So many deals around but I'm holding off until this badboy is back in stock...Hurry up Helm!!!
Passed up a helm that was on kibble watches a while back. Sort of bummed, then managed to get a zelos swordfish which filled the void.
Those Helm watches are rather tasty! Lots of bright lume, very clean and clear display, and a choice of lume colours as well. Also a Seiko hackable auto movement and not stupidly expensive. What’s not to like!
I like this one:
Or this one, pretty much defines ‘tool watch’...
I’m still a sucker for the blues that change in the light on the MkII AT.
I’m still a sucker for the blues that change in the light on the MkII AT.
For same effect with a smaller price tag see also Seiko SARX044 & SARX045.
I’ll buy.
I’ve got a few
My go to watch is a Garmin FR 235
But I have
A Realy old Omega that is from first few years of production. Bought by accident.
Omega Speedmaster Day/Date
G-Shock as above
Rolex Sub ‘Hulk’
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I’d love to know what the little Omega might be worth. It’s serial number puts it in 1st year of production @ 1894
Can't find the Speedmaster at moment.
But here it is from an earlier post
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RIP MagnetoDog
Maybe he still has my watch 🙁
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New strap from Stevo straps, top bloke. 1962 Omega within 1 sec a day. Cal 552.
Some lovely watches on here 🙂 Helm added to the possible list.
I need something more muted than my bright g-shock collection!!
Seiko Samurai
https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/prospex/srpb49k1
Helm Vanuatu
http://helmwatches.com/vanuatu2.html
Tissot Swissmatic
https://www.tisso****ches.com/en-gb/shop/t1064071603100.html
Current faves but the more I look the more I see 🙁
All you guys seem very knowledgeable where would your money go £300ish tops. I prefer larger face/lume ideally but not deal breaker.
I'd go with a Seiko SKX007 (cheaper version with rubber band instead of the ss bracelet one)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seiko-Analogue-Quartz-Watch-Rubber/dp/B000B5MI3Q/
then replace the rubber band with one of these which is so much more better than the original ss bracelet that comes with the watch
https://www.amazon.co.uk/22-Metal-Band-SS221803b019-Watch/dp/B00KGPVO90/
£275 all in, leaving £25 for a Nato strap or similar to swap things uo a bit now and then.
All you guys seem very knowledgeable where would your money go £300ish tops. I prefer larger face/lume ideally but not deal breaker.
I have the same Samurai as you and I'm struggling with not buying its more collectable brethren as an investment:
More choice/decisions !! That Seiko ocean edition is lovely 🙂
Went in to WoS on regent Street yesterday and asked about going on the list for a Hulk, 'you won't get one' was the answer. Thought it would be. Pfff.
Mrs OTS bought me a Garmin Instinct in Tundra for Christmas. Very pleased with it. Now who wants to buy a FR935? 😉
I have a Seiko 5J22-0A10 Auto Relay that I’ve had for 20yrs. Fabulous watch -
Still keeps great time and Auto relay was always fun for boy when he was small to wake it up. I have new “nicer” watches but I’ll never get rid of the Seiko
I can’t stop looking at that Seiko ocean edition !! It gets lovelier the more I see it it’s in my basket 🙂 Will it go lower with more off ? Or do I buy now ? Cheers Kryton 😉
All you guys seem very knowledgeable where would your money go £300ish tops. I prefer larger face/lume ideally but not deal breaker.
I’d be looking at the Helm Vanuatu - ticks all your boxes. (See what I did there’s?)
All you guys seem very knowledgeable where would your money go £300ish tops. I prefer larger face/lume ideally but not deal breaker.
Seiko Skx009 or skx007. Auto, big face, great lume and pretty indestructible.
Mine, in new man trinket case. Raketa on the top right is probably the most interesting.
I have been wondering for a while about selling an old Seiko kinetic one that I have had from new, and it’s sat in my drawer for best part of 20 yrs. it’s a 5M42 OE30. It would need a service though not sure if that would make a difference to it’s value ? Any suggestions on easiest way to sell for a fair price ?
eBay suggests anywhere between £20-£300 depending on condition and working etc ?
In an attempt to reach peak STW I now have an mij Seiko 5 from creation 🙂 not crazy expensive but I like it, for someone with very slim wrists it works well.
Mrs. S treated me to one of these for xmas.
She's ace.
It's a lovely looking watch and really comfortable.
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Some lovely things on this thread chaps.
If one had a budget of 6.5k and wanted a new watch, where would you learned lot be looking ?
Bloody hell lowey - this thread will run for ages now with your query!
What style of watch do you like?
This IWC Portuguese chronograph is about £6.5k.
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It's a bit predictable maybe, but for the that money a used Rolex Milgauss with enough money over to get yourself a half decent new bike.
If one had a budget of 6.5k and wanted a new watch, where would you learned lot be looking ?
As I posted above, I would still be
I’d go with a Seiko SKX007 (cheaper version with rubber band instead of the ss bracelet one)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seiko-Analogue-Quartz-Watch-Rubber/dp/B000B5MI3Q/
then replace the rubber band with one of these which is so much more better than the original ss bracelet that comes with the watch
https://www.amazon.co.uk/22-Metal-Band-SS221803b019-Watch/dp/B00KGPVO90/
£275 all in, leaving £25 for a Nato strap or similar to swap things uo a bit now and then.
and use the other £6.2k for something else.
£6.5k. Grand Seiko Snowflake, with a couple do quid spare to buy a really nice blue leather strap.
Or if you’re feeling a little more of a classic, a Rolex Sub.
Personally, if Rolex was the preferred option I’d save an extra £1k and get a GMT II in Pepsi colours.
I did look at the GMT 11 but didnt really get on with the colour scheme.
The sub is lovely though.
Also looking at a Breitling Chronomat 44 but I have ladies wrists so it might be too big. Will try them on.
The Omega's are lovely things also.
Trip to the Watchshop in order I think.
If one had a budget of 6.5k and wanted a new watch, where would you learned lot be looking ?
Possibly a Tudor Pelagos, like this one:
But, to be perfectly honest I’d more likely go for a top-end Seiko Tuna MarineMaster 1000, and the Heim I posted up above.
Assuming you're buying something to wear, for £6.5k I'd recommend going into a jewellers and trying stuff on. That way you'll get something that looks and feels right on you wrist and you're happy with. If you don't find something you like in the first shop move on to the second one.
Indeed, enjoy the experience too, let them ply you with a drink and admire a few watches.
When spending that money, it's worth deciding, do you care what is value will be in a year or 10? Some brands hold their value better than others.
Any pocket watches out there? I've a silver half Hunter, it's nothing super, just worn very occasionally for a bit of fun on a silver double Albert with fob and a silver sovereign holder on the other end. No sovereigns in it....20 pences fit though. I'd like something similar in gold but the cost is so much more.
Any pocket watches out there?
My mate has one he wears on his wrist. No, I'm not kidding. It was his fathers and he wears it on a leather strap that has a kind of pocket made for it that it sits in so it can be used as a (very large) wrist watch.
Yes, it looks as daft as it sounds.
Hamtun watches up n coming H2 Ti diver looks pretty
https://hamtun.co/blogs/news/this-is-the-h2-first-photos-of-our-new-automatic-titanium-dive-watch
Lowry, I have a few in that price range. Rolex explorer II is a nice watch and in that price range if you wanted Rolex.
Recently picked up a Breitling Super Oceon Heritage, personal preference but I’d say it’s better looking than my Rolex.
I’d also look at Panerai, the below is slightly over budget but worth saving the extra for....(Its my next watch)
https://www.watches-of-switzerland.co.uk/Panerai-Luminor-1950-3-Days-GMT/p/17650353/
I bought a 'Christopher Ward C5 Malvern MkII' from Ebay earlier this year. This is the only watch i own.
I prefer dress watches rather than the more complicated designs.
Thoughts on Invicta? Quite like this.
When I was looking for a watch for my 40th I noted that people got hooked on watch collecting and on forums talked of their OWN (one watch nirvana) as if it was the ultimate watch that would break them from their habit.
OWNs were Panerais, Rolex Subs, etc.
One of the cheapest OWN was the Omega Speedy so I went to try one on, but the misses didn't like it.
The shop also had a (tag) Heuer carrera reissue which I liked but wasn't big enough for the misses :
so she got me to try on the modern version, but I wasn't going to buy that as the movement wasn't much good.
Luckily they had a moonphase speedy which looked similar, was the same size as the Tag Carrera, and had a decent movement (the same as the reissue), so I got that :
and the OWN story must have been correct as I am not fussed about any other watch, except maybe an old Seamaster 300 :
That old seamaster is lovely!
I tend to think if you take your time you'll find the watch for you. I spent a year, maybe more deciding on my PO. it was for my 40th. I'd tried on Subs, seamasters, breitlings, IWC pilots....for ages I thought I wanted a navitimer but decided too busy and they wear large (I've small wrists) the sub at 40mm looked a good fit and I thought i had settled on that for several months, but then I read the George Daniels Obit and read about the co-axial escapement...and went looking at Omega again. chose the PO and waited....think I must have left it 9 or 10 months before buying it, to be sure I had found the right one this time! After all this research I find watches interest me now and I admire them, but I don't really lust after any and 6 years on since getting my PO I still wear it daily and love it to bits. I could enjoy another watch...for a 50th or a wedding anniversary or such, but I don't lust after another.
Had a punt around the Rolex shops yesterday. Your looking at 12 months wait for a Sub in black and a 2 year wait in green.
Building in exclusivity ?
Rolex marketing, they could make as many Submariners as they wanted.
Have Breitling Transocean on mesh bracelet and Omega DeVille on croc strap.
Both plain and simple.
Lowey - re your £6.5k budget....new or pre-owned? If pre-owned I would be looking at Ian Blowers and Austin Kaye; my preference would be one of the Omega museum range or possibly a Panerai.
They make 2000 watches per week at Rolex, the waiting list is driven by them to create exclusivity. New Daytonas are £10k more or less, anything up to £20k for a 'new' second hand one.
Rolex marketing, they could make as many Submariners as they wanted
Yep. When yours is the most in-demand brand, make less not more to maintain exclusivity.
And then hike up the prices year on year.
@lowey - a stainless steel Rolex sports watch will always be a good choice from a value retention perspective. For me, I only really like the Explorer (more so now they fixed the hands issue) but not enough to buy one.
You do definitely need to spend some time looking and deciding what’s right for you. And be mindful that it’s easy to be drawn by the big brands with big marketing budgets. And beware the complete lunacy of watch forums - a spat on one of those makes a politics discussion on here look like the proverbial kindergarten..!
Enjoy.
PS have a look at the watch forum on Pistonheads.
It isn’t too crazy and there’s a wide variety represented from watches costing in the £ hundreds to a guy asking for help to spend £40k....
They also recommend a particular dealer: Dom Hackett (based in Hatton Garden IIRC) who can generally get watches at a decent price.
And then hike up the prices year on year.
Yep, Rolex have done that very well. Bought my first Submariner in 1989 and it cost £710 new. Bought a couple after that through the years for around £1000 used and gave up wearing watches about 10 years ago and coming back and looking at today's submariner prices I can't believe how much they cost. Saying that, I always sold mine for more than I paid so the price increases don't seem so bad then.
N+1 strikes again. About to click buy on the below, may swap out the bracelet for a leather strap.
I have the Presage with the ice blue face on patent leather. They are beautiful watches.
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Actually Rolex make 850,000 + watches a year! It’s a factory made mass produced product.
Although I understand the intricacy of those Seiko Prestige, somehow I'm not attracted to them - individual taste is a bizarre thing...
Lowey where is that? If get your name down for the Hulk (green sub). And make 5+ k in 2 years time. As I said the other day I went into WoS on regent Street and they would take my name for a black sub, for the Hulk they would also but said ' your wont get though'. I tried in may to get on the list for a Daytona and they simply refused. I'll have to try elsewhere clearly, so interested to know where you are being told 2 years.
Although I understand the intricacy of those Seiko Prestige, somehow I’m not attracted to them – individual taste is a bizarre thing…
Totally. I'm not hugely keen on chunky dive watches, I prefer a larger face over a big bezel.
Although I understand the intricacy of those Seiko Prestige
It's Presage. Prestige make pressure cookers!
Yes sorry - bloody autocorrect!
Still looking 🙂
Quite fancy a Marloe coniston or maybe a pre loved cwc g10
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/DmNKKBwD/B328-B570-3464-4-F37-845-E-D3111649-CCA2.pn g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/DmNKKBwD/B328-B570-3464-4-F37-845-E-D3111649-CCA2.pn g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Rqhz8j4K/ECCEA06-E-7441-4-C7-C-816-A-0-F77-F44-C0230.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Rqhz8j4K/ECCEA06-E-7441-4-C7-C-816-A-0-F77-F44-C0230.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
So to complete my little story, buying stuff on Amazon’s Japanese site is a doddle. Ordered Christmas Eve turned up on Friday. Amazon sort out all the import duty stuff so no hold ups. Easy.
Rocking a Stealth G-Shock now and feeling pleased with myself.
Pictures of the Jap import please.
This is from another forum
The chap must have really skinny wrists as I have delicate flower wrists and it looks smaller than that.
For those that don’t know these, it’s design is based on the original G-Shock from 35 years ago. EXACTLY the same functionality can be had from a £75 one from Argos. This one differs in the screen face is more muted and the case is steel embedded in resin rather than just resin. Oh, and it has a screw down back rather than 4 screws holding it on.
This version is only available on the Japanese market. I like it.
It's nice. What model no. is it?
Edit - got it GW-5000 1JF. About £200?
That’s the one.
From Amazon it works out at just under £250 with delivery/import fees etc.
Originally I wanted a solid beater watch, but got carried away once I started digging into forums. I’ll still treat it as such though. Would be wrong not too.
This is the more standard issue
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A friend of mine has a brother who was in a certain regiment based in Hereford.
While he was still "in" we visited him and had a weekend on the beer. He showed us loads
of photographs from expeditions etc. and some very interesting memorabilia.
While we were drinking a few Flower's IPAs in one of the rural boozers, I complimented his watch. It was the original G-Shock shown above.
He offered it to me as a gift but I politely declined.
Wish I'd have taken it now. A classic watch with some interesting "stories" no doubt.
I like the fact it’s a fit and forget sort of watch, doesn’t need cosseting, it sorts it’s accuracy out from the atomic clock radio broadcasts and powers it’s self from the magic thing in the sky.
Interesting that the newer versions have more recessed buttons than the originals.
I have always wanted a square G-Shock and very pleased with this one. The original is still Uber cool.
plus one, my local and very friendly jeweller who specialises in used watches has a CWC g10 in the window. I'll chekc the price with him if you like
I've just got the cheaper resin version, the 5600 1-ER.
Love the classic square case, solar, self adjust, nicer to wear than my bulky 7900 but smaller buttons so harder to use.
Also have a load of cheap Casios, they just keep multiplying. 🙂
The only watches I've ever considered for over £100 are the Orient Bambino, O07J and most of all the Seiko Alpinist mentioned earlier.
However, a couple of duff 5's over the years has put me off mechanicals for now......
Neilnevill. Thanks for the offer I’ve succumbed to one already off eBay 🙂
Any recommendations for second hand vintage watch shops around London/ Essex area?
Wally, my local is in crystal palace, he's good. There are several used watch dealers on the strand and Burlington arcade near regent Street, but both are costly.
If you have any idea what you want and budget, I can look in the window for you and maybe take some photos. He always has more inside though including the higher end stuff. Window has lots of tag, 60s, 70s and 80s omega, Cartier stuff at £5-700 ish plus a few at a bit more, last time I was in for a chat he showed me a couple of Rolex datejusts he had in....seem. 4-6k iirc.
I can pop over Wednesday, where are they?
Crystal Palace Jewellers London
76 Church Rd, London SE19 2EZ
020 8653 7507
It's 3 or 4 minutes walk from the bus parade, 5 from crystal palace or gipsy hill station.
Daryll is very knowledgeable and friendly, normally will chat for hours about watches.... It's normally me thinking 'i need an excuse to leave!'
Stay away from the two 36mm bond seamaster professionals. (one quartz, think the other is auto as it's stopped and Daryll always does new batteries). They aren't for you... No no no. 😉
That shop is a couple of min walk away from me, always has a lot of 50’s to 80’s Omega, longines and the odd zenith. Just be aware that some are redials. Nothing wrong in this just some people don’t know and think it’s just really good condition, there’s 3 omegas in the window now all with the same silvered 3-6-9 Arabic numerals that look box-fresh (redials). Prices are reasonable too.
There’s a couple of shops in clerkenwell worth a look too.
Daryll has an Omega trained guy that services the watches and (not sure if it's the same guy or another guy) who cleans/freshens dials. Most look (Imv) patina'd nicely.
I find Daryll very honest, if you are unsure of something just ask and he will explain. If the dial looks good, ask if its redialed.
His prices are very reasonable... Although up considerably on a few years ago. I've a 1960 seamaster manual wind that I got from him err... 6 years ago for £300, now I see similar in his window at £500+. However if it were in the place on the Strand it would be £800 or so and DEFINITELY a redial.
Time to disgust everyone.
I’ve just pressed the button on a Fenix 3, which means the Seiko Prospex Kinetic GMT (SUN019P1) is going out of rotation and into storage.
The Oris Pro Pilot GMT and the 7754 Valjoux Torgoen are safe though.
No GMT fetish here. Oh no.
I think Japanese watches are highly underrated. I own a few Seiko and Citizen (and a Tag).
This is interesting https://deployant.com/5-facts-about-citizen-watch-company-which-you-may-not-know/
Thats very interesting. My horologist friend recommended I but an eco-drive, explaining to me that Citizen were to him as Giant bikes were to me. That makes sense now, but I never realised they were 100% Japanese made.
That Super Titanium looks nice - and 1s per year accuracy for the Calibre 0100!
I’m loving this thread, its a great learning curve.
Neilnevill out of curiosity how much is the London Jewellers looking for the G10?
I wonder what impact smart/activity watches will have on the nice watch market. Having just the other week got a Garmin Instinct my daily wear for the past 15 years Seamaster has hardly been on my wrist.
thatscold - nice link.
Loving this (slightly, but not very, Swiss) Citizen
Beautiful.
Now if it were GMT...
I wonder what impact smart/activity watches will have on the nice watch market. Having just the other week got a Garmin Instinct my daily wear for the past 15 years Seamaster has hardly been on my wrist.
Likewise while I’m at home recently. I wear a vivosmart on the other wrist permanently anyway for sleep & HR observations mainly and don’t need the instinct so when I leave the house I wear a proper watch. I have my eco drive on now (AT4008-51E) the instinct is charging but I alternate between the eco drive and Tag Aquaracer for work/with suit.
I think likely i’ll be saving up to get the 12yo Tag Serviced and cleaned - it was a wedding present - and box that for Sunday best and rotate the Eco Drive and the Samurai instead.
Most likely what will happen is that each will be worn on the whim of the day.