Does anyone have good/bad things to say about Bell&Ross? I’m still planning to buy one later in the year, but this thread really is making me think I could live without one!

Bell & Ross use the same relatively cheap ETA movements as half the watch industry. So you pay a lot for the case, strap, name, design etc.

Personally I’d look at Chris Ward for some nice aviator / military / altimeter inspired designs which are in a similar vein to much of Bell & Ross’s designs. And Time Factors too. Both are about 4-500 pounds for a nice watch.

I’d be unsure about dropping big cash on one of the big square watches as I suspect they could date very quickly.

Or if you want to go really cheap, get a big mil style Seiko for about 100 quid, but to be honest, I find the chapter ring on a lot of them ugly.

Between my wife and myself we have 11 highend watches.
the 5 tags we have between us have been trouble free and service costs have been fine – As has the Customer service.

These were all purchased as Grey imports so no official guarantee.

Cartier,have been an absolute nightmare and a lesson is now not to deal with customers.

My 1976 Seiko bullhead has been the most reliable watch EVER. I think i paid £200 for it…. its older than me and in better condition 🙂

tron, yeah it was BR123 I was looking at, so not a square face and there is a similar looking Christopher Ward although the B&R looks a little better in my opinion. Previous watch thread on here was pretty uncomplimentary about the straps on the Wards too.

It’s a lot of money to drop on a watch. I might keep hunting a vintage Rolex instead.

Even though I own a Tag I do feel that the £1-1.5k watch market it a bit questionable in terms of quality and value. Below that point there are some seriously nice Tissots and Seikos that are great watches with the same movements just perhaps lacking in name and design maybe. At the other end some of the Breitlings and Rolexs are IMO beautifully engineered peices of work.

If I was spending again, and I will be soon, I would avoid that price point and aim substantially higher or a lot lower.

And Time Factors too

keep an eye on their web site as they will occasionally introduce a new model or a limited edition of one of their models, and some of them are very nice (the non-military inspired ones…) and are honest value with decent movements (same as IWC in some) and good value – plus the limited edition ones will hold value amongst the watch geeks on their forum.

The grand price difference between a Chris Ward and a Bell&Ross gets you a few straps!

There are a few nice watches about with that style of PVD case and simple face – I’d have a good look about.

A vintage Rolex does sound a good idea though – you know it will keep its money.

Anyone seen a square watch (in a kinda Bell and Ross stylee)? Quite fancy a nice-ish simple square one for a change?

Anyone seen a square watch (in a kinda Bell and Ross stylee)? Quite fancy a nice-ish simple square one for a change?

As it’s a Tag Heuer post what about a Tag Monaco?

Has anyone used Perpetual Time in Manchester for watch repairs? I’m looking at getting one of my watches repaired there.

Bloke that consulted at the last place I worked at had a large black square watch, with white highlights on it. I think it was a Christopher Ward…?
He reckoned it was £3k or so & was pretty miffed when one of the hands fell off. He was even more miffed when he sent it back under warranty, they found a tiny scuff on the case & were refusing the warranty repair as it must have taken a ‘large impact’…!

My 16 yr old £50 Accurist does me fine. New battery every couple of years costs £6.

i’ve been increasingly tempted by a christopher ward of late, they look like very good value in my completely uninformed opinion.

Cartier,have been an absolute nightmare and a lesson is now not to deal with customers.

I’m eyeing up a Santos, what’s the problem with them?

Why would you send a Cartier to be repaired, wouldn’t it be quicker and easier to buy another?

Bloke that consulted at the last place I worked at had a large black square watch, with white highlights on it. I think it was a Christopher Ward…?

If it was £3k, then it probably wasn’t a Chris Ward – they’re more in the £250-£500 bracket.

^^^ – just asked a mate. Apparently, it is a Bell & Ross….

If you want something different at a good price there’s a watch shop in Plymouth that has had a few Fortis watches in the shop window for a while now . . . significant savings over current list prices.

Have got His N hers Tag watches – for many years , LVMH ( official Tag) service centre always, without exception, find an additional problem at battery replacement time – and are v unhelpful if you question them on their findings always works out very expensive.
Love my watch though..

Count zero is your mate local? I’m looking for a watchmaker near chippenham

Steinhart make nice watches for a decent price. I have an Ocean Vintage Military as my day watch. Had more comments on that than my Oris BC4, which cost a lot more

Nice bell and ross style here

I got a call today to say that my Sinn will be back with me on Wednesday after 2 months in Germany being fixed under warranty (1 year old). I had noticed that it was running a few minutes fast over a week. They apparently a cleaned and recalibrated the mechanism. 2 months is a fairly long wait but after reading this thread I’m glad I didn’t go for the Tag I was also looking at.

Had my Tag battery go after about 2 years of ownership so gave it to Goldsmiths who i’d purchased it from who then sent it to Tag. Got a phonecall after about a week advising it was due a service as well as the battery replacement…£200! Crazily I went with it. Another few weeks passed and Goldsmiths called to say the watch was back. Went to collect and a plastic section that protects the time/date adjuster was broken which was certainly not broken when it went in. I kicked up a fuss and Goldsmiths sent it back to Tag who denied it was them. In the end Goldsmiths agreed to pay the cost of the repair iirc. Was without the watch for about 3 months in the end. Won’t be going back to Tag when the battery goes again