Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

A place to discuss other watch-brands
User avatar
Amor Vincit Omnia
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 33786
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:34 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Norfolk, UK

Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

This arose from reading chance remarks on a different thread last night. It set me wondering: does your favourite brand need to be the one you own most examples of? Is it perhaps one to which you might aspire? Could you build, or have you built, a substantial collection of watches consisting only of this brand? Or, to put it another way, does your brand loyalty mean that you would be loath to look elsewhere? Does your favourite watch necessarily have to be from your favourite brand?

When we had a thread on choosing one brand to be sponsored by I chose Omega. I’ve had a number of their watches including two from new. The Speedmaster Moonwatch is currently one of my two favourite watches. My other favourite watch is, of course, my Cartier Tank. If someone offered me a Santos I would probably bite their hand off, but otherwise I’m not really interested in furthering my Cartier collection, even though I love looking at the maker’s name on the dial (brand snob?)

So, is Omega my favourite brand? In a word, I think the answer is no. I actually think that my favourite brand is Christopher Ward. Why? Read on…

When I discovered this brand I was not really that interested in building a watch collection. I had not seen where the next few years would lead me. I blame Christopher Ward entirely for my current deep interest in and occasional past obsession with watches. (Yes, I’m a recovering WISaholic). Discovering the brand and especially this forum got me hooked.

Over the years I have bought (I think) thirteen Christopher Ward watches. I currently have six. This means, of course, that some of them were not keepers. In fact, at one point my CW collection was down to zero and I despaired of their ever producing another watch that I would like. Having got rid of a few self imposed and well publicised taboos I have begun to be much more comfortable with the watches they produce, and accepting of the fact that I should not expect to like everything they produce – I am not their only customer!

Sometimes when I look at what this company is producing I catch my breath, realising that it is only 13 years old. Like most 13-year-olds I know (lots of ‘em) they occasionally get things wrong and are not the finished article, but they amaze you from time to time; they are still learning, but they are growing up...fast! They appear to have some exciting things in the pipeline, and I know of one upcoming release that I am certainly going to think about!

Perhaps the main reason it is my favourite brand is the personal connexion they have with so many of their customers. Obviously there are a lot of one-off and repeat buyers whom they never meet, but the number of customers (quite a few members on here) who are familiar faces at CWT is quite impressive. For me, being asked to join the Admin Team at precisely the time when I needed something to focus on (thanks, Kip!) kind of cemented my relationship with the company. And I can’t think of many watch companies (or other companies come to that) where I would be likely to find myself having a pint in an English village pub with the man whose name appears on the box!

So...they might never produce my absolute favourite watch, but they are nonetheless my favourite brand.

What’s yours, and why?

[PS. I put this in “other brands” precisely because I anticipate a range of responses] :D
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
MrDagon007
Junior
Junior
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:40 pm

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by MrDagon007 »

A toss-up between :

- Damasko for offering real engineering features for a reasonable price. And even equally interesting inhouse movements higher up in the range.

- Nomos for their refined models and focused, gradual evolution approach
User avatar
Thermexman
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 6225
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:40 am
CW-watches: 4
Location: South West UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by Thermexman »

My favourite brand is probably Seiko, followed very closely behind, by CW. Oddly enough, over the years I’ve owned 6 Seikos and 7 CWs, so not much in it really.

I guess the Seikos win out because I owned them exclusively for 34 yrs and only discovered CW 4 yrs ago. My current count is Seiko x 4 and CW x3.

I like CW principally for the back story, the ethos, the apparent approachability and finaly, the watches.

Now that I’ve read this back, I’d like to stick Tudor into the mix. I only own two but currently, I’d have to say that my Tudor Ranger is my favourite watch.

Damn, this is harder to answer than it first appears. Good discussion topic Steve. Gets ya thinking! :clap:
Steve.
User avatar
stefs
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 5950
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:40 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Sunny Tiptree, Essex

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by stefs »

Would have to be Rolex for me no question.
A great range of timeless sensibly sized superbly made watches. A stable and highly desirable product line with great history and ownership is almost like money in the bank.
I feel both Downer and nbg could chuck all their non rolex away and they would still have wonderful collections.
FS Bremont solo 37
Cheers now, Paul
User avatar
Thegreyman
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12065
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:45 pm
CW-watches: 6
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by Thegreyman »

I'd probably say CW, I've owned 18 of them. The main reason I've sold most of them was simply because I wanted to try many other watches and didn't want to have too massive a collection. I also feel some affinity to the company, the fact I post on here, the quality, variety and vfm of the watches CW have made.

Behind CW I'd probably say Tudor as I have a couple and might add to that in the future.
Patrick

C60 Pro 300, C60 Sunrise, C63 Sealander Lucerne blue LE, C65 Dartmouth, W11 Amelia (wife), C63 Sealander (son)

Some others + a few on the way
BobMunro
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 630
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:08 am
CW-watches: 14
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by BobMunro »

To paraphrase Dennis O'Kelly's famous quote when predicting the outcome of a race at Epsom in May 1769 involving arguably the greatest race horse of all time, Eclipse:

Rolex first, the rest nowhere!
Time flies whether you're having fun or not. The choice is yours.
0uatiOW
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 1329
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:46 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Cambridgeshire

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by 0uatiOW »

Absolutely agree that your favourite brand may not coincide with your favourite watch.

As a young man, I didn’t have that much of an interest in watches - I had a few quartz watches picked up opportunistically, but without much thought.

I developed an interest in more rugged watches in the late 1990s, picking up a Sector SGE700, a Mont Blanc 7037 Sport, then a Sinn 103Sa over a longish period of 4-5 years. The Sinn was my favourite watch for a long time, but I was never tempted to buy any of their other offerings. I liked some of the other watches, like the Flieger II, but not enough to buy it.

After a few years without acquiring any more watches, I bought an Oris Artelier Chronograph, a fabulous 43.5mm case housing a Valjoux 7750 under some amazing guilloche.

Fast forward, 4 or 5 years ago, after seeing an advert for the CW Bluebird on the back of an in-flight magazine, I started going off the rails - 2 more Oris (Artelier Worldtimer, Divers 65 Heritage), 3 CW C60 Tridents (1 of each size Trident GMT, 1 bronze 43), a half-dozen vintage watches from the 60s, and most recently a Zelos Bronze Mako, a Maen Hudson backed on Kickstarter which hasn’t arrived yet, and just last month a Tudor Pepsi GMT. My buying has certainly spiked in the last couple of years, partly, even largely, due to my membership of this forum, so thank you all.

The Tudor is my current favourite because it’s my most recent purchase, but as the novelty dissipates, I don’t think I would be able to say I have a single favourite watch. Aside from the Sector, I wear all of the above-named watches regularly, and I wouldn’t sell any of them.

As I write, I’m trying to decide on my favourite brand - Tudor is a candidate, but I can’t afford to own several of them. Overall, in terms of quality, affordability and my personal taste, Oris definitely comes out on top, and there are others in the range I would be tempted to buy if I could keep them under the radar (my wife hasn’t noticed the Tudor yet!). I have to add that my favourite brand may yet change - CW has launched new products with an impressive frequency recently and I’m really liking some of the new ones from the last 12 months.
My name is 0uatiOW, but before you ask, no I don’t.
“Exquisitely minging” MissF, 19 July 2022
Just call me Diderot
User avatar
DISJT
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1474
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2017 10:54 pm
CW-watches: 5
Location: Plymouth, England, UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by DISJT »

A Tough question for sure.

I think for sheer lust, it's Tudor for me, but alas the price point is far too high for me to personally dip my toe in those waters.

CW should feature prominently as they represent 27.7% of my collection but the whole logo situation has cooled my affections for the time being. For personal interaction with the company, they still rank very highly.

So the winner would have to be Seiko for me. I own 4 (only 1 behind CW). But they win for the huge variety of watches they bring to market at EVERY price point imaginable. They've made mechanical watches available to the masses and represent incredible value for money.
CHRIS
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13150
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by nbg »

The brand that I have most watches of is CW. They are not my favourite brand, however the reason that I still have the number that I do is that I have an affinity for the brand, even though most are now rarely worn. Probably due to a “connection “ to the brand formed from visits to CW Towers and also the opportunity to talk to the founders at SQP.

My favourite brand is one with a great range of timeless sensibly sized superbly made watches. A stable and highly desirable product line with great history and ownership is almost like money in the bank.

I like the point that when models are upgraded, it is invariably with only a small increase in price compared to the previous model.

I like that most are understated and just do what they were designed for, with the minimum of fuss.

Any watch that I think about buying is compared to my favourite brand.

It’s the only brand in my collection that I would be miss if I had to sell them. For the other brands, it would be “oh well, nice watches, but providing I still have a few of brand Xxxxx to wear, that’s good enough for me”.

I don’t think that there has been a day in the past few years, when I haven’t worn one at some point during the day.

Wearing one still brings a smile to my face. If truth be told, I also like that for many it is a brand that divides opinion - well nearly everyone seems to have a view on the brand! :)

My favourite brand? Rolex.

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
User avatar
downer
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 25482
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:02 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by downer »

^^ I find it hard to argue with that. As watches, Rolex are my benchmark - accurate, comfortable, well-made, functional, robust and like money in the bank. As a brand, they certainly have some negative connotations - even if many of them are misguided.

For sure, I have a strong affinity with CW and now that I have retired from work I am far more likely to buy fewer expensive watches, so CW are back on the radar. It helps that they ditched the Chr branding, which for me, was a deal-breaker, and that CW are also in a good period, with improved quality and design.
Richard
User avatar
gaf1958
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12431
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:24 am
CW-watches: 24
Location: ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ʇsɐoƆ ǝuᴉɥsunS

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by gaf1958 »

It probably comes as no surprise to many here to say that my favourite brand is Omega. If I were to come up with a list of my favourite four or five watches, then it’s likely that all but one would be from Omega. Going beyond that probably introduces many other brands and brings the ratio down, but there are many, many current and historic Omegas that I love, certainly putting them, as a brand, firmly in my number one spot.

Until early this year, at 19, they also made up the largest numbers in my collection, but the need to gather some funds, urgently, meant that I decided to sell off about half of them. The choice of taking a substantial sum out of my pension fund (something not easily replenished), or selling a few watches meant that my CW watches (at 18) now outnumber my Omegas by about two to one.

And that’s probably how it will remain. CW, as a brand, is undoubtedly my number two choice. As Steve pointed out in his original post, for a 13 year old company, they have an amazing depth of product, with some equally good back-catalogue items as well. They cover a very wide range of watches, IMO elevating themselves from the realms of micro-brand many years ago. In my mind, they are now a bona fide watch company, with the credentials that entails and are developing an acceptance and a growing brand awareness that few would have credited ten years ago.

As a self funded early retiree, I can see that CW will continue to hold an attraction for me. I’m pleased that they seem to be creating some wonderful case designs and some interesting watches. No-one can predict what will happen, but for now they are safely ensconced in my number 2 spot by preference; number 1 by numbers.
CW C1+2xC3+6xC6/60K+C7+C11+3xC60T+2xC65+C90+2xC600
Omega Ω 11xSpeedy+14xSeamaster+4xConnie+DeVille
Cartier+2xPanerai+2xFarer+2xOris+Sinn+11xSeiko+ManyVintage
B&R+Halios+5xVisitor+TagH+6xTissot+2xZelos+4xCertina+more
Family12xCW+2xΩ+Cartier
User avatar
scooter
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 15249
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:14 pm
CW-watches: 1
LE-two: yes
LE-foura: yes
Location: UK

Love It Or Hate It

Post by scooter »

1953 was an important year in my life because it was the year that I was born.

Other major events from that year are:

• The structure of the DNA molecule was discovered.
• Ian Fleming published the first James Bond Novel, Casino Royale.
• The Stanley Matthews Final between Blackpool against Bolton Wanderers that Blackpool won 4-3 and Stan Mortensen scored the first and only hat trick in an FA Cup Final. It was also the first televised Cup Final.
• The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
• England lost 3-6 to Hungary (the Golden Team, including Puskas) ending an unbeaten 90 year home run against non British Isles teams.
• Mount Everest was conquered by a British Expedition led by Colonel John Hunt.
• Rolex released both the Explorer (celebrating the conquering of Everest) and the Submariner.

16 years later I saw a Rolex Submariner in a shop window and was mesmerised by it. I promised myself there and then that one day I would buy one. I finally managed to afford a second hand one in 2013 when I was 60.

Let's make no mistake, say the word Rolex and immediately it becomes a battlefield. There are as many Rolex haters out there as there are aficionados. Regrettably, Rolex often is seen by some as being synonymous with people with no class (reality TV stars), status hunters, new monied sports stars, rappers, boxers etc. They are however rightly accused of being the producers of one of the most hideous watches on the planet. How many times have you seen an image from Google mocking the Rolex brand with a picture of the jewel encrusted Rolex Leopard Daytona? It's up there in ugly ostentatiousness along with just about every Hublot and Graham watch.

The thing is when you get down to it, most people who dislike Rolex have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the history of the Company.

Here are a few achievements/facts:

• Rolex was founded in England in 1902 and remained in London until 1919
• In 1910, after a mere 8 years of business, Rolex produced the first wristwatch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision.
• 1926 - Rolex invented and producing the first waterproof wrist watch known as the Oyster.
• 1945 - A Rolex was the first watch to have an automatic date on the watch dial.
• 1954 - Rolex produced the first timepiece to display two timezones
• 1956 - The Day-Date is born as first watch to display both day and date on dial
• 2012 - The first wristwatch to have a command bezel designed for multiple uses

I recommend researching how Wilsdorf sent 1000s of watches to British officers POWs during the Second World War not expecting payment (obviously) until the end of the war. In particular the story relating to Corporal Clive James Nutting (one of the organisers of The Great Escape) is worth searching for.

Personally, I feel a great affinity to Rolex and whilst at the moment I wear my Tudor Black Bay* I am ever conscious of the link with the parent company. Often when I look at my Rolex Submariner I can still feel the thrill that I experienced way back in 1969 when I first saw one.

On a final point the C60 in its Mark I livery was described by Chris Ward at the time in the manual as:

"In 1954, Rolex used the same aesthetic to create the GMT Master since which time, many watch brands have interpreted the design - although few mention their source of inspiration!

We, however, are proud our Trident watches, the 38mm and 42mm Pros, GMT's and Chronometers, pay due homage to the most successful watches in history, in a way that is distinctively Christopher Ward."


When I look at my scooter blue 2012 FLE C60 Trident I am reminded of this tribute.

It is only right to say at this point that the Trident, CW's flagship, has taken on it's own personalised look which is very much to its credit.

scooter

Edit * Tudor North Flag
#1 scooter blue 2012 FLE (50 made)
User avatar
Amor Vincit Omnia
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 33786
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:34 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Norfolk, UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

^^^Fantastic post, scooter! Thank you.

After listening to you, downer, nbg and a few others, I certainly “get” Rolex now. A superb brand and fantastic quality watches.

One day, maybe...
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
User avatar
Thegreyman
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12065
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:45 pm
CW-watches: 6
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Love It Or Hate It

Post by Thegreyman »

scooter wrote: Personally, I feel a great affinity to Rolex and whilst at the moment I wear my Tudor Black Bay I am ever conscious of the link with the parent company. Often when I look at my Rolex Submariner I can still feel the thrill that I experienced way back in 1969 when I first saw one.

scooter
Scooter, did you trade your North Flag for a Black Bay?
Patrick

C60 Pro 300, C60 Sunrise, C63 Sealander Lucerne blue LE, C65 Dartmouth, W11 Amelia (wife), C63 Sealander (son)

Some others + a few on the way
User avatar
scooter
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 15249
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:14 pm
CW-watches: 1
LE-two: yes
LE-foura: yes
Location: UK

Re: Favourite brands – a perennial question re-visited

Post by scooter »

Well spotted Patrick!

No it's a North Flag but I keep saying/typing Black Bay. Up to now I've spotted the mistake and self edited.

scooter
#1 scooter blue 2012 FLE (50 made)
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post