [Drums fingers]


  • Advertisement
  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    I find altimeter designs can work well enough. I would prefer their other models like this one.

    S1-Spitfire-pilot-watch-Zero-West.jpg

    The problem I have with the design of the Ziggy in the video is the inner ring. It interferes with the hour hand without being directly related to it. And makes no sense as the hours and minute rings are reversed.

    S4.jpg

    Though if it were it would be uncomfortably and ironically close to the German design spec for navigator watches.

    Laco-b-uhr-vintage-01.jpg

    When Patek wanted to bring out their own pilots watch to tap into that lucrative market they claimed they had a historyin that segment(if 3 watches in total, never delivered is a history...) and theirs was based on the American Weems Hour angle design. Only... The three prototypes they produced in the mid 30's were to the exact and very distinctive German ministry's specs at the time.

    PatekPhilippe5524G-4.jpg

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,696 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    These tentative links to historical greatness are all well stretched aren't they? But there is at least one watch brand with a great history;) but alas today all they seem to do is re-hash their history. Longines.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Some brands are worse than others. IWC for example has long stretched the truth with their marketing. Any links between Breguet and the towering genius of watchmaking who shares that name is tenuous. Actually it's non existent. There are quite the number of Swiss brands who went bust during the "quartz crisis" that are now off the off the shelf homages to a long dead name. Brands like Omega and Longines in contrast rarely do this kinda thing. Well they both have deep histories and inhouse innovations, got through the 70's relatively intact and still producing watches throughout so they don't have to.

    Japanese brands pretty much never pull the marketing "history".

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Like I was saying much earlier in the thread, out of the Swiss brands Longines really are a bit of an oddball. While Omega are very focussed on their lines, Longines are like a mid tier watch company of the past before more modern marketing kicked off where there was usually a scattergun approach in place. They have a huge range and range of prices that runs from quartz dress watches, through historical remakes, through high end quartz, to higher end chronographs and solid gold dress pieces. They also hit the women's market hard. In Asia that segment makes up half of their overall sales so a lucrative one. Actually they concentrate hard on the Asian market itself. They were always well known over there going right back. Longines were also big in the Americas and southern Europe before brands tended to be worldwide.

    Rolex for example were very much a British and her empire/commonwealth market brand, only getting any traction in the US in the late 60's and then other places followed to where now they're the worldwide luxury brand. They're very focussed too. Always were actually. How they navigated the market range in the past was with different brands under the Rolex umbrella. At the very start of the company they had many brand names going at once(12 IIRC), from cheap to expensive, until they narrowed things down to Tudor and Rolex.

    Another oddball thing with Longines in the old days were their movements and the finishing on them. You could buy an entry level time only dress watch and it would have the same attention to detail movement as their top of the range chronographs. No extra prima, no more decorated versions.

    Even odder was how few watches they sold that were officially certified as chronometers. Yet between timing awards and the chronometer trials they won more than any other brand in the 20th century. Sure, they'd run ads with "the world's most honoured watch", but produced few official chronometers even when their movements were well capable of passing. Omega were kinda similar but copped on in the 60's. Actually Omega were real cute hoors in the 70's when the tuning fork f300 movements were bought in. :D They just slipped under the radar for mechanical chronometer testing and being electronic would pass the tests in their sleep, so nearly every 70's Omega f300 has chronometer on the dial. They clearly saw it was a sales advantage, while Longines who had the same movements were off smoking dope or something. :D

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    From a youtube link in the show us your watches thread:
    Funny enough, it is not LIP but homage of it.
    It still floors me how 200 quid can give you a small run watch like that with pretty good finishing and a Seiko movement. Finishing that would be better than the original in most respects. It's mad how advanced short run production costs have come right down and are available to many more people. If this trend continues and I can't see why it won't the luxury brands should be worried. A few weeks ago I was watching some vids on how scarily "good" the fakes have become and not just Rolex. The days of a 20 quid quartz with Rolix on the dial are long gone. Some of the fakes cost over a grand and are even closer to the real deal. There will surely come a time when the fakes will get so good they'll be nearly indistinguishable from the real deal and will ask the question why a real Brand X model costs 10 grand when the near identical fake costs a tenth of that*. Beyond the bloody obvious or should be bloody obvious immoral aspects of stealing intellectual property and wearing a fake supporting that, but this will surely impact luxury sales?

    That said it would be my opinion that we've passed "peak watch", or very close to it.


    *now a part of that is luxury brand tax, but just as much if not more are the vast sums of money Brands like Rolex and Omega and the rest spend on all aspects of marketing. I recall reading Rolex alone spent something like 40 million a year on direct advertising and marketing. That's a lot of watches sold to cover that. That's before the costs of research and development.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Advertisement
Advertisement