Anyone with Prim experience?
I have nearly pulled the trigger on an Orient Bambino several times this week. My tastes run vintage, but sometimes something with a warranty appeals to me. So, I am looking...
I have lost more eBay auctions trying to buy vintage Prim watches than I can count. I know that is merely the name and has no direct link to the communist brand. The prices seem to fixed about where they should be given the exchange rate of the koruna to the dollar, but I don't know anything about quality and finishing. Does anyone here have any experience with the new Prim? Any insight would be appreciated.
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Greg
Restitutor Orbis. Aristocrat of beauty. Autocrat of time. (Trying to perfect trolling over at theescapementroom.com)
Charleston, SC
Member since
Last active: 42 secs ago
No experience, but an interesting brand to look into! Hope you'll find the watch you're looking for soon, and keep us posted :)
Hi. I do not know if there is another Prim in the world but if you speak about Prim from Czech Republic, it is a communist brand because established in 1949 (1946 the communists won the elections and 1948 coup d'état (Russians with Czech communists) overruled with a single-party government. But that does not mean "bad quality", on the contrary very good quality and in house movements. Czechs are known with excelent engineering skills and pedantry (Volkswagen hates Skoda because it is cheap Volkswagen with better quality😜 even if they are in the same group 😜).
To your question: YES, I have experience with vintage Prim watches. I inherited one from my grandfather and what I remember he was wearing this watch EVERYWHERE and ANYTIME. And the watch still ticks without any service. This watch will never leave my collection ("Czechoslovakia" is a total vintage 😉 - a watch from a country that does not exist anymore):
Hi. I do not know if there is another Prim in the world but if you speak about Prim from Czech Republic, it is a communist brand because established in 1949 (1946 the communists won the elections and 1948 coup d'état (Russians with Czech communists) overruled with a single-party government. But that does not mean "bad quality", on the contrary very good quality and in house movements. Czechs are known with excelent engineering skills and pedantry (Volkswagen hates Skoda because it is cheap Volkswagen with better quality😜 even if they are in the same group 😜).
To your question: YES, I have experience with vintage Prim watches. I inherited one from my grandfather and what I remember he was wearing this watch EVERYWHERE and ANYTIME. And the watch still ticks without any service. This watch will never leave my collection ("Czechoslovakia" is a total vintage 😉 - a watch from a country that does not exist anymore):
I know that the "old" Prim was a quality product. I have been trying to obtain one. The Prim of today hopes to capitalize on that legacy. Have they succeeded?
It seems as though the ability to produce a quality watch was a point of pride for many countries. The United States, Great Britain, Russia (USSR), France, Japan, and Germany always assumed that they could make great watches. In this one area Czechoslovakia could play with the big boys.
I love your Grandfather's watch.
Making this more complicated: there are two companies fighting over the Prim name. This one claims the original lineage.
Oh yes, like for the Budweiser ... I believe this one is the "right" one: https://www.prim.cz/. They are still in Nové Město nad Metují, where it everything started and as I read they are "winning" the fight at this moment. The other company is more or less importing watches ...But if you take a wintage watch from 40-60 years ago, you will get the "original" 😜
Hello, everyone!
I live in Prague (Czech Republic) and Prim watches have fascinated me since I was a kid. I inherited my favourite Prim Sport II from my grandfather. It's not a dazzling quality watch, but I will always like this brand the most, the nostalgia is strong. Unfortunately, I only have experience with the old models. Most are from the 1970s.
Two companies are allowed to sell watches with the traditional Prim label in the Czech Republic. Elton Watchmakers, which has been producing watches for over sixty years, and MPM-Quality, which obtained a trademark for the brand in 2001. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Elton, which wanted the courts to ban its competitors from using the mark.
The Elton watch company is a continuation of the manufacture of watches that dates back to 1949 in Nové Město nad Metuji. Its Prim designation was taken over by the company from its legal predecessors. It also uses the European trademark Manufacture PRIM 1949.
Prim's are very cheap in the Czech Republic and some of their designs are just great. Some models are not cheap at all. Probably the most expensive Czech watches come from the workshop of Mohelnice watchmaker and goldsmith Luděk Seryn and bear the name Imperator (first picture), inspired by victory and ancient Rome. It glitters with gold and diamonds. Their value is CZK 1.9 million. (85,700$)
Also interesting is the PRIM Skeleton watch (second picture) sold for 1.2 million crowns. (54,000$)
Hello, everyone!
I live in Prague (Czech Republic) and Prim watches have fascinated me since I was a kid. I inherited my favourite Prim Sport II from my grandfather. It's not a dazzling quality watch, but I will always like this brand the most, the nostalgia is strong. Unfortunately, I only have experience with the old models. Most are from the 1970s.
Two companies are allowed to sell watches with the traditional Prim label in the Czech Republic. Elton Watchmakers, which has been producing watches for over sixty years, and MPM-Quality, which obtained a trademark for the brand in 2001. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Elton, which wanted the courts to ban its competitors from using the mark.
The Elton watch company is a continuation of the manufacture of watches that dates back to 1949 in Nové Město nad Metuji. Its Prim designation was taken over by the company from its legal predecessors. It also uses the European trademark Manufacture PRIM 1949.
Prim's are very cheap in the Czech Republic and some of their designs are just great. Some models are not cheap at all. Probably the most expensive Czech watches come from the workshop of Mohelnice watchmaker and goldsmith Luděk Seryn and bear the name Imperator (first picture), inspired by victory and ancient Rome. It glitters with gold and diamonds. Their value is CZK 1.9 million. (85,700$)
Also interesting is the PRIM Skeleton watch (second picture) sold for 1.2 million crowns. (54,000$)
You should create your own post with this to get it out the whole community. (This is an older thread.) I think that more folks should be exposed (and therefore buy) to Prim.
You should create your own post with this to get it out the whole community. (This is an older thread.) I think that more folks should be exposed (and therefore buy) to Prim.
Hi!
That was actually my first reply on Watch Crunch. I will make some posts regarding Prim watches. Thanks!