Reply With QuoteCan't argue with that for £39!
I know nothing about diamonds/sapphires, but the stones alone must be worth a chunk of change?
Here is a watch that I got from a seller in Japan I have bought from before. I occasionally look at what he is selling. He sells an eclectic bunch of watches he puts them all up for auction at one yen and so sells every watch he advertises, he sells many watches every single day. They are a right mix from vintage Omega’s to fashion watches. I check occasionally as some times he is a bit careless with the description and the watch goes really cheaply.
Anyway, he had the watch advertised as a 'Plano Quartz', I looked at the picture and thought the watch looked interesting so opened up his advert.
The watch is actually a Prano Geneve Swiss made watch. This was a pretty short lived brand from the early noughties. It seemed that they wanted to get into the luxury watch market but priced their watches a bit lower to presumably attract sales. I don't think this was a successful strategy as the brand only lasted a few years.
There is not much on line about the brand but I did dig some information up about them.
Prano watch company was founded by Fabrizio Cavalca, a talented musician, designer and watchmaker, who has also developed and produced the original models of Steinway & Sons.
"The watch line is fully completed in Geneva, the cradle of luxury watchmaking. It can therefore take advantage of the Geneva label, so much sought after for its high-end symbol. All the parts, finished and checked by hand, have the same characteristics: 316L steel, sapphire crystals, 3atu sealing.
The stones used for the setting are Top Wesselton VVS diamonds, renowned for their purity and brilliance.
"Prano Genève - Essentially for Women.
Founded in 1996 by designer Fabrizio Cavalca and master stone-setter Eric Pospieszny, Prano Genève is a young brand dedicated entirely to crafting women's watches. The collection offers three designs with symbolic forms: Uno, Uovo and Raviolo.
The materials and finishing are of the highest quality. Presented with synthetic silk bracelets, the cases are made in 316L stainless steel. Other features include anodized dials, quality Ronda quartz movements, and sapphire crowns. The watches are entirely hand-assembled in Geneva. The retail price in steel begins at CHF 580 (US$480) for all three collections and the stone-set models vary from CHF 890 (US$700) for the Uovo Stars (set with 11 small diamonds), to CHF 2,600 (US$2,000) for the Uno with a wave of diamonds and CHF 4,800 (US$3,800) for a double wave of stones.
Each watch from the Prano collection can be coordinated with a matching Moroccan leather handbag and accessory."
So obviously the watch is a woman's watch and here it is. The Prano Uovo.
The watch came with all its papers and tags and looks to be unused. It still has its protective tape on the deployant.
It also came with a spare, brand new original Prano black strap.
The watch is really well finished, the starburst dial is attractive with its designer look and even the batons are unusually shaped so that they catch the light as the watch moves. The diamonds have a real sparkle to them, giving a feeling of luxury to the watch.
There is a nice bright sapphire in the crown to complete the look.
The basic stainless steel version of the Uovo started at 750 CHF, so I reckon this one would have been into four figures for the watch. I got the watch delivered to my door from Japan for £39! As I say, the seller is my favourite one in Japan for delivering ridiculous prices.
So really I got the watch purely because it was a bargain, though I do find its fluid and organic shape very attractive. it is a ladies watch and obviously not for me. I don't know whether to just sell it on or whether the wife would like it. She is not really into watches, though she does own three of them. Decisions!
Mitch
Can't argue with that for £39!
I know nothing about diamonds/sapphires, but the stones alone must be worth a chunk of change?
that looks like a lot of watch for very small money to be honest.
and it’s quite an attractive woman’s watch at that
first instinct was of course 'this is too good to be true', but I really can't think of anything! this story / good laugh alone is worth the money I reckon:)
Well the diamonds are apparently Top Wesselton VVS, which is a very high grade. They are pretty small though, so would not be that expensive to buy.Originally Posted by M1011
I suppose a lot of the expense is in fitting 36 diamonds securely in the case, quite a skilled job I would imagine.
Mitch
This is not the best bargain I have got from this seller, which shows what you can get if you keep your eyes open.
Mitch
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