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If only you all knew how much some of those watches cost to make...
It's hard for me to buy watches because I had a short run of them made (few hundred piece run, no shared design parts with other watches, had to have a custom die made) and I know how much it costs to have a watch made in China, Switzerland, and in the US.
The factories I toured make watches for people I considered my competitors. I saw their quality first-hand and got quotes from them. I also got to see some, ahem, unauthorized reproductions of luxury brands and the finishing work was impressive.
Chinese quality has come a long way; I'd wear a Seagull 1963 almost as often as I wear my Hamilton Intra-Matic Auto and the case finishing on both is better than my Longines HydroConquest USA Edition (which was a gift; I'm not at the $2k watch give-a-shit level).
I'm currently wearing a Timex Q Reissue on a Martini band. Haven't found the perfect beater auto yet.
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