JUST CURIOUS Everybody makes a big deal about a Swiss watch, German cars, made in the USA, made in china, etc, etc... What would you consider the label should say if for instance it is made in Switzerland by the Chinese. or whatever countries you want to fill the blanks with. A watch made by the Swiss owned by the Chinese is going to have Chinese influence and nowadays there are Chinese companies sending parts to Switzerland so they can be called Swiss....SO WHAT DO YOU REALLY CALL THEM???? To me it really doesn't make much difference, I like to buy what I like whether it be Swiss, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
Depends how the company is run, BMW make some cars in China and the USA to the same high standards as their German factories, its simply a matter of design quality and control standards. Apple make all their gear in China and they have a great reputation.
All I want is a quality product which is what I deem worth the money. With today's global economy there's less and less locally made big ticket items.
I think quality control comes first. I know we like to complain as I do about it being made elsewhere, but if quality control is superior then I usually feel my money is well spent. My example is Levi's. I have always worn #501 jeans. When they were made in USA I could always just go buy my size without trying them on. Now whether they are Mexico or China I have to try on each and every pair before i purchase because they are not consistent. To me that's quality control and the new use of a cutting machine (robot) with flexible blades that bend out on the bottom of the fabric stack. Having said all that i can't see myself dropping a lot of $$$$ on a Chinese watch, gun, car etc. I also have a prejudice of who actually owns or is majority holder of a company, no real basis on reasoning, but one reason I dislike certain brand products. So YES I guess in some ways I'm prejudiced without any reason other than owner. But I still put quality per $ first.
tough one, are we going to end up like golf clubs with "parts manufactured in China, assembled in USA/Mexico/Outerbleurgleistan" If they're asking Swiss money for the stuff then it's MADE in Switzerland. if they're simply assembling the stuff then nope, pay less than swiss made and more than chinese made.
Well I'm not a fan of big ticket items made or assembled in china because more often than not it's made in a factory paying ridiculous wages and the company does not offer a price according discount. Now let's say that there was a line made for a certain market in a low wage country then so be it. Don't try to pass off the primo stuff to me. Take a company like Fender guitar for instance. You want a Mexican made or Indonesian fender then it's a lower price point. You want the American fender open the pocketbook.
Brand names don't really bother me. Aslong as the product does what it is meant to (watch, car etc) I don't really mind who made it or where it came from.
I use to be a Swiss snob, but with all the watches available from all over the world, theres some good stuff out there.
Normally I would add Hublot and Jonny Sonbul to that list, but Hublot now has in-house movements and JS lowered his prices. I hate it when the old targets take steps towards legitimacy!