If I were at a watch convention >>>

[Aaron]

And I was surrounded by W.I.S s what name watch would invoke awe and admiration?
Another words if money was not a problem what is regarded as the best watch in the world?(Putting aside loyalties to your favourite brand)
How much would this watch cost roughly in American dollars?
I am also meaning a watch regarded as the best not because it has lots of diamonds etc?

Cheers aaron

[JBHII]

Aaron said:

And I was surrounded by W.I.S s what name watch would invoke awe and admiration?
Another words if money was not a problem what is regarded as the best watch in the world?(Putting aside loyalties to your favourite brand)
How much would this watch cost roughly in American dollars?
I am also meaning a watch regarded as the best not because it has lots of diamonds etc?

Cheers aaron

Generally speaking, brands like A. Lang & Sone, JLC, Patek Phillipe, and Glauchute Original are a few of the names that are spoken with hushed reference among WIS....figure on 10k USD being entry level in this neighborhood.....

John

[MikeS]

A Lange,Patek,Paneria,Breitling,Breguet and some others!

[Aaron]

I live in a sheltered world as I have not heard of some of these brands.
Cheers Aaron

[clepsydra]

You'll see a few Breguet models (along with the usual suspects from Lange and Patek), but you won't see anybody getting all rubber-kneed and blubbery over Panerai and Breitling.

The "Oooo's" and "Ahhh's" will be reserved for the more 'exotic' watches; Grand complications like tourbillons, minute repeaters, grand and petite en passant sonneries.....watches that display the equation of time, sunrise and sunset, ratrapante chronographs...and watches that posses unusual mechanics such as pieces by Richard Mille or Lange's Pour le Merit, JLC's Gyrotourbillon or AP's Concept Watch.

[claudel]

gets my jaw dropped

[Aaron]

I bet you don't go to Kmart for parts. ;D

[johnnycanuck]

Agreed about the Panerai and Brietling comments. Both use outsourced movements, although Panerai does heavily rework theirs. However, Panerai also produced limited editions each year. I'm talking VERY different watches from their regular line-up and fewer than 100 copies, eg., a flyback chrono in platinum for US$70.000.

However, any tourbillon watch will wow WISs, and Glashutte makes a nice one for around US$80,000.

Patek makes some grand complications that can run as high as $500.000. One nice "low end" watch to impress WIS is the Girard-Perigaux World Timer in platinum. I had one on my wrist and they wanted CDN$55,000 on a leather strap. Double the price for a platinum bracelet. But the complications on it are VERY cool!

[MikeS]

will take a little extra work to save up!

[johnnycanuck]

FOr US$13 large I can think of way more watches than a single APT3. Sorry Mike, just not a fan of anything from AP.

Now a nice Glashutte chrono and a panerai can be had for that kinda dough.

[MikeS]

and it's crown set up! Some concern from what i have read!

[Aaron]

Hey Johnny what are complications on a watch?
Cheers Aaron

[clepsydra]

I wouldn't be so forward as to answer for Johnny, so if yo want your question answered by Johnny and Johnny only, please ignore the following........ but for anyone else who'd like an answer to the question......

A 'complication,' in horological terms, is any function added to a movement or watch beyond the time function.

Common 'complications' include a Date and/or Day display, Moon Phase display, Power Reserve, Pointer Dates, Automatic Winding modules, and GMT (24 hour) displays. Also, all chronographs are considered 'complications'.

Less common 'complications' include Ratrapante and Fly-Back chronographs, Dynomographs, Foudroyante chronographs, Repeaters, the Equation of Time displays, Alarm watches, Sunrise and Sunset displays, Retrograde time and date displays, Regulator dials, Tourbillons, and Two Time Zone watches (this is an incomplete list...there are a number of other 'complications' that can and have been added to wrist and pocket watches).

[johnnycanuck]

What he said above. Geez, you took the words right out of my mouth (fingers).

BTW Aaron, a cape cod polishing cloth is used to take scratches out of mirror finished metals, like the side of a Rolex case or bracelet.

You can also use it to polish satin finished SS to a mirror finish for a two tone white metal look.

BTW Mike, I've heard of one person among maybe 50 panny owners who lost a screw out of the crown lock mechanism. I'm also a member at www.panaristi.com and complaints are few and far between.

Not saying they don't happen, though. But when they only produce 30,000 units a year, it's a little more exotic than a Rolex (at 1,000,000 units a year), wouldn't you say? And Panerai heavily reworks their movements and shows off that workmanship with display backs.

But imagine owning a limited edition Panny. Only 99 others in the world would have the same watch, or in some case fewer as some runs are as few as 50 or 60.

[Aaron]

The language used some times such as complications is unique.Thanks for the info.
Cheers Aaron