so im checking out the website and almost every auto watch is right at a grand or over. are people really paying this for them? i coulda swore they were right at the 4-500 range
Agree. Much better options at the $1k range, IMHO.Any higher and I am looking at something else.
Nice observation and I like the reasoning hereOne thing worth noting about Deep Blue's $1K watches is that they have ETA movements inside. That's significant for several reasons:
Earlier someone mentioned that they have an issue with DB using off the shelf cases and/or other parts. That person/those folks are entitled to feel that way. I wonder, however, if they feel that way about ALS who also purchase the cases for their watches. Among watches that are priced and constructed more nearly like DB's are, the brands that are owned by the Ickler group may the only ones I know of for sure that have in-house case making happening. That group actually began as a case maker that later introduced several watch brands; however, those brands are purely brands in that it is those brand names, not Ickler, that one sees on completed watches Ickler makes. Another small brand, Damasko, offers a dive/dive style watch (I don't know how "dive worthy" they actually are) for $1500. Maybe they make their case, maybe they don't, but they do put ETA inside.
- ETA have been (last I looked) prohibited from denying its movements to certain watch companies if doing so would "significantly and negatively" impact their ability to remain a going concern.
- AFAIK, the Swiss watchmaking regulators didn't stipulate what price ETA/Swatch Group could charge for the movements they provide to such companies.
- More or less, that's the minimum price one can expect to pay for any current watch having an ETA movement inside.
- ETA/Swatch Group have very clearly taken the opportunity to increase ETA movement prices now that they are limiting access to those movements to non-Swatch Group companies. (That has also allowed Sellita to increase its prices.)
The key point I'm making is that at $1K and having very solid and well executed construction, a DB is a pretty decent value among watches that also have ETA inside. Yes, there are other watches that represent good values and have ETA inside. Several Archimede watches fall into that realm, although they aren't dive watches. Limes offers a Leviathan model with Sellita inside for $1100, although like Damasko, I'm not sure if they are "full on" dive watches as are Deep Blue's. Aquadive has a model that retails for $1K and with ETA inside.
In all honesty, I don't know of any micro-brand dive watches that have ETA inside and sell for appreciably less than $1K. While there may be some out there, I think they are few and far between, although I haven't conducted a comprehensive market study to verify my perception in that regard.
All the best.