IWC and alternatives

IWC and alternatives

Author
Discussion

andy tims

5,571 posts

245 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
I prefer the earlier 3717 pilots chrono



but there are loads of alternatives so have a good look on Chrono24 to get some ideas

PJ S

10,842 posts

226 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
yeti said:
PJ S said:
Don't like fussy/busy, want something understated/under the radar – Grand Seiko is the answer, from a US dealer or Japan.
I'm assuming that the OP is neither a Japanese businessman interested in his own country's heritage or a highly educated watch expert with a penchant for knocking the Swiss. Therefore GS would hold absolutely no interest for him smile

I have started looking at the SBGJ001 by the way. You finally broke me Phil...
Have another read of the thread title, Lewis, especially the last word in particular.
The OP's locale is stated as Texas, which explains the use of $ instead of the expected £ sign – so it wasn't him pressing the wrong key, but more a reflection of where he resides and the currency he's working with.

If I'd truly broke you, you'd be looking at either the SBGA or SBGC, which are Spring Drive models, rather than 36K Hi-Beat.
But irrespective, stop that this instant......we can't have your purity tainted or corrupted! biggrin

h0b0

Original Poster:

7,557 posts

195 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
andy tims said:
I prefer the earlier 3717 pilots chrono



but there are loads of alternatives so have a good look on Chrono24 to get some ideas
I think I agree with you. This doesn't help though as it is fundamentally the issue I'm having. I can't commit. Others have brought up good points regarding the movement I do feel like it's the equivalent of Aston Martin using a Ford engine. The watch I end up with should represent the brand's in house skill. I would prefer it to be an in house movement but can accept a modified ETA.

Quite honestly, it looks like the Seiko meets all my criteria the most and can justify their premium price. But, it's not the watch I anticipated when I started this search years ago. I always end up at this point and as a result I'm sat here wearing a G-Shock.

Having said all that the JLC looks appealing but my budget is in dollars and is capped at $5k. I don't think there is one out there for me.

Lorneg

228 posts

178 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
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h0b0 said:
... the equivalent of Aston Martin using a Ford engine....
OK, I might be missing some intentional irony here, but I thought Aston Martin used two Ford engines welded together to make their V12. This has the enormous advantage that new spark plugs are quite cheep and the chap under the arches can do a full service on one without cocking it up. DeTomaso are also renowned for using big, solid Ford V8's to power what would otherwise by quite delicate exotica.

With IWC then definitely the one that only shows today's day, the (later) version that tells you what day it was yesterday and what it'll be tomorrow just makes no sense at all.

Lorneg

228 posts

178 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
The IWC has a really nice bracelet by the way.

OP, make sure you buy one with the bracelet already on it. Separately I think IWC charge a bit much for one.

note to anyone thinking I might have copied it, not really :-)


gareth h

3,503 posts

229 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
andy tims said:
I prefer the earlier 3717 pilots chrono



but there are loads of alternatives so have a good look on Chrono24 to get some ideas
One of my all time favourite watches

Mosdef

1,733 posts

226 months

Friday 26th December 2014
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michael gould said:
whilst i agree with you Yeti....there is just something about me that thinks that we are all being conned by many watch makers such as IWC , Breitling , TAG and many more who are all still using swatch group movements .....they lack honesty
Car manufacturers are barely different in this respect. It just comes down to the proportion of components they're willing to buy from Ford (for example) ;-)

I do agree that selling, say, £5k watches with cheap movements is a bit of a con but I don't see any difference between doing this and what Aston does with Ford and Jaguar engines.




yeti

10,523 posts

274 months

Saturday 27th December 2014
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Lorneg said:
OK, I might be missing some intentional irony here, but I thought Aston Martin used two Ford engines welded together to make their V12. This has the enormous advantage that new spark plugs are quite cheep and the chap under the arches can do a full service on one without cocking it up.
As an engineer Lorne, I realy hope you know more about engineering then that statement indicates wink

It's a bit like slating the Freelander for using a Focus Mk1 platform. Car firms share, let's face it there is far more critical testing required than for a wristwatch. Your life depends on your car every time you drive it. It rarely does with your watch unless late for meeting your wife...

Lorneg said:
With IWC then definitely the one that only shows today's day, the (later) version that tells you what day it was yesterday and what it'll be tomorrow just makes no sense at all.
Supposedly so you can still know the date when the hand is at the 3 o'clock position. I dislike it too.

Lorneg

228 posts

178 months

Saturday 27th December 2014
quotequote all
Hi Yeti, and merry Xmas

Not slating the Aston, quite the opposite in fact. I'm all in favour of using trusted engineering, both in cars and watches. My favourite engines are big block Ford V8's and straight six's from BMW. It was a BMW straight six in the 1990'2 that made me wonder what the purpose of a V12 was. Never driven anything with such a smooth motor.

h0b0

Original Poster:

7,557 posts

195 months

Friday 23rd January 2015
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sleep envy said:
2nd hand unworn JLC master compressor chronograph 2.
Me again. I have been checking in with Chrono24 but have not seen any at the price you suggested. Can you link for me?

sleep envy

62,260 posts

248 months

Friday 23rd January 2015
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Just realised you're spending $ not £. Cheapest 2 is $6k, lots of 1 though for your budget.

Paul Drawmer

4,864 posts

266 months

Saturday 24th January 2015
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Something like this?
CW C900 mp by pdrawmer, on Flickr

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Saturday 24th January 2015
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michael gould said:
IWC are still using ETA movements, so your IWC has the beating heart of a £200 watch
Stop posting this rubbish.

cat@10

141 posts

207 months

Sunday 25th January 2015
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h0b0 said:
sleep envy said:
2nd hand unworn JLC master compressor chronograph 2.
Me again. I have been checking in with Chrono24 but have not seen any at the price you suggested. Can you link for me?
Whatever you buy consider the service cost and time. A JLC can only be serviced by JLC as they don't make replacement parts available to 3rd parties. So it costs £700+ and takes 9+months :-(. Some other brands are the same. An IWC can be serviced by a watch specialist for £200-£300 and be done in a few weeks.

Take a look at Watchfinder, I found that a good place to start.

h0b0

Original Poster:

7,557 posts

195 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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9 months?!?!?

I was considering this one JLC going cheap but with the worst photos I have ever seen in an add

Light wear but average condition and broken strap do not all tie together to me.




The plan was to buy it and send it off for refurb but if it takes 9 months I will have spent enough money on a watch to piss my wife off and have nothing to show for it.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Two minutes to go and well over four thousand dollars! I should cocoa.

cho

927 posts

274 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Lorneg said:
The IWC has a really nice bracelet by the way.

OP, make sure you buy one with the bracelet already on it. Separately I think IWC charge a bit much for one.

note to anyone thinking I might have copied it, not really :-)

Yes love the IWC release mechanism which is partly what attracted me to the brand initially(actually it was a Porsche design Ocean 500 and I didn't even know about IWC at the time!) yours isn't really copying. IWC a is a single side release wink

gvij

363 posts

123 months

Wednesday 28th January 2015
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h0b0 said:
9 months?!?!?

I was considering this one JLC going cheap but with the worst photos I have ever seen in an add

Light wear but average condition and broken strap do not all tie together to me.




The plan was to buy it and send it off for refurb but if it takes 9 months I will have spent enough money on a watch to piss my wife off and have nothing to show for it.
Jlc are useless in that case.