In the City of Biel, nestled at the foot of the Jura mountains in Switzerland, a small watch factory was born. It came to be known as HORAGE. There were many other watchmakers in this region, from small artisan workshops to giant factories - all located within a stone's throw of HORAGE, but something here was quite different from these others...
In the City of Biel, nestled at the foot of the Jura mountains in Switzerland, a small watch factory was born and came to be known as HORAGE.
The team behind HORAGE were outsiders - they were an international team and with a background in entrepreneurship and manufacturing, they had a very different mindset from most other watchmakers. Without the burden of tradition, they were free to think outside of every box and to question established orthodoxy.
Over the years, their ambition, passion, and yearning for innovation resulted in a range of products that built up a global following. Collectors and connoisseurs from all around the world came to love what they did. Among their most popular models was a watch that stood out, a watch which over time became known as "The Golden Ticket".
The non-traditional background of HORAGE's team allowed them to challenge conventional watchmaking practices and foster innovation.
HORAGE's fascination with gold began many decades earlier. Tales of ancient civilizations perched on top of precipitous mountain ridges buried deep in the jungle. Tales of swashbuckling pirates driven mad by greed, tales of kings and queens adorned with opulent jewels of gold in both life and death. Gold wasn't just a metal; it was a symbol of power, prestige, wealth, and proof of the divine right given to rule and govern. Gold was timeless, its worth never to diminish or wane. The luster of the material could not be damaged by any force known to man. Rare, desirable, and mystical—gold was able to captivate all who beheld its beauty regardless of culture, language, or epoch.
Yet all too often in the world of Swiss watchmaking, this fascination was translated into an unmissable opportunity to ramp up profit. If a timepiece in stainless steel was worth 10,000 Francs, then its golden sibling could command a price of 50,000 - bling, bling ker-shing. The fanaticism of the conquistador hacking through the jungles of the Andes fast-forwarded some centuries to the snow-dusted peaks of the Alps.
Driven by a passion for honesty and innovation, HORAGE created 'The Golden Ticket,' a watch made from gold that avoided exploiting the material's inherent desirability.
For HORAGE, this lack of honesty in an age of immediate information felt jarringly out of place. There had to be a more transparent and equitable solution. The desire to make a watch from gold without exploiting the material's desirability led to the creation of "The Golden Ticket".
What do you think makes a watch truly valuable - its material, its craftsmanship, or the story behind it?
We need some annual / perpetual / skeletons watches. I need to add more Horage to my only Horage collection.
I'd love to connect a watch to a big event or personal success as you've suggested - but sadly that would mean it would need to be sitting around in a nearby store, in huge quantity, ready to pick up at the correct time. It'd be fine if I wanted a celebratory Omega Seamaster, for example.
However - the watches I always love are mostly limited runs or only available for a limited time. Weird, wonderful and hypnotizing are my watches. Difficult to match releases like that with any personal momentous occasion!
Anyway - back to gold. I know right? Seems to make a watch go up several times in value. From the House of Wilsdorf that $4600 Tudor Black Bay jumps to $40,000 CAD in gold...🤔
Of course Horage doesn't do a ~ 9x price spike for gold, but I'm a simple person whose preference is always for lightweight watches that disappear on my wrist. I've got quite a few watches now but the favourites and daily wear watches are ~ 100g or under. Polished grade 5 TI FTW!
So probably no gold watches for me? Despite it's wonderful biocompatibility, ability to block ionizing radiation better than lead, and it's great heat reflectivity.
Oh, I guess it looks quite beautiful as well?
😉
btw besides all these watch related factors of creating value, I need to mention our beloved artist Rebecca which added these illustrations to this beautiful story. That adds another dimension to the value stack 😍
If the question would be 'what above all makes a watch worth buying/owning' I'd probably say its design, first of all. But it is no surprise that the execution of design (manufacturing and craftsmanship) will ensure that this design is worth owning. The value (monetary) is arguably impossible to attribute to one thing. Naturally precious materials cost more, but likely even more so the time spent on making a watch design absolutely look the part. Finally the movement and it's development cost (if applicable) may add to the cost. All these things underpin its value, but not necessarily how it is valued, which I'll attribute mostly to design (for me), but I also know there are people who'll attribute it equally if not more to mechanical prowess.
Unique dial or case. That may include using materials like gold, silver, platinum. Story is always important.
By the way why not making platinum watch? Platinum is cheaper but now sure is it harder to work with than gold
For me quality of construction is first and foremost. It doesn't matter how cool or interesting or what magic material was used to build it, the thing that makes a watch have and retain it's value is how well it was built. If we take that as a given (which if I take my experience with Horage watches, it is) then the next thing on my list of what makes a watch truly valuable would be Materials. Materials are not what drive me to watches, but the materials they are made from definitely speak heavily into the value of a watch.
For me the first aspect is features and technical merit. For features I like a design with strong legibility, the essential function of a watch to me is to show time. Good lume lets me see it day or night.
I also very much appreciate a proper silicon balance spring. These have unprecented isochronism.
Size matters I want the case to between 34 and 40 mm. I like a bracelet with good adjustment.
I also prefer titanium.
I have some gold watches but for teh most I prefer wearing tianium. It has a comfort level unlike any other material.
For gol a nive inlay in some palces unlikely to get dinged is nice. From what I have seen both gold and titanium on new watches are priced way above the metal cost and labor to make but they also do not hold value so they are good buys used.
Lastly but almost as important I like a good story.
I like Horage's efforts in novel ideas but I do not like Tourbillons and have no use for photographic exposure estimators.
I would like to see a watch using a K1 or K2 movement cased in Soderborg steel. This material has good corrosion resistance takes Damascus like patterns and is even harder than Damasko's submarine steel.
First and foremost, the context. Is it a watch to celebrate a special birthday, a special event, other...Next would be craftsmanship and originality (design, materials, workmanship..). All adds up to a visceral connection, or not.