Credor Sonnerie — It’s All About the Benjamins
The Credor Sonnerie pictured above, with a solid gold case and 88-jeweled Spring Drive movement, retails for 15,750,000.00 yen, or $134,477.99 US dollars. How is that possible? Please tell me I made a mistake with my math!
Credor is a Seiko sub-brand. The most expensive watches Seiko makes are Credor models, although some “only” cost a few thousand US dollars. Take a deep breath, then download Credor catalogs here.
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October 9th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Hi Brian,
That is one of the most expensive watches I have ever seen. You can buy a nice car for that kind of money here… I believe I have to work 6 years to earn enough for that watch…
Cheers,
Sjors
October 9th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Hi Sjors,
I saw a very nice condo for sale in Miami that sold for about the same price as the Seiko watch featured above. Amazing!
Regards,
Bryan
October 9th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hi Bryan:
1. I think this watch keeps “superlative” time.
2. Also, consider the old world craftsmanship.
3. And finally, you don’t buy it for yourself,
you buy it for your grand kids!
October 9th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Hi Paul,
That’s funny. Big smile on my face.
Regards,
Bryan
October 11th, 2007 at 12:10 am
This is not the most expensive modern watch; there is a blue “Ulysse Nardin” whose price is close to 352,000 USD, and recently a 2003 Patek Philip has been sold 1,245,000 USD in an auction!
However, it is probably the most expensive QUARTZ WATCH, since it is a SpringDrive (mechanically powered, quartz regulated).
I do’nt agree with blackdial: you don’t buy it for your grand-kids, watch will no longer work when they will have inherited it, and it will be no longer maintainable!
Highly expensive watch can find some success with (rich) amateurs, who think it is an investment (Patek Philip’s price was much higher in 2007 than in 2003!). Will these amateurs spend so much for a quartz watch? Even if it full of fine mechanics? Wait and see…
MikeNovember.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:05 am
Hi MikeNovember,
Bryan was stating that this was the most expensive Seiko watch. There are many other watches that are more expensive.
Why do you say that this watch won’t work for your grandchildren? Do you have any evidence stating that this watch won’t last a long time? I see quartz watches over 35 years old from the 1970’s that still work fine. Furthermore, Seiko has stated that they will have parts for 35 years for their high end watches. Unless you are very young, Seiko will still be able to fix your Springdrive if it does go bad and your grandchildren will certainly be able to enjoy them.
Thanks for reading.
petew
October 12th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Hello Petew,
Quartz watch technogy uses (at least) a quartz, and an integrated circuit.
Quartz is susceptible to wear, and progressivly changes its resonance frequency; this can be partially compensated by a trimmer; and finally this wear will induce quartz failure. Life duration is probably some decades (30 - 50 years?).
Integrated circuits suffer similar problems; two mechanisms (at least) limit the life time of IC’s:
- time dependent dielectric breakdown,
- electromigration.
Life duration of IC’s is estimated somewhere close to 30 years.
So, technologically speaking, quartz watch have a limited life esperance. Note it is also the same for mechanical parts! But, it will verisimilarly possible to find a watch maker able to make new mechanical parts, in 50 years (we still arrive to maintain and repair watches built in the 18th century or earlier). And this is less sure for electronics parts:
- in 50 years Seiko may no longer exist, or Seiko may not want to repair the electronics parts of this watch, or Seiko may not want to disclose necessary information,
- manufacturing lines able to produce compatible quartz and integrated circuits may no longer exist.
That’ why, If I were a rich amateur, I would invest in a mechanical high end watch, not in a quartz high end one, since I would be not sure of the perenniality of my investment.
Regards,
MikeNovember
October 12th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Thanks for commenting MikeNovember,
I think it will be very interesting to see how long our early quartz watches, and also Spring Drive watches will last. Although we know that many parts in quartz watches have a finite lifespan, I think no one really knows what that lifespan is. I am reminded many many years ago in the early 1980’s when Nikon released their new electronic F3 camera. Many purists complained that this camera would not last as long as the mechanical F2 and in fact, Nikon themselves admitted that the theoretical lifespan of the LCD in the camera was 7 years. Today, almost 25 years later, there are owners of the Nikon F3 who have never had to change their LCD screen or experience electronic failure. I think people’s estimates of the lifespan of these electronics is under estimated, as real world experience shows us that these parts are vastly exceeding estimated published lifespan estimates.
I have a car from 1984 with an LCD clock in it. For 23 years, that clock has been subjected to temperatures well over 100 degrees fahrenheit in the summer and in the winter temperatures in the 10 - 20 degree fahrenheit range. It still works quite well.
My father has an old transistor radio from 1971 that still works fine.
I have no doubt that any mechanical watch will ultimately last longer than quartz, but I also feel that we don’t really have any comprehensive objective real world evidence showing us just how long our quartz watches will last in real world settings.
Thanks again for your comments, they are very interesting and thought provoking too!