[stilo]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

I haven't owned any Tags, nor do I like any at the moment. Also, I feel that they bastardized the brand when they allowed Costco to sell it (as well as some low end Omegas). As for Omega, my Co-axial movement stopped working exactly one year to the week that I bought it and it took 6 weeks for Omega to get it back to me. Even when they did, I never got any sort of documentation on why it stopped, they just shipped it back and that's it!

As for the B&R, it is a great looking watch and flies well under the radar. Most people would never believe that it's a $3000 watch. That being said, I don't advertise my watches either when I'm wearing them. To me the B&R is a great fashion watch, or as my wife calls it "the trendy one...". I'm a little more attached to mine as my wife bought it for me on our honeymoon last summer and that's why I love it, though I have considered buying one before on my own. Would I buy another one? Probably, but I'd buy a used one and I think it would be a carbon.

In the end, if you want to really know how they compare, just look at how many people are viewing the Omega and Tag forums compared to the B&R forums. That'll give you an idea!

 

[cameronweiss]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

The Tag and Omega watches that are sold in COSTCO are "un-authorized", they are purchased by COSTCO in countries where they can buy them in bulk for a discount and then imported into the usa and marked up slightly. The companies do not recognize these watches as authorized because COSTCO is not an authorized reseller. Recently, Swatch Group (Owner of Omega) sued COSTCO for the resale of their products on the grounds that it damages their brand. It went to the supreme court and Swatch group won, but I am sure COSTCO will attempt an appeal. I for one think that the judgement in Swatch Group's favor violates free trade, but I'm no lawyer.

 

[stilo]

That's funny, I was at Costco a week or two ago and saw a ladies Omega for sale in the showcase.

 

[DonnyWar]

Just lending my opinion

I own all three brands plus Panerai, Breitling, Rolex and Cartier.

How does B&R compare to Rolex, or Tag? it doesnt, Rolex and Tag are well known brands that even people who care nothing of watches will know. people who don't know anything about my BR thinks its something of a toy watch. Quality? compared to my submariner the build quality is at Par, slightly better than that of my Grand Carerra and a lot better than my Monaco. However my Aquaracer is made of bullets, the quality of which rivals a tank.

Overall the quality is terrific save for some of the rubber edges on my band.

Omega is also a big brand which is slightly less popular than Tag and Rolexes here in Indonesia. My speedmaster is of the lower tier so it barely compares to my BR in terms of quality. the Hesalite looks cheap to touch as opposed to Sapphire on BR. I love Omegas but they do have this swatch feel to them..i cant explain it.

in terms of BR's market share it is a lot similar to Panerai in the earlier days. although Panerai has gotten quite popular over time, I doubt it will probably never be as mainstream as Rolex, tag or Omega.

These big watches are a piece of blue ocean which has been followed by more popular brands, however most people will agree that the brand that spark this trend to most people is obviously Panerai.

Once the other big companies start replicating the "tool watch" as BR markets them, then B&R will be the obvious choice in this niche "tool watch" market.

As for my own opinion; BR is a fashion brand which over time will be a serious "instrument" brand among watch lovers, investment bankers, lawyers and other people with decent disposable income. The reputation is there but lacks heritage which will propel it to greatness.

 

[Jimr]

My Omega Long Term Experience

My Omega Pie Pan Constellation (564 movement) was purchased by my wife in 1967.
It has never needed to be repaired. Never. Yes, I have it cleaned and adjusted roughly every 5 years.
Since its last adjustment some 6 months ago, it has been keeping time within COSC tolerances.
I could not expect any better performance and reliability from any mechanical watch.
Truly a beautiful classic watch that has stood the test of time.

 

[Watchbreath]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

..

My Omega Pie Pan Constellation (564 movement) was purchased by my wife in 1967.
It has never needed to be repaired. Never. Yes, I have it cleaned and adjusted roughly every 5 years.
Since its last adjustment some 6 months ago, it has been keeping time within COSC tolerances.
I could not expect any better performance and reliability from any mechanical watch.
Truly a beautiful classic watch that has stood the test of time.

 

[sgrenald]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

The Tag and Omega watches that are sold in COSTCO are "un-authorized", they are purchased by COSTCO in countries where they can buy them in bulk for a discount and then imported into the usa and marked up slightly. The companies do not recognize these watches as authorized because COSTCO is not an authorized reseller. Recently, Swatch Group (Owner of Omega) sued COSTCO for the resale of their products on the grounds that it damages their brand. It went to the supreme court and Swatch group won, but I am sure COSTCO will attempt an appeal. I for one think that the judgement in Swatch Group's favor violates free trade, but I'm no lawyer.

Just a point...you CAN'T appeal a Supreme Court decision. That's why they're the Supreme Court.

 

[asiafish]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

Now for Tag, they have brought shame on watchmaking due to their dishonesty. They lied about investing in their brand and producing a new movement, when the truth was that they had taken an old Seiko movement and re-branded it as a Tag.

This issue has been discussed much in the Tag forum. The movement in question is not just a "rebranded old Saiko", but rather is based on on existing (and very highly-regarded) Seiko movement, meaning Tag paid a license for use of the design and patents, but is assembled completely by Tag (not purchased from Seiko) and is significantly modified.

Were they (Tag) completely honest with the description "in house"? No. Was it a massive fraud trying to dupe buyers into getting a "cheap Seiko" at a premium price? Again, no.

I don't own one of the specific Tag models in question, but they are gorgeous watches with what many (myself included) consider a very desirable movement that falls somewhere between a generic off-the-shelf movement like the Eta movements in many Tag, B&R and other brands, and a true in-house design. It is also priced accordingly, slightly higher than the generic movement it replaced, but far lower than most true in-house designs.

FWIW, I own several Tag Heuers, one Bell & Ross and a few other watches that I enjoy, but aren't particularly unique or noteworthy. All are of excellent quality and I enjoy choosing which one to wear on any given day.

 

[asiafish]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

My Omega Pie Pan Constellation (564 movement) was purchased by my wife in 1967.
It has never needed to be repaired. Never. Yes, I have it cleaned and adjusted roughly every 5 years.
Since its last adjustment some 6 months ago, it has been keeping time within COSC tolerances.
I could not expect any better performance and reliability from any mechanical watch.
Truly a beautiful classic watch that has stood the test of time.

My father bought my Pie Pan in 1956. I last had it serviced in 1998 and know it should go back for adjustment and cleaning, but it only gains 3 seconds per day so I haven't bothered lately. It is definitely my "best" watch, but I only wear it on special occasions due to its sentimental value.

 

[Demosc430]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

I own the same watch that youre wanting, the 126 vintage, orignial model, and i must say, its gorgeous... yes, fashionable, but its classy, its thick, its a solid watch. I own a tag heuer grand carrera gmt, and i must say that ever since lvmh acquired them, they are doing the same thing that movado did (quantity over quality) omega are nice watches, one omega you cant go wrong with is the seamaster professional bond series.... full sized, automatic... just a classic solid...

 

[chrisdors]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

I own the same watch that youre wanting, the 126 vintage, orignial model, and i must say, its gorgeous... yes, fashionable, but its classy, its thick, its a solid watch. I own a tag heuer grand carrera gmt, and i must say that ever since lvmh acquired them, they are doing the same thing that movado did (quantity over quality) omega are nice watches, one omega you cant go wrong with is the seamaster professional bond series.... full sized, automatic... just a classic solid...

I had a 2220.80 Omega "Bond", great watch... but I now have a B&R and love it. I think they both serve different purposes- the Omega has the heritage and movement quality, the B&R is more fashion forward- but still a nice swiss watch. For what its worth, Ive had more compliments on the B&R in 2 weeks than I ever had on the Omega. (Dont know if thats a good or bad thing tho- maybe its too fashion forward...)

Buy what you like. Sell it when you dont like it anymore.

Chris

 

[MCV]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

I own Breitling, Omega and Tag and am just about to pull the trigger on my first B&R, and once I do, I will then have an accurate comparison to go along with the comments here. I do not think in any way that B&R is a high-end fashion watch, tho. Most of their designs are strictly military or aviation inspired tool watches that would not appeal to fashion-conscious people.

As others have mentioned, B&R is not as well known as the mainstream brands and I think it's always nice to own something that not everyone else has or knows about.

As far as resale, only Rolex truly holds its value, most watches depreciate and that's really not why I buy watches, I buy what I like, with the knowledge that if I decide to sell I will most likely take a hit.

Cheers,

-Marc

 

[simoncudd]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

I own Breitling, Omega and Tag and am just about to pull the trigger on my first B&R, and once I do, I will then have an accurate comparison to go along with the comments here. I do not think in any way that B&R is a high-end fashion watch, tho. Most of their designs are strictly military or aviation inspired tool watches that would not appeal to fashion-conscious people.

As others have mentioned, B&R is not as well known as the mainstream brands and I think it's always nice to own something that not everyone else has or knows about.

As far as resale, only Rolex truly holds its value, most watches depreciate and that's really not why I buy watches, I buy what I like, with the knowledge that if I decide to sell I will most likely take a hit.

Cheers,

-Marc

Spot on!

 

[forsberg]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

Can't really compared the 3.

Omega - Built like a tank. Good reputation and very stylish watches. Some models like their speedmaster are timeless.

Tag - Fashion brand for people who want to impress their peers but probably don't even know the movement of their watch. There are some that are true Tag fans (like the vets on this forum), but most are posers.

BR - relatively new brand, but they need to establish their style to be taken seriously. I like their square watches, but not really sure where they wanna go the others

 

[hotmama]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

Tag is doing a great job in branding themselves. They do produce some nicely made watches, but only the upper tier ones like the Monoca.
B&R do make some very beautiful watches. They feel very well made. To me, they are great fashion watches , but they cost too much.

 

[rockin'ron]

Re: My Omega Long Term Experience

Can't really compared the 3.
BR - relatively new brand, but they need to establish their style to be taken seriously. I like their square watches, but not really sure where they wanna go the others

I know where they wanna go, they wanna Fly High. They're all about aviator watches!!!

 

[montrealer]

I know where they wanna go, they wanna Fly High. They're all about aviator watches!!!

+1

Agreed ! And what I really like about the brand is that while they are relatively simple and conservative in terms of movements, they look like nothing else on the market. Their line up is very coherent across the board from model to model.

While a young brand, I think they have excellent branding and brand recognition.

 

[martin_blank]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

I like all 3 brands but I think BR needs another decade or 2 of making nice watches before you can begin to compare it to established brands. Theres a fair amount of gimicky-ness going on with the radar / pirate stuff to where I would question long term success...

that said i think the build quality and finish of the individual watches is comparable and the Vintage 126 Carbon is probably my favorite watch out of any tag, omega, br..

 

[Brosom]

Re: RolexTagOmega zzzzzzzzzz

I really like B&R watches but truth is I can't possibly compare it to Rolex or Omega because they don't make their own movement, they buy one and from the rumors I heard cheap one when you look at the price of the watch.

As far as military applications, all professional aviators I know use Seiko or Omega watches. Soldiers are usually seen wearing the though&inexpensive gshock, and divers mostly go for Citizen

 

[JonS1967]

I own a Vintage 126 which i purchased new from a local AD in 2004. I also have a Rolex Submariner (16610 from 1999 purchased used by me in 2005), a Panerai (PAM 00165 bought new in 2003), and an Omega Speedmaster Pro (bought new in 2000). I also own a few Russian made Vostoks. I have always bought what I like and haven't worried about what I think others will say about my choices.

IMHO my B & R is a fantastic watch. It has the Valjoux 7750 movement and it keeps great time! The steel bracelet is my favorite of any watch I have ever owned; very good design and quality. The watch was inspired by the 1970's era Cabot Watch Company (CWC) pilot's chronograph. CWC made watches for the British military. The dial is so easy to read; like my Speedy and unlike my Submariner which at times is hard to read because of glare. After not wearing it for a while it always puts a huge smile on my face when I take it out of my watch case to wind it.

Now if I could keep only one watch it would be my Speedmaster Pro. For the money it may just be the best watch deal on the planet. No watch can match its accomplishments or pedigree. It is bulletproof and has stood the test of time. The hesalite crystal gives character and ruggedness that sapphire can't match. The Lemania movement is arguably one of the best chronograph movements ever made. I base this opinion on a combination of my personal experience and things I have read over the years by watch experts I respect.

At the end of the day you should get what fits your taste and your lifestyle. For me the chronograph is more important than having the abililty to dive. For others the opposite is true. Try the different watches on in person and go for the one that speaks to you. After all, isnt that a big part of the fun? Good luck!