WatchMe007 0 Posted April 10, 2011 Let's take Rolex for starters. From a purely mechanical and objective standard, how much of the cost of the watch is associated with branding as opposed to manufacturing and materials costs? I would love to see the BOM for a Daytona. Parts, labor, etc. And what if the identical watch were produced in China with sophisticated modern machinery and highly skilled, less expensive labor? If you have ever torn down a modern sophisticated electronic device manufactured by Foxconn, the first thought would like be "It is like a freaking Swiss watch." Now what about some of these $300 and $400 Rolex replicas? What do they give up to the real thing? How about Panerai and Hublot? Some of the Hublot replicas are $700. These are watches that run tens of thousands of dollars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 84 Posted April 10, 2011 Lots of gen watches use ETA movements (Hublot, for instance) and are therefore hideously overpriced for what they are (or in the case of Hublot, just hideous...) example A gen Breitling SuperOcean Heritage uses basically the same ETA movement as the high-end rep (which, apart from lume and AR is pretty much identical to the gen) but sells for about $3500 retail. The rep is around $300 Conversely a gen Rolex submariner date costs around $600 to manufacture (hey, at least Rolex design their own movements) and sells for something around $7500? You do the math Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulder 0 Posted April 10, 2011 I argued that point in another topic I started. Whilst shopping for a Nixon Watch I can across the manufacturer of them in China. They quoted $7 per Nixon watch with a minimum of a few thousand units. The same watch here is over $200. Once you paid for exclusivity of a brand because they were hand made and low volume produced. Now with modern manufacturing techniques nearly all are mass produced. You are paying for the name. I thought Tag Heuer were hand made but having seen the video on them I know now they are mass produced and no longer an exclusive work of art. Sure there are human hands involed in putting them together but so are Seiko. I bought two Casio Edifice watches for less than $150AUD. To buy them in the shop here was $800 on a special for the both. You do the math. Someones taking someone for a ride! A watch is only as valuable as the amount you are willing to pay for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 84 Posted April 10, 2011 Well said, mulder. Absolutely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matlow 0 Posted April 10, 2011 I argued that point in another topic I started.Whilst shopping for a Nixon Watch I can across the manufacturer of them in China. They quoted $7 per Nixon watch with a minimum of a few thousand units. The same watch here is over $200. Once you paid for exclusivity of a brand because they were hand made and low volume produced. Now with modern manufacturing techniques nearly all are mass produced. You are paying for the name. I thought Tag Heuer were hand made but having seen the video on them I know now they are mass produced and no longer an exclusive work of art. Sure there are human hands involed in putting them together but so are Seiko. I bought two Casio Edifice watches for less than $150AUD. To buy them in the shop here was $800 on a special for the both. You do the math. Someones taking someone for a ride! A watch is only as valuable as the amount you are willing to pay for it. +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdoe 0 Posted April 10, 2011 A watch is only as valuable as the amount you are willing to pay for it. +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZellerFTW 0 Posted April 11, 2011 Maths. Maths... for those who want to know, everybody, I strongly urge you to watch the following: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ska 11 Posted April 11, 2011 OMG I haven't seem that for ages!!!!! Don't miss Simon Pegg's incredibly cameo at 6:54!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeNnY 29 Posted April 11, 2011 all answers correct !!! HURRAY ! Maths Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David543 0 Posted April 11, 2011 I think you guys know I feel the same here. Two tone Rolex subs are now £7500!!!!! They make over 800,000 per year employing 30,000 people. It's mass production. Ok some people do not like Hublot, cough Greg cough, but mine looks like it fell out of the Hublot factory and cost £300. New now over £9,500!!!!! Our reps are from good to phenomenal value for money!!!! As far as genuines go I have championed Grand Seiko before on sheer craftsmanship, vph (36,000 high beat) or spring drive with continuous seconds hand sweep. Ball Watch on value for money and quality. Again limited numbers compared to Rolex. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Member X 91 Posted April 11, 2011 hahahahahaha I thought that Maths video was going to be serious!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myaz 3 Posted April 12, 2011 .....I thought Tag Heuer were hand made but having seen the video on them I know now they are mass produced and no longer an exclusive work of art. ..... A watch is only as valuable as the amount you are willing to pay for it. Unless it's a one of a kind work of art, handmade might be overrated. I'm not sure that a hand built watch would be materially more acurate than a machine made one. To wit, my everyday watch is a Citizen echodrive that I adjust only twice a year. That's when daylight savings makes me. As for your second point, I love it. My thoughts exactly and that's why I've got a couple of reps on order. Thanks to what I'm learning here, I'll be able to retire that Citizen IN STYLE pretty soon !! oh yeah. :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
