So I have been entertaining the idea of entering the world of hand finished gold dress watches and came to the shortlist you can see above.
So pricewise the bunch starts with the Breguet classique 5157 at around 10k and with a bit of hunting I think 8-9k could be realistic. For me this one has probably the best dial and case work of the four. The movement is beautiful but I think it’s slightly below the level of the other 3. Overall underrated and a great package, but I feel this one is the least versatile and may look weird with tshirt and jeans.
The next one in terms of price is the LUC Chopard XPS twist with Fleurier seal. This one goes for about 12k preowned but with low stock. Dial is quite interesting and the movement has the Fleurier seal which is probably comparable to a Geneva seal. Really cool watch but the brand does not convince me compared to the other 3.
Then we have a ALS Saxonia thin. This one is now going for around 12-18k with some hunting but also low stock. This one needs no introduction, probably one of the best sellers of ALS.
Lastly the VC Patrimony Traditionnelle 43075, which goes for 15-20k, maybe 12k with a bit of hunting, but also has low stock. This model is discontinued and bears the famous 1120 movement beautifully decorated with both case and movement having the Geneva seal.
Out of the 4 my favorite is the VC but I think being 41mm it wont look as good as for example the Breguet which is 38mm. But I have very flat wrists so size is no issue. In terms of value relative to retail price the VC is trading at about 40% of its original retail price while the rest is at about 50-60%.
Do you have other dress watches in mind beyond this shortlist ? After doing the research on this it got me thinking that it’s incredible the level of watchmaking you can get with a budget similar to a Rolex submariner. I really like the Submariner in a vacuum but after seeing what you can get with 10k outside of the crown I don’t think it makes sense unless you have the means to have a big collection of 10k watches instead of a few.
Hmm where do you look for listings? I've checked chrono24 and ebay but I don't think I've seen the Saxonia Thin go as low as 12k.
So in chrono24 there is occasionally some listings from private sellers going for 12k or from Asia as well in Hong Kong. But usually they are more like 15k minimum most of the time.