Horological Meandering

Quality is the trump card for me along with the aesthetic.  Combining both, and causing the heart to thump is what drives me to a purchase.   

When a new brand can provide quality, design, and th heart factor, then I look at the person behind the brand. I like to look at that person's history.  I do like to investigate stability so that I can feel better about the longer term service aspect. I really like it when the new brand person has a lineage as well. An example is to take a look at Haldimann's website and see his family tree.  

I can say that right now I would love to have about seven different new brands/independents. I just think they have begun to put together all the components.

This is what makes watch collecting so fascinating and enjoyable. 

Best,

Joe

If the watch is high quality, there's no need to fake lineage or have a borrowed history.

It can stand on its own merits.

Every 'old' brand was new at one time.

What I cannot stand is companies that fabricate history or implying historical continuity with their marketing.

Dean

ploy or not, history built on quality is a very powerful combination.

i'll be honest and say that i like history in a watch… rolex, jlc, omega… a history that smacks of excellence and innovation with a few hiccups here and there (which tells us something about their ability to recover).  there's something nice about brands that last.  

even new brands now (DB, GF, etc) didn't exactly spring out of nowhere.  the brand itself, perhaps but the men behind it did their time at some house or another.  you can't just pop into the luxury goods scene and charge an arm and a leg without some sort of track record… or, well, history.  maybe a few exceptions?  i can't name one.  Laurent Ferrier?  Patek, right?  I'd even guess that most of the exceptions would be the ones who started the whole watch thing in the first place… Breguet, for example.

hard to be really "new" in this day and age.

but then there's a difference between brands that just rely on their name.  in this case, quality will always trump history… assuming it's priced right!

New brands are good as long as it makes good watches AND they have CONTINUITY or SUCCESSION PLAN.  On that front, brands with some history wins...

Ken

 But I also think that History (and related prestige/class, associated exclusivity) are what make it for most to shell out the big bucks.

But that is just one facet of every customer, there are plenty here (and myself included if I could do so freely) who enjoy boht history, and quality.

A DeBethune is new, its quality, but... history? who cares!! They're damn gorgeous!!  Same goes for Richard Mille, any many more.

I think this question is better suited to lower pricerange watches, once that compete with entry level omegas etc. where I would

definitely say History trumps quality for most. (since some watches are based on the same ebauches).

Nice topic!

S

Besides Lange & Söhne other great examples of quality over history would be Parmigiani Fleurier or FP Journe. 

In a slightly different vein I can say  Alain Silberstein or  Mark Newson=fun!, innovative design, etc.

That matters to me. 

Also I appreciate it when a person clearly drives the brand, like Karl-Friedrich Scheufele at Chopard or J-C Biver when at Hublot or BlancpaiN. 

Cazalea

. . . with Hobbes ;-) . . . 

That is an important part of my particular vision of "subjective quality". 

I tend to mistrust the "new" per se, and i tend to appreciate innovation far more if it is done within some dose of classicism, with a pedigree to back it.

Things that are meant to last must prove that they have already made a long journey up to me.

Especially in our "technological times", the appeal of a mechanical watch, to a large extent, is nostalgia, memory, tradition, duration, etc.

QUALITY, for me, is before anything else, THE OPPOSTIE OF THE EPHIMEROUS.

Frank

You are right on the surface of course. Quality is what we are looking for. And I remember one independent watchmaker telling me that you are only as good as your last watch.

But there is more to watch ownership than the physical watch on your wrist. And different collectors place different weightings on different aspects. Some like the finish, others the design, some like the mechanics and others the brand, it's history, the vintage pieces that have come before, the 'backstory' of the watch. That variety is what makes this hobby and this community so much fun I believe.

History is almost a 'promise' of support, longevity, expertise. An unwritten guarantee. Obviously all that can evaporate very quickly, but the companies that have decades or centuries behind them should be offering something more than just a watch on your wrist.

Just my thoughts. Thanks for contributing to the discussion.

Regards,

Andrew