Rolex do sell quartz watches, some of there cheaper smaller watches where quartz small womens watches iirc (last time I looked was many years ago though)

Not sure quite how hard you looked on the Internet for Richelieu- there is plenty of info there. It is a watch firm in the Jura, here are the detail:

Grand-Rue 36
2732 Reconvilier
Téléphone: 032 482 67 60 Fax: 032 482 67 65 info@richelieu-swiss.ch


So yes, very Swiss, at the lower end of the scale but perfectly genuine.

OK, I managed to find ONE on their website.. By the look of it though and considering its white gold and diamond encrusted, it wouldn't be cheap.

http://www.rolex.com/watches/cellini.html

The rest are all hand wound or automatic.

Not really- you are paying for individual pieces and parts to be made by hand for many of the very top end watches- like Parmigiani, Greubel-Forsey, Voutilainen, and more. Lots of new branded bling-bling watches are made with jewels, etc- but no watch making craftsmanship. You really need advice from experts these days when buying a watch, if you truly want the genuine article.

Baume and Mercier btw is part of Piaget- one of our long established local firms here in Watch Valley.

Rolex these days are made in vast numbers- and top watch experts are less than complimentary of late.

I don't see any on their website, I think you may be mistaken.

BAUME & MERCIER is owned by Richmond group along with Cartier. I don't think B&m even make movements unlike IWC part of the same group. I did not realise Piaget was part of the group.

No you are wrong, it is not a "fake", because it does not claim to be a Rolex, nor does it have the Rolex logo stamped onto it. It is perfectly legal, usually high quality materials and constructions, and the reasons for why they exist are obvious... http://gearpatrol.com/2013/08/13/opi...omage-watches/

You paid 10k for a quartz watch?

And I don't think its fair to say most are quartz... I would say the majority I have seen in that price range are automatic.

Agreed.

I did say it was some time ago I last looked, they did a whole range of very small womens watches that where all quartz

Will have to check what the situation is now- my info might be dated, sorry. Baume & Mercier and Piaget were definitely two sister companies some years back- perhaps no longer.

Edit - ooops - yes, Piaget bought Baume & Mercier in 1958- and owned the brand for 25 years...! I knew very many people linked with both brands- which were made here locally- but then I lived just a tad too long in the UK to be 'au fait' with the acquisition by Richmond Group.

Hi, i have my Richelieu P-7421-GG4 for more than 10 years now. The battery has been replaced once during this time, the quality is more than perfect. I was given this as a gift from my misses when she was in Switzerland.
So dont worry about that if you cant find it on any well known webpages because the watch itself is really good.

Ah Fatmans, how wrong can you be ???? Patek Philippe, which are regarded by all as the top of the top end watched designed and developed quartz watches and still sell them in the lower end of their range !

Rolex have never sold quartz watches

Rolex have made quartz watches
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex_Oysterquartz
And still do
http://www.swissluxury.com/rolex-wat...rtz-ladies.htm

Hmmpf! I can pick up a genuine Hublot up a genuine Rolex with papers for as little as 400 Euros on Ebay.

Anyone who buy a quartz for anywhere near that kind of money is truly nuts.

Agreed, but they must do

My appologies, i was equally as wrong as Fatmans then !!

I had read that Rolex's patent's are running out (or have?). That is why there are so many look alikes, which are alot cheaper.

Not sure what patents your talking about, however mechanical movements cost money to make.

Ah but that shows a lack of understanding of the watch industry as the quartz revolution beckoned. The Swiss watch industry has always considered itself cutting edge, and what was more cutting edge at the time? In fact, the Swiss premium brands faced off to Seiko to be the first to develop quartz timepieces. An analogy would have been the first people to get iphones. Or DVD players. Or cassette players...the wheel...flint tools. Etc...

If you are going to buy a watch over 1000CHF, normally, you can bid the price of 10% off in the store.