# Ever hear of Marc & Sons?



## practicalwatch

I've been looking for a blue dial auto diver for a while and came across this German watch company called Marc & Sons watch. MARC & SONS Professional Automatik Taucheruhr, Diver Watch - MSD-016

Obviously resembles a Rolex. I've never heard of them before. I did some research and could not find much. Most of their auto divers use the Miyota 8215. Has anyone ever heard of them or know anyone that has owned one?


----------



## Nokie

Never heard of them (Not that it makes any difference), but I have a staff person from Germany who is a WIS and he also was not aware of them either.


----------



## Watchbreath

:roll: German via China.


----------



## practicalwatch

Watchbreath said:


> :roll: German via China.


Had a feeling. Thanks


----------



## StufflerMike

From a 2010 report on watchbizz.de 

The inflation of new watch brands cannot be stopped any more in times of the Internet. A current example: The watch brand MARC & SONS. On January 16th, 2007 the brand of Marco Heimrich from Landshut is registered at the German patent and brand office. The further procedure is meanwhile a standard among the „new“ watch brands. The domain is secured, a nice homepage is set up, and the watches are then sold on the common online sales channels like Amazon, Ebay and Yatego.

No wonder that Marco Heimrich is doing big business on Ebay as member „shoppingtrend“ with over 4.000 ratings. There he sells – according to own advertisement – watches of the brands „Citizen, Seiko, Tag Heuer, Invicta, Festina and many more for truly good value.“

Real Swiss-Made, but...

Remarkable at MARC & SONS is that here, apparently only watches with the label „Swiss Made“ and no China watches were offered over the traading agency Marco Heimrich until now. The quality characteristic „SWISS-MADE“ is then praised to the highest ranks. It says: „All watches offered here are produced according to the highest quality standards in Switzerland. MARC & SONS watches are produced solely using Swiss brand values and best materials.“

At first glance, an impressive business model. At second glance the very ambitious prices for the models mainly equipped with a quartz work and the automatic watches in Rolex style catch the eye. The experienced watch lover immediately recognizes the offered watches.

Profitable business Private-Label-Watches

Chrono AG from Solothurn in Switzerland produces such watches as so-called private-label-watches at cheap prices with any brand. For example the model MARC & SONS „Chrono Klassik“, which is offered at Chrono AG as model „Arena“. Marco Heimrich asks for 385 Euros for this quartz watch on his homepage. In our opinion, a very ambitious calculation for such a Swiss watch with German branding. For Marco Heimrich it is a profitable business! As „manufacturer“ without intermediary and specialist trade the profit margin for him in direct end customer sales is much more interesting than that of the brand watches that he sells otherwise on Ebay "only" as a trader. Especially, as some prices for his MARC & SONS watches are significantly above those of comparable specialist trading goods.


----------



## cestommek

Honestly,I see nothing that others do not. Although...i think that it´s an "ebay" brand like others...
I See models in their collection, which probably are of Davosa and also the brand Uhr...:think:

But the reality is that there is much hypocrisy in the terms "swiss made" and "made in germany".

http://www.marc-and-sons.de/unsere-kollektion/automatikuhren/item/5-automatik-taucheruhr-diver-msd-012.html



Pic from Oceanictime ,Mercure...










Davosa argonautic

Davosa Watches: Collection









Kronos...


----------



## CM HUNTER

Just another PLB brand and nothing more. Borrowed designs, very little Swiss parts used, and having nothing to do with Germany but the owner's name and locale.


----------



## texaslawman

That they are not German I understand, but how is China involved? 
"Chrono AG from Solothurn in Switzerland produces such watches as so-called private-label-watches at cheap prices with any brand"
Is the key word "produces" instead of makes? Are they generic but decent Swiss made watches or are THEY outsourcing them from Asia too? After living in Europe for years, "European Brand XXX" does not impress me - for example, BMW is the "Ford" of Germany - every taxi/police car/government vehicle is a freakin BMW (or Mercedes - they make fun of us for idolizing either of them in fact). What I don't like though is being charged several times what the watch is actually worth or misrepresenting where their components are made or assembled. Are all those label names below just cheap Asian imports after all? Thanks!


----------



## rationaltime

Welcome to watchuseek and the German watch forum.

Though we don't know where everything is made, we think we can make some reasonable
guesses. Look at this one with Miyota 8215 for € 179,00 inkl. ges. MwSt. 19% zzgl. That's
$250. I have nothing against Miyota, but it isn't Swiss. At that price we guess the case,
bracelet, and other components are made in Asia. The watch is not marked "Swiss Made"
and doesn't claim Swiss origin. It could be cased in Switzerland by Fossil or similar company,
but there is no evidence for that either. Without evidence of Swiss heritage we call this
watch Asian.

















For $250 how can you go wrong? Well, for about half that you can buy
a pretty nice Orient. You know what you are getting, and I would rather
have the Orient. You could buy a Chinese watch for pretty cheap. We
have a forum for those.

Thanks,
rationaltime


----------



## adswuk

I own and run a manufacturing plant ( not watches ) , and I bet a large sum on money these are made by Grovana of Switzerland an OEM manufacturer .. They are however probably actually made in China or at least with Chinese parts in a owned or contracted subsidiary plant .

One more thing, I am currently reshoring to the UK from Asia ( not China ) because making our stuff in the UK is 30% cheaper than Asia .. Don't believe all you read , Asia is catching up and fast in cost so the playing field is leveling out the quality however is still well below western standards .. In particular in China


----------



## imlying

I recently just got one and I must admit that it didn't look that bad and first impressions are that they are pretty ok. I haven't used it at all, but I think it will end up as a gift to one of my friends. We will have to see how it performs!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## mitsouge

I have MSD -001 which has an ETA2824-2 and bracelet or case are pretty durable and high quality. It is signed SWISS MADE AND 1000 ft water resistant. How about that?


----------



## HoustonReal

mitsouge said:


> I have MSD -001 which has an ETA2824-2 and bracelet or case are pretty durable and high quality. It is signed SWISS MADE AND 1000 ft water resistant. How about that?


There is a good chance these were made in Shenzhen, by the Meigeer Watch Company. They look very much like their Nakzen branded divers.


----------



## StufflerMike

HoustonReal said:


> There is a good chance these were made in Shenzhen, by the Meigeer Watch Company. They look very much like their Nakzen branded divers.


Doubts here: Compare the cases of

Guinand G330M (currently out of business, new owner)
Mercure Poseidon
Davosa Argonautic
Uhr 431
Quondam S.6427
Marc & Sons MSD-012
Brandtaucher Navigator

and you might think it is all PLB made in Switzerland., see my post here *https://www.watchuseek.com/f8/ever-hear-marc-sons-989204-post7534827.html#post7534827*


----------



## TurboHarm

Marc and Sons? Speaking to a friend in Finland about finding a Zenton M45 and he said check out M&S..Mixed feelings about quality? Do they use 7750 movements ? Hard to find Zenton used they sell quick! Regards turboharm


----------



## StufflerMike

Current chrono collection only with Miyota, see web site.


----------



## romeodelguasta

Watchbreath said:


> :roll: German via China.


Yes they are made in china and I had occasion to deal with one of them. Nice watch, but not worth the 900€ Price tag. You can find much better for much less.


----------



## romeodelguasta

TurboHarm said:


> Marc and Sons? Speaking to a friend in Finland about finding a Zenton M45 and he said check out M&S..Mixed feelings about quality? Do they use 7750 movements ? Hard to find Zenton used they sell quick! Regards turboharm


I would personally not buy MS. I would go for something more original, a brand that have personality and history. Use your money as you want though, but spend them carefully.


----------



## Tineen

I've owned a few of these and they're decent watches for the money (around €400). Certainly better quality than the usual Chinese made pieces. Bracelet on the diver is exceptionally good and very solid as is the case although the bezel action isn't the best. Good lume and the 42mm wears a lot smaller than the size.

Have dealt with Marco personally too and he's always been helpful. I ended up buying an MS watch because of flexible colour / size / price / design / movement combinations available.


----------

