I did just answer this watch question in Quora - Why do Rolex, Omega and other luxury watches cost so much?

It depends first on which model you want...

1) Expensive brands save / spare the best looking details and designs, to the most expensive models... And even Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Tissot and Certina do that... While low cost “homage” brands of rather high quality, like Invicta and Pagini Design use the best looking designs directly and without any hesitation... And especially without any really high cost, for the customer... Yes, homage is when a brand make models who look almost exactly like another brand - but clearly use their own name.

2) And if you want a model with some gold in the design, will expensive brand normally use a lot more gold, than the low cost alternatives... Then will the high class brands sometimes even make the case and bracelet in solid gold, which naturally is extremely more expensive... While low cost brands normally use modern high quality gold plating, that also stay fine and look the same for a very long time.

3) Then use the most expensive models normally first class mechanical movements, which cost a lot more to produce than basic mechanical movements - but even the most expensive mechanical movements, are still dramatically less exact than fine quartz movements from Japan... And a fine quartz movement from Seiko cost actually just 20–30 euro, while a first class mechanical movement may cost from 2000 euro... Yes, I guess also that the most expensive brands actually use mechanical movements partly to motivate the high price in their best looking models... But then have also many models of low cost homage watches basic mechanical movements, which only cost about twice as much as a fine quartz movement, but naturally are dramatically less exact than the first class alternatives!

4) Then use the highest quality models glass / crystals of synthetic sapphire and Invicta have for example “only” a top layer of synthetic sapphire, which give practically the same result but cost clearly less...

5) Then have some of the high class brands dramatically higher status than other, which make it possible for them to charge a high premium... And many buy also very expensive watches to show that they “made it” or just to show that they really have a lot of money, two facts these brands naturally use to charge even more... But I naturally hope most buy high class brands, because of the high quality and delicate design!

6) Finally make for example Invicta 10 to 100 times more watches than any high class brand, which first reduce the cost of advertising per watch dramatically... And especially reduce the production cost dramatically - even if they use fine Japanese movements and the same first class steel...

And the total result is that you must pay about 50–100 times more for a high class model, in steel and 150–200 times more, with some great looking gold details... Than a low cost high quality homage version, with exactly the same design!

This Invicta cost me just 64 euro, for example... And yes, it’s my photo

And this lovely Omega, cost 16200 euro

And this delicious Fossil cost only 94 to 260 euro