[Baselworld 2012] 5 affordable watches at Baselworld 2012. Part 1.

The danger in editorial-writing is to talk about the show-off watches only, with exceptional grand complications, for a half a million price tag.
And to bet it all on winning the lottery, to forget the reality and remain in the realm of dreams.

This article is not about the cheapest watches, it is about the watches with the best price/quality ratio presented at this Baselworld 2012 edition.

Let's start with the Nivrel Automatic 5-minute repeater.
It is maybe the cheapest Swiss made watch with a repeater on the market. For 4000€, you get a 5-minute repeater in a 42mm stainless steel case.
If the sound is obviously not the best for this type of watch, the volume is excellent, it resonates, and the big steel case increases the effect.
The overall finishes are totally fair for the price.

Next, two big surprises at Rado's; when Hakim El Karidi took over the brand's product department, he reformed Rado's lines.
Rado represented the 70's for many people. And the challenge for the new lines is to keep within the aesthetics of this period, by renewing the actual series.

First of all, let's talk about the Rado D-Star Chronograph. It is a watch one would have expected Omega to create.
The dial reminder of the"El Primero", as well as the watch case, inspired by the divers from the 70's, is a total success.
Rado revisits this style with a judicious mix of home made ceramic and steel.
For 3000€, you get a magnificent neo-vintage ceramic chrono with an ETA movement.
 

Next, one of the biggest surprises from Rado: the Air One.
The watch could also be called Tron. The case's curves are enhanced by superluminova coated ceramic insets.
Regarding the movement, it is the smallest chrono caliber from ETA: the 20-04
The watch is priced at 3500€, which is quite reasonable for a piece that sets foot in science-fiction, the independent watchmaking's preserve.

Let's stay within the SF and the 70's thematic, with the Omega Z-33.
The house from Bienne just released a hallucinating object based on the very serious X-33; they made a hybrid between their Seamaster from the 70's and an Aston Martin Lagonda's dashboard from the same period.
The watch is powered by a thermo compensated ETA quartz, which lightens Led's for a very beautiful effect.  
Fancy, offbeat and highly technological, it is priced at 6000€.

Strictly speaking, the last watch in this article would not be considered "affordable" and even less considered "cheap"; but it is a watch with quite an exceptional price/quality ratio.
The Arnold & Sons Hornet World Time Skeleton is among these rare pieces which propose a grand complication for the price of a precious metal watch.
The Lajoux-Perret A1706 caliber features a double GMT, an Equation of time, a Mean solar time indicator, and a double Quantieme…. All of this for 25,000€.