The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[Neville Southall]

Full- douche mode: ACTIVATED.

 

[am55]

Full- douche mode: ACTIVATED.
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The reds are clashing

 

[SixOhNine]

New AT small second 38 and 41 mm View attachment 1625367 View attachment 1625368

I want to like this, but there's something off about it.

 

[am55]

Can anyone explain the appeal of Roger Smith’s watches to me? The finish work looks to be a solid step down from comparably priced watches like Dufour, Gauthier, etc. Nothing too interesting on the complication front either? Obviously I’m missing something though.

From a perhaps, less collector oriented, more grand public POV: it's tough to say truly what is the "best" but statistically speaking, Daniels is to watches what Beethoven or Bach are to music. He did everything himself, innovated, wrote "the book" etc. but I think he also had a prodigious eye for classical design, his watches are "peak British" in their eccentric restraint, an echo of the Empire on the tail of its fall, a form of refusal to live in the present and its decadence and lack of linearity.

Then he turned down Smith for years until his persistence (and presumably, advancing years) convinced him to take him on as an apprentice. Both Smith and Daniels subscribe to keeping things clean to let perfection shine through instead of covering it up. I happen to really like their finishing, preferring it to the continental style. There's something unique and instantly identifiable to a Daniels or Smith movement.

Smith's work is quite different in design, I think because he belongs to a newer era, a newer Britain. Downton Abbey is the marketing copy but the real thing is closer to a cross of Whitnail and I and Black Mirror with a Muscovite dash for flavour. In that sense Smith has modernised Daniels and is not competing with Breguet, but he's also lost I think that eccentric refinement that makes Daniels watches achieve records at auction and appear in exhibitions, and is a bit more internationally appealing. It's not, or less, what people expect from "the English". People think Isle of Man and imagine cream teas in flowered orchards, grazing sheep and a bit of iodine wind but they also like to go around their public roads at 200kph+ on two wheels.

But... it's still guaranteed 100% Smith. You've seen Foo's reaction to Ferrier's outsourcing. Smith has a super slow rate of production, you're guaranteed a product that represents that ethos of luxury as a relationship between an artisan and a customer, rather than the American mass market industrial version. You're guaranteed only precious metals, and a lot of care. You will get something with a solidity of look that avoids the pitfalls of overly ornate decoration without irony, perhaps better suited to the other gender. You get a lineage that is not going to be replicated or continued in the same way, even if Smith takes on apprentices now. It's not "an industry" and it won't become one and the type of customer that likes this seems to be reliable looking at the market.

 

[am55]

It's a bit like ikebana. You could say that many flowers, as many as you can stuff in the vase, beats one flower, and that is one dimension, and many people prefer that. But there's also many people who prefer just one, in the right vase, on their alcove with the scroll, and they must be doing something right given the prices and full bookings of Japanese ryokans who still practice it.

 

[Texasmade]

Would you prefer the regular AT over this new one?

Yes. I still prefer the older version AT with the date at 3 vs the newer version with the date at 6. Given the option of the center seconds 6 o'clock date window vs small seconds, I'd prefer the center seconds.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Called Cartier yesterday to setup an appointment for this morning. Tried on several watches but only grabbed pictures of these 2. The SA said that a gold deployant normally runs $1500 with an additional $400 for a strap. The SS deployant was about $400 (I think).

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I really like that santos.

 

[Neville Southall]

The reds are clashing

Your face is clashing.

 

[Nickd]

Full- douche mode: ACTIVATED.
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Looks like a 3 dial dash so…Macan? it could definitely be douchier. Maybe a Cayenne Turbo.

 

[Nickd]

On the 3 watch collection front, these seem to be available, in gold, within my budget and are my favourite so far.

 

[Neville Southall]

Looks like a 3 dial dash so…Macan? it could definitely be douchier. Maybe a Cayenne Turbo.

Macan, indeed. I may be full-douche, but not MEGA-douche.

 

[mebiuspower]

Macan, indeed. I may be full-douche, but not MEGA-douche.

Nah, it's just an Audi.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Full- douche mode: ACTIVATED.
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**** man! This month makes three years on the waiting list ... no it’s not called that any more it’s a “registration of interest” ... and I don’t know if I’m any nearer to getting my hands on one of these. It was predicted to be eighteen months to two years. A quick look at eBay for a view on grey market pricing and they seem to be going up ever higher.
Still looking good.

 

[Neville Southall]

Nah, it's just an Audi.

Your mom’s an Audi.

 

[Neville Southall]

**** man! This month makes three years on the waiting list ... no it’s not called that any more it’s a “registration of interest” ... and I don’t know if I’m any nearer to getting my hands on one of these. It was predicted to be eighteen months to two years. A quick look at eBay for a view on grey market pricing and they seem to be going up ever higher.
Still looking good.

Seriously? That sucks, man. Sorry to hear that. Stay patient.