Raymond Weil - your thoughts?

[I'm Rick james]

Evening all,
Just a quick one, I saw an old friend recently who was sporting a RW freelancer on a leather band red stitching etc looked the part. Thought it was a Carrera initially so was pleased/ surprised to see it was RW.

Can I have your collective thoughts on here about the company as whole, quality of watches, problems etc.

Have two Breitlings and a Tag in the collection so far and have never really given Raymond Weil a second glance.
All thoughts welcome...
Thanks
Rj

Ps other possible choice is a Tag Monaco...

[michael gould]

down market product that has been trying to reinvent its image

[I'm Rick james]

So probably not worth the 2k or so I'd be spending on a freelancer then?
Maybe for once Tag might be considered to be the better choice?
Thanks
Rj

[SVS]

Low brand awareness, but good quality watches that are very well built. Under rated. Either buy one as a keeper or buy second hand. RW bargains to be had if you keep an eye on eBay or look for discounted prices on Amazon.

[yeti]

I'm Rick james said:

Maybe for once Tag might be considered to be the better choice?

Rock and hard place.

Is there >really< nothing else you'd consider? What are your criteria?

[jonny70]

Its an independent family brand (one of the few left) . A friend has a freelancer its extremely well made and has a very nice bracelet and case.Its a decent well made watch as good a quality as a TAG .If you like it go for it . (just make sure to get a discount !)
2k for a RW is their top models they predominately specialise in dress and classic watches from 600 to circ 1000 so make sure you get 20-25% off

[I'm Rick james]

Hmm some interesting replies. As I said not really given it much thought until I saw one the other day and it caught my eye. Not sure on criteria really I just fancied something slightly more dressy than the SuperOcean, Hercules and Tag as they are all on bracelets and I fancied something a fraction smaller and more delicate. Monaco fitted the bill nicely until I saw the freelancer.

I'd snap up a Gulf edition Monaco in a heartbeat but they don't come up all that often so looked into RW.
Cheers for the responses.
Rj

[michael gould]

jonny70 said:

Its an independent family brand (one of the few left) . A friend has a freelancer its extremely well made and has a very nice bracelet and case.Its a decent well made watch as good a quality as a TAG .If you like it go for it . (just make sure to get a discount !)
2k for a RW is their top models they predominately specialise in dress and classic watches from 600 to circ 1000 so make sure you get 20-25% off

Being able to secure a 25% discount of a new watch demonstrates how over priced it was in the first place.

[westberks]

michael gould said:

jonny70 said:

Its an independent family brand (one of the few left) . A friend has a freelancer its extremely well made and has a very nice bracelet and case.Its a decent well made watch as good a quality as a TAG .If you like it go for it . (just make sure to get a discount !)
2k for a RW is their top models they predominately specialise in dress and classic watches from 600 to circ 1000 so make sure you get 20-25% off

Being able to secure a 25% discount of a new watch demonstrates how over priced it was in the first place.

Michael, that probably applies to 80%+ of the watches that most of us own rather than just RW. If someone sought advice here, getting a discount on certain brands is probably the first thing most of us would suggest (after buying pre owned of course!)

RW do seem to sell at huge reductions in the sales so might be worth hanging on if new is the way you have to go OP

[jonny70]

michael gould said:

Being able to secure a 25% discount of a new watch demonstrates how over priced it was in the first place.

Most new watches can be bought with a discount of around 20% IWC/JLC/Cartier/Omega/Breitling etc All apart from steel Rolex's (unless your well connected)

[Eleven]

yeti said:

I'm Rick james said:

Maybe for once Tag might be considered to be the better choice?

Rock and hard place.

Is there >really< nothing else you'd consider? What are your criteria?

Tony Williams, who used to be a Rolex watchmaker and who is now Watchfinder's senior watchmaker implored me not to buy a Tag back in 1992. I ignored him and bought one and it has been the most reliable and durable watch I own.

My Rolexes, by contrast, have been the least accurate, highest hassle and arguably worst value watches I own.

[michael gould]

Eleven said:

yeti said:

I'm Rick james said:

Maybe for once Tag might be considered to be the better choice?

Rock and hard place.

Is there >really< nothing else you'd consider? What are your criteria?

Tony Williams, who used to be a Rolex watchmaker and who is now Watchfinder's senior watchmaker implored me not to buy a Tag back in 1992. I ignored him and bought one and it has been the most reliable and durable watch I own.

My Rolexes, by contrast, have been the least accurate, highest hassle and arguably worst value watches I own.

Back in the 90's Tag were still making good watches .....it's in the past 10 years they have moved the brand down. With regards to Rolex, I've owned probably 10 and have never had a problem with any of them.

[SVS]

Well, I owned a RW watch for some years. It was faultless. Quality wise, I found it equal to other mid-to-high end Swiss. Very good watch.

It's easy to knock a brand you've never owned, just because the brand values don't resonate with you. (As another example, all the Rolex haters diss Rolex without having one.)

[GC8]

michael gould said:

Eleven said:

yeti said:

I'm Rick james said:

Maybe for once Tag might be considered to be the better choice?

Rock and hard place.

Is there >really< nothing else you'd consider? What are your criteria?

Tony Williams, who used to be a Rolex watchmaker and who is now Watchfinder's senior watchmaker implored me not to buy a Tag back in 1992. I ignored him and bought one and it has been the most reliable and durable watch I own.

My Rolexes, by contrast, have been the least accurate, highest hassle and arguably worst value watches I own.

Back in the 90's Tag were still making good watches .....it's in the past 10 years they have moved the brand down. With regards to Rolex, I've owned probably 10 and have never had a problem with any of them.

This is a good place to jump in an quote: I agree. I bought an automatic 4000 in 1991 and it was a superb quality watch. The finish is equal to period Omegas which didn't interest me at the time, as is the movement.

It still looks as good now, too.

I believe that TAG Heuers direction changed when Techniques d'Avant Garde sold them to Louis Vuitton in 1999. Prices have risen and values have dropped.

Speaking of this watch, I have a Tissot PR100 Divermatic from the same period and its finish approaches that of a later-type TAG Heuer 2000. Compare that to the quality of current Tissot watches...

[SVS]

Has Tissot quality declined then?

[GC8]

I think so, yes. When I used to wear the Divermatic it was valued as a Longines Hydroconquest automatic (for insurance) because the Tissot watches were so cheap and nasty. Swatch have 'repositioned' the Tissot brand and theyre a shadow of their former selves.

I read a couple of years ago that theyre only just managing to keep 'Swiss' on the dial, meaning that they may be more Far Eastern that Swiss.

Initially it was insured against a Valjoux movement automatic chrono, but this was dearer than the Longines, which suited me better. There are some good quality Tissot watches, but the new cheap watches aren't great, in my experience.

Edited by GC8 on Sunday 18th May 18:33

[I'm Rick james]

I have no issue with Tags at all. Had the Monaco date from the F1 range now for just over 3 years and had no problems what so ever hasn't even gone back in for a battery yet. Love it, but get the feeling on here tag are somewhat rejected because of the high prices and lower quality movements. I would love a Monaco though jut thought I'd give RW a chance. Still yet to make up my mind though...
Rj

[andy tims]

Long dismissed by me as pretty anonymous.

I just checked their website and whilst nothing grabbed me, the Toccata dress watches look OK.

I'd buy a Seiko or Tissot in preference.

[GC8]

A Monaco with a Zenith El Primero movement will be the equal of most watches. As used by Rolex in the Daytona, remember.