TAG vs. ORIS

midshipman01 said:

The first statement is something that feels right, but I don't know if it's anywhere near as cut and dry as that. Quartz TAG's go for $1k-1500 all day from just about anywhere. So, about the only thing in their price range in the Oris catalog, if we also give Oris a discount, would be an entry level steel model with an SW200 in it. I'm the first person that will tell you that a BCPD is one of the best all around watches for the price on the market, I love it, but I wouldn't list "high quality" as one of the reasons. It's as basic as basic Swiss movements get, and the case is by and large just a simple field watch case. It's not BAD, it looks great, but it's hardly a departure from the type of "quality" you would get from an F1 or Aquaracer. Honestly, there probably is a lot more going on with cases, bracelets, and dials on the TAGs.

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Depends which Oris. The BCPD isn't supposed to have an elaborate dial, it would be jarring if they did. That's not the point. The AR case until recently was a brushed slab. Hardly a lot "going on" there, and the bracelets were crap. They've gotten a bit better, now it's a slab with a chamfered edge.

Oris also made these:

Davekaye90 said:

You're talking about a movement that's $350ish retail vs. one that's what, $10? $20? And you're surprised that the Oris costs more? If you just don't care at all about even what kind of watch it is and just want something "nice" then sure.

That's about as wildly apples and oranges as you can get though. Show me a JLC Gyro-tourbillon that sells new for anywhere close to a Seiko 5KX, and I'll eat my hat and buy one. They're both mechanical watches after all.

Oris watches at secondary market prices represent extremely good values. Regular SW200 D65s and Aquis models are $900 all day long. SW330 Aquis GMTs are $1500, and Cal 400 Aquis models are $1900 or so. Again, that's a twin barrel, 5-day PR, within COSC rated, 10 year service, 10 year warranty in-house movement, in a solid 300M rated diver, for under $2K. They are not hard to find. Tag has nothing to compare with that.

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I guess I’m lost on what this is supposed to be arguing relative to the original point. I said that for $1k to $1500 Oris does not offer a measurable “quality” increase over entry level quartz TAGs. I haven’t seen evidence that disagrees with that presented. I’m not impressed by a bog standard sellita and I don’t think it represents any kind of significant “quality”. I like the watches just great, but I don’t pretend they’re something they aren’t.

I do agree that for twice as much you can get a more traditionally “high quality” watch from Oris, and probably even that a comparable TAG would cost more. For $4k, I would probably also be shopping at Oris, but this conversation, if we were having it, was started by you.

I still contend that for around a grand, I don’t see much of a quality difference between an sw200 powered entry level Oris or quartz powered TAG for the same money. I’d say you could give points to each and that hand waving “quality” away in this segment as if it ends the conversation because Oris is more of a WIS brand is nonsensical crap that we do way too often on this forum.

It's an exercise in futility to compare entire brands, especially ones as diverse as Oris and Tag Heuer. Specific models side-by-side comparison would make perfect sense. But not entire brands.
Here is why... in basic luxury entry level divers (like ones pictured in OP) - Oris holds it's own very well against TH with Aquis and 65 bringing a ton of value compared to an Aquaracer.
But Tag Heuer plays such a wide range of the market that in most other positions it blows Oris away. After all Tag has quartz Formula\Aquaracer watches at entry level, beautiful Carerras, Monacos at mid-level luxury, and haute horology offerings at the high end.
Oris has a nice 10 day ProPilot at the top end of their offering, but that's it. Nothing that comes close to competing with Tag in area of chronographs, tourbillon, or any Micrograpg\microgirder lines.

There is a lot of hate for Tag Heuer and a lot of it is based on perceived high price for their entry level watches.
But I can't think of any other Swiss brand that comes close to Tag when it comes to affordable Tourbillon or any of their chronograph watches.

Here is the best that Oris has to offer at their upper end of models....



Compared to Tag Heuer, Oris is kind of a basic and lower-level manufacture

EnderW said:

It's an exercise in futility to compare entire brands, especially ones as diverse as Oris and Tag Heuer. Specific models side-by-side comparison would make perfect sense. But not entire brands.
Here is why... in basic luxury entry level divers (like ones pictured in OP) - Oris holds it's own very well against TH with Aquis and 65 bringing a ton of value compared to an Aquaracer.
But Tag Heuer plays such a wide range of the market that in most other positions it blows Oris away. After all Tag has quartz Formula\Aquaracer watches at entry level, beautiful Carerras, Monacos at mid-level luxury, and haute horology offerings at the high end.
Oris has a nice 10 day ProPilot at the top end of their offering, but that's it. Nothing that comes close to competing with Tag in area of chronographs, tourbillon, or any Micrograpg\microgirder lines.

There is a lot of hate for Tag Heuer and a lot of it is based on perceived high price for their entry level watches.
But I can't think of any other Swiss brand that comes close to Tag when it comes to affordable Tourbillon or any of their chronograph watches.

Here is the best that Oris has to offer at their upper end of models....
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Compared to Tag Heuer, Oris is kind of a basic and lower-level manufacture
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View attachment 17189805 View attachment 17189804

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These two are on my list. Nobody else makes nothing quite like these:

midshipman01 said:

Quartz TAG's go for $1k-1500 all day from just about anywhere. So, about the only thing in their price range in the Oris catalog, if we also give Oris a discount, would be an entry level steel model with an SW200 in it.

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Fair point, if we're going to talk $ we need to compare MSRP to MSRP or discounted vs discounted. If I'm spending $1500 after discounts and I can have a quartz tag or a SW200 Oris of any kind, I'm choosing the Oris every time. But that's a preference thing. I picked up a Quartz Tag in 2000 and for it nearly daily for a decade. Still have it. And I still regret not ponying up a little more for an automatic of any kind.

Oris has a surprising number of things around $2k MSRP. BCPD just under that price, but Diver 65 models can be had on bracelet for just a hair above. Same with some Aquis models.

midshipman01 said:

I'm the first person that will tell you that a BCPD is one of the best all around watches for the price on the market, I love it, but I wouldn't list "high quality" as one of the reasons. It's as basic as basic Swiss movements get, and the case is by and large just a simple field watch case. It's not BAD, it looks great, but it's hardly a departure from the type of "quality" you would get from an F1 or Aquaracer. Honestly, there probably is a lot more going on with cases, bracelets, and dials on the TAGs.

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I guess "quality" can encompass a lot of things. I think of it as robustness, reliability and quality of construction and finishing. I separate design into its own wholly subjective and separate qualification. If we let design cloud the issue, then modern submariners (they don't bother to even chamfer the edges anymore) and fully polished Datejusts might rank below the BCPD in terms of being basic looking.

So I guess when I say high quality I mean a watch that will last and that will take a beating and that is well constructed. Not necessarily elaborately constructed. I actually have an aversion to elaborately designed watches. Which is why "quality" is a meaningful term if we can leave the subjective aspects out of it such as finishing or designs that have "a lot going on" and how we feel about that.

So from my own personal perspective, both my old Quartz Tag and my Diver 65 both held up to abuse equally well, and were both executed to a quality standard, despite their respective design ethos being extremely different

Dean_Clevername said:

Fair point, if we're going to talk $ we need to compare MSRP to MSRP or discounted vs discounted. If I'm spending $1500 after discounts and I can have a quartz tag or a SW200 Oris of any kind, I'm choosing the Oris every time. But that's a preference thing. I picked up a Quartz Tag in 2000 and for it nearly daily for a decade. Still have it. And I still regret not ponying up a little more for an automatic of any kind.

Oris has a surprising number of things around $2k MSRP. BCPD just under that price, but Diver 65 models can be had on bracelet for just a hair above. Same with some Aquis models.




I guess "quality" can encompass a lot of things. I think of it as robustness, reliability and quality of construction and finishing. I separate design into its own wholly subjective and separate qualification. If we let design cloud the issue, then modern submariners (they don't bother to even chamfer the edges anymore) and fully polished Datejusts might rank below the BCPD in terms of being basic looking.

So I guess when I say high quality I mean a watch that will last and that will take a beating and that is well constructed. Not necessarily elaborately constructed. I actually have an aversion to elaborately designed watches. Which is why "quality" is a meaningful term if we can leave the subjective aspects out of it such as finishing or designs that have "a lot going on" and how we feel about that.

So from my own personal perspective, both my old Quartz Tag and my Diver 65 both held up to abuse equally well, and were both executed to a quality standard, despite their respective design ethos being extremely different

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If we're going to include "finishing" in the equation then design very much needs to be involved. You can't separate the fact that a much more complicated design necessarily is more difficult to achieve to a high apparent standard than a much simpler one. Liking it or not liking it is down to personal preference, but when you compare a printed dial field watch to a chrono diver with sculpted lugs and multiple dial surfaces, etc., then you have to take into account that one was surely more difficult to achieve, and if you must, more indicative of "quality" work all else being equal.

I probably need to stop worrying about it because it's too prevalent to ever end, but I honestly find the claims about "finishing" or vague "quality" in this hobby to be fingernails on a chalkboard. Personal experiences are one thing, but 1 out of 100 people who invoke this claim have even some shred of evidence to support what they're arguing, the other 99 are making assumptions based on what the brand identity of the company is, and a further 80 of those have probably never touched either of the watches in person. My eye starts to twitch when I read things like "It's nice, but it's not Tudor level". Ugh. I don't even know what that means. What level?

TAG is probably the single most randomly hated brand in this way, and honestly Oris is not far behind. Hugely underrated imo. To hear many on this forum tell it you'd think these brands were held together with the chewing gum out of the micro artists studios dumpster. I think the truth is they're all much closer to one another in "finishing" and construction than a random outsider would be able to identify just by looking. In this price range, they're honestly all pretty darn good at this point.

💥I guess I'll find out in the next 4 - 5 days.... Since I just pulled the trigger on this one.....💥

domayotte said:

Congrats! It will be interesting to read your reviews, especially after the “honeymoon” period. I have found my TAG to be extremely accurate, in fact one of my most accurate automatics. My brother swears by TAG. He has 4 I think, and his preference is for the quartz models. He loves ‘em and they look good.

But I really think, after you have this a while, maybe you’ll find you have room for a companion watch. Maybe an Oris…

After all, whenever there is a “this watch or that one” thread, the WUS advice is always “why not both?”

Hope you enjoy your new addition!


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Oh, I've got several Oris Aquis (4 in fact).... That's what inspired my post. With all the hype I keep hearing over Tag I figured it was finally time to give them a shot.

Gotta' admit though.... looking at these pics, gotta say the color choices of Oris are very very difficult to beat.

Even though I have no Tag's at the moment, this is the only watch I regret selling:

Fluffhead1978 said:

View attachment 17185627
They're both great companies, I think we would all agree on that. But considering the price difference (with Tag being on the more expensive end), is it really worth the extra $? (This is not a discussion related to specific models but the BRAND OVERALL!)

I've had many Oris watches, but a Tag is next on my list. Which do you prefer and WHY?

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TAG by a mile, Oris just seem cheap to me.
I have a couple Tags and love em.
Not that it matters to me, but it might to you? Nobody's gonna ever say, "nice Oris man," but you will get "that's a really cool Tag dude!" lol