in mass' mind as a good watch than A Lange Sohne... which half of the World can't even pronounce... no joke... neither can they say Porscheeeeeeeeeeeeee correctly.
Trust me, you wear a huge Breitling for Bentley on your wrist, half the World will know you have SOME SORT of a branded watch. If you wear a A Lange, only the inner circle of WIS would know... you cannot deny this fact.
However, I concur thought that the most important brand is the brand in your own mind. I could say G shock Casio for me as long as I like it... it tells time way better than A Lange and Patek or whatsoever... as long as I like it... then the brand is no. 1.
However, in terms of the general mass public's perception, nothing beats the obvious or the usual suspects... you wear a Panerai, people who don't even know watches will know that it is some sort of branded watch... you wear a Rolex... people know it is an expensive watch... heck if you were to ask me, people who don't know watches will think any Rolex is worth > Pateks or Vacheron...
Just like when people see a Mercedes, they perceive it as a luxury product but if you come in on a Bentley, mass who doesn't know may not have as clear an association of it immediately as a Mercedes... simple as that...
Same with a Brietling... it is all a matter of how the mass perceive a brand. You could have the most expensive Patek's pocket watch auctioned off in the World but 90% of the World wouldn't know it but what matters is that as long as you know it and derive satisfaction of wearing such. Hence, if you want a big, easily recognized watch, buy a Breitling... fwiw, it serves this purpose very well with a nice image. Same with Rolex and Panerai and they all deserve as much credit as they do with Pateks or even Richard Mille... which 1/2 the world of non watch group doesn't know.