Breguet

sham1
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Welcome to the forum Mike!

and thank you for your thought provoking post. I think we can safely say that the holy trinity is a thing of the past and there is no way AP can now compete with Vacheron let alone Patek. In my opinion, Patek has no true rivals among the larger companies. I am leaving the smaller independents out of the equation (yes I realise that Patek too can be considered as an independent) because even Patek cannot compete with the finish on Voutilainen, Dufour, Smith, Romain Gauthier, Jean Daniel Nicole and Gruebel Forsey, to name a few. My opinion is based on the fact that no other brand is able to repair, restore or service every single watch since its inception and we are talking about 178 years of watches. That type of piece of mind is unique and no value can be placed on that. When one buys a Patek, it is not simply the watch that one is acquiring but the whole Patek experience which is able to continue for many, many years. It is difficult to put a finger on it but one is made to feel like part of an elite group and part of a family. For example, I am leaving the UK for good in 11 days time after 35 years here and the brand director of Patek will be paying me a courtesy visit to say goodbye. He does not have to but that is just Patek.The other day I dropped by at a Patek dealer and we started speaking. When I told him, how much I liked the brand, he went to his store room and presented me with a Patek pen. I was touched as I had never purchased anything from him and may never do. The finish of Patek watches especially the grand complications is quite extraordinary. One thing Patek excels in is the ability to make complicated watches in a thin case, something no other manufacturer has succeeded doing. I am attaching a photo of a ultra thin split second chronograph in 33.2mm. Most rattrapante watches are a good 7mm larger and thicker too. I am also attaching a photo of the finish on Patek's entry level Calatrava range. Patek watches observe a daily tolerance of +2 -3 seconds and Lange admittedly excel here too with their +3 -2 tolerance. Rolex triumphs with a +2 -2 benchmark and I do acknowledge that Breguet's masterpiece La Chronometrie 7727 achieves a +2 -1 daily tolerance. It will be quite interesting when the technology in Patek's latest innovation as seen in the 5650 limited advance research Aquanaut (daily tolerance +1 -2) is spread throughout its collection. Finally, the resale value of a Patek is a testament of the fact neither Lange, Vacheron or Breguet is able to come close to it.
For lower end watches, I will salute Lange who have impeccable finish throughout its range. I once asked Kari Voutilainen which watch he would wear apart from one of his and he replied Lange as he is impressed how they are able to produce such amazingly finished watches at a low relatively low price. The fact that the legendary Philip Dufour wears a Lange Datograph is further testament of the strength of this brand. I do not subscribe to the fact that if a watch was below a certain price range, then it cannot compete with Patek because Vacheron have over priced their watches and yet a brand like Grand Seiko has produced many impeccably finished watches at the lower end of the market.
I love the dial on Breguets, I love their fluted case, I do not like their straight lugs which make the watch not so compatible to every wrist and of course, the name Breguet itself denotes the greatest watchmaker of all time. In the 90s in the Far East and in the UK, Breguet was considered the competitor for Patek. I believe the brand lost its exclusitivity when the Swatch group took over and production increased from fewer than 5,000 to 20,000 pieces and the worst part is that if you go into a Breguet boutique and ask them for the figure they will tell you it is classified information. Why would producing 20,000 watches be classified when Patek will happily tell you that they produce between 55,000 and 60,000 watches? Absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about if you are able to maintain top quality finishing throughout the range. For me personally, Breguet's efforts on its dials is not matched by the finishing in its movements. In today's high horology, the finish on the movement is vital.
A few days ago,I met a most pleasant Lange collector, Mike from New Jersey (Padj) who showed me his amazing collection of Lange watches. They were heavier, thicker and larger than their Patek equivalents (he showed me two (yes two!!) Richard Lange Pour Le Merite watches which Patek has no answer to) but the fact is the watches had movements to die for. I have scrutinised Breguet watches and their movements are less impressively finished.
For some Vacheron may be the ultimate, for others it may be Patek or Lange and yes I agree we cannot say that every Patek or Lange for example is superior to every Breguet so this is purely generalising the entire collection of one brand against another. I thank anyone who has suffered through reading my long reply