All horology experts! Are Audemars Piguet watches worth the premium?

[djrajio]

Hi all,

Recently been the market to purchase a new watch. I know next to nothing about watches but I do know that I don't want a Rolex (I think they look ugly). Anyways have been looking around comparing prices and love the look of AP. However they seem to be pricer than Chopard, IWC, Breitling, etc. Are they worth the premium? What makes them so expensive? Again, other recommendations would be helpful. I don't want sport watches or military like watches. Specifically black/white dial, silver casing, black leather dress watches. My limit is approximately $15,000 dollars ideally and no fashion house watches (Gucci, Hermes, none of that rubbish). Thanks!

Kinda considering this one...

[tonaf]

AP is definitely a notch up from chopard, IWC, and definitely breitling. it is in the league of patek and vc.

i think you should also try jaeger le coultre lines .. especially master compressor series for a dressy sports watch (or a sporty dress watch?). i also for a dress watch, breguet is definitely one of the classiest out there.

[djrajio]

What are your impressions on Jaquet Droz? I love the subtle dial designs they do...this one is currently around $9,000.

[kyee87]

look into panerai?

[M4TM]

have a look at :

http://www.network54.com/Forum/169624/

you'll find most of your answers there.

[chagoo]

you seem to be in the market for dressier watches. suggest you also look at lange in that case. top notch build quality, just doesn't have as much clout as the Pateks, APs etc.

are you looking for any movement/complications in particular?

for kicks, you should drop by the fp journe boutique in aoyama. hoping to land one of these soon.

[djrajio]

have a look at :

http://www.network54.com/Forum/169624/

you'll find most of your answers there.

Will do. Thanks!

[englandmj7]

AP is definitely a notch up from chopard, IWC, and definitely breitling

I adamantly disagree; IWC is easily on pair with AP. Another watchmaker to consider is Vacheron Constantin, which is arguably the oldest watchmaker in the world:

http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/

Vacheron Constantin is by far my favorite watchmaker.

If you were to limit your budget to say $5000, you might consider:

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra

IWC 3706 (Pilot Chronograph)

.

[djrajio]

you seem to be in the market for dressier watches. suggest you also look at lange in that case. top notch build quality, just doesn't have as much clout as the Pateks, APs etc.

are you looking for any movement/complications in particular?

for kicks, you should drop by the fp journe boutique in aoyama. hoping to land one of these soon.

Movement wise I have no preferences. I just want a clean, dressy watch to wear to work and to dinner dates. Most likely no chorograph functions, etc., since I doubt I would use them. However, a date function and time zone function would be nice since I travel often but its not a deal breaker. Will check out fp journe in aoyama!

[englandmj7]

You might also consider:

- A. Lange & Sohne

- Breguet

- Girard-Perregaux

- Uysse Nardin

[djrajio]

Also, some quick questions: How do you tell if a watch is a quality watch? What components, aspects of the watch do you look for? It seems for the layman, just looking from a purely asthetic perspective a simple $100 watch would look just as good as a $10,000 watch? What are the points to look for?

[aaronk_83]

You can just tell the fit and finish of a watch between the categories. Though I don't post much on this forum, I am into watches. In comparison of a 4k Panerai vs. a 40k PP or AP for that matter there is a huge difference in fit/finish. The largest difference is on the inside of the watches, the movement. Most panerai's use generic movements which are finished nicely, but at the end of the day it's still a "cheap" base movement. Whereas in the higher end watches AP, PP they are inhouse movements which usually are very complicated and usually hand made. But there is one Panerai which uses a JLC movement and that is the Panerai Radiomir 8 day which is a beautiful watch.

Or how about this A. Lange and Sohne

I personally love PP's

good luck on your search though

But to answer your question, depends what you're looking for, yes I would think that the AP is worth the premium because once you hold it, no matter which model is it (unless it's a quartz movement then drop it right away) you can tell it's high quality, and generally if you were to resell the piece the resale value is still quite high

[chagoo]

aaronk_83, i was just poring over detailed photos of the lange datograph with my boss after lunch! the machinery is absolutely exquisite. and pls don't tell me those PPs are all yours...

djrajio, if you travel a lot, you might consider the GMT or multiple timezone movements. franck muller seems to have fallen from grace, but his 'master banker' is still excellent. PP 'travel time' (ref 5134) is also nice. most brands will have something with this movement.

i'm currently wearing PP ref 5296 myself. graduation present.

oh, also keep in mind you should be able to get at least 25%, if not 30+% off retail for most models at authorized dealers. don't ever appear overtly interested in any particular piece (ask to see a few in similar range) and haggle politely.

[djrajio]

aaronk_83, i was just poring over detailed photos of the lange datograph with my boss after lunch! the machinery is absolutely exquisite. and pls don't tell me those PPs are all yours...

djrajio, if you travel a lot, you might consider the GMT or multiple timezone movements. franck muller seems to have fallen from grace, but his 'master banker' is still excellent. PP 'travel time' (ref 5134) is also nice. most brands will have something with this movement.

i'm currently wearing PP ref 5296 myself. graduation present.

oh, also keep in mind you should be able to get at least 25%, if not 30+% off retail for most models at authorized dealers. don't ever appear overtly interested in any particular piece (ask to see a few in similar range) and haggle politely.

Aaronk_83, thanks so much for the advice and info. That lange is beautiful! Yes, of course I'd never consider paying full price. Unfortunately, Tokyo isn't the most hospitable place for haggling and discounts. Japanese actually take pride in knowing they paid full retail for things. Any one know of any good stores in Tokyo or abroad that I can call or e-mail that are known to give 25-30% discounts? If I went to say a AP/PP official store, would they give me a discount or would I need to go through a seperate dealer?

[djrajio]

Also, I know it sounds like a stupid question but I'm left-handed. Does this have an affect on the placement of the buttons/dials? Traditionally are watches made to have the buttons/dials on a certain side or specifically for a right-handed person? I've always put my watches on the right wrist as it just felt natural but is this wrong? Sorry again if this is a stupid question.

[drgitlin]

AP are pretty much in the same league as A Lange & Sohne, Patek and VC. As has been stated, they all use their own movements rather than buying off the shelf (and maybe customising).

You're probably best off checking around on the Time Zone forums before dropping $15k on a watch - they are to horology what we are to denim.

[jo3 b]

if theres one thing i love its the fluer de lis on the clasp of some pateks.

gosh i need someone to throw one of those out an office window and into my hands.

and, wear your watch where its comfortable? it shouldnt be too much of a problem.

also, if you're lefty and you wear it on your left hand, it will induce unnecessary wear to the watch. put it on your right. you wont regret it.

[herpsky]

my choice is pateks...

[aaronk_83]

djrajio - not so sure about Japan, but I know in Hong Kong I can get almost 40% off retail on most watches. But with the high end brands such as AP last time I received a pretty good discount of about 37%. I'm not so sure about the other dressier models though. As for the actual AP/PP store the discounts pretty much dry up, as I know someone who only received a 5-10% discount, but the person only purchased that one watch from them so maybe that's why? But your best bet usually is an AD that sells a variety of watches. And probably not in Japan, the cheapest I know of is Hong Kong.

@chagoo they will be mine someday lol, but my dad doesn't want to give them up how about these

[chagoo]

^

someone is certainly set for life...

[xcoldricex]

Aaronk_83, thanks so much for the advice and info. That lange is beautiful! Yes, of course I'd never consider paying full price. Unfortunately, Tokyo isn't the most hospitable place for haggling and discounts. Japanese actually take pride in knowing they paid full retail for things. Any one know of any good stores in Tokyo or abroad that I can call or e-mail that are known to give 25-30% discounts? If I went to say a AP/PP official store, would they give me a discount or would I need to go through a seperate dealer?

i'd beg to differ! my bargaining carried over from being in china for so long- and it actually worked in japan sometimes, even though i didn't speak any japanese! but then again i wasn't buying a $15,000 watch.

[djrajio]

djrajio - not so sure about Japan, but I know in Hong Kong I can get almost 40% off retail on most watches. But with the high end brands such as AP last time I received a pretty good discount of about 37%. I'm not so sure about the other dressier models though. As for the actual AP/PP store the discounts pretty much dry up, as I know someone who only received a 5-10% discount, but the person only purchased that one watch from them so maybe that's why? But your best bet usually is an AD that sells a variety of watches. And probably not in Japan, the cheapest I know of is Hong Kong.

@chagoo they will be mine someday lol, but my dad doesn't want to give them up how about these

THIS PICTURE JUST BOOGLES MY MIND. OMG. Well looks like I'm gonna buy a quick ticket to Hong Kong later in the year....but in the mean time I'll research more about stores in Tokyo to get a better idea. 37% discount is quite significant for a such a big ticket item!

[M4TM]

wow... those pics are $$$$$$.

props.

[DEPHT]

djrajio - not so sure about Japan, but I know in Hong Kong I can get almost 40% off retail on most watches. But with the high end brands such as AP last time I received a pretty good discount of about 37%. I'm not so sure about the other dressier models though. As for the actual AP/PP store the discounts pretty much dry up, as I know someone who only received a 5-10% discount, but the person only purchased that one watch from them so maybe that's why? But your best bet usually is an AD that sells a variety of watches. And probably not in Japan, the cheapest I know of is Hong Kong.

@chagoo they will be mine someday lol, but my dad doesn't want to give them up how about these

Damn. That ref. 5070 is my holy grail of watches. As for Langes my two favorite pieces are the flyback chrono and the lange 1 stealth.

Djrajio: buying a watch, especially at your price point, is a big purchase (obviously). I'd suggest really taking things slowly. Visit different dealers and ALWAYS give a watch a couple days before pulling the trigger. AP's are a great watch. Look at some of the lower end models of top top brands though, you may find a piece that you like better.

Some names to check out:

Breguet

Blancpain

A Lange and Sohne

Patek Phillipe

Philip Roth

Vacheron Constantin

[chagoo]

Some names to check out:

Breguet

Blancpain

A Lange and Sohne

Patek Phillipe

Philip Roth

Vacheron Constantin

you mean daniel roth? philip roth is an author.

djrajio - i've generally found that flagship stores give very little discount (unless you buy/have bought a lot). as aaronk_83 said - and with a collection like that, you know he knows what he's talking about - ADs sometimes give discounts to almost 40%. max. i've ever gotten was 37.5% in HK. it'd be hard to get that on a first watch without knowing the AD and vice versa, but may be someone can put you in touch?

[M4TM]

by the way - most authorized dealers are given a limit to how much discount they can offer on any given watch/brand (at least in HKG). i.e. Omega may restrict its ADs to a maximum discount of 30%. However, what some AD's might do is write you a receipt at the max 30% discount, but actually give you a bit more discount when you pay. Also, you can pay a little less if you pay via cash (rather than credit card) since they don't have to pay the processing fees.

[red]

God, why can't i be rich?

[ayn]

you guys might wanna join us at thepurists.com

[djrajio]

Finally copped!

And for 56% off!

Real pictures forthcoming soon...

[dismalfuture]

nice to see a thread come full circle like this.