Lesser known brands

I saw a lot of these in the Macys Chicago when I went there for a work trip recently. I’ve heard about FC and MLC but that was the first time I’ve seen them featured so I’m guessing more watch enthusiast heavy places have them featured more often compared to other places.

I’ve got a Raymond Weil Freelancer gmt Worldtimer and I love it.

There watch is beautiful the QC and finishing is outstanding and RW were really easy to deal with.

I buy from a lot of independents and it can be a little more difficult to get information about them than the big boys but the information is out there. You have some quite well known and respected independents in your list, but I wouldn’t try to hard with youtube. What normally works well for me is searching for the specific watch rather than the brand. Googling the reference number and review often turns up what I’m looking for, normally in the form of a blog.

Otherwise there’s WC.

I know Teddy Baldassere on YouTube has mentioned some watches from most of those brands, but not nearly to the extent of the major brands.

That’s a very cohesive review

FC is actually the most well known amongst them, and they have in-house caliber. Those others are like different shelters for Sellita or ETA movements

It feels like he was just trying to clear stock. Those videos are bit simple comparing to his usuals

Youve got a lot of different brands here. Some are Swiss brands very known in Europa, like FC(100k+ watches sold) , M. Lacroix (50k+)and R. Weil (100k+) are found in a lot of regular jewelers here. That's top 50 Swiss brand stats.

Louis Erard is also Swiss, but less mainstream. No idea how much they sell but you see them less often in jewelers.

Armand nicolet,Louis Moinet and Perrelet I've also seen mentioned on forums, never seen one in real life. They are all brands using famous watchmakers names without much connection to those early inventors as far as I know.

PS: all stats from memory 😅

What a great enlightenment for me. Thank you 🙏

The Raymond Weil brand marketing team just got fired because of your post. ;-)

Armand Nicolet have some beautiful timepieces

Expense is all in the eye of the beholder.

🔥

Raymond Weil and Armand Nicolet both make very nice quality watches. I’ve had these in my collection for some time and can’t fault them.

Frederique Constant is the sister brand of Alpina and both are now owned by the Citizen group but seem to be maintaining their Swiss independence. I haven’t owned a FC, but have had plenty of Alpina’s which are fantastic so FC should be just as good.

Frédérique Constant

Raymond Weil

I’ve got a FC. It’s beautiful. Many of the their calibers are in-house manufacturered. The brand was created 30 years ago, I think by a Dutch couple in Switzerland. Until few years ago they were independent and offered great value for money. (e.g. aTourbillon for under 15K€ or a perpetual calendar for under 9K)

This is a golden thread! I’ve always wondered the same thing about these brands cause they intrigue me quite a bit. Thank you for questioning and everyone inputting and enlightening this topic thread 🙏🏽

Teddy puts out fantastic content.

Some great brands here.

When good independent swiss brands are mentioned Oris always gets the nod, but Raymond Weil and Maurice Lecroix deserve a mention too.