I may have found my grail
Discussion
For some reason I know not, I have a thing for Montega, a now dead brand. They are genuinely beyond forgiveness, stylistically speaking, but I keep buying them.
Witness the bad boy in the middle here:
And this, which I've posted before. They wanted about 25 grand for these.
But now, I do believe I may have found the ugliest watch ever presented. This is so ghastly, I just have to have it. And the best bit is this was presumably put out when the company was failing as no-one was buying the pieces above. Just who thought this would help matters?
Witness the bad boy in the middle here:
And this, which I've posted before. They wanted about 25 grand for these.
But now, I do believe I may have found the ugliest watch ever presented. This is so ghastly, I just have to have it. And the best bit is this was presumably put out when the company was failing as no-one was buying the pieces above. Just who thought this would help matters?
Fume Troll said:
I reckon the top one is better than the bottom one!
Have you noticed the blue one on the left hand side? I think it's a REPOST!
Cheers,
FT.
It's a Repossi - they're the jewellers who supplied Dodi Fayed the alleged engagement ring the day of the crash.Have you noticed the blue one on the left hand side? I think it's a REPOST!
Cheers,
FT.
Designed by Richard Mille, as was the Mauboussin Fouga on the left.
I'm loving JYB's love of watches he thinks look 'unique'. 
JYB what is it about these odd looking watches that makes you actually buy them? I'm not being rude, you frequently say you think they look bad but must have them.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great and enjoy reading about it. It just seems odd that's all.
JYB what is it about these odd looking watches that makes you actually buy them? I'm not being rude, you frequently say you think they look bad but must have them.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great and enjoy reading about it. It just seems odd that's all.
Don't get me wrong. I love good looking watches as well.
Thing is, I'm a bit of a nutter when it comes to watches. The collection has been in three figures for some years now, and even though I've been pruning and am down from a high of 200+, it's still a lot of watches.
So there's going to be a mix, as they can't all be understated elegance. Well, they could, but that would be boring.
I've owned countless Datejusts, Seamasters and the like, but for some reason tire of them very quickly and they always end up getting flipped. You look down at your wrist and it's 'oh, ok then, it's 11.30' and that's about it. Something like the Montega Auto above tends to ellicit a more guttural reaction, however many times I see it.
They still have to be good watches though. That Montega, for example. It is astonishgly beautifully put together. It's COSC certified. The finish, caseback engraving and movement decoration are way way up there, with the best. The view of the back, for example, puts me in mind of a Lange.
Not the best pic, but you get the idea. The movement is fantastically finished, striped, cotes circulaire and perlage, and all engraving is inlaid gold. The rotor is enameled. It goes some way to explaining why they charged so much. The problem being, most people in the market at this price point would buy a Daytona, or GST, or any of a number of established watches. So they didn't sell. It's only really lunatics like me, who have, or have had most of the alternatives, who would be interested. Not really a solid business model
Mine, by the way, was the first offered for public sale (#5 of a 'limited edition' of 19,999) the first 4 being auctioned for charity by Ronaldo.
So although one end of the spectrum of my little collection has the likes of Calatravas and Portofinos, the other end has this sort of thing. They don't tend to get worn as much. It's just sometimes, to me anyway, the brutes are more fun to talk about. I bought a SMP Auto last week - no-one needs or would want to know about that. The Montega might raise a wry smile thouigh, or tiny shudder of revulsion. Less people would have heard of them, certainly.
Oh, and all things considered, you can buy them for next to nothing. I have a Repossi on my wrist today. Current model. More than 3K in their boutiques or the concession in Harrods. I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it was around £280, new, boxed and papered. And that's genuinely a 3K watch, not some made up Aston-Gerrard-Zeitner invented piece of tosh.
Sorry for the long reply. You did ask.
Thing is, I'm a bit of a nutter when it comes to watches. The collection has been in three figures for some years now, and even though I've been pruning and am down from a high of 200+, it's still a lot of watches.
So there's going to be a mix, as they can't all be understated elegance. Well, they could, but that would be boring.
I've owned countless Datejusts, Seamasters and the like, but for some reason tire of them very quickly and they always end up getting flipped. You look down at your wrist and it's 'oh, ok then, it's 11.30' and that's about it. Something like the Montega Auto above tends to ellicit a more guttural reaction, however many times I see it.
They still have to be good watches though. That Montega, for example. It is astonishgly beautifully put together. It's COSC certified. The finish, caseback engraving and movement decoration are way way up there, with the best. The view of the back, for example, puts me in mind of a Lange.
Not the best pic, but you get the idea. The movement is fantastically finished, striped, cotes circulaire and perlage, and all engraving is inlaid gold. The rotor is enameled. It goes some way to explaining why they charged so much. The problem being, most people in the market at this price point would buy a Daytona, or GST, or any of a number of established watches. So they didn't sell. It's only really lunatics like me, who have, or have had most of the alternatives, who would be interested. Not really a solid business model
Mine, by the way, was the first offered for public sale (#5 of a 'limited edition' of 19,999) the first 4 being auctioned for charity by Ronaldo.So although one end of the spectrum of my little collection has the likes of Calatravas and Portofinos, the other end has this sort of thing. They don't tend to get worn as much. It's just sometimes, to me anyway, the brutes are more fun to talk about. I bought a SMP Auto last week - no-one needs or would want to know about that. The Montega might raise a wry smile thouigh, or tiny shudder of revulsion. Less people would have heard of them, certainly.
Oh, and all things considered, you can buy them for next to nothing. I have a Repossi on my wrist today. Current model. More than 3K in their boutiques or the concession in Harrods. I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it was around £280, new, boxed and papered. And that's genuinely a 3K watch, not some made up Aston-Gerrard-Zeitner invented piece of tosh.
Sorry for the long reply. You did ask.
Edited by Justayellowbadge on Thursday 20th March 11:04
Don1 said:
Rich, it 'winds me up' (sorry), that you can find these bargains - how? I'm still trying tp find a prototype TAG - nearly a year after you first talked about them!
TZ a good place?
That's the RLT 29 - best place to look is www.thewatchforum.co.uk - may well be worth putting a wanted ad - they do pop up now and then.TZ a good place?
funny to see a mauboussin watch... i was at school with Nicolas Mauboussin (am French... nobody' s perfect ), the son of Alain Mauboussin who created the watch company (initially only jewellers).
They never really managed to take off the watch business.
He got inspiration from cars in his watch designs. Very old Lancia' s in particular from the 1930' s...
), the son of Alain Mauboussin who created the watch company (initially only jewellers).They never really managed to take off the watch business.
He got inspiration from cars in his watch designs. Very old Lancia' s in particular from the 1930' s...
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