[Closed] Help me pick a watch

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Get a Rolex.

25 year old ones fetch over £3k and I bet they weren't £3k 25 years ago.

Not a sub though, explorer 2's are where it's at.

Those Steinharts are great looking watches. What sort of budget were you looking at? (You should definitely disregard your budget and get a Rolex or an Omega)

Got one of these [url= http://www.elliotbrownwatches.com/product/canford-202-004/ ]Elliot Brown Canford[/url] at Christmas. Now have it on a leather strap . Lovely watch very pleased with it.

Seiko for excellent watches on a budget.

The rolex is about 4.5k I would like,to spend 500 ish

Tudor heritage black bay

Edit. Just seen your budget...keep saving 😉

The rolex is about 4.5k I would like,to spend 500 ish

Get a Yobokies for £100 and save for the Rolex then.

christopher ward trident ?

I've got one of these (mines on the leather strap though) and they're great watches. Really high quality build and movement but a cracking price. Definitely recommended.

http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/dive/c60-tri/c60-tri-skcs.html

Have a look here: -

[url= http://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Watches/Between/0/and/2000/InStock?sort=salesprice_ets%20asc ]Watch Finder[/url]

I bought my Tag Aquaracer here and highly recommend them, theres a Tag F1 in your budget too.

Get yourself over to TZ UK and pick yourself up a nice Seiko Tuna. SBBN007, 015, 017 etc.

Cannot get a better watch for the money. They are japan market only though so you can't buy a new one unless you import it.

Would love another SBBN015 myself.

[URL= http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a491/loddrik1/705AACE8-651A-4393-976B-154F6842915B_zpscnxwujl2.jp g" target="_blank">http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a491/loddrik1/705AACE8-651A-4393-976B-154F6842915B_zpscnxwujl2.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Get a Rolex.

25 year old ones fetch over £3k and I bet they weren't £3k 25 years ago.

£1400 ?
Some chaps actually posted a 1989 price list up [url= http://rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=307458 ]here[/url]

From that, you'd be stupid not to buy a Rolex.

Have a look at Vostok Europe watches. Good looking reliable automatics at very reasonable prices. I have a Gaz 14 Limousine.

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if you want a watch, consider a [url= http://www.fortis-watches.com/front_content.php ]Fortis[/url]. Same [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA_SA ]ETA[/url] mechs as many name brands + some interesting history. Ignoring that, get a vintage Rolex. Ignore the [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA_SA ]ETA[/url]-based brands that rely on celebrity endorsement and overinflated prices to maintain 'brand' character.

Just googled ETA and fortis and [url= http://watchguy.co.uk/service-fortis-eta-2836-2/ ]the result that came up[/url] was the same model as my watch.

@derek_starship. some of those vostok watches look very neat. 🙂

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OP. The Steinhart pieces look nice. Check out the origin of the movements, not to put you off, but to reassure you. When I looked at watches ages ago (er, >10 years) I found that many manufacturers, including big names, used ETA movements. Just like many motor manufacturers use e.g. Lucas parts or Sony use Samsung LCD panels. That made me rethink my 'I'd like an Omega speed master' idea. Folks will notice from my earlier post that I went for something quite different. Several factors played into it.

One thing I was certain of was that I was prepared to sacrifice accuracy for an automatic movement and some fun.

I had to have an automatic movement because I cannot bear the sound of a quartz movement as I try to go to sleep. The quarter-minute 'tocking' of a quartz movement keeps me awake to the point where I have to take the battery out of any clock where I visit. The tick-tick-tick of a clockwork movement however is a very different thing.

the ETA movement in my Cosmonaut's automatic has the fun of German and English day abbreviations. I only found that out after I played with it. I was certain I wanted a day/date mechanism.

I adore my Citizen Eco-Drive.

But then, I work for a living, so am probably outside the demographic for this discussion.

Seiko FTW. That Tuna Ioddrik posted up is the mutts, frankly, and I'd much, [i]much[/i] rather have one of those than a Rolex. If you can find one, a Seiko SPORK, (SP045RK), is a lovely watch, automatic, beautifully clear dial, and very accurate once properly set up.
Here's mine, the strap is not standard, it's a 'sharkskin' stainless-steel mesh strap from eBay:

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I genuinely love this watch to bits, cost me £350, NOS, this model's been discontinued, but you can probably track one down.

For us mere mortals, Creation Watches is your friend

£500 budget. Yobokies is your man

Assuming you want a Submariner type then I would suggest a look at Orient Mako's (6500 for a big face, 7500 for slightly smaller) or Chris Ward Tridents. Both in budget, both hood quality movements, both look more expensive then they are.

Steinhart and chris ward are both good.
Hamiltons are nice too, but style is hit and miss for me.

I have a chris ward harrison GMT and its really nice.
The other option I always recommend is casio oceanus range. They do some fantastic solar powered, radio controlled watches for c£500 and thats with titanium and saphire crystal. Dont be put off by the brand name, oceanus stuff is really good quality.

I'd second the orient recommendation but instead of the Mako I'd go for (went for) the Ray. If anywhere has a blue dial on a bracelet that's the one to go for.

£500 is a bit of an awkward amount to spend on a watch.

Cheapish automatics are about the 2-3 hundred range and then it's about £1000 for the next step up.

£500 is no-mans land.

I echo the seiko comments above, that steinhart, whilst very nice, looks exactly like this which is 165quid, automatic and bloody handsome with a 35 year pedigree. I have one and it draws comments, has a nostalgic feel of the early 80's and is frankly awesome.
(PS yobokies makes awesome modded seiko's, for that individual feel)

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£500 is a bit of an awkward amount to spend on a watch.

Cheapish automatics are about the 2-3 hundred range and then it's about £1000 for the next step up.

£500 is no-mans land.

You've never heard of Christopher Ward then....

Try Timefactors...Eddie has some cracking watches for good prices. Steinhart also good.....

Vostok FTW.

Take a look at Mondaine. I've got one, it keeps time well, and looks gorgeous(in my opinion obviously), unlike a lot of really gaudy, chintzy watches that cost five times as much.

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a mate just got his steinhart ocean vintage one two weeks ago,
one out of the first batch..
really nice.. and very well made...

I do like those Mondaine's but it's hard to see past one of these at £45 at the minute.

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that looks great- £45- must resist

From that, you'd be stupid not to buy a Rolex.

I'm always confused by statements like this.

Yes, rolexes hold value/appreciate...but do people actually hold on to an expensive watch for 25 years and then sell it? Surely they either swap them out sooner (and probably taking some form of hit) or then can't part with it and pass it on or keep it?

So the fact that it holds value is meaningless to some extent. I bet most of the 25 year old rolexes you see for sale come from two sources (a) people who've inherited and thing it's gopping/need the cash, or (b) constant trade between those buying and selling used rolexes exclusively (i.e. the majority of 25 year old rolexes you see being advertised wouldn't be being sold by it's original owner)

Got any Tesco club card vouchers lying around?

I paid about £500 cash towards an £1800 Omega many years ago by using a fistful of club card vouchers at Goldsmiths. Admittedly they are 3x value now rather than the 4x they were then (I think).

If you have to buy now then get a cheaper stopgap, get a club card credit card, spend everything on it each month and look out for bonus point offers to boost your total.

Bit of patience required but it should mean you can get a more expensive watch 🙂

I wouldn't buy an Omega as an investment, they don't keep their money anything remotely like Rolex's, which are peerless in this regard.

Seiko "Pepsi" Monster looks Rolex-esque.

Get something very different, go for a Sturmanskie. Russian military watches, they were worn by Yuri Gagarin, so the first watch in space. Well within your price bracket.

I have a Christopher ward and I am very pleased with it. [url= http://www.braun-clocks.com/watch/BN0035C ]Braun also do some nice watches[/url]

[img] http://www.braun-clocks.com/watch/BN0035C [/img]

Blimey I had Seiko Tuna when I was in the navy in the 80's, great watch.
I've got a Sea Dweller now which I brought 10 years ago before they changed it to the huge thing it is today. I was lucky to get a little bit of inheritance otherwise I couldn't have afforded it.

Depending on your budget and If you like that style of watch look at used Breitling Super Ocean or an Omega Seamaster. Both great watches.

What is a great watch?

As the 2nd post shows, perfect time keeping costs just £10.

Anything beyond that is (needless) craftmanship, bling or aesthetics.

What is a great watch?

As the 2nd post shows, perfect time keeping costs just £10.

Anything beyond that is (needless) craftmanship, bling or aesthetics.

Sound advice chaps, I am going to wait a while and see when the watch I first linked to comes in. If that fails a seiko looks good

I bought this modded Seiko from Yobokies beginning of last year, I "think" it was around £200 but don't quote me on that.

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Is it worth it over the bog standard Seiko?, it tells exactly the same time and costs £120 more but i think it's worth it - a very nice watch and surprisingly accurate.

From contacting Harold, to paying for it, to receiving the watch took less than 7 days - I'd certainly buy from him again, if i ever lost this one that is.

When my Seiko failed in Turkey about 6 years ago, I bought a nice watch from the market for 20 euros. I didn't realise it at the time, but it was a rolex submariner and its only recently been considered the genuine Rolex when compared next to a genuine one. I still wear it for work and it has worked perfectly, only once getting moisture inside it on a skiing holiday a few years ago.

Ignore the masses tripping over each other to tell you what watch they like and go with the Steinhart.

If I didn't already have too many watches one these would be on the list, Panerai-ish. (Note not the ones with mental engraving)

http://www.magrette.com
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Or if you're after a Rolex-a-like MWC do some nice automatic ones

http://www.mwcwatches.com/product_info.php?pID=245&products_id=245
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Or Unifom Wares do really nice minimalist ones
http://uniformwares.com/
[img] http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0036/6642/products/Uniform-wares-watch-200-series-Grey_1_grande.jp g" target="_blank">http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0036/6642/products/Uniform-wares-watch-200-series-Grey_1_grande.jp g"/> ?v=1354551456[/img]

oooh lots of lovely watches.......but how many of them will be worth twice as much in ten years?

+1 for Christopher Ward. Quality affordable watches. Trident is nice. 60 month movement guarenee too.

You can pick up a nice Omega Seamaster Model 2254.50.00 for £1000-1500, might be worth saving up. This is the classic seamaster, and is getting more desirable.

If you want it now, get a Christopher Ward Trident. Nice watch.

Can anyone recommend a retailer for Vostok Europe? I can only find foreign online sellers and fleabay.

[url= http://www.stowa.de/ ]stowa[/url]

Look at time factors for good value : if they don't have one that suites now then you could wait as he keeps bringing in new designs whilst the old ones sell out.

http://www.timefactors.com/

Also consider servicing costs when choosing a watch, and the servicing fees will be higher the more complicated the movement, such as for a chronograph.

Watches like a Rolex might well go up, but if you get it serviced every 5 years as you should (otherwise it might not go for a premium price 2nd hand anyway) then they don't go up that much once you remove the servicing fees.

For example my Omega Speedmaster Moonphase was something like 2.2k when I bought it new and they are maybe 4.5k now, but a recent Omega service was £440 (although it looks like new now) and a new strap is something like £250.

So to get full investment value you would buy the watch and then never wear it, so it wouldn't need servicing or replacement straps.

So this Yobokies guy, what does he actually do to the watch?

That one that Somafunk posted above.. (which looks great btw)
What did it look like when it left the factory..?

Depending on your view on such matters, aliexpress.com does some tremendous "replicas", as long as you filter out the sub-£30 tat.

My mum had an Omega Constellation thing from there a while ago and it's very almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Keeps time marvelously well, and cost about 1/50th of the price of the actual Omega.

I'm tempted by one of the Asian homages to the Cosmograph Daytona that is available. £50 delivered. Ordinarily I'd shy away from spending that kind of money on an obvious non-original, but the quality of my mum's has changed my mind.

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Lots of nice things in this thread - now I'm thinking one for me and one for my son is the way to go!

My brother and a few mates have Steinharts,very nice watches for the price.
You could also try christopherward,very reasonable prices also.

So I went for the steinhart

http://www.steinhar****ches.de/en/OCEAN-One-Vintage,817.html

Arrived today after a bit of a wait. I could not be happier with it.

The classic seamaster has some appeal to me a nice example with the gold plating intact would hold it's value

Not this one but similar

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-VINTAGE-SWISS-OMEGA-SEAMASTER-S-STEEL-CALENDAR-14k-GP-WRIST-WATCH-GORGEOUS-/321353307036?pt=UK_Jewelery_Watches_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item4ad226539c

also consider servicing costs for a mechanical watch.

The recent service on my omega speedy was £440 - although it now looks like new (apart from needing a new strap...)

Look at timefactors and wait for something to come up that you like - they are limited runs and he brings out new ones every so often.

Those Magrette's are just gorgeous! The case engraving is stunning, I don't think I've ever seen a watch engraved like that before.

oooh lots of lovely watches.......but how many of them will be worth twice as much in ten years?