Unpopular opinion: Fashion brands destroy true watchmaking and make some watches obsolete

I mean, yeah - watches are an anachronism and it's a fringe interest at this point. That's why we're all here, to connect with the others who happen to care about it. BUT that doesn't make it bad! Your coworker who doesn't understand why you would spend more on your watch isn't appreciating his watch as deeply as you are yours. So just enjoy it! If someone gives you a hard time about it tell them to get a hobby (watch collecting, for instance!)

That's like saying photocopiers make paintings obsolete.

I think this is a horrible example as Bauhaus watches do look cheap and are ripe for the undercutting. Why expensive cheap-looking watches are made is the real topic.

Also, how amazing is it that mall watches or whatever look darn near as good as anything and probably keep better time? I shed no tears for the obsolete manufacturers that can't compete with quartz. They've had half a century to get with the program.

I actually think the DW looks good. Especially in the 36mm. 😁

We are a small group who like what we like. I don’t understand buying a $1500 bottle of wine, honestly I’d rather have a cold beer myself. I don’t think people who buy that wine are inherently bad or dumb, they just have different interests and priorities than I do.

My price cap on watches will be different from yours or several other collectors, that’s fine too. some will think the arbitrary number I use is too high, others will think low…

What’s more my choice in beer doesn’t inhibit the oenophile from enjoying their wine. We can sit together and have a nice toast even. Your coworkers DW doesn’t ‘diminish’ your Max Bill. If your coworker is a douchebag though… well that’s a different problem that probably has very little to do with watches.

These are people who will spend thousands on alcohol, tattoos or clothing. To me that's a waste of money.

I have no problem with them thinking my hobby is a waste of money. I think the same thing about theirs.

The comment from your colleague regarding the DW and your Max Bill can be viewed through more than one lens, yes you are paying considerably more but which has the greater mark up which is the greater value for money? The DW which is probably produced en mass for a few £ and sold for approximately £120 or the Junghans which is around £1200? How much would that cost to manufacture? Who is actually getting the better deal?🤔

Of course, watch enthusiasm as we know it is an endangered activity.

We are holding on to an old technology for what amounts to sentiment's sake.

But you see fellow people that it’s maybe not the fact of the comment or person, but the fact that some watch brands are suffering because of cheaper options that are connected to the same design language.

Like all the French and British brands that died because the Swiss made cheap copies of their stuff?

Bad take, but whatever man

If you wear a nice watch in the hope or expectation that other people will recognise its quality and compliment your choice, you will be repeatedly disappointed. To your colleague, that DW seems just as good and so, for them, it is.

To be content in this hobby, I think you have to focus on your own direct enjoyment of your watch or watches. One time in a thousand, someone else IRL might make a positive comment, which is a nice bonus, but otherwise there's just you - and this place, of course. 🙂

I don’t think that is that unpopular of an opinion!

You will know and enjoy what you are wearing, who cares if someone thinks you are wearing a DW. I think fashion watches are overpriced and cheap looking but there is no denying that they get people to wear a watch - no need to bother with what other people chose to put on their wrists. Maybe these people will get into watches, maybe they won’t- we enjoy this hobby but there are plenty of other hobbies in the world

In regards to DW, like most other DW wearers, I do believe that if they weren't wearing that, they would be either wearing an apple or even nothing at all. I don't agree with their and and similar companies marketing angle targeting people nieve to traditional watches and making them think they have something really special when infact the movement inside them are usually sold by the kg wholesale. But hopefully, if anything people who buy DW's will one day develop a passion for watches just like us and eventually help grow the community.

"Of course, you spent alot less. They put the "D" on backwards!"

Doi.

Yes - a dwindling population but more than there was 10 years ago due to the resurgence during lockdown.

The reasons you give are why I selected this Junghans Max Bill instead of the standard white dial...it will not to be confused with the worthless DW...

I would like to think I wear my watches FOR ME. Regardless of what others might think or say about them. They give me satisfaction or fulfillment wearing them. They may be exclusive or dime-a-dozen. What is important is how I FEEL wearing them. 😎

And some of us spend thousands on alcohol, tattoos and watches 🤦‍♂️

. . . "watch enthusiasm as we know it is an endangered activity".

But is it? Even with smart phones and smart watches, this is a great time to be a (real) watch collector. Fantastic selection, readily available via the internet. Many many watch shows, and at least one watch forum supplying constant information. Abundant new releases from the big hitters, and microbrands emerging all the time.

Yes, watches are no longer mainstream, as they were when I grew up in the 1960s. There were watches in every jewelry and department store, wristwatch articles, and wristwatch ads in magazines and on TV. That has all largely disappeared, but it has been replaced by what I described in paragraph one.

In 2023, in America at least, there are other more endangered activities looming, such as owning your own home or having a gasoline powered car.

Of course. But you could have had a much nicer watch if you cut out all the fluff. 😃

I think the photos of DWs look good, but I've never seen an actual watch. Unless they just knock my socks off in person, they're overpriced. That's my axe to grind against DW.

I have the Tissot Everytime Large which is more or less a (the?) template for the DW we most often see. I can't say the Tissot's design is startlingly original either, but its sapphire crystal, beautiful metalwork, and absolutely glorious dial were 1/2 the price of the DW when I bought it.

If there are enough people out there willing to pay a premium for the "genuine article" like the Junghans then they'll survive. If not, then not. Personally I think "fashion brands" are a great thing because they help keep alive the idea of wearing an analogue watch because of its style and aesthetics, rather than a smart watch.

The junghans max bill is and will always be one of those watches that if you see someone wearing one it’s about 98% certain they’re an enthusiast and that alone makes it special

I wouldn’t sweat it but yeah the max bill is simply beautiful because it’s so elegant a lot of people are wearing smart watches now as opposed too mechanical myself I love the mechanical movements more then digital, and it’s your money so spend it on what you like, so what if someone else can’t afford or won’t spend the money

That is a good-looking style of watch. I have 6 of them. None are an actual Danny W.