Why do you think many people believe Rolex is the costliest watch brand?
miyuki & kyojin asked:
I heard much about Rolexes when I was a boy, so I bought one soon after graduation from college. In the early 1990’s, I saw that among automatic 4-function sports watches with gold bracelets, the Rolex “OP Datejust” cost $13,150. My comparable Breguet “Marine” cost $29,500 and was the costliest of its type. Recently, among 2-function hand-wind gold dress watches with leather straps, my Patek Philippe cost $15,000, my Vacheron Constantin cost $13,300 and my 2 Cartiers cost $12,300 and $12,100, while a comparable Rolex cost $3650. My basic dress watches cost 3.31 to 4.11 times as much as a comparable Rolex, and my sports watch cost 2.24 times as much. My pal Ken Fong insisted that Rolex is the costliest brand, as many people do. He was speechless when I showed him price lists I made of various types of watches, and he saw that Rolex was always well below the costliest on all of my many lists. I just wonder why people overestimate so many things, e.g. the relative prices of Rolex watches.
Bapui is wrong here. As I said, Breguet, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Cartier are costlier than Rolex. I also have watches by Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Tiffany & Co., Audemars Piguet, Blancpain and other brands that are costlier than Rolex. Rolex’s most complicated watch is a chronograph that cost $19, 450 recently. A chronograph rattrapante is more complicated, and such a Blancpain costs $38,200. Breguet made a $115,000 perpetual calendar and makes a $347,100 tourbillon. The ultimate complication is the chiming watch. Vacheron Constantin makes the costliest minute repeater, $507,000 for the platinum skelton version. Francois-Paul Journe made 2 minute repeater-grande sonneries in 2000 and in 2007. The new one cost $531,000. A $19,450 Rolex chronograph is cheap compared to $500,000+ chiming watches.
I heard much about Rolexes when I was a boy, so I bought one soon after graduation from college. In the early 1990’s, I saw that among automatic 4-function sports watches with gold bracelets, the Rolex “OP Datejust” cost $13,150. My comparable Breguet “Marine” cost $29,500 and was the costliest of its type. Recently, among 2-function hand-wind gold dress watches with leather straps, my Patek Philippe cost $15,000, my Vacheron Constantin cost $13,300 and my 2 Cartiers cost $12,300 and $12,100, while a comparable Rolex cost $3650. My basic dress watches cost 3.31 to 4.11 times as much as a comparable Rolex, and my sports watch cost 2.24 times as much. My pal Ken Fong insisted that Rolex is the costliest brand, as many people do. He was speechless when I showed him price lists I made of various types of watches, and he saw that Rolex was always well below the costliest on all of my many lists. I just wonder why people overestimate so many things, e.g. the relative prices of Rolex watches.
Bapui is wrong here. As I said, Breguet, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Cartier are costlier than Rolex. I also have watches by Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Tiffany & Co., Audemars Piguet, Blancpain and other brands that are costlier than Rolex. Rolex’s most complicated watch is a chronograph that cost $19, 450 recently. A chronograph rattrapante is more complicated, and such a Blancpain costs $38,200. Breguet made a $115,000 perpetual calendar and makes a $347,100 tourbillon. The ultimate complication is the chiming watch. Vacheron Constantin makes the costliest minute repeater, $507,000 for the platinum skelton version. Francois-Paul Journe made 2 minute repeater-grande sonneries in 2000 and in 2007. The new one cost $531,000. A $19,450 Rolex chronograph is cheap compared to $500,000+ chiming watches.
