What do you guys think of buying expensive watches from microbrands vs all the big name guys?
I mean 1/2 the money you're paying for a Rolex is just for the name on your wrist... so what do you think of these boutique manufacturers that are about the same price as a Rolex but with none of the pedigree? How do you justify a Zenith watch for example? They're like lower end Rollie and Panerai/IWC prices... but I had never heard of them prior to a few months ago.
Seems like they still sell out so people are buying them. I'm not sure who these people are, but I definitely noticed this phenomenon since I started paying more attention to watches recently.
I am also finding it interesting how many people are gathering a consortium of watch aficionados together to design a watch in like... asia... or USA... and then just having it "built" in Switzerland. There's a whole bunch of them... Dumoreau (
https://dumoreau.com/ ) is one that comes to mind as a Cali company. Farer (
https://farer.com/ ) would be another one from the UK. A SINN or Hanart would be about the same price for some models as a Dumoreau or Farer, but carry a lot more brand panache having a massive history as watchmakers and doing everything in-house.
Seems like they're selling well... but again it's an almost $2,000 CAD watch and I'm a bit confused what people think they are getting for their money? Is it super wealthy people that just thought it looked good and it's a cheap wearer for them? Or are people thinking they are collectible and paying up to grab a limited edition?
I am totally not sure and open minded for education / discussion
