Totally agree with you here. I think Blancpain and Rolex swap spots, because no way Blancpain is lower tier than Rolex, and Rolex and RM don't belong together at same level.
The brand Hublot would not exist without M Biver. I have a classic chronometer like the one pictured below. He personally helped me when the US service department made mistakes. I don’t prefer the current lineup. Matt Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is a very interesting thread. It is great to read some of the reasons why some watches are hot while others are not. I certainly am surprised where people are ranking the various brands. It doesn't seem like price implies quality like I had expected. All sorts of anomalies. Is ALS new to the game? I hadn't heard of them until a few years ago. I once had explained to me (Selfridges, Oxford St) that GP does great watches but mostly now does bespoke bejeweled one-off pieces, so doesn't (need to) advertise much.
ALS had a great reputation prior to WW2, then East Germany happened and they disappeared for 40 something odd years. In the early 1990s one of the family members restarted the company and in 2000 it was bought by Richemont. So they're getting a 2nd lease on life now.
I think part of it has to do with geography. In Miami and Florida in general PP, AP and Rolex are king. They are easily recognizable and hold their value. RM is so overpriced and very few can afford them. Rolex is easily recognizable, tends to hold it’s value. It will be interesting to see if RM holds value in the next five or 10 years. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
She was the one we were talking with. Wildly enthusiastic about their products and I thought a great brand ambassador. She said she had been selling high end Swiss watches in Vegas for decades and was 100% committed to Hublot now. She had my 12 yr old son jumping up and down giddy to have me pony up $24K for the 'Vegas' edition 1 of 21 with little rubies at the 7 marker. He badgered me for days saying how could we lose on an 'investment' like this
I have actually been looking at a Hublot Spirit of Big Bang. I have a couple Breitlings, some Tag's. I want to expand my collection and I personally like the look of the Spirit of Big Bang. I've found them new in the 15-16K range. Is there a better bang for my $ out there? Curious your thoughts since you do this for a living. To me they are unique and not something "everyone" has. Rolex's are a dime a dozen. Obviously they've been around forever so way more out there.
Hublot gets a lot of flak, especially on watch forums. They're the new guys in town and their designs have a lot of "influence" from other brands (AP, RM, etc.). Having said that, they are cheaper than those brands by a lot and I think their designs are pretty nice and attractive overall, especially since they take a lot of liberties with the materials they use. Steel, carbon, ceramic, sapphire, etc. cases which would take Rolex, for example, a million years to do. If you're OK with that, then get one. For every brand there will be people "hating" on it. Patek Philippe people look down on AP, AP guys look down on Hublot, Rolex is too mass produced (which it is but their demand is crazy), Patek makes old man watches, RMs are too expensive for what they are...those are just some criticisms of each brand. I like and appreciate each brand for what it is and a lot of people do but the ones that don't like them are usually more vocal.
By the way, here's an article regarding the alignment of screws. It mentions Hublot too since I've heard the bezel screw complain a few times about them. https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/why-screw-slots-arent-aligned-in-watchmaking
Thank you for the response. Do you feel 15ish is a good deal on a spirit of Big Bang? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
It’s a fair deal but I have to doubt many places have it in stock. I’m not going to say all but most listings which have generic pics don’t have them in stock and once you place the order they might cancel if the price hasn’t been updated. Again, not the case for all but I’ve had customers tell me this numerous times. Also, Jomashop is sometimes a thorn in my side as they have low prices but they don’t include the original warranty papers on new stuff they sell. Not many realize that.
OP look at the Franck Muller Vanguard collection, similar to the Hublot's but can be found for about half the price. That said, but what you like. Good luck!
I think the Spirit of Big Bang Chrono is sexy as hell. Nice hi-beat movement too. Say I pick one up for 30% off from gray market. How much do I lose when I take delivery if I need to sell? Need to know trade in value. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Richard Mille is 70 years old.. when he dies what happens to the brand? Look at what happened to Versace haute couture..after Gianni died. Luxury is fickle.
I have a Hublot Big Bang Titanium Ferrari edition that I absolutely love, the first series. It’s my everyday watch and gets beat up. I don’t consider it a elite watch or jewelers master piece by any means, but I like it. The artificially high value of steel Rolex has me intrigued. I recently purchased my wife a DateJust hoping to get the privilege to buy a steel Daytona at MSRP. What stupid games we play.
If that’s the case then frank muller copied the all the old tonneau cases watches. Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk