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What is your favourite watch brand and why?

24K views 165 replies 124 participants last post by  mrwatchusername 
#1 ·
:think:
 
#3 · (Edited)
My favorite watch is ALS Lange 1. Unfortunately, that watch is beyond what I am currently willing to pay for a watch so.... My favorite brand would have to be Rolex. So many watches I love... Sub, Milgauss, DeepSea, Explorer ii, Daytona, etc. and still not out of my price range. In close second would be Omega, Zenith, JLC, and GO for the same reasons.
 
#7 ·
Wow... that is difficult to answer.

For an overall dedication to understated excellence (my favorite type of excellence, I will admit) Grand Seiko comes to mind. But then I think of which brand makes the finest watches, and that has to be A Lange & Sohne. But then I think of history and prestige, and it is pretty hard to beat JLC in terms of it being a true watchmaker's watch brand. But then, I consider what type of brand I personally would create if given a large sum of money, and it would probably be something like Bremont which has an overall theme and aesthetic that really resonates with me.

But finally, after all of these things considered, I am going to have to go with Nomos. It is a small, independent brand that is dedicated to doing things the right way. It charges very reasonable prices, makes a very consistent and high quality product, and doesn't seem to waste a lot of resources catering to the masses or buying up market space. It knows what it is and (more importantly and much less common) knows what it is not. Plus, it has a ton of personality and charm as a brand- everything from the fine finishing details in the movement to the little bits of humor apparent on its wonderful website and catalog- it really is a delightful breath of fresh air in an industry filled with self-proclaimed audacity, prestige, and bravado. And so, with the element of charm tipping the scales in its favor, I nominate Nomos as my favorite brand.
 
#8 ·
Seiko. Awesome watches from $100 to $150,000...something for everyone. Good, honorable company with a great and uncompromising history. Quartz, solar, GPS, digital, kinetic, spring drive, automatic, handwind, minute repeater etc, you've got pretty much all of it in Seiko.

Honorable mention would probably go to Zenith. I've just always had a thing for Zenith.
 
#9 ·
I like Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Vacheron for its heritage, classic style, and decent value (for a high-end brand), and Jaeger for their movement expertise, understated design, and exceptional value. I know WIS are generally not fans of large conglomerates, but I find myself gravitating to many of the brands in the Richemont group, of which, A. Lange and Sohne is another standout.
 
#11 · (Edited)
It used to be Longines... But their current line up is not so interesting to me as it was couple years ago. But they still do have couple nice models.

As for now I could say that Sarpaneva is one favourite of mine, unfortunately too high end for me to reach tough... Doxa also, more humanly priced watches there and quite legendary diving pieces I guess. Panerai too, love the design and colour schemes. And then there is the affordable favourite Steinhart. Very interesting models with good prices.

Prestige and history don't play so big part to me... or even brand's horological inventions. I just like good looking watches with decent automatic movements. Ofcourse if watch have some rare features it is then a bonus but my taste is quite simple and I don't mind about watches with grand complications.
 
#13 ·
Don't really have a "favorite" brand. Too many watches, too much variety, from too many differing brands to have a single favorite. I simply like top many watches I suppose.

This question has come up in the past though, "if you could own a brand's entire lineup, what would it be?"

I've always answered Seiko, for much the same reasons CitizenM mentioned. Such a breadth of offerings, from Grand Seiko and Credor, all the way down to fun, inexpensive quartz watches. Though, obviously, Patek Phillipe or A. Langhe & Sohne would be hard to resist as well.

Dan
 
#14 ·
Don't think I could pick a favorite... but lately it's been Citizen. Going through titanium phase and they do great things with their Duratect and more recently Super Titanium (although I haven't heard much about this treatment) models. I just wish their JDM models were easier to find. Even on Japanese auction sites they don't show up often.

also my username has nothing to do with the brand. It's just a superhero I liked, hence the avatar.
 
#17 ·
IWC- a storied brand with Swiss/German/American roots. I love the entire diver lineup in previous generations ca the ref 3538 etc. A fairly legit claim to Flieger historical status. Good mix of in-house and outsourced ETA engines which makes them fairly attainable. Excellent QC. Lacks Rolex baggage.

Sinn- awesome tool watches. Priorities in the right place. Wide range of styles, sizes, and formats, and almost all of them appeal to me. Utter lack of pretension.

Rolex- the brand I love to hate. Few designs really appeal to me and the brand is freighted with baggage, BUT... if I'm honest I have to admit that they do almost everything pretty well. I guess it is better to say that I respect them and appreciate them rather than actually like them.

Bremont- these guys are just so cool, full stop. I actually think that there are a lot of common strands of DNA shared by 3 of my favess, if I think about it. Bremont, Sinn, and IWC seem like branches off of the same horological tree.

If I absolutely had to name just one brand, though..? Probably IWC.
 
#22 ·
My favorite brand would be Glashutte Original. But it is likely that I will never own one. So, looking at this question with what is actually achievable right now, I tend to sway towards Ball. I am stuck on the lume and they make a wide selection of watches across multiple categories. Second would be Nomos for the professional side.

Cheers!
 
#24 ·
I have 3:
Sport - Audemars Piguet (Royal Oak & Offshore)
Dress - A. Lange & Söhne (Datograph and Lange I)
Complication - Patek Philippe (5496P-001)
 
#26 ·
Love all the brands here but I do have a soft spot for Seiko. The breadth of their product offerings is mind blowing...and in every field, from the $100 Seiko 5 all the way to the GS they make a competitive product at a very competitive price. Seiko deserves so much more respect than it receives from the public...so it wins my vote.

Cheers,
NM
 
#27 · (Edited)
I share this sentiment. Seiko makes a lot of ugly watches, and there is only a small percentage that I really like, but, as been said countless times before, at every price point Seiko offers a great value and a competitive watch. The Seiko 5s alone represent a remarkable achievement. Seiko's sort of the Toyota of the watch world. Not necessarily the prettiest, but everything they do, they do well. Plus, a few of their watches really are smashing, including a few models at every price point. My biggest beef with Seiko is that it takes so much work to identify the good stuff; it it weren't for WUS, I would still be in the dark. Perhaps that's part of the fun of being a Seiko fan: The treasure hunt for the gems.

My other favorite brand is Stowa, for offering a seriously classy range of quality watches and doing so at a price that most of us can swing. In my book, Schauer's aesthetic sensibility is pitch perfect; there's not a single watch he makes that I wouldn't love to own. I can't say that for any other watch maker.

Edit: Speaking of aesthetics, I should add that the one brand that just takes my breath away every time I see one of its offerings is Glashütte Original. I've written several times that I'm disappointed when I see folks with expensive Rolex's, not because they're bad, but because they represent, to me, a missed opportunity to get something really beautiful. When I think that, I have GO in mind. I think, "Man, if only you knew about GO..."
 
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