Prestige and Luxury at Reasonable Prices for Dad's Gift
by Arthur Warnier
How about something classy and classic for your Dad? A luxury mechanical wristwatch makes the perfect gift. That's something that will be both appreciated and useful for years. Forget about the latest soon-to-be-obsolete electronic toy. Surprisingly, you can obtain well-made luxury wristwatches for around $100. Of course, you can pay much more for a prestige brand, jeweled adornments, Swiss certified accuracy, and more features. But for value for the price, consider Stauer wristwatches. A few of their offerings, two at just under $100, two at under $200, and one for a little less than $2000, are outlined below. Of course, they have many more, many of them in the $100 to $200 range.
The "Stauer Magnificat Wristwatch" is an automatic timepiece hand-built by master craftsmen with state of the art equipment. A luxury watchmaker shown the watch estimated its value at over $2500, but the actual cost is less than $179. Why the watchmaker estimated such a high value is because of details such as the striking case, fused in 14k gold, an etched ivory-colored dial, a detailed guilloche face, a 27-jewel automatic movement, three interior dials for day, date, and 24-hour moon phases.
A skeleton watch is a wristwatch with a crystal face and a see-through exhibition back. This allows you to see through to the parts and watch the intricate operation of the movement. With a gold-filled case and a 110-part vintage movement oscillating at 21,600 times per hour, the "Stauer 1779 Skeleton Watch" is a fascinating recreation of a 227- year-old design. And for less than $100.
There are probably only about 2000 tourbillon wristwatches in private hands in the entire world. This, in spite of the fact that they have been made for over 200 years. The tourbillon is a unique movement invented and named for "whirlwind" by the pioneering French watchmaker, Louis Breguet, in 1800. For increased accuracy, Breguet enclosed the balance wheel and escapement in a rotating cage, countering the minuscule but important effects of gravity on the parts. Stauer took four years to create its tourbillon which it has made available for a startlingly low price of $1995. That price gives you superb design and workmanship in a watch comprising 420 parts viewable in operation through an exhibition crystal on the back.
One of the most important wristwatches ever built was engineered for the Chicago millionaire Henry Graves back in 1933. It was a multifunction masterpiece, and one of the first automatic self-winding wristwatches. The original has been auctioned for more than $11,000,000 by Sotheby's. An authentic replica of the vintage design, the "Graves '33 Wristwatch" has been created by Stauer. For only $99, the 27-jewel, 210 parts plus, month, date, day, and moon phase display wristwatch is an astounding value.
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Luxury and Classic Wristwatch Manufacturers
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What to get for birthday gifts? Hmmm...
How about considering fine watches?
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