Quote:
Originally Posted by enjoythemusic
With 2022 upon us, it is also time we within horology decide a new Holy Trinity.
With a nod to many decades ago, let us remember the Old-School Holy Trinity for its relevance when it was first decided upon by ???? many decades ago. Today, two of the old-school trinity are now part of very large corporate entities. The other one has changed quite a bit, with questions about various mass production quality levels instead of always doing the very best possible at ALL times.
With the Old School Holy Trinity now outdated, without a doubt it is time to choose the Modern Holy Trinity of horology. This is 2022 my friends. Virtually everyone i chat with seems to agree MB&F should be part of the Modern Holy Trinity.
Please post below who you feel are the true independent brands that make up the other two Modern Holy Trinity of today's timepiece invention/creation.
Note: This is Round One as we hone in on which three brands are part of the new Modern Holy Trinity.
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Two are part of corporate entities? Did I miss something?
I thought Patek was owned by a family, as is AP.
Only VC is owned by a large group.
I would make a distinction between large watchmaking companies and small, more confidential ones. Let’s draw the limit of the large ones at anything over 4-5,000 watches a year.
In that bracket,
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Patek
I don’t think anyone can fault Patek. While their watches may not be the best from a manufacturing and finishing standpoint, they still are extraordinary and Patek manages with very few exceptions to make them feel „significant“. That is very much deserving of trinity status in my view.
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ALS
In terms of blowing everyone‘s mind, few are as proficient as the good folks in Glashütte. They have changed what we expect to see in a high quality watch and for that, they deserve a spot on the top as well. AP in contrast only deserves to be named here because they make the cases for ALS.
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VC
Despite their all over the place marketing and their consistent failure to position their products properly, the watchmaking at VC is the closest you’re going to get to „made as they should be“ from a large manufacturer. The quality of finishing in even a simple watch like a Traditionelle small seconds, i.e. the 4400 movement, has a quiet and unpretentious excellence that knows few equals among the other brands in that bracket. It’s not as spectacular looking as a Lange perhaps, nor as well marketed as a Patek, but it’s so much more thorough and „pure“ than what you’ll get from both these other houses. So still well deserving of a trinity spot. And their almost cute ineptitude in terms of communicating their qualities adds to the charm.
In the more confidential bracket, I would say the field is so much more open, one can hardly boil it down to three. The only thing I am strongly opposed to is to name a brand with as little proper finishing work as Moser in the same context as truly excellent watchmakers like Greubel Forsey, Kari, Dufour, Akrivia, Gauthier, FPJ, etc. They make nice watches in low numbers but in that company they’re about as well made as a Mc Donald’s burger in a Michelin kitchen.