I was looking into some of the JLC ebauche and high end brands like VS and AP.
It looks like the following watches have the same layout and possibly the same movement:
JLC Master Geographic
VC Overseas Dual Time
AP Royal Oak Dual Time
Anyone knows if they all use the same JLC movement? If yes, would your choice among these 3 watches come down to a matter of price vs aesthetic? Or would you consider the movement in AP/VC to be superior because it is better adjusted?
My decision making process wouldn't ever get me to point of choosing among the three. I know that probably seems odd to you, but that's how I collect...
I think what I'd do were I forced into choosing among multiple major HEW makers' competing offerings is:
- Identify why I am buying whatever sort of watch I plan to get.
- Wear frequency --> daily use, occasional use
- Sartorial purpose --> fashion statement, sartorial flexibility, etc.
- Emotional purpose --> "ooh, la la" appeal, "pat on the back," beauty for it's own sake, information reporting for its own sake, mode of operation for its own sake, collecting goal achievement, etc. ("for its own sake" being, say, if it's a moonphase watch I want, I don't care about what phase the moon is in, I just want a watch that will display that piece of information)
- Assured use functional purpose(s) --> all I'll truly do is tell time (local and/or multiple zones) with it; I know I'll use it to to measure XYZ, I know I will regularly use it to remind me of XYZ (say, that it's time to start, end, go to/leave a meeting)
- Identify what type of watch -- simple, complicated (if so what complication), grand complication, digital, quartz, mechanical, etc.
- Go watch shopping at HEW stores and find out who offers what, how it feels on my wrist, can I read the damn thing, is it easy or hard to operate, will it take me forever to wind the thing, etc.
- Choose one based on the following:
- Aesthetics....if that alone doesn't do it for me, I move on to the next priority.
- Functional qualities experienced while trying on watches...if not that, I move on to the next priority.
- Intangible qualities....if the two together don't seal the deal, I move to the next priority.
- Service factors....if this won't do it, I move on to the next priority.
- Price....I'd buy the least expensive one if the watches under consideration are, as shown by my having no preference on the traits above, equal in my mind.
Looking at my prioritization, what's important isn't the ranking of my priorities, or even what they are, but that I know what my priorities are and thus can rank them.
As for the watches in question, I don't know the answer off the top of my head. AP and VC certainly have used JLC ebauches in both ROs and VCOs, respectively,
AP still does for one version of the RO, the Extra Thin, as well as on a JA model labelled as Ultra Thin. AP developed it's own movement (3120) for the 154xx versions of the RO, but the 15200 still uses the JLC-based movement (2120). I believe VC developed its own movement for the most recent, "old" basic Overseas and they may have deployed it as the basis for the complicated versions...I don't know.
What I do know is that while the very slightest variation in movement results in a new caliber identifier, few watches (and watchmakers) deliver movements built "from the ground up" for each movement type in which they come. Business economies of scale require that more often they build upon a solid base movement to create complicated ones. When they do build it from the ground up, the watch/movement will be the one used for future versions of simple and complicated watches, or it'll be very expensive, even considering that we are talking about HEW watches. (
e.g., ALS' Zeitwerk, which, strictly speaking, is an uncomplicated watch that starts at $60K and goes up in big steps.)
It's no different, say with cars. (which is why the car analogy is so often apt, even though it's not always germane) Take BMW's basic 3-Series engines...they are the exact same motors that show up in the one, two, four, five, six, and seven series models. The motor in the M3/M4, however, is a different beast, although that motor too appears in "higher number" M models, and that it's a unique thing built from the ground up and placed in fewer vehicles is reflected in its price.
I'll offer this: Google is your friend. Just Google the name and check out what you get as results. Also try Googling the watch model followed by the word "movement" or "ebauche." You'll probably find the answer to your question, but even if you don't, you'll find specific info on things that may be of interest and import to you.
Just be sure to check the maker's website to confirm what the current caliber inside the watch is (assuming you intend to buy new), or contact the seller and ask (if you intend to buy pre-owned).
All the best.
A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with -- that's poverty -- but how efficiently we can put first things first....When you're clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support them.
― Victoria Moran,
Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty