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

[mebiuspower]

 

[Deeky]

Why not go for Tissot PRX then and save thousands. Same effect, no?

The same reason why people buy JLC instead of FP Journe

 

[Jamesbond1]

Actually, with Ferraris at least in the US in the last 15+ years, they wouldn't sell you a new one unless, you already owned a Ferrari. If you didn't you had to purchase one or more of their pre-owned Ferraris or a less desirable model like a 612 or California which had small back seats. Then they would let you order a new car. Hermes, from what I hear in some countries they won't take people's names for a wait list for Birkins or Kelly bags. A friend's neighbor works for Hermes and since Covid and the requirement that you make an appointment before showing up, people are buying more than ever when they get there because they may not be able to get an appointment if they decide to think about something, and it could be sold by the time they get back. So their dedicated buyers are buying more than ever, which also gets them the ability to buy the hard to get items when they arrive.



Not really surprised. Personally, I think the Tank LC is very reasonably priced. The MSRP of mine back in 2008 was $12,500 (although mine came on a deployant). It was then replaced by a bigger extra flat model, which had bad proportions, lacked any guilloche work on the dial, wasn't very popular, and was about $16-17K when they stopped making it. Then Cartier did the unthinkable and had some price reductions on gold watches and jewelry. Check out the price of gold dress watches from other companies. As mentioned, I consider it a great value. They will be going on at least in the US on June 30th, I believe 5% on watches, and 6% on jewelry.

As for the gold bracelet, I've seen it and tried it one, and between the weight, the workmanship and the price of gold, I'm not really surprised by the cost of the bracelet. Remember the Love bracelet and Juste un Clou bracelets which are not as complicated to make and use I believe far less gold, are $6,550 to $7,600 (depending on bracelet and yg/rg vs. wg).



Well interest in them has been revived and prices are about what the were when new or a little more. When new, you could buy them all day long for 35% off MSRP. They used the same base movement, the F.Piguet 1185, which was also in the 38mm Cartier Pasha Chronograph for about $5,000 less, although finished to their standards and with a gold rotor. Some didn't love the bracelet, which had a tendency for links to get jammed up and stuck together when you took it off. In addition VC really struggled to find an identity with a sports watch, and they kept jumping from design to design. AP had the RO, PP had the Nautilus, but in roughly the same period, VC had the 222, then the ugly 333, then equally ugly Phidias, then the Overseas, then a completely new Overseas, then the next generation of Overseas. Personally, I like this 1st generation Overseas far more than the second generation Overseas. I think its more understated without the Maltese Cross influenced bracelet, and the dial is much nicer looking and IMHO its a more interesting design.

They can keep them I’ll go buy a 911 Turbo S so I can actually drive it rather than being a garage Queen. They do nothing for me same chassis since 2009 with outdated interior and change of model numbers.

 

[usctrojans31]

What are people's thoughts on the JLC Master Control Chrono that released last year? Long story short, the Zenith Sports Chrono I bought was losing 8 seconds per day and frankly I didn't want to bother with getting a brand new watch regulated/adjusted so I'm considering the JLC as its replacement. I love the versatility of the JLC and think it would work well either dressed up or down but I'm curious if others have seen this watch in person or have any other solid alternatives to pursue.

I love it. Have been toying with getting it for a while. I know that there is a very, very long list for it, though.

I'm glad JLC started offering more contrast on the dials. It's a nice adjustment.

 

[brokeassp]

Have to admit, Aquanaut is growing on me. Idea of a “beater” Patek is both obnoxious and awesome.

View attachment 1628826

Been Jonesing a 5066 hard

 

[Vocans]

I love it. Have been toying with getting it for a while. I know that there is a very, very long list for it, though.

I'm glad JLC started offering more contrast on the dials. It's a nice adjustment.

Yes, so I'm finding out. There unfortunately isn't a JLC AD in my city anymore so I called around to ten or so ADs today. General message was that it's pretty in demand and that they may have one by the end of the year but I lucked out and found an AD that actually had the watch in stock. I put a deposit down to hold it and am planning to wrap it up once I get back from vacation at the end of next week.

I try to keep a smallish watch collection and I think between this chrono and my BB58 I should have most of my bases covered fairly well to suit most occasions.

 

[earthdragon]

I actually dropped by Watches of Switzerland at Hudson Yards yesterday with my family to get out of the heat.

First of all, I am such proud dada. Upon entering the store, my 5-year-old daughter pointed at the Patek and Rolex signs and exclaimed: “They have Patek watches and also Rolex! Let’s look at Patek first!”

There were very few Pateks to look at. Obviously, there were no Nautilus or Aquanaut models, but also nothing else other than a few ladies watches. No Calatravas, no smaller complications (annual calendars, travel time, etc.), nothing. Ninety percent of the display slots were empty. This was true last time I was at Wempe in midtown and the Soho Watches of Switzerland as well. Point is, Pateks in general are running scarce.

The Rolex section was even more ridiculous. All slots were empty except for TWO watches, including a 34mm rose gold Datejust. I don’t remember the other, but it was also a smaller ladies model.

Every other brand’s display area was fully-loaded (e.g. Vacheron, Omega, IWC, JLC, etc.). They had like six Speedmaster moon watches ready for purchase, including a couple of the outgoing version.

In some ways, this is to be expected. Perhaps, the broader watch consumer market is simply catching up to more serious collectors, who began heavily consolidating their collections on Patek and Rolex about ~10 years ago. Before then, it was more common for enthusiasts to dabble across the different makers. These days, it’s Patek, Rolex, independents, or you’re a beginner.

Will this change? For reasons discussed before, Patek and Rolex have unique appeal to collectors. The other brands from Richemont and LVMH tend to feel a lot more anonymous and luxury consumerist oriented. Hard to put a finger on exactly why, but one key element is that their marketing tends to feel a lot more forced and their watches feel a lot more influenced by marketing. In contrast, Patek and Rolex exude somewhat of a “we don’t give a **** what you want” attitude. This reflects their conservativism and reinforces an aura of permanence.

In short, increasingly few people have concentrated collections of watches from the likes of IWC or JLC or even Lange. People who buy those watches tend to be more casual about collecting or will never buy more than one or two. Anecdotally, most of my friends and co-workers who have nice watches from such brands tend to have only that single watch, aren’t serious enthusiasts, and usually bought it because they saw an ad or think the brand is “cool”.

Given the underlying drivers, the current trend toward market bifurcation may be more secular than cyclical, unfortunately.

Hudson Yards appear to keep a few Rolex in the vault ( at least from my experience)...
I am by no means a high roller, having purchased 5 pieces in the previous 18 months. It is usually a text from my SA, indicating that she is expecting a certain piece in the next few days and am I interested. Surely they are just working their way down a list.
Soho on the couple of random visits, has just left a ****** taste in my mouth and they seem to operate as a completely different business. I was told that history does not count towards anything with them. Bizarre given that my last GMT purchase came with a Mayors stamp on the card. Go figure....

 

[chocomallo]

Don’t tell me Foo was part of that GME offering Jefferies just finished placing. He’s probably taking that huge bonus for swindling a bunch of retail investors with a meme stock and using it to build a relationship at a Caribbean AD. The shame of it all. If true, I’ll forever call the 5726 the “GME”.

 

[Neville Southall]

They can keep them I’ll go buy a 911 Turbo S so I can actually drive it rather than being a garage Queen. They do nothing for me same chassis since 2009 with outdated interior and change of model numbers.

Word is people that drive Porsche are major tools.

 

[Neville Southall]

What are people's thoughts on the JLC Master Control Chrono that released last year? Long story short, the Zenith Sports Chrono I bought was losing 8 seconds per day and frankly I didn't want to bother with getting a brand new watch regulated/adjusted so I'm considering the JLC as its replacement. I love the versatility of the JLC and think it would work well either dressed up or down but I'm curious if others have seen this watch in person or have any other solid alternatives to pursue.

In rose gold, it slaps.

 

[Texasmade]

Word is people that drive Porsche are major tools.

I'm going to do my best to prove you right.

 

[Nickd]

Word is people that drive Porsche are major tools.

I find people move out of my way when I’m driving it on the motorway (highway) and they don’t with my daily BMW. I don’t know if that means I’m a major tool when in the 911 or BMW? Maybe both ?

 

[Ebitdaddy]

I am loving this as a daily. Watching the gigantic mainspring change shape is really cool.

 

[Drek Galloche]

I find people move out of my way when I’m driving it on the motorway (highway) and they don’t with my daily BMW. I don’t know if that means I’m a major tool when in the 911 or BMW? Maybe both ?

People are just confused thinking any car with Porsche shield = Fast car and give way.

 

[TheFoo]

What are people's thoughts on the JLC Master Control Chrono that released last year? Long story short, the Zenith Sports Chrono I bought was losing 8 seconds per day and frankly I didn't want to bother with getting a brand new watch regulated/adjusted so I'm considering the JLC as its replacement. I love the versatility of the JLC and think it would work well either dressed up or down but I'm curious if others have seen this watch in person or have any other solid alternatives to pursue.

I posted this watch recently. It is a fantastic value. My only gripe is the lone numeral at 12 o’clock, but if that doesn’t bother you, there’s not much else to complain about.

That said, it’s not unusual for a watch to need regulation and losing eight seconds a day is hardly egregious. In fact, if it’s consistently losing eight seconds, the watch is very precise! Much harder to be precise than randomly accurate.

In rose gold, it slaps.

JLC watches in gold make no sense. The value proposition is completely wiped out.