Hi all,
i am very new to this hobby and new to IWC. (i have a YC and a portofino chrono) i have been reading a lot on the brand and while most of it is very positive, there is this issue which seems to be lingering and tainting this fine brand which is keeping it from entering the likes of Jaeger le Coultre, Vacheron Constantin etc. I know that IWC uses in house movements on their higher end watches, but why do they use ETA movements on the lower end like portofino. It seems to really taint the brand and keep it a notch behind some of the other guys for no good reason. JLC is a brand for example that really intrigues me. Their prices are pretty closely matched with IWC, but they are ranked one level above IWC and arguably equal to PP and AP. Are their movement really better then IWC in house, or is IWC being punished for the low end?
I understand that IWC uses ETA movements to keep prices affordable, however we are talking about high end luxury goods, art pieces if you will. I would think that if IWC only provided in house movements for their entire collection their "ranking" could rise a notch, without any upgrades or increase to their current time pieces.
What are your thoughts?