Herculodge

Value Advantage of Micro-brand Watches

Jonny writes: 

Someone on Watchlords had a good formula in terms of value for quality, vs. brand name heritage and luxury cachet. He said it went like this: Micro-brands > Seiko/Citizen > Swiss/German brands. Meaning, the micros offer the best value in terms of quality, with Seiko/Citizen next. A lot of what you are paying for with the Swiss/German brands is the heritage and cachet.

To put it another way, a micro that costs a grand might be similar in quality to a $1,500 Seiko and a $3,000 Omega. That might not be the right formula–there isn’t really a formula–but you get the general idea.

So yeah, a $475 Boschett might be more similar in quality to an $800 Seiko than the $600 Sumo. Or, at the least, the Boschett and the Sumo are similar in quality in terms of movement, but the Boschett has superior build, clasp, bracelet, etc.

This is why for myself, who cares nothing of name brands and only a bit of heritage, the ultimate watch is a $4,000 Seiko and not an $8,000 Panerai or a $12,000 Rolex. It is also why I’m drawn more and more to micro-brands, because you get all sorts of intriguing possibilities. Prometheus is another example – the Baiji, which costs $400 new, feels like a thousand dollar watch.

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Sangean WR-5 Gets Replaced by Grundig S350DL

The Sangean WR-5 is a capable performer and easily worth its sale price of $62, but its inability to grab KPCC 89.3 compelled me to put the Sangean in the baby room where its used mainly as an iPod player and use the S350 in the workout room. Now KPCC is coming in loud and clear. 

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Brandon writes:

Looks similar to a Panasonic RF-888 except it has a separate tweeter and separate volume controls for the woofer and tweeter plus a tone control.  Its from Japan so its only 76-90mhz on FM. 

Auction Link - http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n121612976

Invicta "Looks the Part" and That's Good Enough for a Lot of Buyers

Angelo writes:

I still think Invicta offers a lot for the money in many cases. I look at it this way: Back to a car comparison/analogy: If you love the high end Mercedes, but can't even come close to affording one----you might find a couple cars within your budget to choose from. One of them, let's say a Hyundai Sonata----LOOKS an awful lot like that Mercedes----sweeping, graceful lines, big sunroof, etc. The other car----let's say an entry level or mid-range Audi----might be closer to the Mercedes in engineering and of course country of origin. But to keep the price within budget, it won't have all the features/options. So you have a choice to make----a decent car that LOOKS a lot like what you fantasize about owning, but made in South Korea and not a status symbol by any means----or, the German made Audi that is by no means that top end Mercedes you love----isn't styled like it, doesn't have all the toys----but it is German engineered and closer to the MB mechanically and in performance. It's also a luxury marque---upscale compared to VW for example. You know what? A lot of people flock to the Hyundai. Why? It looks the part and for real world driving, it does everything they need it to do.

The Invicta looks the part and most people don't need the lume to be stellar---they like the look on their wrist, the heavyweight feel of quality even if it isn't assembled to the highest standards, so they settle on Invicta. Is that the "right thing" to do? We can't say. It's a very individual decision. Whatever works for the buyer I guess.