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      11-28-2013, 12:50 AM   #168
tony20009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlspeed29 View Post
ill never forget one of my first bosses told me " tag makes $700 watches and $7000 watches.... i dont wear tags "
I have a pretty firm opinion of Tag watches and I have two of them that I like very much. One of those two -- an Aquaracer -- is a watch I wear often for any number of mundane activities. I'm certainly not a Tag-hater as former boss is. Actually, I'm not all that negative about any watch, even when a watch in question is one I don't want to own.

I shared my thoughts on Tag here -- http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907804. Admittedly it's a position based on thought not passion. If one is just hellbent on having this or that Tag, there's no sense to my line of thinking. Pathos is always a better cause for a watch purchase than is logos.

The thing is that for me, Tag doesn't offer a watch that makes my blood boil, even though they make plenty that I think are nice/nice looking. And I know that all their watches are far more than adequately durable and reliable. Tag watches are very easy to own and live with. They don't challenge anyone's sensibilities, but then they aren't meant to. Yes, I'm sure there must be one or two that are on the more extreme end of things, at least from a Tag perspective, but as a brand, that's not where Tag is.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jlspeed29 View Post
whats the skinny on Zenith watches? some of them are ridic'
Zenith make very good watches overall. One of the ones that's received a good deal of acclaim for it's mechanical accomplishment is the El Primero tricolor chrono one they have out right now. I think it's butt ugly, but I know it's a very well designed (functionally) well made and well engineered, watch.

For a time, Rolex used Zenith's chrono movement in its Daytona line of watches. Regardless of what one thinks about Rolex, they consistently make/offer very reliable products that last without trouble for years. If nothing else, it's safe to assume that if one upper tier watch company employs a movement made by another upper tier watchmakers, that movement is good solid one that is worthy of respect. That must be so for no company, regardless of their market position, would risk their reputation on someone else's product if that product weren't up to snuff. And most certainly not Rolex, although PP, VC, JLC and many others wouldn't either.

The main thing I think about Zenith is that they are a company that hasn't done much with their movements in a long time. That's good and it's bad. It's good because the ones one most often encounters are rock solid and time has shown that to be so. It's bad because it hardly makes paying a huge premium for them worth doing so. If I see one at an excellent discounted price, it'd be well worth getting. At full price, I'd look elsewhere. Again, that's a logically based perspective and not everything about watch purchases is, or needs to be, logical.

This is the tri-color El Primero that I think is horrible looking. Others like it, however. Suum cuique. That said, if one is specifically seeking a Zenith or a chrono, the El Primero is well worth considering, and the same watch without the three colors is just fine. Ideally one would choose the striking tenth version, but the standard one is quite a fine piece too and it comes in a host of sizes from 38mm to 42mm (so far as I know).



As a side note, several of the top tier makers have/do use JLC movements in their pieces, be they straight drop ins or modified versions. Among the top makers that have used JLC's movements are Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and IWC as well as Vacheron Constantin.

If there were going to be a "holy trinity" of watchmakers, it'd arguably be PP, JLC and VC, or it'd be PP, Breguet and VC. The only thing being that there's no justifiable reason, other than that a trinity has three members, to leave Breguet or JLC out of the group, so there's not really a "holy trinity." Because of JLC's very reasonable pricing, it's a real darling of a watch to buy right now.

Short of just liking the look of someone else's watch better, I can see only one reason to choose a different brand over JLC at the moment. That reason is movement finishing. But the truth is that to get better finishing in a comparable watch, one has to pay tons more. Consider the JLC MUT against any Calatrava/Gondolo, Classique or Patrimony and you are talking roughly $5K to $15K more, but you will get more refined looking movements, even if the engineering and durability are no different.
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Tony

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