We have asked a jewelry store Orlando owner who carries luxury watches to explain our readers why luxury brands like Piaget, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Jeeger Lecoultre, Cartier and others are so much more expensive than consumer-type brands.
Are price differences justified
quality differences, the depth of the luxury matchmakers’ know-how, the type of
materials used… or is it mostly savvy marketing that makes these brands
“special”?
We could not cover here all the differentials
highlighted by Luis A., the owner of the jewelry store who responded so
thoughtfully to our request, but we will highlight a few of the more important
here and we’ll publish a second installment on the topic.
Without further ado, let’s leave
the floor to Luis.
Luis A., Orlando Jewelers: There
are very significant differences between high-end luxury watch brands and more
typical consumer-level watches. These differences would absolutely prevent any
of the very big names to sell their watches at price levels comparable to those
of typical consumer watches… even if they wanted to out of the goodness of
their hearts.
Here are important points
highlighting these differences:
1.
Materials
used in luxury watches
Luxury watch brands like Piaget,
Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Omega, and Cartier use high-quality, durable materials
such as stainless steel, gold, platinum, or titanium, and precious gemstones
for their creations. Consumer-type watches just don’t.
Let's discuss what difference it
makes using these materials vs. aluminum or plastic or the cheaper grades of
stainless steel.
Stainless Steel:
High-end watchmakers typically use a higher grade of stainless steel known as
316L for its superior resistance to corrosion, rust, and discoloration. Some
even opt for 904L, a superalloy used by Rolex that offers even better
resistance and finish.
Gold: Luxury
brands also use various types of gold in their watches: yellow, white, or rose.
Some brands, like Rolex, have their own proprietary blends of gold. Rolex’s
Everose gold, for instance, is designed to never fade or change color.
Platinum: This
is one of the most expensive metals used in watchmaking. It is extremely
durable, heavy, and resistant to tarnishing, making it a choice material for
very high-end models.
Titanium: Some
luxury watches use titanium, which is lightweight yet very strong, and it's
also hypoallergenic. Omega's "Seamaster Professional" range, for
example, offers titanium versions.
Ceramic: Brands
like Audemars Piguet and Omega use high-tech ceramic for their watches due to
its hardness (scratch-resistance), lightness, and comfort on the wrist. It
requires highly specialized techniques to shape and polish.
Sapphire crystal:
The watch glass in luxury watches is usually made from synthetic sapphire
crystal. It is scratch-resistant and maintains a clear, flawless appearance
over time.
Diamonds and precious
stones: Many models of luxury watches come adorned with diamonds or other
precious stones. These are meticulously set by skilled gem-setters, increasing
both the material and labor costs of the watch. For example, Piaget is renowned
for its gem-setting prowess, often setting watches with high-quality diamonds
and other precious stones.
Dials: The dials
can be made from a variety of luxury materials, such as mother-of-pearl,
meteorite, or enamel. These often require specialized handcrafting techniques,
contributing further to the uniqueness and value of the watch.
As you can
guess, none of these commodities come cheap on the world market. There are
significant challenges or industrial resources involved in mining and producing
high quality metals or transformation materials such as ceramic. None of the
luxury brands buy extremely large quantities of these materials, so economies
of scale are mostly irrelevant.
2.
Craftsmanship,
a key component of luxury watches
Luxury watches are handmade or
assembled with extreme precision, many models requiring hundreds of hours of
labor to be put together. On the other hand, consumer-type watches are
typically mass-produced in factories, lacking the same level of individual
attention. Mass production has its advantages in terms of reliability as robots
handle specialized tasks to a very high degree of precision.
The philosophy of hand-building
watches and the mass-market production are totally opposite. The luxury brands
rely on human creativity and centuries of know-how, as well as the repetition
of slowly acquired gestures and processes by skillful humans to produce
individual watches signed by the person who was mostly responsible for their
build.
In this, luxury watchmakers are
actually not different from camera brands like Hasselblad, Leica or Phase One,
that create high precision cameras with a unique a artistic signature.
So what do we mean by
“craftsmanship” as applied to luxury watches?
Apprenticeship:
Luxury watchmakers typically begin their careers with several years of study at
a watchmaking school, where they learn the fundamentals of the craft. After
graduating, they usually serve apprenticeships with experienced watchmakers,
gaining hands-on experience with various watch mechanisms and brands. It can
take years, sometimes even decades, to master the intricacies of high-end
mechanical watch movements.
Artisanal
techniques: Luxury watch brands often preserve traditional artisanal techniques
that have been passed down through generations. Enameling, engraving,
gem-setting, guilloché, and hand-painting are just a few examples of the skills
that watchmakers may spend years mastering. Audemars Piguet, for instance, is
renowned for the "tapisserie" pattern on its Royal Oak dials, a
complex guilloché pattern requiring a specific, traditional machine and skilled
operators.
In-house
movements: Many luxury watch brands design and manufacture their own watch
movements in-house. These are incredibly complex mechanisms, with hundreds or
even thousands of individual parts. Watchmakers need comprehensive training and
a great deal of precision to assemble these movements correctly.
Quality assurance
and control: Luxury brands have stringent quality control measures in place to
ensure the performance and appearance of their watches. Watches are extensively
tested for accuracy, power reserve, water resistance, and overall
functionality. Rolex, for example, sends its movements to the Swiss Official
Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) for certification, and then after casing
up the movements, tests them again in-house to even stricter standards to
ensure they achieve their "Superlative Chronometer" designation.
Hand-finishing
and decoration: One of the hallmarks of luxury watches is their level of
hand-finishing and decoration. This might include polishing, engraving, and
applying decorations to individual components of the watch, even those that
aren't visible when the watch is assembled. These finishing processes require
great skill and add to the uniqueness and aesthetic appeal of the watch. The Patek
Philippe brand is known worldwide for producing meticulous movement
decorations.
Innovation and design:
High-end brands often push the boundaries of innovation and design, developing
new complications, materials, and production techniques. This requires
watchmakers not only to be highly skilled but also flexible and adaptable to
new technologies and practices.
3.
Luxury
watches feature proprietary and innovative movements
Luxury watches
use mechanical or automatic movements, complex mechanisms that require great
skill to create. These movements are seen as way more prestigious than the quartz
movements typically used in consumer watches for their lower cost and mass-production
capability.
What are some
of the well-known movements in luxury watches?
Rolex Caliber 3235: This is a self-winding movement. The movement is mechanical. It was developed par Rolex, the only watchmaker in the world to manufacture it. It includes the new patented Chronergy escapement: highly dependable, it is also very energy efficient. The pmetal alloy used in the escapement is nickel-phosphorus, which is not interfered with by Earth magnitism. Fitted to the oscillator, the Parachrom hairspring is more resistant to shocks and temperature variations.
Audemars Piguet
Caliber 2120/2800: This ultra-thin automatic movement is used in the Royal Oak
Perpetual Calendar. It features a perpetual calendar complication with a
central rotor.
Patek Philippe
Caliber 240 Q: Found in the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 5140, this
self-winding mechanical movement is crafted entirely in-house. It features a perpetual
calendar complication and a 24-hour indication. A notable feature is the 22K
gold off-center mini-rotor, which allows the movement to be thin while still
providing the convenience of automatic winding.
Omega Co-Axial
Caliber 8500: This self-winding movement, developed in-house by Omega, was the
first to include the brand's now-famous co-axial escapement, a technology
designed to reduce the mechanical stress on the internal parts of the movement,
and improve long-term reliability. The 8500 caliber has a 60-hour power reserve
and is resistant to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Calibre 101: This manually-wound movement, developed by the Swiss watchmaker in
1929, is famous for being the smallest mechanical movement in the world.
Despite its minuscule size, it offers a 33-hour power reserve. The Calibre 101
is often found in Jaeger-LeCoultre's high-end jewelry watches.
Cartier Caliber 1904 MC: This was the first in-house automatic movement from Cartier, released in 2010. It has a double-barrel system that ensures excellent timekeeping precision and has a 48-hour power reserve. It's used in several of Cartier's models, including the “Calibre de Cartier” and the “Drive de Cartier”.
About the author: Luis A. is the
son of the founder of Orlando Jewelers,
a fine jewelry and luxury watch store located in Orlando, FL. Luis’
father was an artisan jeweler, and his son apprenticed under him before taking
over the family store when his father retired. In parallel to creating fine
jewelry, Luis also offers a deep knowledge of the luxury watch making industry,
and carries highly selective models in his store.
