Why is it worth buying a replica watch rather than a genuine one – The significance and value of the blue balloon watch – This time, the editor wants to analyze the significance and value of a genuine blue balloon watch, and then analyze the value of a genuine watch and how it compares to a replica watch!
Cartier Analysis
Cartier, a brand with a strong sense of luxury in watches and jewelry.
Cartier was founded in France in 1847 and has established itself as the pioneer in modern watchmaking with its precise and complex timepieces. Its timeless design and exquisite craftsmanship have written the history of world jewelry and watch design and manufacturing, winning the favor of generations of royalty and celebrities. Today, Cartier has become a leader in the field of jewelry, watches, and accessories.
However, Cartier watches are quite controversial among professional watch players, mainly due to the issue of watch value. Some Cartier watch models do not hold their value well. A $50,000 watch using the same ETA movement found in a $5,000 Tissot watch. What is the ETA movement? ETA is a company established in 1855 in Grenchen specializing in the production of ebauches (semi-finished movements). Many internationally renowned watch brands also use ETA movements for modifications!
What is most excessive is that adding diamonds around the bezel of the Cartier Blue Balloon increases the price by $100,000, changing the dial to pure gold adds another $100,000, and changing the bracelet to pure gold adds another $100,000. For customers, many of Cartier’s watch models seem to only involve simple addition and subtraction, lacking updates or improvements. Adding diamonds and expensive metals equates to a significant price increase for a supposedly new watch, lacking sincerity towards players.
However, many watch enthusiasts continue to follow Cartier as a brand with persistence. Why is that? To break this view, one must first break a common misconception: price does not equal value. The price must equal the actual value! Only by pawning an item can you see the zero-level precision and collectable value it contains! The price a business pays for an item is another matter!
It is not true that the more expensive a product is, the higher its cost; the higher the price, the better the quality; the cheaper the product, the better it sells.
Luxury brand and product value
A Hermès bag selling for $10,000 made of the same leather and hardware as a hand-sewn bag selling for $2,000, but many times you won’t buy the latter. A $200,000 Jaeger-LeCoultre tourbillon watch cannot be compared for quality with a SWATCH electronic watch, which has the lowest 2% repair rate in the world of mass-produced watches. (Of course, this example is not comparable – one is the pinnacle of mechanical craftsmanship, the other is a simple electronic product! For friends who only need to know the time, do you really need a $200,000 mechanical watch?) A $6,000 IPHONE, according to industry insiders, costs around $2,000. A $999 Xiaomi phone – its cost includes heavy losses from hardware costs during the initial sale. Many people still prefer the former, stubbornly selling their kidneys, with many girls bravely sacrificing themselves, their heroic deeds comparable to Dong Cunrui. (For those buying phones, a tip: always watch the product launch event! Comparing launch events will help you truly understand a phone! Whenever I see a phone heavily advertised by celebrities, I tend to reject it! Where does the endorsement fee come from? These phones often have a very low cost-effectiveness because of the high fees that get distributed to the phone.)
A $5,000 Tissot watch costs $3,000 to make; for replica watches of brand watches, there is almost no memory. The market for this type of watch may only involve imitations and not a single major manufacturer willing to invest in a reproduction! A $50,000 Rolex watch costs $25,000 to produce; (this watch is impressive, attracting a group of big factories vying for Rolex’s market share, and there are many replica manufacturers competing for this market, with the replica watches having a much higher value proposition than the genuine cost price!) A $50,000 Cartier Blue Balloon watch costs $10,000 to produce; (this goes without saying, especially for the Blue Balloon series, with very high fidelity and three very mature large factories competing with each other, often offering prices lower than the production cost, resulting in a very high value proposition for owners! I remember in 2018, a factory obtained Cartier’s original movement, which was an outdated 2012 model, no longer in use by Cartier, but still very valuable for replica watch manufacturers! That batch of watches can be said to be the highest value proposition products in the market!)
From the investment made by these replica manufacturers, you may understand a lot! These manufacturers invest time and money to make them because of profits and markets!
So many Cartier watches do not hold their value, as the professional market does not recognize their value.
A $500 basketball, during a crucial match, with Jordan making the game-winning shot, can be auctioned for $1 million with his signature attached; in the same manner, if I sign a basketball, would anyone want it for $200? Would you?
So much of Cartier’s success is due to its brand success, selling a $10,000 cost watch for $50,000. (Of course, writing this article is not to deny that many Cartier watch models are still very collectible, and some Cartier watches also have decent appreciation potential)
So the question remains, would you buy a Chinese brand watch for $5,000?
All luxury brands will have a period of glorious history, and this is no coincidence. Only with a strong endorsement can consumers win over. Luxury goods have always been about differentiation between people, distinguishing between commoners and nobility. So don’t expect luxury goods to be cheaper. Only the unsold luxury items will be reduced in price – if it’s cheaper and everyone can afford it, then it’s no longer a luxury item.
Success for brands like Cartier comes from shaping a high-end brand image perfectly. Often, selling not just products but the brand – consumers are willing to pay for the brand. To put it bluntly, I never understood why everyone rushed to buy watches like the Blue Balloon, thinking others were shallow. But after deeply understanding the meaning of brand value, I realize that a $5,000 Rolex is not much different from a $5,000 Blue Balloon, it was me who was shallow, too self-righteous. Thinking I know watches, I started to feel proud, but could see value and not people’s hearts.
The identity brought by the brand
The importance of the brand – a very important point is whether the people around you understand the brand you wear, the price of the item!
A man enters a nightclub one day wearing a $5,000 Cartier watch, and the girls around him are attracted, rushing to talk to him. Another man enters a nightclub one day, wearing a $5,000 Glashütte that he thinks is very tasteful, but no one pays him any attention because no one knows the brand.
The value of a watch is determined by others, not by yourself – it’s like the same basketball, a signed one by Jordan can sell for $1 million, but one signed by me won’t sell for $200 or even worth nothing because no one wants it. That’s the power of a brand. So, the significance of a replica Blue Balloon watch lies in the invisible $40,000 BUFF in value.
Original watches dress you up as a $5,000 showoff, while replica watches dress you up as a $5,000 showoff for a fraction of the cost. If you’re afraid of being recognized, then understand the replica market!
If you’re still a novice, wearing a replica watch for a moment gives you the motivation to strive in life. Striving is not for anything else, just to match the watch on your wrist. People will look at you differently, maybe thinking you’re young and rich, experiencing the feeling of being praised by everyone in the market! You will feel that you are such a person, letting the situation push you forward! Or let your vanity push you forward!
Perhaps this is the significance of owning a Cartier Blue Balloon watch! Of course, if you still want to learn more about cost-effectiveness, be sure to look into diamonds!
A diamond mine that needs strict control, afraid of mining too much at once – because a secondary market has emerged for resale! In order to better sales, a phrase that will always be spread has come out! Artificially produced diamonds emerged – big tycoons bought patents!