The Breitling Watch Source Forums

OK I know a lot of people wont like this question but IMHO it has to be asked (again)

I can go and buy a Brand new Tissot Titanium Multifunction watch T65.7.588.61

Its the same movement as a Breitling Aerospce its made of the same case material etc its in a box and has 2 years waranty etc etc,It costs $429/£264.032

I look at a Breitling Aerospace and its virtualy the same watch bar the name on the front yet its $2k/£1k plus

Why?

I am a Beitling fan and love the brand and own Lings and intend to purhase more but I cannot for the life of me see why the same watch with a diffrent name on costs $1500/£900 more are the maufacturing./marketing/admin costs so much higher,Is it brand premium.

Please some one justify to me the price difference as I am struggling to reason it in my mind.

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The price of any luxury product can't be justified. You are paying for design, image, customer service, the buying experience, exclusivity etc.

Sure Breitling enhance movements and make them 'better' than the standard, but that's not worth the money. If you prefer the design of the Tissot then go buy one - but personally I wouldn't pay $429 for something that looks pretty much the same as the $10 Walmart special that I have for working with my chainsaw.

It certainly doesn't look like an Aerospace.

I just bought a faulty one and am having a bit of a nightmare with Tissot about it,I do prefer the look of the Aerospace I must do I have had three of them,And am buying 2 chronospaces soon But I was just trying to justify to myself if spending 5 times more on a watch which is virtually the same is it worth it,I mean it tells the time the same has all the same functions and is made of the same metals its an Aerospace in all but name and a few styling differences.

Dont get me wrong I am not insulting Breitlings as you all know I love the brand and will buy more but do you never sit down and think exactly the same as I am doing now,I blame it all on my wife she was the one that started this making bloody comparissons

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Who cares what time it is anyway. We buy them because we have to have them. It's the addiction. Why not buy something we like if we can afford it? Rationalization does not work when something is not rational, does it?

R/

I'm with Rebel!

I know the flippin time without looking at my watch, usually to 5 minutes or so....

BUT

I love my Breitlings, how they look, feel, and how bloody marvellous I feel when I wear one.

It's just not the same when I plonk on any of the non Breitlings in my collection

I think I bought feel good as opposed to anything technical.

Oh and Bell & Ross have a piece which is basically an Aerospace style design popped into a square of metal....looks pretty damn fine too!


Davey

Fit, finish, design, details (like movable bezel.machined parts which take time), bracelet/clasp. Dont forget there are different grades of titanium (those these two could have the same type for all I know). BTW, is the Tissot thermocompensated?

Then of course, we are dealing with the brand, image, marketing, styling etc. which you cant put a price on. Just about any luxury item is overpriced when compared to less expensive items that perform similar functions. Thats why Rolex can charge $9000 for a watch with a movement inside thats not much better than a top level 2824.

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-RJ

The same thing applies to the 7750 based watches. You can get an Accutron 7750 based crono with applied indices, solid bracelet (unbeleivable quality) for around $400, vs, $3.5K for an Evo. How do you justify the price difference? Easy, you follow your heart and buy what makes you happy. For many, buying the accutron provides a great sense of satisfaction as they thrive on value, while those of us that hang out here are looking for something more, and Breitling provides what we are looking for.

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Not the same movement. Not only is the Breitling movement COSC Certified, but it also has the Super Quartz thermocompesating technology. Tissots are cool watches though. Especially the T-Touch Experts!

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Coasterkid
Breitling Super Avenger
Breitling Steelfish
Breitling B01
Omega Seamaster
Rolex T/T Yachtmaster
TW Steel TW22

It is the same movement only the newer Aerospaces have the SQ TC movemnet which is a ETA 988.335 the earlier ones had the ETA 988.331 - 988.333 so its exactly the same movement.

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I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but Mark, Roff and others have said it all already.

Yes there will be a better level of fit and finish and workmanship in the Breitling, but in no way does it cost Breitling 10 times what the Tissot does to produce. But that's something you either accept when purchasing luxury goods, or you don't.

Buying expensive watches is NEVER a rational buying decision. The rational person who just wants something to tell the time buys a £10 quartz and goes home safe in the knowledge they got value for money. But their definition of "value for money" is entirely based on monetary thinking - i.e. the retail mark up over cost of production is not much, hence a pure value for money decision. The watch enthusiast however buys something worth several thousands, and while they know they may not get value for money purely in terms of what the thing cost to produce, they get a different kind of utility and value from it. And it's this type of value that the non-watch enthusiast just cannot grasp. It just depends on what type of value is more important to you.

Like many things in life it's a head vs heart decision. And when it comes to watches, my head doesn't get a say!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

It's all been said by others.

But in this case, sorry, but I have to add my opinion here: that watch looks like crap.

But I wouldn't buy any quartz watch, including an Aerospace. I don't mind the Airwolf as that has a nice case, but it's still a quartz, and that sucks.

Regarding other watches which use the ETA 7750 which are much cheaper than Breitlings, there is a trend towards getting what you pay for. I had a look at one of those Hamilton X-winds the other day, and it was nowhere near the quality of a Breitling. However, I must admit Oris make very nice watches for considerably less than Breitling, and a Concord might be cool, but certainly isn't any better quality than a Breitling.

I think Breitling sit in the middle in terms of value/quality ratio - the cases, bracelets and geared bezels on the Bentlies are right up there with anything from JLC, VC, AP etc. - and they hammer Panerai (except for that little Ferrari logo on the Crown which is sublime).

Ask her why she wants a Chloe/Gucci/LV handbag when one from the market is just as good for storing all the crap women want to cart around!

As for Breitling v Tissot, I don't think you can find any rational way to justify the price difference. It's a purely emotional decision based on your perception of the brand.

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I don't know, I just put my wrist up to my monitor and best I can tell my Aerospace looks absolutely nothing like this watch.

If it did look similar, or was even in a style that I like, then I might wonder why I paid so much more for my B vs. a Tissot with an older version ETA movement. But I'd probably still pick my Aerospace over it.

And in enters the ugly duckling ...

I was in exactly the same situation a year ago.

I ehhh... humm, cough cough ended up paying a LOT for the function "illuminated digital dials". I REALLY wanted those.

And perhaps, just perhaps (I can't even admit it to myself) the design might have been the straw that tipped it over.

But, I love my Breitling, and I only use it for one thing, keeping track of time. If it would have been marked Tissot I would have bought it anyway. But now I'm stuck with Breitling and I doubt that I will ever change brand (I'm just one of those brand loyal suckers) and from here on I'm a Breitling guy

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Segal's law — "A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure."

I had a Tissot T-Touch Expert with the larger case and backlight for a very short time when I first joined this forum and believe me its no where near the same quality titanium as the Aerospace.

The Tissot's scratch very easily as the titanium feels soft. My theory is its alloyed with a lot of aluminium. There are many different grades of Ti and I assume Breitling use a very high grade. Tissot do not!

I think one aspect that helps justify the cost of a Breitling is the shear amount of craftsmanship that goes into each one. Watch any Breitling video and these things aren't just thrown together, just look at the perfect stainless machine screws used in he bracelets. Man hours = cost, quality materials = cost, tight tolerances = cost etc

I'm both fussy and anal about my possesions, so if I can find something that I can't find fault with, then I'll pay a little more