"東方" is a good place to buy "行貨"
Most of the case you can get 70% discount for normal brands - such as B&M, Maurice...etc.
For famous brand such as Rolex, Cartier & IWC, you may get ony 80-85% discount.
For budget 15K, Baume & Mercier / Omega / Tudor / Maurice Lacroix are good choice.
I spotted a B&M that comes with either a steel or a rubber bracelet. The latter looks younger, more sporty and is cheaper as well. Do you have any idea as to the durability of the rubber bracelet? Given a difference of around $2000 (? I can't remember exactly), which would you recommend?
I suggest you to buy the steel band type and buy additional rubber band if you like.
Reasons:
1) Steel band looks more ellegant where wearing suit.
2) In summer time, rubber band will stick on your skin and feeling is no good.
3) The original steel band is very expensive if you want to buy individually. It is much cheaper if you buy together with the watch.
For your question, the life of rubber band is highly dependent in how you wear. Sunshine, water, outddoor activities will shorten it's life and damage it's appearance. However, a good quality steel band can last for more than 20 years or even longer.
P.S. You may buy 3th parties' rubber than which must be much more cheaper.
I really appreciate your expert advice. Thank you.
One more question before I make up my mind. How will you compare B&M and Tag Heuer? Given the price range below 15K, which brand do you think gives better value for money?
I agree that Tag is more popular among younger people. But apart from personal preferences, is it better than B&M in terms of real quality, e.g. technological level, craftsmanship, etc. Or is there little or no significant difference at all?
Almost all of the watch lovers will tell you they like "Mechanical Watch" instead of "Quartz Watch" because "Mechanical Watch", to some extent, is a piece of art and give you a life long value.
Thus, you should buy a "Mechanical Watch".
For brand perference, the highest class brand can produce their own "Movement 機芯" for their own watches, such as A Lang, AP, Breguet and VC.
The middle class brand cannot produce their own movement but buy from third parties. Tag & B&M belong to this group.
However, some middle class brands are good at modifying the movement to either add additional functions, beautify the appearence or improve it's accuracy. For example Maurice.
Depends on models, most of Tag & B&M are using "ETA" standard movements and try their best to make better casing, dial, outlook design. But both of them have the same heart beat. Therefore, your perference is very personal.
Just buy the model who smile with you ^_^
What my perivous message means TAG is more aggressive to improve their quality and even try to produce their own movement or modify it. Within the same group, that's why I grade TAG higher than B&M. In fact, TAG also get some classical models which are suitable for mature guys.
Try to select COSC models because it gives you higher accuracy +/- 15 seconds per days.
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