WOODY2
Adventurer
Don't they traditionally tie ones hands behind their back?
Watches.......the other type!
- Thread starter BritKLR
- Start date
Trail Talk
Well-known member
$3-10k will get you a lot of choice and the best bang-for-your-buck would be pre-owned if you are comfortable going there.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Agree....$15k is rediculous and not possible for me due how hard I am on watches but, it is a very cool watch. My main issue is I'm tired of battery watches, low end mechanical/auto watches and frankly looking for a high quality watch that I can wear, use, accurate and will be the last one I buy and the one I leave to my son when they put me in the dirt....cheers.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
This Breitling Emergency battery watch was pretty cool but the technology was superseded so I replaced it with a satellite PLB
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Yep......that's the one! But your right, technology has passed it by and much cheaper now.....$15k
So, it sounds like your in a higher range, what's been your life/use experience for these types of watches? Thanks.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
My experience is that purchasing new often disappoints in reliability and customer service. High-end brands know that many buy for prestige and not utility, so they focus on marketing lifestyle messages and neglect after-sales support. Price is a huge part of market position so the price difference between watches sharing the same specifications can be thousands, just because of the brand name.
WVI
Adventurer
I see clocks in almost every room in our house, and mulribles in the kitchen. I see a couple in my truck. I have a clock on my cell.
Since officially retiring, I can do without them other than for keeping a random doctors appointment or some such.
I did buy a watch a few years back. While driving a school buss I needed one. I picked up a used self winding Citizen off ebay. It's an older, simple all metal watch. It collects dust now somewhere in the office.
While in the military, I wore a basic GShock....The old basic ones were almost bomb proof for me. I found my last one, with grinder scars on the face, in my closet some years back..It was still running at that time.
Anyway, this is my .02 worth.
Have a great and safe holiday.
Since officially retiring, I can do without them other than for keeping a random doctors appointment or some such.
I did buy a watch a few years back. While driving a school buss I needed one. I picked up a used self winding Citizen off ebay. It's an older, simple all metal watch. It collects dust now somewhere in the office.
While in the military, I wore a basic GShock....The old basic ones were almost bomb proof for me. I found my last one, with grinder scars on the face, in my closet some years back..It was still running at that time.
Anyway, this is my .02 worth.
Have a great and safe holiday.
You are welcome. Yeah, I can see gloves and harnesses making reaching in to a pocket difficult, and dangerous.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Well, this is become a very interesting experience dipping a toe into the world of high-end watches.....First, no one seems to actually have some of the watches I'm interested in in stock, even the brand boutique stores in Denver. They're willing to order the watch(s), but that comes with it's own hassle of driving two hours to Denver and dealing with a sales person to look at single watch. Next, it appears that on the used/vintage market most of these watches depreciate faster (up to 50% from dealer msrp) then a high end car.....and lastly, due to the demand there is a huge market of high-end "knock-off", tribute, counterfeit and the whole "high end replika" market people are very proud of, so now one has to become a youtube watch expert to determine if the used/vintage watch your looking at is a "replika". Plus there is the whole on-line vendor market place which just seems like it could become a problem if you have a issue with a watch........wow.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
Yep, that is the state of things nowadays. I wouldn’t see it as a negative that some education is helpful before making a purchase of several thousand dollars, you will also learn about the brand’s history and accomplishments which should be an important part of the ownership experience. There are many dedicated watch forums that serve the need. Watchuseek is a good place to start until you want to take a deeper look into a single brand. PS, replicas are pretty easy to spot but “frankensteins” are trickier, those made up from incorrect parts.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Very helpful. Thanks.
JackW
Explorer
A friend of mine is a moderator on Watchuseek and can go on endlessly about watches. He makes a couple of trips a year to Switzerland to visit the factories and has amassed a very nice collection. He appraised my vintage 1954 Rolex Turn-o-graph for me (my grandfather's watch). It's gotten way too valuable to wear anymore except on special occasions. I've always lusted after an orange dial Doxa divers watch but since I retired six years ago I just don't need a watch.
Watchuseek is a great resource for all things watches.
Watchuseek is a great resource for all things watches.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Thanks. This obviously something that will take some time to get my head wrapped around.
4000lbsOfGoat
Well-known member
I don't have any experience with higher end watches but I have a couple of mechanical self-winding Tissots that I use regularly. As a practical matter, if you want a mechanical self-winder, pay attention to the manual winding mechanism to make sure it's easy to turn. While my watches will stay wound most of the time while I'm "doing stuff" they won't stay wound through multiple days of driving all day - sitting and driving just doesn't provide the necessary motion. Thus, they do need to be manually wound on occasion.
One of mine has a large dial that is easy to turn, the other has a very small dial that is very difficult to turn - guess which one is more pleasant to use!
One of mine has a large dial that is easy to turn, the other has a very small dial that is very difficult to turn - guess which one is more pleasant to use!