Truth about quartz watches

Okay gang, I was watching Jim Skelton (Praise His Name and Offspring) the other night and he proclaimed that most watch buyers prefer quartz. This claim was based on his data that the majority of watches sold have quartz movements.
While that type of deduction isn't really valid or logical, he did note it could be the result of price - that quartz watches tend to be cheaper.
This was his segway into a blockbuster - that Invicta has been - and will continue to - produce more quartz watches - and fewer mechanicals - because this is what the market dictates. He and his master (The Lalo) believe mechanicals are just too expensive and most Invictites are price sensitive and would prefer a cheap (okay cheaper) quartz.
While this may be true for the average consumer, Invicta aims its ShopNBC and Official Geek Website at "collectors." I have not encountered a ground swell movement for more quartz watches on ANY forum!
So is Jim Skelton (Praise His Name and Offspring) simply an opportunist or is he giving us all inside industry dope?

Deep in the bowel's of someones ENDustry!! Most collectors arent buying a ton of quartz watches, now the newer minions might but they will be selling them and moving into mechanical watches and different brands! Nothing wrong with a quartz or two but who in the hell needs a box full of G10 movements other than a few misguided geeks!!

Quartz watches also improve your sexual performance!

Docrwm wrote:

Quartz watches also improve your sexual performance!

Damn, and i dont have one quartz!! Gonna get me a tuna and better sex life!! Think i will run that one by the wife, might get a new watch!

cali kid wrote:

Docrwm wrote:

Quartz watches also improve your sexual performance!

Damn, and i dont have one quartz!! Gonna get me a tuna and better sex life!! Think i will run that one by the wife, might get a new watch!

Who knows, you might get lucky.......

And you were watching his show WHY?

Anomaly wrote:

And you were watching his show WHY?

To grow in WISdom.

Anomaly wrote:

And you were watching his show WHY?

To get grist for the mill! Fodder - and to be able to provide counter programming as a public service

There is the occaisional nut who prefers ONLY quartz, but even Don came to his senses. Just kidding Don, and of course quartzes are cheaper across the board and plenty of people only have X amount of money to spend but still want to collect, so quartz is the way for them to go.

But for a company to make that point about "collectors" doesn't seem accurate, to say the least. Perhaps the man was deviating from the script?

FreeDive wrote:

There is the occaisional nut who prefers ONLY quartz, but even Don came to his senses. Just kidding Don, and of course quartzes are cheaper across the board and plenty of people only have X amount of money to spend but still want to collect, so quartz is the way for them to go.

But for a company to make that point about "collectors" doesn't seem accurate, to say the least. Perhaps the man was deviating from the script?

People prefer Quartz? Who? Those who want super accuracy use their cellular or their computer as their clock. Those who wish to live the refined life of style and grace wear real watches.

I seem to dredge up this classic TZ post on a yearly basis.



http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=1410426&rid=130

foghorn wrote:

I seem to dredge up this classic TZ post on a yearly basis.



http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=1410426&rid=130

Please. That one is as bad as the one that "inspired" it.

Foghorn, you are the biggest muckraker here.
However, the post is spot-on

True more quartz watches are sold than mechanical. Most people could'nt tell you the difference between the two. To say that collectors prefer quartz is not accurate IMO. Rolex sells a million watches a year-Invicta sells 3 million. Applying the same logic-its obvious to me that watch collectors prefer Invicta to Rolex.

If Slick or The Lalo say it is so, then it must be so.

Besides, The Lalo couldn't buy the gas for his boat by selling mechanicals...such movements actually cost a couple of bucks. Anybody wanna venture a guess as to what % of the price goes to The Lalo and Shop every time they roll out another $600 derivative with a pound of stainless steel fashioned around a G10?

25or6to4 wrote:

If Slick or The Lalo say it is so, then it must be so.

Besides, The Lalo couldn't buy the gas for his boat by selling mechanicals...such movements actually cost a couple of bucks. Anybody wanna venture a guess as to what % of the price goes to The Lalo and Shop every time they roll out another $600 derivative with a pound of stainless steel fashioned around a G10?

97.2%

25or6to4 wrote:

If Slick or The Lalo say it is so, then it must be so.

Besides, The Lalo couldn't buy the gas for his boat by selling mechanicals...such movements actually cost a couple of bucks. Anybody wanna venture a guess as to what % of the price goes to The Lalo and Shop every time they roll out another $600 derivative with a pound of stainless steel fashioned around a G10?

This is the part that kills me, everyone thats not a little nuts like us rolls a quartz and thats cool but keep the watches seperate what if rolex made a quartz submariner??? Pepole spend good money on theses invicta watches, sometimes close to 2 G's to see the same watch case with a G10 in it sell for 249 bones!!!! you get guys saying i've got the same watch as you and paid 249 for it, too hard to say no yours is a quartz and mine is an automtic well they look the same to me!! Build a quartz series watches and a mechanical series just dont use the same cases!!

25or6to4 wrote:

If Slick or The Lalo say it is so, then it must be so.

Besides, The Lalo couldn't buy the gas for his boat by selling mechanicals...such movements actually cost a couple of bucks. Anybody wanna venture a guess as to what % of the price goes to The Lalo and Shop every time they roll out another $600 derivative with a pound of stainless steel fashioned around a G10?

Substantial, even when they're 90% off Invicta's (alleged) MSRP.

If World of Watches can sell the all steel SAIII with a $1,995 "price tag" for $199 with free shipping and a $10 gift card like they did New Years Eve, how much are they paying Invicta?

Great topic. Cali makes a great point as well. I have also thought along these lines of why Invicta cuts their own throat making a quartz that looks exactly the same as their 7750 line. Hell if I was purely buying the watch for looks, I would get the quartz 9 out of 10 times. This is exactly why Rolex doesn't do this. Afterall it is Invicta we are talking here so re-selling a 7750 is one thing, reselling an Invicta 7750 is a whole other story.

Serious question: Does Invicta EVER introduce the Quartz model first?

Think about it. If they don't then that tells you something interesting about their sales model. Never been that interested or informed about Invicta globally to even think of this question (maybe I'm just slow)

On some lines, Invicta quartz comes first. The lupah diver jumps to mind, but I need my meds. My mind is mush.

FreeDive wrote:

There is the occaisional nut who prefers ONLY quartz, but even Don came to his senses. Just kidding Don, and of course quartzes are cheaper across the board and plenty of people only have X amount of money to spend but still want to collect, so quartz is the way for them to go.

But for a company to make that point about "collectors" doesn't seem accurate, to say the least. Perhaps the man was deviating from the script?

You know Andrew, you are right. I was talking to Ron a week or 2 ago and I even said to him that I finally get the whole automatic thing. Accuracy is a bonus but I don't fret like I did before. I do like the fact that my Ocean 7 is a solid +3 per day but it doesn't bother me that my Oceanaire is + 15 per day.

Totally, Don. Though I completely understood and sympathized with your quartz-only standpoint, too. For all the reasons mentioned, there's nothing wrong and much right with quartz.

Doc, as for the "who prefers quartz" - it seems like those who are looking for quantity in their boxes, collectors on limited budgets, or those who are primarily concerned with aesthetics of a watch. Maybe a few more that I missed, but Invicta sure covers this corner of the market quite well, as do several others.

I soldtwo watches to one of my workers and his friend a couple months ago. Both bought SAIII's, both quartz. I offered them the same case but with an auto SW200, same price, showed them the case back and explained the differences to them. They had no interest in the movement, all they wanted was the watch that looked the coolest with buttons and subdials.

barnbuilder1 wrote:

I soldtwo watches to one of my workers and his friend a couple months ago. Both bought SAIII's, both quartz. I offered them the same case but with an auto SW200, same price, showed them the case back and explained the differences to them. They had no interest in the movement, all they wanted was the watch that looked the coolest with buttons and subdials.

Thats not a big surprise Ron.

falcon4311 wrote:

barnbuilder1 wrote:

I soldtwo watches to one of my workers and his friend a couple months ago. Both bought SAIII's, both quartz. I offered them the same case but with an auto SW200, same price, showed them the case back and explained the differences to them. They had no interest in the movement, all they wanted was the watch that looked the coolest with buttons and subdials.

Thats not a big surprise Ron.

This is the type of buyers I believe they are targeting and not so much the collector but people who just want to buy watches for there collection.