What Makes Some Watches More Expensive Than A Rs 6 Crore Villa In Delhi

We have often seen someone like Indian celebrity wear watch that comes with a price tag that just seems to be someone’s mobile number. Take Hardik Pandya, for instance. He has often been spotted wearing some of the most exquisite timepieces we have seen.

Then there are our Bollywood celebs. Man oh man, some of the watches that they have worn over the years, are simply blissful. Expensive, but blissful nonetheless. 

While it is very easy to simply dismiss these watches as something that only the uber-rich or people who are a little show-offy indulge in, there are chances that one might have wondered, what the heck is the difference between a basic watch worth Rs 200, or for that matter, one that costs some Rs 30-40 thousand, and a watch that’s worth more than a house.

Well, today we try and answer that question.

Movement Or Calibre

The machinery that allows the watch to keep time, and beat in a very specific rhythm, is called the calibre or the movement. There are 2 basic types of movements – quartz, or mechanical. Quartz watches are your basic watches that require a battery to operate, whereas mechanical watches, uses a spring that is wound very precisely to operate. 

Quartz watches, although very cheap to make, are woefully inaccurate especially, when you need to keep track of time seconds and milliseconds. Also, quartz watches do not have a long life. Mechanical watches do. So naturally, something that may very well last you a lifetime, is going to cost more.

Complication Of The Movement

The complication of a movement is not the same as the complication of a watch, although, at a certain point, they do correspond. The complication of a watch is anything that it does apart from telling you the hour and the minute. So technically, even the second’s hand is a complication. All other features that a watch has – date, day, moon phase, month, etc are complications. Implementing them digitally is cheap – all you need to do is print and solder a circuit board.

However, when you try and place this into a mechanical machine that works on cogs and levers and springs, you run into a number of complications. Even for the most basic of mechanical watches, watchmakers often need days to design a movement, and hours to put it together.

Purpose

Historically all mechanical watches were designed and made for a very specific purpose. Some watches were meant to be used in a highly radioactive, or highly magnetic area, whereas others were designed to keep a proper track of time underwater, or in space. Quartz watches simply stop functioning in places where temperatures are extreme, and in places where the magnetic fields are skewed. Each of these things adds complications to the movement. 

This also means that these watches are “professional” watches, are meant for professionals, to be used in a very specific field. The complications of the watches also mean that they cannot be mass-produced because of the high-quality control, making them extremely rare in the market. Thus, the price is jacked up.

Materials & Design

Even though it may not seem so, almost all mechanical watches have some or the other gem inside their movements – typically, it is some form of a ruby. Some watches, with their open-back designs, do show these gems, whereas others may choose not to. The gems allow all the cogs, swindles and gears to move freely, for an eternity. Such watches should ideally be serviced once every 7-8 years, however, even if you don’t they still manage to work just fine. Other mechanical watches, which do not use hard stones in their movements, need to be oiled very frequently, almost every 3-4 years. 

Then, of course, there is the design and the exquisite materials that the case or the strap of the watch is made of. If you’re going for a piece that is made of 18 or 20 carats rose gold, it will, of course, cost more than a similar piece that is made of stainless steel. 

Legacy

Finally, there is the legacy of the particular watchmaker. Some of the most renowned watchmakers in the world have been in business for literally centuries. Some of their most prized watches too have been clicking non-stop for over a hundred years. Making such a piece takes time and expertise. 

Then, there is also the fact that certain watches, even if they are quartz watches, gain prestige when someone popular wears them. While many people argue that Patek Philippe may take a hit now that it is popular among a certain group of rappers who aren’t exactly well respected, Vacheron Constantin on the other hand, has seen its value go up ever since world leaders started wearing Vacheron. 

Even Movado, an American company which only makes quartz or digital smartwatches, saw its value shoot up ever since it found a fan in our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. So the legacy of the watchmaker also depends on who all are wearing the watch.

Moreover, if you buy a proper, mechanical watch today, know you have a legacy of your own and something to pass onto your great-grandchildren, who can possibly pass them onto their great-grandchildren if they take care of the watch.

Plus, there are several other factors that make certain watches more expensive. Rolexes, for example are famous and popular not just because filmstars have worn them over a period of 100 years, but because they are also built like a tank, and they look good. Several Rolexes have been auctioned over the years, which have survived being at the frontlines of World War I as well as World War II – that’s something you cannot put a price on.