Comments:
I wanted to purchase a new Reverso Sun Moon a few years back, waited too long, and basically all Reverso complications I like have been discontinued.
I like the basic Reverso Tribute models, but I find the rest a bit unappealing compared to what was on the market sometime back.
The Rodney Dangerfield brands - Hey I get no respect!
Hi gang,
1931 Reverso
The immaculate reverse of the 3357
Probably showing my age with that title reference, but thought I'd have a little discussion about quality yet underappreciated (by the masses) brands. As I am a fan of one of the most financially depreciable yet fantastic watch brands I'd love to hear some others. That said, buying these second hand almost always means you save a TON of money and get a great watch to boot.
- Breguet - The king of the Dangerfield's. A watch brand whose watches should be toe-to-toe with the likes of Patek, VC & AP not to mention Rolex. Breguet invented so many watch related things that it's ridiculous to even mention them. It's renaissance in the 70s under the helm of Francois Bodet and Daniel Roth was a gamble that paid off in spades. It now sits atop the Swatch Group pyramid and is still innovating (silicon hairsprings, anyone) and getting no respect. I suspect partly because it's viewed as an "old" brand by some, partly because their watch designs do not keep up with trends, and most likely do to shoddy marketing of the brand by Swatch itself. Is it a Cartier competitor or Patek? Those of us who appreciate hand turned guilloche and outstanding movements clearly get a great deal in secondary market. And as the fashion for dress watches continues to decline, I suspect even more deals are to be had.
- JLC - The pauper prince of Richemont! JLC supplied the movements to all the best for a looooong time. The JLC 920 Family (AP 1120, VC 2120, Patek 28-255) is God tier and they never used it. The Reverso is an Icon and vintage watches routinely sell for 4 digits instead of high 5s like they should. Such is the problem of the kingmaker, but all the better for those us in the know.
What do you think? Who else is out there that doesn't get the respect they deserve and by extension is a great buy? Let me know!
1931 Reverso
The immaculate reverse of the 3357
I see two brands which immediately come to my mind: Girard Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin.
Spot on!
GP has seen a bit of a hype revival with the Laureato but totally. Outside of the Freak, UN still kicking around the no respect bucket for sure. Their midcentury stuff is a steal.
Don't you think part of the JLC catalog is languishing a bit these days?
I find the current Reverso catalog a lot less appealing than, say, a decade ago. All beautiful 8 days offerings are gone.
The 8 Days are gone for more than a decade now, indeed. I loved a lot of watches from the 2002 / 2013 era. I still love some, after this era. But there is some place for exciting watches
From 15, 000 Ro 40, 000 Euros. Such as the Duometre, an Extreme Lab 3, just to mention these two.
You are right, my complaints are more targeted towards the lack of exciting entry-level Reverso models.
Duomètre is super exciting, just way beyond my budget.
The Tribute Small Seconds are quite good, me think. The Tribute Duo in Steel ( white grained dial from 2016 ) was tops, too. The Tribute Moon or the newest Tribute Calendar are not bad.
Now, I regret some discontinuations: Geophysics and Deep Sea, for example. These were some very cool lines!
Yes, also where is the plain Ultra Thin?
The one without complications, with 849 movement, was glorious.
Indeed!
This was a real bargain, a real beauty and a very interesting movement.
As a humble collector, it's a bit sad they got rid of it. A very iconic JLC.
This was a limited edition. They made a rose gold version a bit later, and another one in white gold, with an enamel dial, 1 mm thicker.
It is up to us to defend them and up to them to keep on offering us some amazing " creatures ".
Dunno about Breguet but about JLC, not to worry
The way the brand is muddling along, there won’t be any favorable changes in the way it’s perceived. (Seems to me JLC’s way of trying to boost resale values is to just keep raising SRPs.)
Still, I keep hoping for actually interesting new products that are accessible to non-oligarchs every time there’s an announcement. I doubt the recent releases of hypertimepieces have meaningful halo effects on the rest of the catalog.
Still, I keep hoping for actually interesting new products that are accessible to non-oligarchs every time there’s an announcement. I doubt the recent releases of hypertimepieces have meaningful halo effects on the rest of the catalog.
Seriously!
JLC is *certainly* not currently doing anything to help change this situation.
Maybe they like it this way?
Maybe they like it this way?
Consumers want…
Consumers don’t want a good watch at a good price. No. They want either a super watch at a super high price. Or they want a cheap watch at a low price. The middle of the spectrum doesn’t sell especially well in the watch world.
Yup, hit the nail on the head there. Middle market is a disaster. And a bunch of manufacturers pushing prices off the deep end isn't helping anything. At 20k+ usd I'm looking at 2nd hand Patek. JLC needs a bit of a refresh dial wise and better marketing. They should be working the watchmaker's watchmaker angle. But Richemont isn't gonna overshadow ALS or especially VC who has used a ton of jlc ebauches over the years.
Exactly... From a Richemont portfolio perspective, they want JLC to stay middle market...
This way Richemont has all their bases covered. We can hope for great things from JLC. Also, considering the market now really cares about movement finishing (which surprises me, 10 years ago, when I was talking about movement finishing, half the people didn't even know what I was referring to), JLC will possibly lose even more marketshare.
Sadly BIG +1 and fully agree. JLC is my soft spot but honestly a disaster for many years now. Let's hope that changes 🤞🙈🙉🙊
JLC is my soft spot too...
JLC really makes some amazing watches. Especially that Westminster Chime that's so big I couldn't fit it on my wrist. But still very cool nonetheless. We can hope. And we can talk Matthieu's ear off! I also have a soft spot for Breguet too. But honestly, not a lot looks great there right now. The product line is dated and some pieces are a little boring. More than some pieces. And the minute repeaters sound awful! Vraiment Mal! It's hard to choose a piece in the Breguet line up that's truly astounding in its category. Even the other brands have caught up in the Tourbillon department. Some independents make great Tourbillons and the Vacheron Constantin 6000T is a great Tourbillon.
Poor breguet
Agree completely. Breguet is lost at sea currently. I don't mean with just the Marine line. Lol. This last update on the CLASSIQUE CALENDRIER 7337 was just all wrong IMHO. It's so far removed from what makes a Breguet a Breguet to me it's just sad. I have sadly closed the book on them for now and have set my sights on vintage Patek, early reverso and early Cartier.
Sad to read that!
I do feel strongly that Breguet timepieces are exceptional timepieces. But yes, there are very few models that speak to me currently. But it's an awesome brand. I really wished some of the cooler La Tradition pieces were a little thinner and easier to wear. I can't wear a 13mm thick watch - they won't fit under French Cuffs. Not that I've worn French Cuff shirts very much since the pandemic started.
Since you brought it up…(Nico: 💭 oh no not again🤣😆😂)
The Duoface does not deserve IMO any respect.”Of Richemont” says it all. Four pieces in a row out of the box either noticeable blemishes or faulty movements…1000 hours..really!? Refused to refund cash until I threatened legal action. I don’t ever bring it up unless specifically brought up…but this really happened to me and ruined JLC for me. I love the concept and wanted to like my watch but the execution…😣😖😫😩
Uh oh: I have a Duoface & now I’m wondering what I missed
Mine works fine & has no QC issues—or so I believe!—though if there’re any it’s too late now (bought >6yrs ago). The only gripes I have are that the seconds don’t hack and the day-night indicator isn’t quite right (iirc, current ones are ok).
That’s why I don’t respond to people that already own with no issues…
If you don’t have a problem after six years I can’t imagine that you would have a problem going forward. I think this is a site that respects honest dialogue this actually happened so it’s hard for me not to make a comment if someone is directly asking what I think of that particular model as I’m not even really discussing the over all brand here other than their unwillingness to back up their product.
Well, my Grand Seiko fiasco went badly here
I like your honesty. But many around like to hear only the good stuff…i still tell the truth.
Will never look at another GS with what happened to me.
Will never look at another GS with what happened to me.