Opinions sought on a couple of watches

[ld111134]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I would not buy a Baume et Mercier under any circumstances. I'd get a nice Seiko or a Hamilton instead.

Matt,

I'm curious - while I know that B & M does not have the quality of, say, Rolex, Breitling and Omega (to say nothing of U-N, JLC, IWC), why is it inferior to Hamilton. Admittedly, I am a Hamilton fan but I also realize that is is not the same league as 'luxury" watches.

I'd greatly appreciate hearing your insights.

LD

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by ld111134

Matt,

I'm curious - while I know that B & M does not have the quality of, say, Rolex, Breitling and Omega (to say nothing of U-N, JLC, IWC), why is it inferior to Hamilton. Admittedly, I am a Hamilton fan but I also realize that is is not the same league as 'luxury" watches.

I'd greatly appreciate hearing your insights.

It's not that Baume et Marcier is bad, but that they are over-priced. They guts are the same as what you'd find in a Hamilton or a Victorinox, so why pay more?

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I would not buy a Baume et Mercier under any circumstances. I'd get a nice Seiko or a Hamilton instead.

+1.

 

[mikeber]

What about these? http://www.orolus.com/cgi-bin/Shoppi...ctangular+Date http://www.orolus.com/cgi-bin/Shoppi...rch_sty=Square http://www.watchbuys.com/store/pc/vi...&idproduct=773 http://www.watchbuys.com/store/pc/vi...&idproduct=583 For "aviator" style watches check: http://store.debaufre.com/Aircraft-8-s/1.htm

 

[ld111134]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

It's not that Baume et Marcier is bad, but that they are over-priced. They guts are the same as what you'd find in a Hamilton or a Victorinox, so why pay more?

Thanks!

 

[G18C]

Overpriced if you compare their various automatics with ETA 2824s with the $800 Omega Prestige Chronometers (this is street price) which uses higher caliber, adjusted to 5 positions, ETA 2892-A2s. The retail prices for BM are only slightly higher than many Hamiltons and even Oris for that matter. Hamilton prices have been going to the roof lately, no doubt as a testament to the weakening greenback, as new models are rolling out and leapfrogged the older price of their Khaki models just a few years back. I don't know where you get the idea that BM are overpriced while Hamiltons are not. Maybe many many years ago they were "value" watches. Hamiltons for the most part have a stable price very near that of their MSRPs, even when sold online, while BM have huge discounts and mostly are sold online. The price that the OP posted came from ebay seller charging near retails for many of the watches he carries, including that Universal Geneve Compax, with lemania 1873, I suggested to the OP earlier at almost $1500 when I purchased the same watch from an online seller for $800 just last year. I think if he looks more carefully, he can get those two BMs at even lower prices. Thewatchseller has sold various BM models over the years and his prices are quite comparative, esp. for "used" but "not abused" BMs. Anyways, this is a luxury item, so bringing price and sense to discussion on watches with little mechanical difference just prove how foolish we all are as consumers. To the OP, in my opinion, the watches with the greatest "value" can be had with the "Jean Marcel" brand on ebay. One seller have sold various new watches in box, all with ETA 2824s, for $100 through buy it now but I've noticed that he's priced his auctions now at $130. I've bought one to extract the movement for a project so you might want to look into it. He has other models as well but I'm not a fan of the aesthetics. I guarantee you that if you place a bid, no one is going to contest you. $140 bucks for a Swiss mechanical watch with all box and papers represent value to me. This is why I said Hamilton may not represent value even though they are great watches.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

It's not that Baume et Marcier is bad, but that they are over-priced. They guts are the same as what you'd find in a Hamilton or a Victorinox, so why pay more?