Thanks all for your response!
Quote:
Originally Posted by watchucallit
I went through a similar journey over the years. I started with some of the usual brands Patek and AP and Lange.. I still enjoy and acquire some of their pieces. However I also purchased a Dornbluth some years ago and then got quite interested in Gronefeld and GF. I now own 3 Gronefelds and 2 GFs. Have considered MBandF Lang and Heyne. At one point I did own a Journey and two Richard Mille but sold them. The GFs are big but they balance well on my small wrist. I would say more comfortable than some of my Langes.
Also I almost pulled the plug on one of the GMT World Timers but with the debate about if daylight savings time would be altered.. decided not to.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasco
Going through independents is a very nice experience. It's a very diversified field but if you go in the more expensive and more high-end side, it will definitely be a feast for the eyes. It will shape your eyes on finishing levels, GF is one of the best. My experience dates from 10 years ago but, though hefty and big pieces, they are real little marvels you spend a lot of time observing their intricacies, it's polished, angled, sandblasted everywhere and at the highest standards... Their Quadruple Tourbillons, especially in "openworked" versions are outstanding. The drawback is that looking at other brands you might like today may end out "tarnishing" your experience a little. The time each watchmaker spends on a watch is in another league from say a Patek, etc...
But the wearability requires a bigger wrist (even if I remember they provided 1 or 2 smaller models but going for a "simpler" one with GF is maybe loosing something) and back then the value retention was bad.
In such field, Voutilainen offers a similar level of excellence, though less detailed, like Dufour. Roger Smith of course.
You can also have a look at Gronefeld, Lang & Heyne, some MB&F pieces (wide range of levels), A Laurent Ferrier Tourbillon, more classical, will do the job as well, De Bethune (depending on the model though).
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The experiences seem encouraging, thank you for sharing! Can you guys tell me more about
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1. the buying experience - did you buy directly/secondary? if directly are discounts commonplace
2. value retention - i find that I cannot find comps of recent sales on the recent GMT models (none are on sale on chrono24 and none have really been on sale on auction houses) - the older ones I know seem to lose quite a bit of value, are the more recent ones still losing value?
thanks in advance!