29-01-2015, 09:48 PM
Choosing a new or used watch has never been harder than it is in todays watch marketplace . If we cut out the usual suspects , well known brands like Rolex - Omega- AP- IWC - JLC etc etc , the amount of brands and watches is enormous . I think we will see more people visiting sites like this one , who are looking for advice about buying or selling watches . And usually they want the advice yesterday 
Okay , sometimes they are just lazy and use us as a free googling machine . I believe in help for self help , i will point them in the right direction to look , and answer any questions i can . Or point them in the direction of our many brand specialists .
When looking at not so well known brands it becomes more difficult to give good advice without mentioning one important point . The resale value of brands that are not well known is an important factor . Because many new buyers will want to sell or exchange their watches , if they catch the watch bug . Of course many people just want a watch , and do not give a toss about resale . But at the same time we must be aware that if resale price becomes to important , then it sends the message that new brands might as well give up before they get started . I try to use one , and only one thing as a measurement when recomending a not so well known watch , and that is the quality of the product . If i believe the watch is made by a brand who just stick a unfinished basic ETA - Selita- Miyoto - etc etc in a shiny design case , and sell it for more than it is worth then i will not recomend it . So that cuts out about 80% of the watch industry
The fact is that the great majority of brands today have got nothing to do with watchmaking . They are quite simply design watch assembly brands , and they use most of their resources on branding . To give just one example i will name Longines . This brand had a glorious history , but went down the drain as a serious watchmakers years ago . Today they live by reproducing old models with a load of branding hype about their past history . Okay some of their watches look okay , but i could say the same about Hugo Boss or Fossil . The fact is that the Longine name is the only true value in their watches , that puts them higher than other brands that cost under the half of a Longine watch . So would i recomend a Longine Legend diver to a new guy , who has seen the watch and likes it . Short answer . No . I can think of so many much better watches that cost the same or less than this watch . Even if i think it is a great looking watch , when i think of what is out there with true inhouse calibers and watchmaking credibility it is a joke . Sorry to you Longine fans , but i needed a quite well known example .
The usual suspects have such a huge advantage over new brands trying to break into the established market . They own the production facilitys and resources to spit out finely finished calibers and cases , that most small brands just cannot match . Brands like Nomos have shown the way , and proved that it can be done on a much smaller budget . Nomos did not use vast sums on branding , they used their resources to become real watchmakers . Quality will always win in the end . If you look at an Omega caliber of today , the finish and workmanship is of a very high standard compaired to many other brands in the same price range . That is why you do not see so many glass case backs on a Brietling Watch But to be fair , Brietling do have a brilliant inhouse caliber they put in watches with a glass back , but that is about 1% of their production , and that gives them a bit of prestige and branding .
So just from these few examples , i hope you can see that is is not easy to recomend a watch to a new buyer , and make friends on this site at the same time
Many times i would recomend vintage , because this is without a doubt where you can get watchmaking skill and superb value for money that is unmatched in modern watches . But many find vintage watches to small . Many times this is without trying on the watches , and this is unfortunate to say the least . Many times it is best to play safe , and go for one of the usual suspects . Advice is a difficult thing to give because we all have different taste . But i do not believe in just saying , buy what ever makes you happy . Because that kind of advice belongs in the text of a Eurovision contest song . People ask us for advice , and we should respect that .
Okay , sometimes they are just lazy and use us as a free googling machine . I believe in help for self help , i will point them in the right direction to look , and answer any questions i can . Or point them in the direction of our many brand specialists . When looking at not so well known brands it becomes more difficult to give good advice without mentioning one important point . The resale value of brands that are not well known is an important factor . Because many new buyers will want to sell or exchange their watches , if they catch the watch bug . Of course many people just want a watch , and do not give a toss about resale . But at the same time we must be aware that if resale price becomes to important , then it sends the message that new brands might as well give up before they get started . I try to use one , and only one thing as a measurement when recomending a not so well known watch , and that is the quality of the product . If i believe the watch is made by a brand who just stick a unfinished basic ETA - Selita- Miyoto - etc etc in a shiny design case , and sell it for more than it is worth then i will not recomend it . So that cuts out about 80% of the watch industry
The fact is that the great majority of brands today have got nothing to do with watchmaking . They are quite simply design watch assembly brands , and they use most of their resources on branding . To give just one example i will name Longines . This brand had a glorious history , but went down the drain as a serious watchmakers years ago . Today they live by reproducing old models with a load of branding hype about their past history . Okay some of their watches look okay , but i could say the same about Hugo Boss or Fossil . The fact is that the Longine name is the only true value in their watches , that puts them higher than other brands that cost under the half of a Longine watch . So would i recomend a Longine Legend diver to a new guy , who has seen the watch and likes it . Short answer . No . I can think of so many much better watches that cost the same or less than this watch . Even if i think it is a great looking watch , when i think of what is out there with true inhouse calibers and watchmaking credibility it is a joke . Sorry to you Longine fans , but i needed a quite well known example .
The usual suspects have such a huge advantage over new brands trying to break into the established market . They own the production facilitys and resources to spit out finely finished calibers and cases , that most small brands just cannot match . Brands like Nomos have shown the way , and proved that it can be done on a much smaller budget . Nomos did not use vast sums on branding , they used their resources to become real watchmakers . Quality will always win in the end . If you look at an Omega caliber of today , the finish and workmanship is of a very high standard compaired to many other brands in the same price range . That is why you do not see so many glass case backs on a Brietling Watch
But to be fair , Brietling do have a brilliant inhouse caliber they put in watches with a glass back , but that is about 1% of their production , and that gives them a bit of prestige and branding . So just from these few examples , i hope you can see that is is not easy to recomend a watch to a new buyer , and make friends on this site at the same time
Many times i would recomend vintage , because this is without a doubt where you can get watchmaking skill and superb value for money that is unmatched in modern watches . But many find vintage watches to small . Many times this is without trying on the watches , and this is unfortunate to say the least . Many times it is best to play safe , and go for one of the usual suspects . Advice is a difficult thing to give because we all have different taste . But i do not believe in just saying , buy what ever makes you happy . Because that kind of advice belongs in the text of a Eurovision contest song . People ask us for advice , and we should respect that .
- Jeg er engelsk - bor i Danmark, forstår dansk - men foretrækker at skrive på engelsk 
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