The world's top watch brands introduce the next chapter
1. IWC
Although IWC was founded by American engineer Jones in 1868, it is 100% Swiss, as its factory is located in the small town of Schaffehausen, Switzerland.
IWC's movement quality is excellent, and its appearance design is unique. Its slogan is "Only men's watches". First of all, it is mainly round case, and secondly, the large dial. At first glance, it looks ordinary, but in fact, it is simple and hardworking. The style is very suitable for men, especially men engaged in engineering. Classic styles such as Da Vinci, Porluguese, Portofino, MARK XM and INCENIEURSL are very individual, not ostentatious but very stylish.
2. ROLEX
The Rolex Group has only two brands, Rolex and Tudor. It was founded in London in 1905 by Hans Wilsdort and British businessman Davis, and moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919 to become the official Rolex watch factory. In 1926, Rolex invented the famous Oyster waterproof watch, and since then it has become famous. It consumes tens of tons of gold every year to make watches, and is the factory that buys the most gold for industrial production in the world. When talking about world famous watches, Rolex cannot be ignored, because this brand is too special. Although Rolex is not as famous as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, in terms of the quality and durability of the movement, Rolex is undoubtedly the best, and it can be left as a family heirloom to future generations.
Rolex almost never makes watches with complex functions, but its durability and accurate timekeeping are very famous, and it has always been a favorite in the second-hand watch market, with excellent value retention.
3.PIACET
The early Piaget company was established by Georges Piaget in 1874, with a factory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and some workshops in Geneva. Piaget has always been committed to cultivating a spirit of luxury and nobility, while giving priority to the development of creativity and the pursuit of details, perfectly integrating the craftsmanship of watches and jewelry.
At the beginning, Piaget focused on the design and production of watch movements. In the 1960s, Piaget expanded its professional field and launched amazing jewelry watches and innovative jewelry series. Piaget has put special effort and spared no expense in the design and materials of PIAGEI, which can capture the charm of time. Every watch and jewelry work is an incomprehensible exploration of exquisite craftsmanship driven by courage, professionalism and imagination.
In terms of price alone, Piaget is definitely among the best, and the high price is mainly due to the large amount of diamonds and gemstones inlaid and market operations.
Trivia: The ranks of nobility include emperor, king, prince, grand duke, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron, baronet, knight and lady of the house.
4. CARTIER
Cartier is a watch factory founded in Paris, France in 1905. It is one of the few non-Swiss brands in the world. Although Cartier was founded in France, its factory is in Switzerland and it uses top Swiss movements. Cartier was called "the jeweler of the king, the king of jewelers" by the former Prince of Wales of the United Kingdom. Mr. Louis Cartier, who started his business with royal jewelry, made the world's first and most successful watch "Santos Dumont" in 1904 at the request of his friend, the French-Brazilian tycoon Santos Dumont. Therefore, Cartier has established its status as a world-famous watch brand today. In 2004, Cartier released the "Santos 100" and "Santos Dumont" (ultra-thin) gold/stainless steel models to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the "Santos" watch. In addition, there is the "Tank" inspired by the US military during the First World War and another masterpiece of Cartier - Pasha. It is said that it originated from a local official of the Kingdom of Morocco in the 1930s. His official title was "Pasha", which means "governor" in the Berber language of North Africa. Because he loved swimming, he asked Cartier to make a watch with excellent waterproof performance for him, so the "Pasha" came into being.
At the same time, Cartier also has a large number of gold pens, glasses, leather bags, briefcases, lighters,
and other series of products that match the watch. It is a comprehensive enterprise with multiple products.
5. GIRARD
Swiss brand. In 1791, 19-year-old Jean-François Bautte created his first batch of watches, which is the earliest historical source of Girard-Perregaux.
Jean-François Bautte is a talented watchmaker who created world-famous ultra-thin watches and established a watchmaking company in Geneva. With his simple temperament, he welcomed a large number of the most prestigious visitors, including the later Queen Victoria; and established business relations with all members of the European royal family, which made him one of the most famous watchmakers at the time.
Early Girard-Perregaux watches were famous for their precision. In 1866, they won the Centennial Award of the Neuchâtel Observatory in Switzerland. Girard-Perregaux adheres to traditional quality and is innovative. The "Three Golden Bridges" is its classic label.
6. ULYSSE NARDIN
In 1846, Ulysse Nardin, a young watchmaker, founded Ulysse Nardin. The founder had his own watchmaking workshop at the age of 27 and has always been famous for producing marine watches. Ulysse Nardin watches are known for their complex functions and varied styles. The most classic one is the "Genghis Khan Three Questions" spring watch. Whenever the spring function is activated, the Mongolian knight (perhaps Genghis Khan) on the dial will gallop on horseback, which is vivid and the workmanship is very fine, reflecting the exquisite craftsmanship of Ulysse Nardin.
In recent years, the most famous is the "Astronomy Trilogy", that is, the Galileo Astrolabe watch, which fully presents the phenomena of the interstellar universe in the mind watch.
In the early years, Ulysse Nardin was famous for its marine clocks, which were the favorites of collectors. If you are an expert, you will know that the marine clock was the pinnacle of watch technology at that time.
7. A. LANGE SÖEHNE
Lange is an authentic German watch and a rare non-Swiss brand among the world's famous watches.
It was founded in Glashütte, Germany in 1845 by master watchmaker Ferdinando Adolf Lange. At that time, the pocket watches made by Lange were of outstanding quality. In 1898, Kaiser William II (Kaiser William lI) specially ordered a noble pocket watch from Lange as a gift to Sultan Abdul Hamid II (Sultan Abdul Hamid lI) when he visited the Ottoman Empire. Lange pocket watches have always been one of the timepieces that everyone admires. Today, such pocket watches are extremely rare and are very expensive at auctions.
After the Second World War, the family business was confiscated by the government of East Germany, and the watch factory was confiscated for several years.
For this reason, pocket watches with the Lange trademark are even more legendary in the collector circle.
In 1990, after the reunification of the country, Walter Lange, the great-grandson of the founder of the Lange Watch Factory, was able to take over his ancestral business and re-invest in the production of Lange watches, thus making the brand famous for "Made in Germany". Lange has injected new blood into the brand tradition and once again maintained its leading position in watchmaking technology, becoming a well-known Swiss watch brand. Lange only makes metal mechanical watches, which makes its quality and price high, generally each watch is more than 100,000 yuan.
8. Zenith ZENITH
A Swiss brand founded in 1865. It was already very famous in my country before the reform and opening up, and was translated as "increase your wisdom" at that time. The founder, Georges Favre Jacot, was only 22 years old at the time, and he developed a movement that he was most satisfied with.
In 1911, on a quiet night, he strolled under the starry sky and looked up at the sky. He received a mysterious revelation from the universe: there is a huge celestial movement system around the North Star, which reminded him of the complex and precise structure of the gears of the watch running around the axis. So he decided to use the word ZENITH, which means the highest point in the universe, as the name of his watch workshop, and use the star symbol as the symbol of the company.
By 1920, Zenith had produced more than 2 million watches. Under the shining light of the universe, the Zenith watch factory has gone through the 20th century with fruitful results. It has won 1,565 design awards, including more than 50 high-quality movements. Its branches are all over the world, from New York to Paris, from Moscow to Tokyo... Countless excellent watchmakers, with their hardworking hands and unlimited enthusiasm, fully demonstrate their creative wisdom, and fully embody the value standards of pursuing beauty, truth, integrity, precision and complex craftsmanship.
In recent years, Zenith is famous for its complex function timing, mostly using precious metals as the shell, and leather straps. It is a relatively traditional watch with first-class quality. The frequency of 36,000 is the technical highlight of Zenith.
Zenith not only carries forward its long-standing tradition, but also injects fresh blood into it. In 199, Zenith joined the global luxury group LVMH with its excellent design level and huge production capacity.
9. FRANCK MUELLER
Franck Muller is the most popular brand in recent years, all of which stems from the unique design and production of the master Franck Muller. The barrel-shaped case and colorful crocodile leather strap are its signature design, and the unique concept of "Crazy Hours" is a pioneer in watch design.
On the dial of "Crazy Hours", the traditional time scale from 1 to 12 o'clock that has lasted for hundreds of years is completely disrupted, and the pointer indicates the time in a jumping manner. The seemingly crazy dial actually embodies the master's superhuman wisdom and advanced design concept.
Frank Muller is a famous independent watchmaker in Switzerland. In 1983, he created the first watch with a complex structure. Adhering to the purpose of "complicating simple structures and simplifying complex structures", he pioneered a new way of watchmaking technology, and many watch masters have since joined this ranks.
In 1991, Franck Muller officially established his company. His watches all retain their unique style. Just like the "Franck Geneve" engraved on the first watch, they are all limited production and enjoy the reputation of "the most complex watch in the world". The watch brand name is now translated as "Famulan". In addition, there are also famous watch brands such as Glashütte, Breitling, TAG Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Panerai, Chronoswiss, Zunhuang, Raymond Weil, Amy, Chopard, Jean Ricardo, Kunlun, Ebel, Eterna..., which cannot be ranked one by one, and can only be seen by each person. In 1999, Hong Kong's "Famous Watch Forum" initiated a reader vote for the "Famous Watch Ranking" to select the world's top ten famous watches: Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, and IWC. It can be seen that the rankings of countries and regions are different, which is completely in line with the objective laws of things.