FabR
[Senior Patek Moderator]
26166
Obviously Patek for me on virtually every level (historic, mechanical, artistic, scientific, etc.), and the more I know the brand "up close"....the more I find myself madly in love with it! ;-)
Second, and perhaps also unsurprising, Rolex, which I always strongly admired for the same simple reasons that most collectors admire this Brand: the quality, reliability, and enormous success of its production. Let me just reiterate here that I'm sincerely grateful to Rolex and its ADs for access to a couple of pieces last year (let's call them a "boyfriend/girlfriend" gift that I exchanged with my lady ;-), at a time of enormous popularity for the Brand, even though my own Rolex collection is comparatively modest 
The only nontrivial part of my ranking is third place, where after some thought, I'm listing Cartier and Vacheron. I have no piece from either brand, but the more I watch other collectors' pictures and read their feedback, the more I am fascinated by Cartier's unique charm and glorious tradition in the broader world of luxury. Vacheron needs no publicity from me either, as it sits up there with Patek as a watch brand that has written the history of this discipline for over a century (or two ).
).To be as usual very honest, my only issue with both Cartier and VC has a common cause....for me like for many other collectors, developing a deep and well-rounded passion in horology has always come hand in hand with a natural attraction to brands that we can call "independents with history." This is the sole, admittedly "purist" reason why I have no Cartier or Vacheron in my collection.....at least until I decide to make one exception for each!
Cheers.
Favorite Brand Census
Hi guys, I'm interested in seeing which brands rank among the most popular here. What are your favorite brands? Could you go as far as to explain your preference? I think it could be an interesting experiment. ...
Not the direct answer to your question but someone asked about MB&F on the Canadian watch forum not too long ago and my reply is fitting here.
What can I say about MB&F... Max Busser is the father of the independent watch movement. He started his career working at JLC and then moved over to Harry Winston to work on the Opus Project. I'm not sure if you are familiar with it but Google Harry W...
What a beautiful story!
I too love MB&F, event though I don't have one yet. It's my favorite independent and Max is one of my favorite people in the industry. A cool guy that always dares to be different.
The thing I value most about brands like MBF and gronefeld is how accessible the owners are
To get a personal reply from Max or Tim in a matter of minutes is crazy. Other brands it takes days if not weeks or even in one case months
Great write-up Paul 👏🏻
Max and his friends have really made Horology so much more exciting
A great census Andrea
Personally i pick out my watches by brand. Second the country of production. Number 1. First i have not tried every brand that exist, so there are maybe winners which i not knew. For me is important what a brand brings and rationally said price. Here it c...
That's a comprehensive list!
Thank you for your contribution, I too have omega in my top two favorites
Brand Census part due
More. When i study my Omega, it is clear that this brand is very good in watch making. If Omega put not so much energy in the watch box, they can bring up more quality to the watch. A simple sustainable watch box will have my preference.
I can see why you say that...
But the omega boxes are beautiful, I love both my wooden seamaster box and my huge speedmaster box.
no problem
Haha, i buy watches to wear, not to lurk the box. But….. i smell the watch box, Omega used that delicious leather.
I'll add mine as well... JLC and Omega, tied for my heart's first place
I am a nerdy guy, I love to geek out over my passions, and not many subjects can be explored as deeply and widely as horology can, at least in my opinion. I've always considered myself to be a free thinker, I'm more likely to love something if it's the un...
A. Lange & Sohne
I'll put in a vote for my favorite German watch brand of A. Lange & Sohne. While I sadly don't own one myself yet (one day!), they've always spoken to me on a different level from almost every other brand. I absolutely adore MB&F, Gronefeld, DeBet...
Lange is a fantastic brand
The Lange 1 and the Zeitwerk have long been grails of mine
Lange is great but they are not the company they were 15 or even 10 years ago...
I also use mine for chores, occasionally..... ...
Great minds think alike! :)
I'm with you, brother - prefer my two sub-bridges, little islands of heaven, despite the technical advances with the newer guy.
that is a alot of difference.
What about another model? 1815 chrono, datograph, zeitwerk etc
For the "bigger" brands, JLC, due to their complete competence....but
on a smaller scale, Akrivia, for their amazing finish and craft. -Dean
It’s so subjective
But I’ve always enjoyed the earlier stuff by Lange and Patek. Also vintage Rolex and very selectively some modern pieces. On the independent front I’m a big lover of Laurent Ferrier’s and Kari’s earlier stuff, also Frodsham. Cartier has finally made its w...
Obviously Patek for me on virtually every level (historic, mechanical, artistic, scientific, etc.), and the more I know the brand "up close"....the more I find myself madly in love with it! ;-)
Second, and perhaps also unsurprising, Rolex, which I always strongly admired for the same simple reasons that most collectors admire this Brand: the quality, reliability, and enormous success of its production. Let me just reiterate here that I'm sincere...
Two choices that are popular for a reason
The importance and quality of Rolex and PP are occasionally ignored by afficionados, amidst the bitterness surrounding hype culture and the popularity of icons like the 5711. It's nonsense, there's a reason why their names are the golden standard. The mos...
Omega
From an accuracy and durability standpoint I believe they make the finest movements at any price. Astronauts wore them on the OUTSIDE of their spacesuits on the moon. Parmigiani To me there are few watches as sublime as the Hebdomaire in dark green. Urwer...
Great choices
Omega is my favorite too (with JLC), I've loved the brand since I was a child dreaming about being how cool it would be to live the life of James Bond and have cool gadgets like the seamaster. Every time I walk in the Omega boutique I feel like the child ...
100% agree
After 3 years my POC was off 3-6 seconds total. After 6 years I'm losing 1-2 seconds per month.
Here goes
I'll be hung and quartered now but I really love the older Hublot King Power/Oceanographic line a lot. Tough as f@@@ with wrist presence.
Hanging is currently out of fashion, while a provision against quartering is even explicitly enumerated since 1791 (at least if you are a "Soldier" and the "Owner" doesn't express "consent")....so I wouldn't be too worried if you like Hublot! ;-))
Seriously, modern textualist approaches and their....vital consequences aside, I do appreciate your interest and support for this Brand, which too often seems the favorite target of its detractors! I actually believe Hublot has many more fans than critics...
So many aspects to love about so many brands. Overall I would currently place FP Journe at the top of my list. I also admire the quality and craftsmanship of Lange, though I gravitate to their thinner-cased references.
I also like Vacheron for the overall quality and finish of their movements and their overall design language. Rolex, of course, makes some of the most robust and visually appealing pieces. And I think Greubel Forsey makes some incredibly compelling pieces...
Easy for me… Habring²
Habring² IMO is one of the most compelling brands in the world. A relatively small Independent (~200 watches a year) who are able to produce in house their own monopusher chronographs, pusherless chronographs, Rattrapante chronographs, jumping seconds wat...
Rolex, because Thomas Magnum made me dream with his 1675 GMT Robin MASTER, Jaeger Lecoultre because they intrigued me with their Memovoxes and Master Geographique,
Ulysse Nardin, because if they are pure horological wizards, Girard Perregaux with their exquisite Tourbillons with Bridges, Tudor with their vintage marvels and some very cool modern creations, Blancpain mostly because of their vintage Fifty Fathoms, Zen...
Wow! That's a big list!
I have to research Jardur now 😅 I love most of the brands you listed, many of them are underdogs, undeservedly...
I did my research...
Cool chonographs! I second your preference for underdogs, I have a deep love for brands like JLC, Lange, Zenith and Omega (if you can call it an underdog), that put the engineering first instead of trying to be the flashiest status symbols.
I love Nico’s answer and I concur to his selection but I would add a few…
Definitely Patek Philippe for many of their vintage vintage pieces and some of their modern ones, and certainly so many Independents for their incredibly well finished watches but above all for the special personal relationship one can have with them (I c...
I hesitated to mention Patek. I cannot say they are among my favorites, though. Too " hype " for me. But I could mention 4 or 5 moderns which are among my favorite watches and the same number of vintage.
You are right about the Independents, an universe I don't know that well... But I would pick from your selection Romain Gauthier, Laurent Ferrier, and at another level, of course, Hentschel, because we have a friendly relation. As we are speaking of frien...
Rolex and Patek are my choices.
Hype is a sad state of things today and not just in watches, however Rolex to me represents all the values I look for in watches in this segment. Not just the product which is impeccable, the history, brand integrity, service and product development... Se...
I try not to stick to a brand, and my tastes have evolved, but one indication would be the number of watch photos I have on my phone:
1. Omega (185) 2. Longines (118) 3. IWC (105) 4. Universal Geneve (82) 5. Rolex (77)
Modelling
Brands and models. A top 3 will be. 1. Seamaster. 2. Twin beat 3. Excalibur. Special attention. 1. Big Bang 2. Charles Lindbergh 3. Pall Weber Iconic. 1. Reverso 2. Overseas 222 3. Pulsar Independent. 1. Logical One 2. Continuum 3. 19thirty
All things considered
It has to be Seiko. So much technical innovation and great designs over the years. And, at least for some time, you could collect them without refinancing your life.
Everything under the Seiko umbrella counts in my book
So yes, GS and Credor included. Even if they weren't, I think seiko would still be a strong contender. High quality mass production is in many ways more impressive than extremely high quality artisinal products.
Complex question
Here are the brands I had purchased from and some interactions with and some thoughts - JLC: used to have more wonderful creations but company is changed now. Had terrible horrible experience with the Navy Seals Alarm bezel falling off and them not replyi...
Interesting thoughts
Omega: completely agree: I've had an issue with the date wheel of my seamaster and they were extremely quick to repair it and send it back to me. Plus I believe the brand to be really well managed at the moment. Rolex: so many great things to say about it...