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Hey you 'muricans ... get those Swiss watches pronto [tariffs and international trade]

CalgaryJim
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Dan S Dan S
I was making a joke. Nobody wants to buy crappy American watches. And no offense to people who feel otherwise, but I feel the same way about American vehicles and American consumer electronics. And not primarily because of prices.

And TBH, some of our trade imbalances are due to the same dynamic. People in other countries just don't want to buy certain American products, not because of price protections, but because they don't like many American products, or they have different tastes and preferences.

Peter Navarro was doing an interview yesterday and responded glibly to questions about price increases by saying that Americans should simply buy things that are made in America. Good luck with that. I'm sure Soviet citizens were thrilled with their choice between Lada and Volga. Personally, I'm not interested in American watches.
I like what Weiss watches has been doing, trying to make more and more of their movement parts in house. And I find the watches to be beautiful. Having said that, because of the tariff war, I won't be buying US until relations normalize. Vintage, from an OF member in the US, I'd still likely go ahead with that kind of purchase because some things you just can't do without.
 
Dan S
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CalgaryJim CalgaryJim
I like what Weiss watches has been doing, trying to make more and more of their movement parts in house. And I find the watches to be beautiful. Having said that, because of the tariff war, I won't be buying US until relations normalize. Vintage, from an OF member in the US, I'd still likely go ahead with that kind of purchase because some things you just can't do without.
I will take a look at Weiss watches. TBH, I was thinking of Shinola. 😂
 
kippyk
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Super depressing and scary times. I fully expect Congress to take the tariiff power back after further economic damage is done. Once the cowards fear for their re-election then they will change.
 
wagudc
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Dan S Dan S
I will take a look at Weiss watches. TBH, I was thinking of Shinola. 😂
Also check out RGM watches. They are amazing! Their 801 movements are 90% made in the USA. If I were to spend $$$$ on a new watch it would be an 801/40

https://www.rgmwatches.com/watches
 
ExpiredWatchdog
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^^^ Not enough dollar signs. They make a beautiful watch but for an exorbitant price.
texasmade texasmade
I honestly don't see Congress doing that. There are enough Trumpers in Congress to block anything that goes against what he wants.
They aren't necessarily trumpers but scared shitless that he will primary them out of office at the next election. But he doesn't vote for them, their constituents do. A week ago, they were all scared to be seen in public or have to address their constituents. Imagine where they're at now?

I really don't think he's as strong as he thinks he is ("I can do anything because I can do no wrong"). Remember McCarthy (yeah, I don't either).

Great conversation; one of the most interesting I've read in a great while and I have to thank Trev and Ash for allowing it to push the rules a bit.

Personally, I just blew this year's watch money on something that's not a watch so I don't have a dog in that fight. And, even without the recent dustup, I've come to think that the Swiss manufacturers a leading us around by the nose, both pricewise and style-wise, so I've been leaning away from buying anything new. I have however been buying vintage, including three Accutrons in the last couple months (interesting, google knows "Calutron" but not "Accutron").

Answer: Baton hands
Omega SMPO Chrono.webp

Stupid



Breitling Galactic 44.webp
Smart

See what I mean?

Just so you all don't think I'm picking on Omega:
Omega SMPO Deep Black Car.webp

Stupid


Omega Speedy '57 Wheel Shot.webp
Smart
Edited:
 
Caliber561
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texasmade texasmade
I honestly don't see Congress doing that. There are enough Trumpers in Congress to block anything that goes against what he wants.
Agreed, even with the 2026 elections, it's unlikely that the Republicans will lose enough seats in the Senate to make any meaningful opposition possible. So, Congress will at best continue to be hamstrung and unable to pass meaningful legislation.
 
Matt-998
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Legitimate non-political questions:

So will this tariff business push up the price of secondhand watches then ?

Assuming cost of new goes up, will that impact the price of used ? Will y'all be 31% richer 😉

Math made simple 😜
 
Bruce235
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Matt-998 Matt-998
Legitimate non-political questions:

So will this tariff business push up the price of secondhand watches then ?

Assuming cost of new goes up, will that impact the price of used ? Will y'all be 31% richer 😉

Math made simple 😜
It will, not by 31% but some.
 
Waltesefalcon
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Walrus Walrus
Shoot and I was happy buying new. Oh well back to used things.
Used is always the way to go. Except when buying underwear.
 
Dsloan
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Waltesefalcon Waltesefalcon
Used is always the way to go. Except when buying underwear.
I bought 90% of my watches used. Same with my cars. No one in my family has ever bought a new car. I'm actually quite confused about who is buying all the new things that I will one day buy.
 
Porteroso
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Matt-998 Matt-998
Legitimate non-political questions:

So will this tariff business push up the price of secondhand watches then ?

Assuming cost of new goes up, will that impact the price of used ? Will y'all be 31% richer 😉

Math made simple 😜
The 2 factors will be inflationary, and the supply and demand of the vintage market. If these tariffs go into effect as planned, everything will cost more in 6 months, even made in USA. And if buyers stop buying new watches because they are more expensive, they will turn to the vintage market.

I would not think it would matter much, because inflation also reduces buying power, so people have less to spend. I would guess the used watch market would track pretty well with rising price indexes.
 
BlackTalon
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That's all likely true in the shorter term, but if a recession occurs than demand may drop a lot, and asking prices will need to drop as well.

I'm sitting on the sidelines with cash stockpiled, just in case.
 
pdxleaf
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BlackTalon BlackTalon
That's all likely true in the shorter term, but if a recession occurs than demand may drop a lot, and asking prices will need to drop as well.

I'm sitting on the sidelines with cash stockpiled, just in case.
Your's is a wise choice. If a majority of people follow this sensible approach, we have the ingredients of a recession.

If the downturn is long enough and deep enough, it may make people realize that the stock market doesn't always go up, or at least not 100% in 5 years. Then you get back to buying new watches at a discount?
 
NGO1
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Vietnam’ Prime Minister has agreed to work toward zero tariffs. Looks like there’s a goal to this tariff tantrum.

Next week, he’ll activate nuclear sequence to make thing more interesting.

Shoot. Aim. Talk. I don’t hate this method, but if it fails, we all fυcked.
 
Dan S
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NGO1 NGO1
Vietnam’ Prime Minister has agreed to work toward zero tariffs. Looks like there’s a goal to this tariff tantrum.

Next week, he’ll activate nuclear sequence to make thing more interesting.

Shoot. Aim. Talk. I don’t hate this method, but if it fails, we all fυcked.
On Trump's chart, VN is listed as having 90% "Tariff charged to the USA." As a result, the US will be charging 46% on imports from VN.

But as we know, that number is actually calculated using a formula involving the trade imbalance, not tariff rates. What tariff does VN actually charge the US? As best I can determine, it's 9.4% on most items.

So if VN reduces tariffs from 9.4% to zero, that obviously is only a drop in the bucket compared to the 90% supposed "tariff," and will probably have very little effect on the trade imbalance, and wouldn't reduce the imports from VN, which is more likely the goal.

We'll see what happens, but it's still not making much sense to me yet.
Edited:
 
arturo7
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JPE.88305 JPE.88305
yes I agree. And I'm not entirely understanding how we're supposed to suddenly develop US manufacturing… We don't have the infrastructure, we haven't for decades, it's all been shipped overseas. Even if there is financial incentive to make stuff here, the investment to create new manufacturing infrastructure would be astronomical.

As someone who works in manufacturing, I can assure you there is plenty of manufacturing and infrastructure in the US.
 
NGO1
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Dan S Dan S
As best I can determine, it's 9.4% on most items.

I believe automotive from US to VN is somewhere 50-70%, last I heard from a dealer in Saigon.
 
redzer007
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NGO1 NGO1
I believe automotive from US to VN is somewhere 50-70%, last I heard from a dealer in Saigon.
That rate is not just applicable US imports, it applies to any country that does not have a trade agreement with Vietnam
 
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