@Doog_de_Jour also I LOVE JLC. Never been a huge fan of Cartier, but though most would assume as a luxury jewelry maker they don't make a good watch, you would be mistaken. They are actually full in house production movements on many of their models. Really well made watches. The looks have just never appealed to me, but lots of folks love them.
JLC is a super interesting brand....from a horological perspective they are the bar. Guess who the only manufacturer Patek ever sourced a movement from? Yep, JLC. I mean fuck, Patek! 90% of the world doesn't know what Patek is, but they make Rolex look like Seiko, and do almost ALL of thier own movements, but int he past, when they have needed a specific complication and didn't want to tool up to build it themselves, they went to JLC. Fantastic watches. Wish they held their value better. But the value proposition is a thread unto itself i may actually tackle one day if there is enough interest from our little knitting circle of watch nerds.
Yeah, Cartiers are a lot like the handbags of watches...you’re paying for the name and the design. Not that they’re bad watches! Just not the best.
That’s impressive about Patek sourcing from JLC! I think most people don’t know about Patek as there’s no way they could afford them. They’d rather drop that cash on a car.
Yeah, people think dropping 8-40K on a Rolex is something...40K is damn near where Patek starts (I mean they have lots of 25-30K sport watches and their "low end" dress watches), but really, Patek starts at 40K and goes up from there. I will likely never own one.
The watch I am trying to get right now is 13K, and I am trying to negotiate a trade of two watches, plus cash, to get it. This will be the most expensive watch I have ever owned. And it's like pennies compared to the true high end world. Rich fuckers.