Spending dosh on a unnessary item

Joe_Horner

bowlhead99 wrote: »

Personally I have the watch in the review linked below, on my "watch-list".

[URL]Http://forums.watchuseek.com/f67/review-glashutte-original-panomaticlunar-945042.html[/URL]

Now that is a nice watch

You might be interested in some of the Dornbluth production judging by that taste - hand made to order but you have to wait a year for it to arrive

bowlhead99

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Now that is a nice watch

You might be interested in some of the Dornbluth production judging by that taste - hand made to order but you have to wait a year for it to arrive

They have some very nice pieces, no doubt - if I had a stack of cash to blow on something very unique made in tiny volumes.

Again on similar style lines I'm naturally a fan of the A Lange & Sohne 1, but at £20k+ rather than £6k+ for the Glashütte Original equivalent I'd need to have made a lot more provision for family and retirement before possibly contemplating it - I doubt it will ever happen and I doubt I'd consider myself dissatisfied with a G.O.

Everyone has some level where they go '... now that's more than I can justify spending on xxx' ! I guess it's all relative and you'll have seen all sorts in your job.

Interesting you bring up Swatch shortly after I linked to a G.O.; to mix metaphors I think they are something of a jewel in Swatch Group's crown, classy but without the mainstream public awareness of Omega (or Blancpain, Breguet) but some definite quality and in-house movements. No idea what they actually contribute in profit to the wider group, one would assume Swatch don't actually need them around to keep themselves afloat.

For the moment I'm on more of a budget however, so am more at the Nomos end of the scale for something German. Cheap and cheerful, relatively, but a couple of thousand is certainly more cash than a plastic swatch, which with a quartz movement would probably keep better time!

Joe_Horner

Totaly agree that GO are something special in the Swatch portfolio, and demonstrate just what they're capable of. I suspect you're right that in terms of group profits they're fairly insignificant but you certainly get an awful lot of watchmaking for your money with them.

It's also reasonable for them to restrict parts for that sort of range because the movements are unique enough to be outside the experience of most independent watchmakers. Again using car analogies (because most people have cars serviced), you probably wouldn't take your Ferrari to the same place you trust completely with your Mondeo, or even your Jag.

Sadly, at least within the support industry, people are struggling to see quite what they're intending with their more mundane ranges apart from strangling competition.

Omega, Tissot, Blancpain and so on ,mostly use straightforward movements based on old designs (40+ years) which any good repairer out there cut his teeth on long ago. The situation with their quartz production is even worse - I can replace the entire movement on a quartz Breitling chronograph for about £130, which makes "proper" watchnmaking skills irrelevant.

For Tissot you're talking less than £100, and the movements are unrepairable anyway because they're held together by plastic rivets. Which begs the question of just why you "should have it serviced" every few years - they simply swap the movement the same as anyone else because that's all they can do!

They're a little outside the OP's suggested budget but I suspect that the Grand Seiko range will become increasingly "known" in the mid term as a viable alternative to Swiss

guitarman001

You might die tomorrow so enjoy some of your money.

In the last month I spent £6k of my £62k savings on two guitars, an amplifier and other similar items.

Minrich

Interesting insight from Joe Horner - Thanks

Joe_Horner

You're welcome :-)

I should probably clarify a little that the watches themselves are good. There's nothing wrong, and a lot right, with using proven design in terms of reliability. In the nicer ranges they also add quite a lot of subtle improvements which do justify the premium pricing.

What there is a problem with is restricting service after sale - at least without making crystal clear to the consumer what the situation is.

It's one thing to say "we recommend you only have your new posession repaired by us" but something quite different to say "we make it impossible for you to use anyone else". Car makers used to try that with warranties and the EU (rightly) ruled that they had to accept work of equivalent quality from independants.

In thr case of watches, Swatch have convinced the EU that there's no such thing as a quality independent repair industry (which I do find insulting btw!) and only they can be trusted to give consumers good service. So they've somehow managed to restrict consumer choice in the name of consumer protection!

Minrich

EU !

A lack of understanding of what skill is required with some things is always an unknown , anyone can change oil but what about camshafts , to use the motor industry analogy . Same with watches , if i knew of a local repairer i would use them for repairs , but how do i know that they are proficient , is there an industry recognised body that gives some certification , like gassafe for the plumbing industry ?
Some cars need to have a franchised service stamp/invoice to retain its value , Astons , Ferraris and other exotica . Kwik fit service on a Ferrari anyone ?

Porcupine

Here's a MoneySaving tip: when you go travelling, take your watch with you to be serviced. If you go to, say, the manufacturer's service centre in India, you might find they work out cheaper than the service centre back home. Not only is the cost of labour lower, but they can only charge what the market will bear - so there's a chance the parts might have less markup too.

This probably makes more sense for 'normal' watches rather than 'bling' watches, since in the 'bling' case they've probably decided the only people who buy them locally are millionaires so no need to be keen on prices.

chucknorris

I'm terrible at spending, my watch only cost £20 but I am very happy with it, in fact it is the best watch I have ever had as it is digital and has a stop watch that I use to time myself when running and cycling. When we retire (probably next year) we know that we have to start spending a lot more money, but the problem is that everything I like doing is so inexpensive: Looking after my dog, running, cycling, swimming, chess, bowls, cinema, going to friends and inviting friends to our place for dinner, we don't particularly like extravagant restaurants either.

Primrose

Personally if I was a young person I'd rather put the money towards a house deposit if I was justmrenting but everybody has their own priorities and wish lists. Just give it very careful thought and ask yourself if it's the kind investment which will maintain its value and pass the test of time. And do remember to insure it!