£250 vs £250,000 Watch | Watchfinder & Co. 

Ah, the calculator watch. I do love them! Aside from that point, Seiko makes a watch that costs nearly double ($400k) over what that simple, somewhat dreary by comparison VC tourbillon costs. The GBLS998 Spring Drive minute repeater... The holy trinity can't even get close to the GBLS998 -- not in accuracy, not in technology, not in elegance, not in finish, not in the amount of sake they consumed while figuring out how to make it.

Your Casio watch can't do Calculus, or trigonometry. So why buy Casio at all? The simple multiplications and divisions, that Casion can master, you should have learned to do "by hand" in the primary school.

@@samclemens1565 Yes, my friend, Credor's Masterpieces are out of this place. They even got the ones with the tourbillon in it but frankly, it's not of my liking it got too much decoration on it. I'm not trying to argue with you, but the one that cost $400k is one of those masterpieces with a tourbillion, known as Fugaku (GBCC999). The minute repeater that you mention cost about the same as this Vacheron, and the sonnerie cost about half of that and both of them powered by the spring drive, which arguably almost as accurate as regular quartz (not trying to compare with Seiko's quartz, as it is even more accurate, a special edition one can achieve 5 seconds a year).

@@rickj8859 because is a cult 80s watch ;)

in the UK. They have imperial arithmetics

Bill Clifton same with casio

@Ray Han that is quite correct but I want to say that to me seiko gets a lot of points for just producing every single part in the watch. For me it's a magic how it is possible done in that price so the just a little lower quality for the same price Is balanced for me by that fact.

Ray Han can you guess what's the french overpriced company?

@Ray Han Orient is part of Seiko Company.

@Ray Han Wrong, wrong, wrong and utterly wrong... parts are shared across all platforms in the VAG group, so yes, when you buy an Audi you do have some VW parts on it. When you buy a Porsche just looked beneath the car, you're gonna see 4MOTION parts, Audi parts and VW parts. I'm not saying that's bad thing but it is what it is, to believe otherwise is just being gullible.

leonghk12 damn

if you own a money printing machine , you won't care about the numbers at all

@@user-sj3px7dt2u lame

@Върбан Буков Дъбов That is exactly what a large portion of the world would think about someone buying a 250 watch also. It is all relative.

not quite. the net present value would have increased over time.

JBOsurf these are used watches opened up and serviced by watchmakers at watchfinder.co.uk. In the process, they leave behind finger prints, finger smudges, tool induced scratches etc. This is not how the watches leave the factory in 99% of the cases.

@@user-qi6zo2fn7p all VC featured on Watchfinder the last month had serious imperfections. In the video '5 Dress Watches" The VC Maltese Cross on the dial was tarnished and dirty, in the video GP vs VC the line application on the VC was appalling. Here you see scratches on the dial 0:14, the movement has imperfections in polishing. VC is embarrassing themselves. The competition from Lange und Patek ist too much.

@@jennyp.4603 VC is shit. Total joke of a brand. Need to be relegated from the holy trinity asap.

😂 so true

@@user-qi6zo2fn7p bullashit this is adveristimt of those shit brands cuz they own which channel ... so 99 percent are even worse

I love Seiko watches, from their solar to the mechanicals. Citizen on the other hand, for some unknown reason by me, has ceased making machanical watches, and focus on Eco-Drive. And yes, I would take both over many Swiss brands.

Don’t forget Casio

@@makeyoumoved8532 LoL do they make Mechanicals, thought they only focused on G-Shock

@@echandirohrmoser3183 They still make mechanical watches. Just depends on the market. The U.S. market doesn't get them but some of the other countries do.

@@aprilcain9208 The last Citizen mechanical watch I owned was purchased in 1996, after that I have never seen another mechanical watch made by them on the market. Only regular battery ones and Eco Drive.

More like 1250x more expensive!

Yeah, they're math sucked on that one. Good catch! Came here to say same.

@@ramjetnuesse Your grammar sucks.

ramjetnuesse - ooh, snatches defeat from the jaws of victory!

ramjetnuesse Their*

Jay Shark I have my grandads seiko from the 70s - he was a mechanic so it was probably regularly knocked and it still works perfectly (it’s never been serviced either!)

@@akashrathour3441 Wow that's really saying somthing

Neophyte yeah it’s time to replace that desk anyway.

It's time to replace the skyscraper

The billionaire doesn't even move...he pays someone else to.

@@iganpparamarta8813 🤣🤣🤣

he doesnt notice $20k, he wouldnt give a shit if he lost the whole watch

What’s the joke here?

@@DanielK1213th bowel movements.

I feel your pain

😂🤣👏🏼🙌🏼

This is why I read RU-vid comments. 👏

Call me blind mate, but I didn't find any, where did you?

@@shiond123 pause at 0:14 on the dial and at 6:06 there's a cracked jewel.

Im not that well versed in watches but i was thinking of retiring my 4 year old Seiko for a new one and noticed that the Seiko in the vid says it has 23 jewels and a lot of people are mentioning the cracked jewel too. I just wanted to know if these jewels serve any purpose?

Magical Toast The supposedly cracked jewel is on the 250K Vacheron Constantin. The jewels serve to minimise friction between parts for smoother operation and longer life. Also I dont see a reason to retire your Seiko if your only reasoning is that it’s 4 years old. Fyi, the number of jewels doesn’t mean anything. A lot of companies put extra jewels where there is no need just for marketing. When the watch is being designed, only the necessary parts will have jewels. And again, fyi, these jewels are lab grown rubies and they cost next to nothing.

@@Omikronik without the jewel the pivot point, balance staff would wear down the hole (widen it) and accuracy would diminish. In time the watch would stop working properly. Jewel holes are much harder then metal and with a little special oil will last indefinitely.

nearly? Seiko had to buy some Swiss companies to keep them afloat lmao

kevin morales well, they were able to buy them, so who’s the loser now

@@keevomora they did almost destroy the swiss watchmaking with their quartz, because its more accurate and super cheap at that time.

@@ginnfreecs2994 actually the first quartz watches were superexpensive but yeah that dropped quick!

@Theo 'on top' u mean cancelling observatory competitions because seiko got too good?

amazing eye very small detail i didn't see until you pointed it out

Amazing discovery, this is scandalous! How is it possible that VC gets away with it??

@absoftitanium No the surface tension would pull it to a drop, especially at that scale,, its a crack

It looks like a hair to me. The end of it is at about the 8 o'clock position.

That is a "grown" crystal. It's an imperfection. That is neither a crack nor lubricant.

It’s not a piece of technology anymore, it’s art. People need to keep that in mind when they look at watch prices. And I’ll definitely take a stacked collection of fine watches than a crazy expensive painting

@@traviswebster8302 art? There's art and there's scam artist

@@traviswebster8302 So if it's art, then people no longer buy them for artistic value, but rather, as a means of laundering their money.

You don't buy a 250,000$ watch because you desperately need to have time on your wrist

@@electroma97 There is a theory (not mine) that no matter how stupid, how useless, how overpriced or how ridiculous a product is, there is some idiot out there who will buy it. Vacheron Constantin and other "ultra exclusive" watch companies have proven this to be so. Like the late great P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Andre Tennis and the writer is a guy who can’t calculate

I'd say that the ability to mass produce something; keep the finish more than satisfactory; and at a price that everyone can afford is another kind of art. Seiko nails it.

Even the Seiko are a work of art tough. Why spend 250$ instead of 5-10$ if you just want an instrument to tell the time? And that 10$ watch would be more accurate.

One watch with real value and a other with imagnary value...

@@Triggernlfrl A tourbillon is not imaginary, a top hand-finished movement is not imaginary.

Idk I've seen automatic mechanical watches on ebay for like 20 bucks.

@@omniferousswan593 careful, watch enthusiasts will rage at u for saying the truth

unbelievably is a quartz for 5 usd

Iphone 5s

@@DerEchteBabo you got it wrong bro it’s definitely a Samsung galaxy

@@warrenhorrod-wilson3128 oh yeah you're right sorry

Samsung Galaxy

in this video are u for real? u need to get a life bro working 9/5 is just to put food on the table u need food for your soul or your life is a waste!

@sleepingbear No, they have always been about the cutting-edge watch technology, being the best in timekeeping. Good value is a result of them being Japanese and not Swiss. If Seiko was Swiss, Grand Seiko would cost no less than a Rolex. It's all manipulation of the Swiss industry to not become obsolete. This happens with everything. Why do you think the most expensive cars are European, the most expensive bags and shoes are European, and the most expensive jewellery makers are European? Not because they are objectively better than others, it's because they ruled the world for hundreds of years and made sure they remained on top. And that has now become associated with quality. It's so very sad. A loss for the consumers and a tragedy for artists and craftsmen from around the globe.

@@REDnBLACKnRED truest words to be written

Not very successfully, obviously!

What, that's awesome, got a link?

I am interested too!

me too

Your profile pic is brilliant

I got a $35 automatic off amazon, and it's a bridge-style movement (it's a clone of one of Invicta's Russian Diver watches, but I had to search for hours just to find that out)

This is not how it comes from the factory. Its a used watch, it probably has been taken apart by a watchmaker who did not do the best at keeping everything perfect.

Seiko SARB033!

Joe Hall This one looks more striking than the more conservative looking Sarb imo

Joe Hall I’ll check it out thanks

Joe Hall what about blue dials all I see is the white black and green

Seiko Sarx 045 is a presage and is 39.5mm (and a nice dark blue dial)

100% agree with you there. This particular VC is not my favorite and I actually would rather wear the Seiko than this. There are VCs I like, but this isn't one of them.

i think its also the lighting in this vid. ive seen that seiko irl and the sunburst dial isn't as rich and deep looking.

what is the model name of the Seiko?

@@magnetyt8503 SRPA25K1 (9 months later)

The Constantin really doesn't do anything mechanically better than the seiko, as a metter of fact, tourbillon mechamisms lose more time than traditional automatics. With the constantin, you're paying for craftsmanship and artistic value.

and that nonsense is unfortunately right, all those nonsense are exactly why the watch is nonsensically expensive

Michael Hughes wow

Its worth a 1000 times more

I don't think you get the point here. People who bought a 250k time piece can afford a thousand vacations and a 20 million dollars House, not to mention several million dollars cars and other luxury items in life. To each person is their affordability in life. 😁

@@udin737 Actually perhaps it is you that have missed my point. In another comment on this video I mentioned how the average price for a well appointed new car with all the latest tech is roughly 35k. Ten times that amount can get you into Lamborghini and Ferrari territory. While the most exclusive hyper cars that money can buy cost between one and four million. That's 100 times the cost of that average car. I live in one of the most expensive cities in North America where the average home is worth roughly a million. While twenty million will certainly buy you an absolute gem consider this, you would be hard pressed to spend more than 100 times the average price as there are only a handful of properties in the entire world that ever command more than 100 million. Again, nowhere near a thousand times the price. Twenty thousand dollar handbags, shoes that cost 3500 dollars a pair, a quarter million for a flawless diamond engagement ring. None of these items fetch a thousand times the average price. Now for argument sake, you might be able to persuade someone to part with their vintage Ferrari 250 GTO(only seven exist) or a museum quality Picasso and you'd be forgiven for spending tens of millions. But these items reside the realm of unobtainium. Point being, this watch and the literally hundreds offered for sale like it are not. But I get it, as long as people are willing to pay... I'm just pointing out that comparatively speaking, they're paying too much! Thanks

That’s what I was just thinking!

The answer is 70% branding, 25% man hours with swiss wages and 5% materials.

@O.o LOL How much do you think they would charge for the snowflake if Seiko was swiss ?

It’s mainly just marketing. People buy into it and give it value.

Seiko charges for their Tourbillon GBCC999 for example 460,000 USD.

@@jennyp.4603 *credor

Jenny P. Wow I had no idea seiko made tourbillions

@@jappojappy Credor = Seiko

Jenny you are so smart. Keep up the great work.

Jack McFeely He’s 🙃

5000 as much

Yeah, you can get a 20k watch from ALS with a way better finish. Don't get me wrong I like VC, but in this case the price tag seems a bit over the top.

Ofc quartz is more accurate. But there is no gimmick behind whole mechanical watches. They are living with you. They are a part of you. They take your energy and transform to the time concept. On the other hand, I agree with you. These are a social status elements.

Yes. Watch fanatics do realize the quartz is 300 TIMES more accurate than a mechanical; but using a car analogy, you won't find me dead in a Hyundai. It's just wrong.

I wouldn't exactly call that "all over"...

Does having a 'swiss made' labeled to it make it expensive/extremely valuable? I have a Summit watch from my grandfather , as I googled there is so little information regarding the brand. It is a mechanical handwind with a power reserve 36+ hours approximately.

You have never driven a Toyota Supra then my friend

@@Nixxtrr you clearly like comparing stock cars with heavily modded cars, grow up

VC is clearly not for so

You don't have to, because it's no better at telling time than a quartz watch that costs a fraction. Both watches are pointless expressions of wealth, just different levels of pointless.

no1DdC It’s more than the time. It’s about a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that makes you smile every time you look at it and it’s inner workings and the fact that you can pass it down your family line as an heirloom

@@no1DdC some people like watches and always believe in buying quality ones as a hobby, just as some people like cars, or some buy luxury perfumes, it's just a matter of what you're fascinated with

no1DdC ok than get a xiaomi mi8

@@no1DdC a 250 dollar watch is an expression of wealth?

Is that a Dora the Explorer?😁

it doesn't always have to be that way

SRPA25K1

Ew quartz

@@furkannn2000 Mechanical watches are very cool, but eventually you get tired of checking the time and then realizing it's off by 15 minutes.

@@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77 If it's off by 15 minutes either you never set it, or your doing something bad

@@B2OBOGOTA I would set it once and then just wear it and the time would eventually drift. Now OK I guess I could start a routine of setting it every however many days, but you just don't need to do this with quartz. What can you even do "bad" with an automatic watch besides not wear it enough?

@@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77 Of course if you don't want to set it every few days I understand the quartz choice You can magnetize it, hit it against something and make it run less accurate But to have a 15 minutes difference, if you have a good automatic watch wich is +2s a day, I would take almost a year and a half to have that difference

What did you end up with?

There are admirable watches all across the price spectrum. I don't think it's out of line at all to own a multi-thousand-dollar Breitling that's older than I am and also own several Timexes that cost than $50 each. The important part is to find enthusiastically narrated RU-vid videos that talk up each piece. :D

Best reply ever.

Anyone who buys the Vacheron already has a nice car and big house tbh

Yeah but does the house have a Geneva seal stamped into it????

In your country there's a hell lot of you as well 😎

Apparently, the joke flew right over your head buddy... Better hang on to it & fly back to India ! 🤷🏼‍♂️

Seiko and Grand Seiko watched have been known to give us a glimpse of our favourite narrator 😉

You don't get the point..

Tian Xia You’re a mathematician & don’t expect everyone to be a mathematician like you. It’s a tiny calculation error. Not a nuclear ☢️ conflict. Here is a peanut 🥜 for your detection

@@goldensquirel No he shouldn't have said it. He looks like a fucking idiot now. As do you. Regards, G.

It’s 1000 times dumbass

LOUIS 2005 If you looked at the video title you would see it says £200 Seiko not £250 like the narrator said. 250,000 ÷ 200 = 1,250. So the OP is not such a dumbass after all.

@jake quartz are fads there too bud.

While toubillions are useless, considering they’ve managed to stick around for decades after they were made obsolete leads me to think they may not be a fad. They are an example of mechanical beauty for the sake of beauty, using a pretty method, when I less pretty method works better. The only thing I think exemplifies this more is the minute repeater. These are an absurdly difficult complication, designed so you could tell the time in the dark. The moment luminescent paint was developed, then painted onto a dial, they became useless. And yet they still exist, because they are beautiful.