A good question Kip and I think the answer is actually quite straightforward.

There are two types of watch enthusiast:
1) Those that appreciate the mechanisms, the engineering and the innovation; and
2) Those who either don't care about the above or who pay lip service to the above - but actually see watches as status symbols.

If you are in 1) then you will appreciate CWL even if you don't like model A, B or C. If you are in 2) then there is nothing that CW can produce that you will like. Ever.

Maybe that is overly simplistic but that is how I see it.

Noush wrote: ↑Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:09 am I think most of us here choose our watches simply on what gives us joy and wonder of these marvellous little devices.

It requires no approval or recognition except by those who will wear it. It needs to be nothing it is not, or fall into a pre-conceived notion of what it should be, or is "allowed" to be.

Great post, Chris. You came to the thread late but summed the whole snobbery or even 'hate' debate perfectly. How people get so het up or partisan about what is, after all, just a timekeeping device has always been somewhat beyond my sphere of understanding.

Des

I don’t come across CW haters on other forums.

Most just don’t really care that much for the brand.

I believe CW watches in the early years were marmite. I personally dont like most of the pre-2018 watches.

I am a recent convert to CW, not because of price, but because the style of the watches they have produced over the last 4 year are fantastic.

I suspect others in the WIS community are slowly gaining more respect for CW, and are following a similar journey to me.