Introduction to the world's top watch brands Previous chapter

  • In various occasions when talking about watches, you can often hear many people always talking about the "Top Ten Famous Watches", as if they know the world's famous watches very well. Many times, after the fifth narration, the speaking speed will become slower and slower, and even incomplete, and sometimes repeated. Because there has never been a formal official ranking in the world. "Top Ten Famous Watches" is a general term for the world's top watch brands.There is a popular saying among the people: poor people wear gold and silver, and rich people wear watches. This is just right. Watches are the carriers of traditional culture and modern industrial civilization, the symbol of wealth, the embodiment of social status, and also the representative of cultural taste. Many people who got rich first, from wearing gold and silver to driving cars, and then to loving watches, is actually a process, a transformation of people from wealth to taste.

  • 1. Elements that must be possessed by famous watches1. Exquisite craftsmanshipWith the title of famous watches, it is necessary to pay special attention to the manufacturing process from the inside to the outside, and pay attention to the processing of details. The internal plywood of the movement is finely polished and plated with precious metal rhodium or gold, and the edges and planes of the shell are finely polished.2. Limited editionThere is a saying in my country that "scarcity makes things valuable". If a watch that is called a famous watch has no production limit and unclear brand positioning, it will lose its collection value and gradually lose its status as a famous watch.3. Cultural connotationBehind each famous watch, there is a moving legendary story. The reason why it became a famous watch is that its development history is not short, and its development process is highly respected by watch lovers.4. Unique designFamous watches have their own unique designs, and the design of the appearance reflects the inspiration of the designers, such as the hollow watches of Vacheron Constantin and Breguet, the "Golden Bridge" of Kunlun Watch and the "Three Golden Bridges" of Girard-Perregaux.5. Complex functionsMost of the world-famous watches have complex functions, but this is not absolute. Because the complex functions of mechanical watches can very well reflect the technical level of watchmaking; the combination of multiple complex functions is more difficult and the price is higher, and the circulation will be limited to a certain range.

  • 2. How to view the consumption of high-end watchesAs a watch professional, you must understand the connotation of high-end watches: First of all, you must understand that wearing high-end watches is a respect for culture and a symbol of personal identity, and it is a kind of spiritual enjoyment.Famous watches show a kind of culture, not a simple industrial product. You cannot compare an unearthed cultural relic with an imitation, because cultural relics are historical and cultural heritage, while imitations are daily necessities. Just like the price difference of Longjing tea from its origin and Longjing tea from a non-origin, it is nearly 10 times, because Longjing tea has a deep cultural connotation, and it cannot be simply regarded as a cup of green tea; for example, watching a high-level sports game on site is incomparable to watching a live broadcast on TV at home.There are many aspects of spiritual enjoyment that are irreplaceable and difficult to reflect with prices. They are determined by people's economic growth ability, personal hobbies and social development factors.

1. Patek Philippe PATEK PHILIPPE (English abbreviation PP)

  • In 1839, Anthony the Patek, a Polish Count in exile in Switzerland, and Adrian Philippe, a French watchmaker, collaborated to create the best watch in the world. History is the best proof. Patek Philippe is undoubtedly the best brand recognized by the world, known as the "blue-blooded aristocrat in watches". Patek Philippe is not known for its gorgeous appearance, and even rarely inlaid with any diamonds on the shell of its men's watches, but it always insists on making its own movement, often combining complex functions in one watch, and is born with a kind of elegant and restrained aristocratic temperament. Therefore, Patek Philippe is not something that can be bought with money. It should be worn by successful people with a certain demeanor, elegant conversation, and "aristocratic temperament". The price of Patek Philippe is more than RMB 100,000. People unanimously put Patek Philippe in the first place because it always insists on fine craftsmanship and limited production, and will never meet market demand. This is a marketing strategy. Its most famous slogan is: No one can really own Patek Philippe, it is just kept for future generations.

2.Vacheron Constantin (VC, now part of Richemont Group)

  • Was founded in 1755 by 24-year-old Jean-Marc Vacheron. 64 years later, his successor, in collaboration with his good friend François Constantin, established the Vacheron Constantin watch factory in a city with a rich cultural heritage and a wealth of talent.
    The watch kingdom of 1918 took the lead and established the famous Vacheron Constantin. After more than 250 years, Vacheron Constantin has become synonymous with "time" and an irreplaceable wrist art in the eyes of watch lovers. "Minimum batch, best quality, highest selling price" has always been Vacheron Constantin's business strategy, especially the VC classic hollow watch is simply an extraordinary work of art.
    The "Maltese Cross" on the dial, like the Swiss national emblem, is the brand mark of Vacheron Constantin, which means the precision gear used to adjust the tension of the spring in the era of manual watchmaking. It represents superior skills and manual watchmaking tradition. The cross mark has become a symbol of taste, status and wealth.
    There is a saying among the people: Vacheron Constantin watches are the favorite of bankers.

3. Audemars Piguet (AP, now part of Richemont Group)

  • In 1875, Jules Aulemars and Edouard Piguet founded a watch factory in Switzerland.
    Audemars Piguet has always appeared in a high-profile manner. The most classic style is the "Royal Tree". The characteristic is the regular octagonal case with eight screws on each of the eight corners, which looks very rough and masculine.

  • The price of Audemars Piguet is relatively high. A stainless steel men's watch of the "Royal Oak" costs tens of thousands of yuan; the price of the full 18K gold watch with dial inlay is more than 450,000 yuan. Even the world's most famous action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger is the most loyal fan of Audemars Piguet's "Royal Oak". The watch he wore in the movie "Terminator 3" was a new watch specially made by Audemars Piguet.

  • The legend of Audemars Piguet's "Royal Oak": On September 6, 1651, before Charles II became the king of England, Scotland and Ireland, he was chased by Cromwell's army. He hid in the tree hole of an old oak tree for a night and luckily escaped. Later, this tree was called the "Royal Oak", which became the turning point for the king to make a comeback and then obtain the kingship. For England, the oak tree has become a symbol of protection, security and strength. To commemorate this event, the British Navy named four of its ships H.M.S. Roval Oak from 1769 to 1914. One of the ships had several features: the hull was made of oak, reinforced with steel plates, and the gun ports were octagonal... This gave rise to the classic AP design.

4. JAEGER - LECOULTRE (English abbreviation JLC, now part of Richemont Group)

  • The predecessor of Jaeger-LeCoultre was a watchmaking workshop founded by Atoine Le Coulre in Geneva, Switzerland in 1833. It was good at making small and precise movements and was once supplied to famous watch factories such as Patek Philippe and Cartier.
    In 1930, Atoine's son cooperated with Edmond Jaeger to officially become the current Jaeger-LeCoultre company. Jaeger-LeCoultre always maintains the most humble and careful attitude to make every fine product, which is what Jaeger-LeCoultre is proud of. In order to make every watch perfect and present the best quality, every employee adheres to the consistent persistence and does everything personally, so that the property can be always grasped and controlled. Since the invention of the one thousandth of a millimeter measuring instrument in 1844, it has laid the tradition of the quality of the watch parts of the family.

  • After years of research, in 1928, Jaeger-LeCoultre finally developed the famous air clock, which only needs a temperature change of 1C to provide 48 hours of running energy. The air clock is often presented to dignitaries of various countries on behalf of Switzerland.
    After creating the air clock in 1928, Jaeger-LeCoultre continued to work hard and successfully developed the world's smallest mechanical movement in 1929. To date, Jaeger-LeCoultre's 101 is still the world's smallest mechanical movement, consisting of 98 parts, with a thickness of only 1.3 mm and a weight of about 1 gram. The women's jewelry watches made with the famous Jaeger-LeCoultre air clock using the 101 movement are deeply loved by women from all walks of life. The watch worn by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom at her coronation ceremony uses the Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 movement.

5. Breguet (formerly known as "Breguet" or "Breguet", now part of the Swatch Group)

  • In 1775, Breguet established a watchmaking factory in Paris, France. Because its founder, Mr. Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823), had too many first inventions about watches, he was honored as the "King of Watches". For example, the automatic mechanism of pocket watches (PERPETUELLE), the special gong for minute repeaters, the special shock absorber for balance wheels, the double-layer blue steel hairspring... The Tourbillon (Tourbillon) of Genesis in 1801 shocked the world, and this technology is still the top configuration of mechanical watches.
    Breguet watches are mostly made of precious metals above 18K gold, mainly crocodile leather straps, and the dials are usually silver-plated, which is very beautiful. There is only a little regret that the appearance style is a bit conservative, mostly with round dials, lacking changes. But in any case, it is a world-class watch.
    Joined the Swatch Group in 1999.

6. Blancpain (JB, now part of the Swatch Group)

  • Blancpain is the oldest and most historic watch brand in existence, founded in 1735. It has its own style and characteristics, and is one of the few brands that has only produced mechanical watches and no quartz electronic watches. Blancpain's slogan is "Only mechanical watches". You know, even brands like Patek Philippe are not immune to this.
    Blancpain has six classic masterpieces
    (1) Ultra-thin watch (UITRA -SLIM WATCH);
    (2) Moon phase watch (MOON - PHASE DATE CALENDAR WATCH);
    (3) Perpetual calendar watch (PERPETUAL CALENDAR);
    (4) Split-seconds chronograph watch (SPLIT-SECONDS CHRONGRAPH);
    (5) Tourbillon watch (TOURBILLON);
    (6) Minute repeater watch (MINUTE REPEATER).
    However, its round appearance has hardly changed, and most of its watches are leather straps, which makes it look too conservative and traditional. Among the watches currently on the market, Blancpain's specially designed and manufactured model "1735" - a super-complex watch, combines the above six functions in one, contains 740 parts, is limited to 30 pieces, and is priced at 6.36 million yuan. This watch is the result of the wisdom of watchmakers. It is said that only 3 to 5 masters in the world can make such complex watches. In addition to being a super-rich family, you have to make reservations in advance to buy it.

  • In 2008, during the Basel International Watch and Jewelry Fair in Switzerland, Blancpain launched the "One Minute Carrousel", which once again brought forth the Carrousel concept from more than 100 years ago. At the same time, the rotating frame of the movement also achieved one rotation per minute, which amazed the world.

    Originated from the love of mechanical watches, I have been devoted to the modification of watch movements and have been dealing with movements for a long time. Later, I was inspired by an accidental learning and communication opportunity and decided to make my own brand of watches. Thus, Yogy was born. I want to give watches more playability, appreciation and artistry.
    Website: yoygwatch.com