What is the least expensive (new) high end watch in your opinion

[ilitig8]

I fully agree with this statement. But you'll find a lot of people who don't agree with it. I think the Breitling superquartz is a really nice quartz movement but it will be looked down upon by some. And that's a shame really.

Coming back to the idea of quartz a second time the fact I am not really interested in quartz myself doesn't really impact my view of them vis a vis high end. There are plenty of watches I am not interested in that I have no issue with agreeing that they are high end. The two watches MM mentioned would not be high end in my opinion even if they had a Lange movement in them, since the rest of the watch doesn't meet my threshold for high end. Aside from companies like Patek who essentially only build high end watches I think one of the best arguments for high end watches with a quartz movement is indeed the GS the movement is finished about as well as you can finish a quartz movement so it probably is only let down by fitment. In the end if you put a high quality well finished quartz movement into a watch that meets all the other criteria for a high end watch I would accept it as high end but I wouldn't be personally interested in it, just like I am not interested in a lot of mechanical high end watches.

[Matt]

Coming back to the idea of quartz a second time the fact I am not really interested in quartz myself doesn't really impact my view of them vis a vis high end. There are plenty of watches I am not interested in that I have no issue with agreeing that they are high end. The two watches MM mentioned would not be high end in my opinion even if they had a Lange movement in them, since the rest of the watch doesn't meet my threshold for high end. Aside from companies like Patek who essentially only build high end watches I think one of the best arguments for high end watches with a quartz movement is indeed the GS the movement is finished about as well as you can finish a quartz movement so it probably is only let down by fitment. In the end if you put a high quality well finished quartz movement into a watch that meets all the other criteria for a high end watch I would accept it as high end but I wouldn't be personally interested in it, just like I am not interested in a lot of mechanical high end watches.

Which is, without doubt, as reasonable a position as one can take on something one isn't personally interested in.

[ilitig8]

While on the Seiko theme...



Guess the year?


Getting back to quartz, the level of blueprinting and finishing that goes into the gold finished quartz resonator of even a middle rank quartz movement goes an order of magnitude or two beyond the sort of finishing that will go into the resonator of even the highest end mechanical.

WAG mid 60's hi-beat KS

Edit: not sure if you were suggesting the Seiko movement be discussed regarding its high end merit or not. I would say no for lack of finish. The anglage looks machine cut since there is no interior anglage where it would be if hand cut and the screw holes don't appear to be champhered and the lower plates don't appear to have any care given to them regarding finish.


Not sure that the finish on the oscillator of a quartz movement is germane. It is required for function rather than decoration and it is hidden. More of an issue is whether the exposed choke has perfectly laid wires and the varnish is perfect as well. Plus frankly the battery finish is more of an issue if it is exposed to view.