Are There Any Inexpensive Independent Watchmakers?
The Watch Snob Talks Independent Watchmakers & "Value" Watches
Value Watches
I have been reading your articles over the last several years and have enjoyed them very much. I am writing today to get your opinion on what brands are actually worth investing in and what in your mind would be a waste of time. Luxury watch popularity, as well as prices, have increased significantly over the past few years. We are beginning to see more and more start up companies pop up offering "better value" watches. Are there any smaller brands seriously worth looking into to or is it smarter to stick with one of the bigger brands?
It’s a funny thing, this notion of investing in watches. If you’re asking whether new luxury watches are worth investing in from a financial perspective, the answer is almost invariably “no.” There are a few exceptions but generally speaking watches lose fairly significant value once purchased. Certainly there are exceptions, but there are not meaningful exceptions -- that you can sell a stainless steel modern Daytona for around double the current retail price is little help when you can’t find one to buy, which is true to varying degrees for most other Rolex steel professional watches as well.
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Generally speaking, larger brands will offer at least some defense against depreciation, but again, as investments, watches in general are not meaningful acquisitions -- absurd headline-grabbing auction results notwithstanding.
If on the other hand, by investment you mean return on your money in terms of pleasure, then certainly there are smaller brands worth looking into -- Rolex, Omega, and Tudor all have quite good watches at prices under ten thousand dollars, as do a plethora of others, but if you happen to find something appealing in a smaller brand, why not? I will say, however, that it is just as true in watchmaking as it is anywhere else, that there is no free lunch -- most of the so-called startup “value” brands I’ve happened to run across show obvious signs of corner-cutting in one form or another and perhaps in no department more than in design. The number of so-called Bauhaus-inspired, allegedly form-follows-function “value” startup brands out there are truly legion and where they seem to compete the most, as far as I can tell, is in a race to see whose designs can look the most dully derivative and lacking in imagination. At some point one simply buys a Junghans or a NOMOS and goes on with one’s life.
Independent Master Watchmakers
There are many small (independent) boutique watch companies. Among them, many have built their story around an independent master watchmaker. These guys can create really proper mechanical watches beyond the realm of what an average watch company produces. They can make something special -- from a functional or aesthetic or just a creative point of view.
Most of them charge a very high premium for such work. Some, however, are more focused on the more functional aspects of the mechanical watch. A timepiece by Ludwig Oechslin (Ochs und Junior) or Richard Habring or Aniceto Pita can be had for $6,000 or less. Thus it's relatively affordable to own such timepieces.
Are there any other independent master watchmakers who would make timepieces for a similar bracket of pricing?
Well, there are any number of independent watchmakers who do very commendable work; the problem is that, generally speaking, their timepieces come at fairly ruinous prices (this is a separate question from that of whether or not they are worth the price asked -- yes, Roger Smith makes an extremely expensive watch, but I would feel very, very comfortable defending the price to value ratio when it comes to his timepieces).
Ochs und Junior (Oechslin) and the Habrings both offer extremely interesting, and in many respects unique, wristwatches with both innovating in actual mechanics, which is quite difficult to do whilst keeping prices low, as Voutilainen, Journe, MB&F and others evidence.
If you really want something that will make you utterly forget the notion of buying a watch as an investment, comes from an independent watchmaker, and costs less than ten thousand dollars, may I recommend to you the Konstantin Chaykin Joker? It is in every respect diametrically opposed to all the most essential values espoused by the Swiss luxury watch industry, and all the better for it.
Baume and Mercier Baumatic
What’s the best Baume and Mercier Baumatic to buy? The COSC or the non-COSC?
Oh, my goodness, is this even a serious question? The COSC version, absolutely -- for one thing it’s the best looking of the lot and for another, for a mere pittance you have the reassurance that comes with a fine timepiece that has been certified by none other than the august body known to all and sundry as the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres.
There might be some unkind souls out there who would tell you to save for another month and just buy a Grand Seiko but if you’re trying to decide between the COSC and non-COSC versions of the Baume & Mercier Baumatic there is a high probability that you are already well aware of the other options at the Baumatic’s asking price and have made up your mind for your own reasons -- your own inexplicable reasons, perhaps, but at least they’re yours.
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