I'm in the market for a high-end dress watch. I'm having trouble picking between these two and am seeking out thoughts and opinions. But don't bother with resale value. At my advanced age, ahem, this will be a purchase for life and since I won't take it with me when I go my heirs can cry over the depreciation after I'm gone.
Both of these watches speak to me but for slightly different reasons. I had pretty much made up my mind to get the VC until I came across the Nomos. With a budget of around $15K, I assumed I was going to have to buy "pre-owned," but I can probably stretch it out enough to buy the Nomos new even at list price although I would prefer not to do that. But this is big for me as I was burned about a year ago on an A. Lange & Sohne pocket watch that turned out to be a "Frankenwatch," i.e. cobbled together from parts from different watches. In the interest of science and the overall betterment of mankind, I ended up donating it to the Glashutte Watch Museum to be included in their Fraud Department. Greaaaat. Not the end of the world, but I'd rather not have to do that again. Buying new means I can avoid that potential issue.
The VC Patrimony: I love the 40mm gold case with black or slate dial model. No complications. Just a simple, elegant dress watch. No display back either, but a proud owner has the satisfaction of knowing the concealed VC in-house movement carries the stamp of the Geneva Seal. Even though VC is part of the Richemont Group, it's still one of the "Holy Trinity" and one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world. I prefer the black dial over the slate but it's more "exclusive" and therefore harder to find and more expensive. I can probably get a used one with box and papers for about $15K. Not much more I can say about this watch other than I really like the look of it and really appreciate the history and heritage of the manufacturer.
The Nomos Lambda: I prefer the 42mm gold case with white dial model with tempered-blue hands. I like the look of the same model but with gold hands better, but the hands are only gold-plated, which I find surprising given the watch's listed price point of $18.5K new. The black dial version is smaller, at 39mm, and cheaper, but looks to be harder to read given how thin the gold-plated (again) hands are. The Lambda features two complications: a seconds sub-dial at 6 and a power reserve dial at 12 but the layout is in keeping with their style of very simple, clean lines and doesn't make the watch look cluttered, imho (feel free to disagree). It also has a display back through which their in-house movement looks really sweet but of course there's no Geneva Seal. Nomos is an up and coming relatively new independent German watch manufacturer and not part of Richemont or Swatch, at least as I type this, lol, and I find that its independence is appealing although not even close to a major factor. I've owned several German watches in the past and still currently own a Stowa, which I enjoy very much. I can probably buy the Nomos new for about the same price as a used VC.
My dream dress watch would be a gold 40-42mm case with a black dial, no numerals, uncluttered, solid gold hands, manual wind and a display back. What about the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars? It fits the bill in every way except that it's an automatic, which is a big no go for me, and not even in-house but still a damn fine movement thanks to Jaeger LeCoultre. Close but no cigar.
So which of these two, or three, would you choose or what would be a good alternative?
![16071781]( "16071781")
![16071783]( "16071783")
Both of these watches speak to me but for slightly different reasons. I had pretty much made up my mind to get the VC until I came across the Nomos. With a budget of around $15K, I assumed I was going to have to buy "pre-owned," but I can probably stretch it out enough to buy the Nomos new even at list price although I would prefer not to do that. But this is big for me as I was burned about a year ago on an A. Lange & Sohne pocket watch that turned out to be a "Frankenwatch," i.e. cobbled together from parts from different watches. In the interest of science and the overall betterment of mankind, I ended up donating it to the Glashutte Watch Museum to be included in their Fraud Department. Greaaaat. Not the end of the world, but I'd rather not have to do that again. Buying new means I can avoid that potential issue.
The VC Patrimony: I love the 40mm gold case with black or slate dial model. No complications. Just a simple, elegant dress watch. No display back either, but a proud owner has the satisfaction of knowing the concealed VC in-house movement carries the stamp of the Geneva Seal. Even though VC is part of the Richemont Group, it's still one of the "Holy Trinity" and one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world. I prefer the black dial over the slate but it's more "exclusive" and therefore harder to find and more expensive. I can probably get a used one with box and papers for about $15K. Not much more I can say about this watch other than I really like the look of it and really appreciate the history and heritage of the manufacturer.
The Nomos Lambda: I prefer the 42mm gold case with white dial model with tempered-blue hands. I like the look of the same model but with gold hands better, but the hands are only gold-plated, which I find surprising given the watch's listed price point of $18.5K new. The black dial version is smaller, at 39mm, and cheaper, but looks to be harder to read given how thin the gold-plated (again) hands are. The Lambda features two complications: a seconds sub-dial at 6 and a power reserve dial at 12 but the layout is in keeping with their style of very simple, clean lines and doesn't make the watch look cluttered, imho (feel free to disagree). It also has a display back through which their in-house movement looks really sweet but of course there's no Geneva Seal. Nomos is an up and coming relatively new independent German watch manufacturer and not part of Richemont or Swatch, at least as I type this, lol, and I find that its independence is appealing although not even close to a major factor. I've owned several German watches in the past and still currently own a Stowa, which I enjoy very much. I can probably buy the Nomos new for about the same price as a used VC.
My dream dress watch would be a gold 40-42mm case with a black dial, no numerals, uncluttered, solid gold hands, manual wind and a display back. What about the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars? It fits the bill in every way except that it's an automatic, which is a big no go for me, and not even in-house but still a damn fine movement thanks to Jaeger LeCoultre. Close but no cigar.
So which of these two, or three, would you choose or what would be a good alternative?
