Swatch Group: From Proprietary Movements, Moon Swatch to Price Increase??
Honestly, my drive & loyalty as a watch enthusiast doesn't sit with the Major manufacturers but in the the watch itself, that being mainstream or microbrand. With that said, not sure this bothers me that much except it comes on the heels of the March 2022 release of that watch we all know and love "moon swatch" & Swatch Groups relesae of Powermatic 80. With the current market value watches from the microbrand & grey market, I am happy to turn my attention away once again from Hamilton & Omega, we'll see? Since Hamilton H-series ETA powermatic 80 movements, "that I am not to crazy about", I've been trying to get those older models like ETA 2824, 2836-2, including sellita from outside Swatch Group. I just love that beautiful smooth sweeping second hand biting at 28800 vph along with that ability to regulate the speed of my watches. Please, for you Hamilton & Swatch fans, my two favorite watches are Hamiton Khaki Field Auto and Khaki King. If anyone else is following this same buyers mentality, let me know where and what you are finding, love to know?
I would like to get your opinions on this recent Swatch / Omega price increase? How might this affect the grey market, retail & microbrands sales? Curious as to the ripple affect this might or might not create?
Thank you everyone!
Influenced by my Father and his banged up Timex Marlin with the aged yellow acrylic and Twisto-Flex band. I guess this makes me a minimalist. In memory of my dear Father my favorite watch is the Hamil...
They own a large chunk of the market with all those brands, so they will charge what they can get away with in each sector. If they are on form with a certain model I think they are taking the micky, the Murph being an example, lovely watch vastly overpriced even to comparable models in the same range. I do not expect anyone to make a watch at a loss but to me it seems a few companies are, shall we say, on bad form.
As for movements, I know a lot love the sweeter sweep of a 28000 and that's fair enough. As for power reserve always thought its a bit of a joke. Unless you take off your watch on Friday after work then back on Monday morning it seems to me irrelevant.
They own a large chunk of the market with all those brands, so they will charge what they can get away with in each sector. If they are on form with a certain model I think they are taking the micky, the Murph being an example, lovely watch vastly overpriced even to comparable models in the same range. I do not expect anyone to make a watch at a loss but to me it seems a few companies are, shall we say, on bad form.
As for movements, I know a lot love the sweeter sweep of a 28000 and that's fair enough. As for power reserve always thought its a bit of a joke. Unless you take off your watch on Friday after work then back on Monday morning it seems to me irrelevant.
I feel the same way about the new power reserve, don’t care that much for 80 hours. But now with that new 80 power reserve you have to send the watch in to have it regulated. I like simple.
They own a large chunk of the market with all those brands, so they will charge what they can get away with in each sector. If they are on form with a certain model I think they are taking the micky, the Murph being an example, lovely watch vastly overpriced even to comparable models in the same range. I do not expect anyone to make a watch at a loss but to me it seems a few companies are, shall we say, on bad form.
As for movements, I know a lot love the sweeter sweep of a 28000 and that's fair enough. As for power reserve always thought its a bit of a joke. Unless you take off your watch on Friday after work then back on Monday morning it seems to me irrelevant.
Yeah, it's not a big factor in my buying decision to have a large reserve. Hand winding it is a pain I'm sure. And with all my mechanicals, it makes no diff.
I think the price increases will further legitimize micro brands. How long will the major Swiss brands rely on "heritage"? At some point, the watch needs to deliver value.
Swatch group managed to kill my interest in pretty much every brand they own. There isn't a single model that I held that didn't give me the impression that it was made by anything beside a faceless corporation that could manufacture toasters with the same level of zero enthusiasm or interest in their own products as long as it generated the same income.
Swatch group managed to kill my interest in pretty much every brand they own. There isn't a single model that I held that didn't give me the impression that it was made by anything beside a faceless corporation that could manufacture toasters with the same level of zero enthusiasm or interest in their own products as long as it generated the same income.
From: “American Spirit with Swiss Precision” To “American Spirit with Swiss …..?
I have never had the issue with the beat rate of the ETA C07 (all the powermatic related movements), anything of an advantage is the longer service intervals and for someone who likes to rotate watches, the additional power reserve is good. But the regulation part is something of a bummer, even thought the watch accuracy out of the box is good, in the future with use having a option to quickly do a slight adjustment is good.
As for the price increase, I dont think it will make a big difference in their entry level or atleast till Longines tier. Most ADs offer a bit of discount on regular basis. The Tissot and Hamilton watches already have gotten a price increase, around $50 to $100 depending on the models. When you are going into the upper tier, the price hike is going to make a difference. For microbrands, we may see a slight increase in price for atleast the brands relying on swiss movements.
Yeah, it's not a big factor in my buying decision to have a large reserve. Hand winding it is a pain I'm sure. And with all my mechanicals, it makes no diff.
I get what you mean having multiple automatics, it’s hard to keep them wound or in winders.😞