Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]If you consider Patek Philippe a "ritzy ditzy bozo watch maker" then I'm afraid you don't know watches very well... Patek and A. Lange & Sohne are the current top echelon of watchmaking. You simply can't find movements better finished or more aesthetically pleasing. I also consider Blancpain, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Audemars Piguet to be among the top. My current dream watch, in fact, is the Patek "10 Days". Keep in mind that "in-house movements" doesn't mean much these days. There is a reason why Rolex doesn't allow tours of their factory, whereas real watch manufacturers like Blancpain often do. It's assembly line manufacturing vs skilled craftsmanship. I guess you can argue that Rolex caters to a totally different market than Patek and Lange do. Apples and oranges. Hoyen Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 00:34:57 -0400 From: Javier Perez <summarex@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Leica] Forbes article on mechanical wristwatches Message-ID: <39C1A6F1.1807001F@yahoo.com> References: <Pine.SOL.4.10.10009141439320.17051-100000@stargate.gpcc.itd.umich.edu> Hi Watches are an on and off hobby for me There are very few swiss watch makers still building their own movements. These include Valjoux, Eta, Zenith Rolex and a few of less important ones Zenith* and Rolex use the movements in their own watches leaving ETA and valjoux to supply the industry. While different watches with diifferent brand names may match for movement and caliber they will not necessarily be of the same grade or build quality. Any of the movement builders will hand select parts for the movements if the watch maker is willing to pay the extra $$$ Also, many watch makers like to massage and tweek the movements a bit further for use in their top of the range watches. So even though your swatch has the same movement as someone else's speed master The speedmaster is likely to have a better balanced balance wheel, and will likely have been adjusted in several positions in temperature and humidity controlled environment. These extras will pay off 25 years from now when the Speedmaster is still running, perhaps a few minutes fast and the Swatch has long been thrown out or perhaps used to supply parts for a speedmaster *Zenith does on occasion supply other makers with movements It provided Rolex with detuned rainbow movements for their early daytonas. See Ya Javier PS: Please don't tell me that I forgot to mention Patek Phillip. I'm talking about serious watch makers here, Not ritzy ditzy bozo watch makers. - ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com