Watches.......the other type!

[perterra]

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.

Theres no magic bullet in watches, I have had and have, Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, Oris, couple of Seiko, a Zeno, a Martac and an Orient. I think the Orient was $129, the Rolex was $3200. Everything else was in between. The Rolex self destructed digging post holes. They covered it under warranty. The Seiko 6309 is now going on 40 years old, been serviced once and is solid to this day. The Zeno 300 diver and the Tag Heuer 1500 pro diver have seen more wear than anything. The Tag, a quartz, bought in 94 skittered off down the road in 04 when the bracelet broke, stopped, found it and still wear it weekly.

If you want tough, buy quartz, if you want refined, get mechanical. Ones no better than the other, horse for courses

 

[krick3tt]

Check the current New Yorker magazine, great cartoon about expensive watches on page 32.

 

[BritKLR]

Theres no magic bullet in watches, I have had and have, Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, Oris, couple of Seiko, a Zeno, a Martac and an Orient. I think the Orient was $129, the Rolex was $3200. Everything else was in between. The Rolex self destructed digging post holes. They covered it under warranty. The Seiko 6309 is now going on 40 years old, been serviced once and is solid to this day. The Zeno 300 diver and the Tag Heuer 1500 pro diver have seen more wear than anything. The Tag, a quartz, bought in 94 skittered off down the road in 04 when the bracelet broke, stopped, found it and still wear it weekly.

If you want tough, buy quartz, if you want refined, get mechanical. Ones no better than the other, horse for courses

Thanks! Love the real world feedback!

 

[perterra]

Thanks! Love the real world feedback!

If you find one that tickles your fancy go for it, really pretty hard to find a bad watch among well known companies. I rarely sell or trade, after I get a few memories in them they become sentimental to me. I wear anything from watches of the late 30's to current ones. Ones from the 30's and 40's have the most personality, but are zero water and dust resistant (plus very small) dive watches always got my attention, quartz or mechanical either one are fine for most of my wear. For the most part you will be the only one impressed with your watch (at least in my case) it's a lot like $150 pens and $200 pocket knives, everyday people dont recognize it for anything other than a watch, pen or knife.

I have had my eye on a Longines Hydroconquest lately, but doubt I pull the trigger.

 

[mep1811]

I've had a Rolex Submariner for 46 years.
I have an Omega Seamaster , Panerai and a couple of Breitlings one being an Emergency.
I wore the emergency for a year in Iraq and 2 years in Afghanistan.

Other than those 3 years ,I always wear my Submariner . I guess that's because it is special having been my high school graduation gift.
The Marathon TSAR watch is really nice and rugged and not too expensive.
DOXA is a nice watch that very few people wear.

 

[JackW]

I've had a Rolex Submariner for 46 years.
DOXA is a nice watch that very few people wear.

My Rolex Turn-O-Graph is the direct ancestor of the Submariner - it was the first Rolex with the rotating bezel and my grandfather bought it new in 1954 (he had very good taste).
I had it thoroughly gone through by a master Rolex repairman a few yeas ago but we went to great lengths to retain the patina of three generations who have worn this watch.
My nephew will inherit it and his son will eventually own it.

Dirk Pitt wears Doxas!

 

[mep1811]

Dirk Pitt is one of few Doxa wearers. I've always wanted one but there is no way to actually see and hold one without buying it first.

 

[JackW]

A friend of mine has his dad's DOXA - its built like a tank. It could do double duty as a diving weight.
I've seen and held a few Doxa's - I couldn't tell you what models they were but they look like the Land Rovers of watches - plus I'm a sucker for orange dials.
Seiko makes a very nice quartz diving style watch with an orange dial that I would buy if I really needed a watch - but a retired guy really doesn't need a watch that much except to tell how late he is.

This might help

Seiko Diver Automatic Orange: Review - The Truth About Watches

The Seiko Diver Automatic Orange Dial Men's Watch (SKX011J1) is an inexpensive, robust copy of the DOX SUB. Read the full review, specs and ratings.

thetruthaboutwatches.com

 

[Kmrtnsn]

For the money, the Marathon SAR watches can’t be beat. I have the MSAR with date and mechanical movement. It’s been flawless.

 

[Maddmatt]

Dirk Pitt is one of few Doxa wearers. I've always wanted one but there is no way to actually see and hold one without buying it first.

I was just going to say that - I only know of Doxa because of Dirk Pitt

 

[Mtpisgah]

I have been collecting mechanical watches for about 30 years. i have mostly purchased pre owned vintage watches, partly for the styling and partly for the cost. Today I am wearing a white gold Vacheron & Constantin dress watch. Yesterday I was wearing a Patek Philippe. I have others that I rotate through, but these are my favorites. I wear a watch pretty much every day and have worn these and others while overlanding. You just have to remember to take it off if you are going to get dirty.

I also have a Garmin that I wear when doing athletics or working in the yard.

When I retire in eight years I will probably still wear a watch.

 

[BritKLR]

Funny update. Spent the time and effort to drive an hour down the mountain to south Denver to the Cherry Creek Mall (yes an indoor Mall!....felt like I was back in the 80's.) since Omega,Rolex and Brietling all have store's there. After stumbling through the food court, dodging the cologne ladies and avoiding the teen girls/guys on their phones I found the stores. It became clear very quickly that it was a wasted trip. The Omega store had maybe 25 watches out of hundreds of vacant spaces. The Rolex store had even fewer and the Brietling store was closed and moved. None of the stores had anything of interest to look at. The only fun part of the whole trip was watching a young blond women in her Maserati go into meltdown because the parking kiosk wouldnt take her credit card so she couldn't leave the Mall.......life is good.

 

[68camaro]

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.

When it comes to watches Accurate and mechanical really aren’t used in same sentence. Any cheap battery watch is more accurate than a mechanical watch including Rolex. A rolex is certainly an heirloom piece and prices have skyrocked over last 18 months., even submariners are over 10k…used……but accurate it is not. Mechanical watches are bought, cherished and passed down for reasons other than accuracy.

my everyday watch is Rolex Daytona and it is a mechanical wonder, but accurate it is not. If I need to know exactly what time it is I look at phone….haha

 

[BritKLR]

When it comes to watches Accurate and mechanical really aren’t used in same sentence. Any cheap battery watch is more accurate than a mechanical watch including Rolex. A rolex is certainly an heirloom piece and prices have skyrocked over last 18 months., even submariners are over 10k…used……but accurate it is not. Mechanical watches are bought, cherished and passed down for reasons other than accuracy.

my everyday watch is Rolex Daytona and it is a mechanical wonder, but accurate it is not. If I need to know exactly what time it is I look at phone….haha

Thanks and good advice.

 

[mep1811]

Rolex's appreciate with age . Very few of the other brands do. Unless you are wearing a ladies watch like a Patek.