Having been a watch fan for, mostly, a couple of decades it's interesting to see, mostly on another forum, the near hatred shown towards other brands, both high end or at the lower end of the market.

Namely .. Omega, Rolex, Hublot and especially TAG and Bremont. The latter two are mostly loathed by many on another forum mainly due to, what one (influential) member refers to as their, smoke and mirrors BS re movements etc. What are others' views on TAG and Bremont and are others' slagging off comments used out of jealousy/inverted snobbery, perhaps?

 

It happens on every forum.. No need to bash, if you like = praise, if you dont and have a constructive opinion = go for it.
But I can tell you this, in the last few months, this forum has changed. The mods have done a tremendous job and it is quite noticeable.

 

I've only been on here since late May, but people really seem civilized with what they post. If that's a recent effort by the moderators, kudos to them for setting the right tone! I think it's great, despite the name of the site, that people are encouraged to display whatever watches they collect and esteem. Nobody gets up in anyone's grille over their personal tastes. This is probably the only "live and let live" corner of the internet! Glad to have found this place first!

 

No drama on this great forum as we have several sub forums that include
Rolex, Zenith ,UG and Longines.

Watch guys here not Fan boys



https://omegaforums.net/#other-watch-brands.14

 

Although I've never had one, I have always liked Heuers, partly because of the brand's association with Motor Sport. A few years ago on what proved to be the last job of my mainstream automotive career I was stitched-up in a head-count downsizing process and as a result was made redundant. Amongst my leaving package, I was presented with a TAG Heuer AquaRacer. Whereas when I left another manufacturer in the nineties and they gave me a Reduced Reverse Panda Speedy and that felt good, receiving a quartz job with the Heuer name attached just gratuitously, made me feel they were adding insult to injury! (Couldn't get it on eBay quick enough.)

Since then I have fostered a strong and consistent dislike of TAG (Heuers). And I've seen other examples of the company's clumsy/inept approach to marketing, e.g. the recent Senna models.

But if watch brands were like football clubs, and Omega was Manchester United, Rolex are Arsenal, and boy do I not care for those latter two names with their characteristic whiff of ostentation.

 

At the risk of being pedantic, it's not "hatred" of Hublot, but revulsion.

 

In addition to TAG I see a lot of disrespect for Seiko as well. Especially Grand Seiko, probably because people judge items they have never touched.

 

Interesting comments, so far. I do agree this is a great forum. The other, which shall remain nameless (albeit with the words Ward and Christopher in it) are now a bunch of cliquey weirdos who have sub-threads where they can bitch about others in 'just three words' or 'the cumdgeons corner'. Anyone who dares challenge these ladyboys get picked on then banned (especially if you dare speak out against the brand in question and/or give praise to the likes of brands like Steinhart, Glycine, Bulova etc). The forum is owned by the brand anyway which, as has been said before, makes their so called 'independence' questionable.

Anyway, this is indeed a great place.

 

It's the same everywhere. I used to be heavily into vintage motorcycles to the point of ending up on the executive of a large national club which accepted all makes. I finally left because I got tired of the one make crowd. People would rule a beautiful bike as trash because it was from the wrong part of the world or even just the wrong company within an acceptable part of the world. A lot of people seem to stick to one make and regard everything else as crap, a pretty narrow minded view because there are a lot of really nice items out there not made by my favorite make. (both bikes and watches) A willingness to ignore who made a bike has lead me to own bikes from all over the world, each being great fun in its own way... although that Russian bike was shit, I gotta admit.... fun!.... but shit.

I find its the same with watches.

However, I do personally enjoy slagging makes like Bremont because they are unwilling to stand on their own merits, instead trying to create a great history for themselves by associating themselves, often very thinly, with historic events which predate the company by decades. As if sticking the logo of a historic aircraft company or a scrap of vintage wing fabric on a watch make it better or somehow historic in its own right.
I've noted a lot of expensive watches appearing on the market bearing the names of long dead English chronometer manufacturers, complete with some date from the late 1700s emblazoned across the face.... like I could take that seriously! These guys need to be made fun of in some cases, regardless of how good the watch is.

and then there's Hublotch.... ick!

 

Personally the first expensive watch I had, well expensive for a 16 year old kid was a TAG F1. I love that watch even though it was probably over priced for a lot of plastic, so I have a fondness for TAG heuer. Seiko too, are great value for money. I am not a fan of hublout, but that is because the designs don t do it for me. I dont think brand is important but quality is and there are hundreds of less well known manufactures who made fantastic watches. I suppose a lot people follow the Nike slogan....image is everything.

 

To me, what matters is how well it works and how much it appeals to me - to an extent I'm "function over form". I really don't care much for the history (authentic or invented) and the perceived brand prestige. But then again, I like to think I'm not someone who is easily seduced by "designer" brands or marketing hype.

 

Agreed. Lots of love on this forum for these:

 

Been here for a few years and from the beginning I found this to be a place where there was no "unwarranted" brand bashing. Sure, some people don't like this or that but it's not endemic. The reason being that, even if this is the Omega forum, there is clearly a much broader collector pool and most here own and respect several brands.

 

I do think the OF is indeed a very civilized watch forum. As well as the very good Mods (who play fair), we are fortunate to have some outstanding contributors such as @tyrantlizardrex (superb Time4apint initiative) @Archer, @Mad Dog, @Robert-Jan, @Longbow and many more...(I don't hang out in the vintage sections so I am sure there are some top notch vintage posters as well!).

One interesting trend I have seen on the OF are some Rolex Forum members such @Bushido and @sensui also giving great input here on the OF, which shows you can like and admire "competing" brands that offer great products. I also think that with all the Seiko marketing in the last few years, anyone with a minimum know-how of luxury watches now understands that Grand Seiko can be considered to be a rival to Rolex/Omega in terms of product quality and technology.

Personally I think that as you evolve in your watch collecting journey and open up your mind a bit, you will see that even less "respected brands" have at least one or two products that are worthy of consideration, even if you are not a massive fan of the whole range or the brand's image.

Examples (personal opinion):
Breitling: Navitimer, Transocean Chronograph, SuperOcean Heritage
Bremont: Martin Baker range
Tag-Heuer: the new Autavia, Monza re-edition, Monacos, Calibre 17 Carrera
Longines: some great heritage releases, the vintage diver, check-out the new Longines Avigation BigEye chronograph (finally no-date!)

Discussions on watch forums where you often still see polarizing views center around movement technology: in-house versus outsourced ETA/Sellita, although I do feel that the "only in-house calibres demand respect" thing is starting to lose force. Then we also have the "Quartz haters" but many now seem to be aware as to how to good a Grand Seiko quartz watch can be.

So overall I think that the majority of posters on the OF seem to be bucking the more global trend we have seen of increased polarization. Perhaps that's why we enjoy so much being part of this community

 

Anyone who treats others unkindly due to a watch needs a serious session with reality. Rolex, Omega, TAG etc are within the sub luxe category. Do Mille owners snub Rolex owners for example? Anyone picking at hierarchical order has no place on my radar. Let's just enjoy the hobby and agree to disagree from time to time.

 

The replies in this thread highlight exactly why I enjoy spending time on OF. The majority of members are more interested in the passion driving one's enjoyment of a watch vs the label/brand of said watch. If someone excitedly shares their new Omega/Rolex/Panerai/Tag/Seiko/Microbrand et al, they receive the same enthusiastic kudos and internet high fives. Omega Forums: Come for the watches, stay for the people.

P.S. This thread needs pictures!

 

The "us against them" mentality pervades every aspect of our lives: Our country against theirs; our baseball team dispises yours; my religion is closer to the truth than yours; I'm a Parker Pen guy, your devotion to Watermans's is pathetic...and so with watches.

It may be human nature to default towards banding together in a tight-knit group, for solidarity and protection. It takes a modicum of effort to keep an open mind, and realize that these divisions are mostly artificial. But who knows...when those Rolex guys take over, and they come trying to drag us Omega guys out of our houses, we gotta be ready!

 

Now that is Funny!

 

Interesting responses in this thread. For me the brand doesn't matter in my jealousy (not sure if jealousy is really the right word - just using OPs expression) or pursuit of a certain watch.

For me it's #1 form, #2 function, #3 story. Sometimes the first two things can get switched around, but usually the most important to me is how the watch looks and feels in the hand and on the wrist. In the end this is something we wear and look at - it should bring us pleasure when we look at it. Function is important because these devices tell time and you want that to be robust, but cool complications and mechanics also play into function. Story ... or history comes last for me, important but not the first thing I think about when deciding if I like a watch.

Brand doesn't really fall into any of these categories in a singular way for me. So it's hard for me to be jealous of a brand, but easy to be jealous of a watch! (I'm looking at you Lange 1 Moonphase).

 

I like some Tag, and others, I don't... mostly I don't really have a view on them one way or another, but like 99% of the Swiss watch industry, I think they're over priced.

Bremont... I like the watches (mostly), I think the marketing is nonsense, and the prices are too high for what you're getting.

The great thing is, these are my opinions... and that's all they are, opinions.

No one has to share them, and if you think different, that's great.

In what's fast becoming a catchphrase: If you can afford it, and you like it, buy it, and sod what anyone else thinks.