That was not my point - not talking about foreign ownership, but the horology and design expertise of foreigners who have chosen to produce fabulous watches here in CH, due to the quality label, etc.

OH on the other hand, has chosen a watch made in the UK by the best British watch maker, the first to be trained at Wostep in 1970 - he also has my dad's own made chronograph from the 50s... recently restored by the above

Apart from that, I'd go for the classical names of the 18C - Breguet (originally from Neuchâtel) Bovet from Fleurier (NE), Ulysse Nardin from Le Locle, and perhaps the most famous chronographer, the brand recently re-surfacing thanks for Chopard- the great Ferdinand Berthoud from Couvet (NE)

I wear Citizens and Seikos, because innovation and value for money (versus overpricing).

Jokes aside, there are a few classic Swiss ones which are on my "watchlist", e.g. the Omega "moonwatch".

Fossil

No, Omtatarse, we are talking about watches in this thread

No @todayonlyarse. Fossil is a watch

https://www.fossil.com/de/de/uhren/h...edelstahl.html

Well, i suppose you could say that, but it's probably not something to shout to loudly about

I added a watch to my small collection the other week to use as a daily work watch that I am quite taken with. I really like to keep aware of the moon phase as it affects my sleep (whether you agree with the science of that or not is by the by, its my experience) and I bought an Oris Pointer Moon in silver:

It is an interesting complication added to a standard Sellita SW200 movement that I believe only Oris currently does... which adds a 29 day moon calendar with the phases of the moon depicted along the outside of the dial and tracked by a small hand running counter-clockwise.

For the first time I used Jomashop, that US-based importer of grey-market watches and paid pretty much under half price over the Swiss rrp. https://www.jomashop.com/oris-watch-...91-4051mb.html

Delivery was fast and well tracked and the watch arrived in perfect condition. The lack of official warranty isn't really an issue as watches rarely go wrong in the first couple of years and even if it did the repair cost for movements like this should not be significant. I am very open to buying more watches from Jomashop in future based on this experience.

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I also really like the look of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight with the new smaller size and slimmer in-house movement... https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tu...eight-hands-on

Swatch

Hi,

Never used to wear a watch but now wear a Fitbit versa. Don't see the point in an expensive dumb watch.With smartphones there seems little reason to wear a watch.

Have fun
Martin

Plenty of reason, who wants to be continually checking a phone to see what the time is ?

Generally in Chamonix I always did 2 remit card transactions, 1 for the VAT that did not get cleared if I sent back the customs papers within 1 month, they supplied an envelope too.

Another Fitbit, mines an Ionic.

The interface is a bit clunky, especially when you’re changing time zones, but other than that it’s OK.

Good to see you supporting the Basel watch-making industry.

My father gave me on Oris watch when I was 10. I hadn't worn it for decades and rediscovered it only a few years ago. I was looking forward to handing it down to my son. It was stolen in a burglary a year ago. My son turned 10 a month later.

As it is engraved, the watch is pretty much worthless to anybody other than me and my son. (And to be frank, second-hand Oris watches don't exactly go for a fortune.) It really pains me to think that it was probably thrown away.

I love that people started wearing wristwatches for convenience when looked at vs a pocket watch. Now people are arguing that modern pocket watches have made wristwatches obsolete.
I still like to know the time with a quick glance, and when on the bike/bicycle I can find the time without having to pull something out of my pocket. More so now that it is nearly time to start wearing gloves.

OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m ... had to change to rubber strap recently as it is really heavy

Did this recently with a Canada Goose coat we bought in London - just had to show my B-Permit as proof of residency at Heathrow and then do the rightful deed when you get off the plane at Customs on the other side. Most people skip the latter part and to be honest we could have done the same given we were wearing the coat! I imagine a watch is much the same but for me it's not worth the risk.

A high-end watch will hold and/or appreciate in value...and is one of the few intrinsically engineered mechanical pieces of technology left in this world. Some people (outside of the ones who buy just for image) admire that.

There is also a traditionalism associated with buying an expensive watch, many people do it at specific milestones in their lives or hold out for one big selfish purchase. All harmless fun in my eyes.

I'm quite sure the suspension of my run-of -the mill car has been given much more thought, research, engineering and design finesse than most of the watches, not even mentioning my car's power train, and the manufacturing qualities show after hundreds of hundreds thousands of km exposed to shocks, vibration, extreme temperatures and humidity. If I'm not mistaken the car industry can boast better MTTF

The watches are basically a branding exercise; to me its pinnacle is the "Magic" cards, where real paper, printed with some artwork, is sold for real money.

For each niche of luxury goods there is a well-tuned marketing machinery, e.g. for diamons - The Atlantic: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

For a watch to appreciate in value it must be rare; no watch manufactured in (hundred) thousands will ever be.

I don't deny that is a nice mechanical piece, but just not exceptional, and that it is an emotional etc piece of jewelry, the only one a real man can wear without a shame :-)

Rubbish, they nearly all fall in price except a very few high end Pateks (think $250k +)



Watched in second hand market or via grey market are between 30-50% cheaper than buying new