Is buying a microbrand watch a waste of money?

sathomasga

I don't think the OP is worried about value retention or investment, rather, he or she seems to be concerned that it won't be possible to service or repair a micro brand watch in the future. I guess that's more of a concern with in-house movements, since, if the micro brand doesn't survive long-term, critical parts might be unavailable. I suppose there's always a risk that the watch could be mistreated in the future and require new movement parts, but it's not something I would personally worry about. I have 80-year old Omega watches that have only needed a new mainspring. But, as in all things, everyone is entitled to their own risk tolerance.

moondweller

Let me explain what I mean with a real example: I liked the new NOMOS Neomatik watch — so beautiful and attractive to me. It costs almost 4,000 EUR, which can buy a nice Tudor. Now, I’m thinking — you want the watch to always be a part of your journey, which means you need to take it for servicing every 5–7 years.

Now, first of all, NOMOS doesn’t have official boutiques, which means you need to find a random shop to repair or service the watch. Second, it’s a small watchmaker with not a long history, and you never know whether they’ll still be around in 10 years to keep producing the parts needed for servicing and repair.

This is what brings me to the question — is buying a microbrand watch a waste of money in that sense?

Dan S

Felix_La_PuBelle

If I bury this five dollar watch in the ground, when it’s dug up in 1000 years it will be priceless.

E ErichKeane

For service concerns: I'm not aware of any microbrands that make their own movements. Parts are going to be available, because they are going to use really common off-the-shelf movements. Everything but the rotor and perhaps a plate or two is going to be trivial to get parts for.

In fact, these microbrands are probably better/easier to get parts for than a modern Omega/Rolex (who only permit authorized dealers to get parts).

Dan S

Just to mention, even if the movement is a common ebauche, a watch has many parts beyond the movement, e.g. crown, bezel, crystal, etc. We vintage collectors know what we're getting into and embrace the pain of finding parts. But a typical new watch buyer might be frustrated to find in a few years that they can't replace their scratched bezel, or restore the water resistance of their watch with a new crown.