The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I recently acquired a big bang king power from my father, and i have been enjoying it very much so. But during the past few months, i have been receiving a great amount of criticism from several people of all age groups. "Waste of money!" "pseudo-luxury garbage!" etc. Let me be clear: i don't wear watches to impress other people, and usually don't mind criticism, but the amount of negative feedback i have been receiving when i wear my hublot is a bit concerning. Where did this negative feedback originate from? Why all the hate? Lastly, what is your take on hublot? Also, from what i understand, other makers such as panerai are receiving similar criticism......

To me, there are two kinds of people who may criticise a Hublot. To some people (ie those who aren't into watches) ANY luxury watch is a massive extravagance and a waste of money. Those people will take issue with anything more expensive than a Casio. The other group of people who will often take issue with Hublot are WIS folk who think that Hublots are incredibly expensive for watches that run very standard ETA movements. There are lots of other choices in the Hublot's price range that are considered "better" from a horological point of view.

While I'd personally never criticise someone for whatever they want to wear, I must be honest but I also think they are very expensive for what they are internally. That said they are nicely made from quality materials.

Ultimately though, what anyone else thinks is of no importance at all. What you think is all that counts so if you like it, just enjoy it!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Their design is relatively unique in the industry and they have undoubtedly built a strong following. As Driver8 says they have been a case of 'style over substance' with generic movements at a very high price point, but they are moving to become a manufacture which I think adds to their credibility.

Personally though, I can find 'better' (though that's subjective) watches for the money.

Wear what you like and enjoy. That's my theory. I remember the Watch Snob (askmen.com) talking about Hublot recently. I could not find the exact post but he really dislikes Hublot and states his reasons. I copied one of his posts about Hublot and Panerai. See below.

Can you list your ratings for high-end watch brands from best to worst? I'm guessing Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Sohne would be best, but I’m curious about the rest of the list and where you would rank Rolex.

Thanks,
Robert

This is a loaded question and one that deserves a lengthy answer. I cannot -- and will not -- give you a shortsighted, quick response, because I know it will be taken out of context, which will just mean more plebeian, misinformed, angry, and borderline racist e-mails from you (I’m looking at you, Panerai guy).

The “best” is a relative term. Patek Philippe is the best mainstream watch company in terms of lasting value, history and tradition. A. Lange & Sohne is the best newer watch company in the same vein as Patek, that isn’t Patek. Armin Strom ain’t bad either.

Thomas Prescher and Greubel Forsey are the best makers of tourbillons in the world. Urwerk and MB&F are the best makers of mechanical art. FP Journe and Philippe Dufour are the best “Masters of the Universe” timepieces that won’t get you knifed because no one knows what they are, or that they cost more than a Tribeca loft.

There are plenty of brands that most people consider “high-end” that, while I respect, simply aren’t superlative in any way: IWC, Vacheron, Piaget, and Zenith all make nice watches, but they are meaningless.

Then there are watches that only the uneducated and simpleminded believe to be luxury watches. This distinction goes to Hublot and Panerai, of course. Anyone who buys these watches is a fool, and both companies will shut their doors before I turn 40 -- you can count on that.

Then there is the mighty Rolex. Would I put Rolex up with Patek or A Lange & Sohne? Not for a second. But, do I consider it a very important step above IWC, Zenith and even Vacheron? Most certainly. The reason is this: People care about Rolex; nobody really cares about those other brands. There are dedicated forums to Rolex, get-togethers, books, you name it. When was the last time you saw a Vacheron event or a book about IWC that people actually bought? Sure, their movement may be in slightly better shape than your average Rolex (debatable, surely), but in 20 years, your Rolex will be worth something -- and everything else will be scrap metal.

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Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish - 2009
Breitling B-2 - 2002
Rolex DateJust 18k/ SS (1984 vintage)
Omega Seamaster (1958 vintage)
Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece MP6318 - 2003
Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph CV2013-3
Victorinox DiveMaster 500

Nice looking watches, but a bit of a Royal Oak Offshore knock-off look to it. D8 nailed what I I was about to say. If you are getting sh*t from non watch people, its just because they dont understand why anybody would buy an expensive watch, be it Hublot, Rolex, Patek etc.).

If youre getting crap from watch people, its because they know that for that 20k that was spent on the Hublot, they could have instead bough an AP Royal Oak Offshore. the AP is on its way to iconic status, and considered by just about any watch aficionado to be a very fine piece.

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-RJ

You just beat me up to it RJ.

Here in Switzerland, this is exactly what insiders think of Hublot: it is just a very overpriced copy of the Royal Oak. But you have to give credit to Mr. Biver, he sure got the point. Not bad indeed for a cow breeder.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

If you like it then screw everyone else. Personally I'm not into them. Like RJ said, for that money I'd go with the AP ROO, the movement alone is enough to do it for me, plus you could be like LeBron

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

i know nothing about movements and internals. so my choice is based off pure looks. personally i like hublot. i think they are a brand that i would like to own.

at their current price point i wonder what kind of increase one would see if they released a model with an in house movement. 30-35% increase perhaps?

Like anything that is bought because you wanted it and not because you needed it there will be many reasons for opting for such an item. All of which are subjective. But all of which come down to how they make you feel.

I own a Plo Prof. I would choose to own this watch over many watches that cost five times as much. Why, because it makes me feel great. Why? I don't really know and I don't really care.

If your Hublot means a lot to you and makes you feel great then nothing that anybody else says has any relevance.

I own a Graham Chronofighter GMT. I absolutely love it. It gets slated by informed and non-informed people a lot. Do I care? Of course not. It puts a smile on my face every time I wear it.

I appreciate the concept of value for money with respect to the quality of the product, but any value can be multiplied by a factor of n if that is the one you truly want.

I hope this helps you appreciate that you own something special. If Hublot were, in fact, over priced junk, then they would have gone out of business years ago. Jean Claude Biver (CEO of Hublot) is a publicity genius but even he needs a quality product to back.

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Wear what you want and F**K the rest, thats my opinion anyway although sometimes I get the 'some people can't afford a meal and I've got £12,000 of watches sitting in a box' playing in my head but as some point out you make the choices in life to take you where you want to be!

Cheers

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Currently:
Avenger Skyland(Black)
Super Avenger(White)

Moved on:
Montbrillant Legende(Silver)
Panerai 312
SOHC 125th Ann. LE(Silver)
Navitimer World(Pearl)
Panerai 441

Unique? The Hublot is a blantant ripoff of the AP ROO.

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Breitling Navitimer 1461 jours silver dial with dark glazed cognac alligator strap

HAHAHA, way to jump right in there with both feet. I do agree that their design may be a bit to similar to the AP ROO, but it apparently works for them, so who am I to judge.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

Well, I tried to stay polite in my thread previously by saying it was a copy of the AP, but let's face facts here: you're absolutely right Endless it is a blatant ripoff.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

My apologies, did not mean to be that blunt, but for a decent Hublot I would much rather spend the extra $3k to $5k depending on the AP and get the ROO, not to mention I could probably grab them in the used market for a little bit cheaper. The AP ROO tends to hold their value quite well. On a positive note, I do like this hublot bigger bang

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Breitling Navitimer 1461 jours silver dial with dark glazed cognac alligator strap

I stand by my comment.

I actually said relatively unique, and while the case design is clearly not from their own design studios, the pieces that they come up with do challenge the norm and offer somethign different - just look at the novelties and limited edition sections of their website.