Watches N+1…

Nice contribution @IH

I think I’m making a reasonable, if sarcastic, point. £260 for a rubber strap is, undeniably , taking the piss.

I love watches, always have, but what the high-end brands are really good at is marketing. They’ve built an image of craftsmanship and exclusivity for their products that is largely undeserved. They make tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of watches a year. That’s mass production, pure and simple. They charge what they do for their watches because, simply, they can, as they’ve built a market that will sustain it.

Look, people have every right to spend their money on whatever they wish. If you want on Omega, buy an Omega and enjoy it (and I would love an old Speedmaster). But when they tell you you have to pay over two hundred quid for a rubber strap, admit to yourself that you have been suckered.

Instagram keeps offering these up. I have two watches barely worn as mostly I stick with my Fenix. But I do think that’s a handsome watch.  I’m a sucker for blue dials tho.

Edit: blimey I didn’t expect that image to come out actual size 🙂

I dunno, decent rubber straps cost. I look at Zealande straps regularly, particularly their straps made for particular models – but even they’re £180ish, more if you want a deployant with it. I’d say they’re worth it though

Sorry, dint mean to set it off. I was looking at buying rubber as an occasional alternative to the steel one. I don’t want an aftermarket one and I don’t want to spend £260 on a ‘real’ one. I’ll stick with steel then 🙃

If you think Omega rubber straps are taking the piss, check out their NATO’s!

Sometimes I think it depends on the use case but you can find plenty of good quality straps online aftermarket made for the Watch, just take care as the Seamaster is the last watch I’d want falling off my wrist due to cheap spring bars – although you can buy a pack of good quality bars for pennies.  I found Omega fitting bracelets here for £165 although didn’t buy:

Forstner Model O for Omega Seamaster

i have a £5 Aliexpress QR Tropic coming for a holiday beater, and a £58 Uncle Seiko BOR for the 5kx incoming.   The Clockwork integrated strap for the Samurai was £50, an elastic strap for the 5kx was £7.50. You pays your money… etc.

Edit, and it’s new old watch day tomorrow, watch this space maybe for a re-purchase of a regretful sale.

If you think Omega rubber straps are taking the piss, check out their NATO’s!

I just had a look, £170! In a way you kind of have to admire the absolute brass balls of it 🙂

My view of thinking is that 5% of the watch value isn’t too bad for a second strap. I know it will be secure and will last a very long time. I’m wearing my Panarai at the moment on its original rubber strap (22 years old). It looks brand new. That isn’t to say a £50 strap won’t last as long or do as good a job, but if I’m going to spend £5300 on a watch, its not too far fetched to spend £260 a year or two later for a second strap. But equally, I have bought two straps that lasted only a few years. Not as expensive as Panerai or Omega, but still well north of a £100 – looking at you Bell & Ross and Brietling. My Bell & Ross used such a cheap pin that it would come completely underdone just by it knocking on my shirt cuff. The Brietling leather went hard and out of shape.

And to re-iterate, I do completely understand that we are paying the luxury tax. But that is the same for so many other parts of our life. I’m not convinced so much on the marketing though, I have two Panerai watches. My first one was purchased in 2002 and I had to save up for years to get it. I bought it second hand. Outside of watch collectors most people wouldn’t have a clue that it was a “luxury watch”. My second Panerai was purchased new. Even now the vast majority of people wouldn’t know its a luxury watch – its very rarely advertised (at least in the media I consume). Panarai were a bit of a boutique brand back in the day, the watches were very well made. They did go through a few years of mass made watches were the quality and the workmandship definately dropped of from their usual high standards. Apartently they have moved back to the better made movements.

I guess I liken it to cars, some people can look at a Porsche 911 and think its a wonderfully looking, well made thing of beauty. To other people its just a means of getting from A to B. Or a high end mountain bike, if we were all the same we would all be riding mail order bikes from Canyon. (I ride a Planet X Tempest that I bought very cheap in the sale – too old and too far away from trails these days)

I could also bring up handbags…..now in my opinion that is nonsense prices. I have a friend in work who has bags way more expensive than my watches (including my Rolex). Each to their own. I wouldn’t spend what they spend on a bag, it is purely luxury tax – but who am I to ridicule what they spend their money on.

Any/all discretionary spend can be reduced to the ‘why on earth would he/she spend that on that?’…

If you don’t need to sell a kidney or the significant other into ahem ‘night work’, who gives a shiny shit what other people think about what you spend your spare cash on? Presumably you work/worked hard to amass it, do as you like. I might not understand it but you definitely don’t need to justify it to me or anybody else 🙃

Quite fancy an orange one of these for a fun summer watch. Normally don’t look at San Martin as not that fussed about a homage watch but am quite liking their original design stuff at the moment

San Martin New Original Design Fashion 4…

Nice and colourful those San Martin. But everything is a homage to something else and those remind me of the Doxa Sub 200. They’re definitely different but with a similar feel. Might just be the fact that they’re colourful and the Doxa also stands out for being colourful.

But I’d have both the San Martin and the Doxa, my collection is very drab so a bit of colour would be nice!

My daughter has an orange Breitling and I’ve been tempted to “borrow” it a few times myself….the downside is that she might see it as being ok to borrow mine!

I get what you’re saying, I guess I always used to associate San Martin with Sub or Black Bay homages which were slightly more obvious and not my thing

NWD (kinda) today a I embark upon a different and informed journey.  I made some strict decisions re “keepers” and decided from 1st June I’ve to make more use of my nicer watches and only ever need two more watches to buy in my life*, a spring drive GS (or Patek Phillipe 5396G-017 should I ever win big on Premium Bonds) and a Grail Navitimer.  I’ve lots of saving to do, and when I get to achieving a budget for the GS they’ll be a fire sale of Seikos and Citizens with the exception of the Arnie as a beater.

Ive compartmentalised my watch box accordingly and complete a range of straps for “options” for the low end stock should I use them for holidays/ on a whim in the interim.

Maybe sounds odd to some, but I need fewer watches to choose from and I’m fed up of agonising over value vs location with my watches with the exception of gardening / diy type stuff of which a 5610 remains on the “right” side of the box.    Also through this thread and my personal journey I’ve achieved then lost the desire for lower end watches and realise any spend on those is less save for the grails.   My desired exit collection will then be:

A Navitimer

A 3 hand spring drive GS

The CW c65 compressor

The SMP

The Arnie

The 5610

There i said it……

*definately maybe 😉😇

Yeah right. …. I’m looking forward to the what watch to wear whilst scuba diving training in a quarry near  Macclesfield but elegant enough to wear in town for a cheeky lamb kebab post over the summer..

🙃

Bargain Apple watch strap. finance available

I’m about to buy a Suunto Core as I’ve fancied one for donkey’s years.

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Products/sports-watches/Suunto-Core/suunto-core-black-yellow-tx/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ps~shp~sb&utm_campaign=shopping_brand_0_2017&cmpid=ps~shp~sb~google~shopping_brand_0_2017~~~~~emea~fra~&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5pLkvre3hgMVUolQBh1tqQXeEAQYAyABEgKsrvD_BwE

Before I do it are there any other “chunky” outdoors type watches that I should be looking at in the region of £130? I already have 4 G Shocks, so I don’t really need another one of them… unless it is a yellow digital one.

An orange Garmin Instinct 2 Solar IMO.

I’d second the Garmin, although I’ve no clue on cost. The app to sync to your phone/ Strava isn’t great but it’s been around a while – and is the same one as for Garmin bike computers. And the Suunto battery life is not great: 12 months in time mode (ie no GPS, altimeter etc) and not rechargeable.

Yeah right. …. I’m looking forward to the what watch to wear whilst scuba diving training in a quarry near  Macclesfield but elegant enough to wear in town for a cheeky lamb kebab post over the summer..

Sssshhhhhh, don’t discourage him, I’m waiting for the Seiko fire sale… 😉

I have an interest in watches that waxes and wanes as I realise that 99% of the time I just look at my phone but they are the only form of jewellery beyond a wedding ring that I’d wear.

Looking at Kryton’s relationship with his collection it’s like the abusive partner he can’t live with but can’t live without. Apologies if that’s a bit flippant but it really doesn’t seem to bring him any joy! 🤣

But is it kinda the same as some people’s relationships with their bikes? Even if it’s more enjoyable, there’s still the “n-1, which one to get rid of”, “OMG, turns out I got rid of the one bike I love most”, “N+1, replace my long lost love”, “what to replace my current bike with” narrative! 😉

Yeah, I’m sure it is the same, I suppose the difference stems from different bikes giving you tangible advantages. I.e. I can’t go for a bike ride without a bike and an enduro bike can’t replace a road bike and vice versa. Whereas any £25 casio can do any job a watch needs to in the modern day.

Watches are jewellery though, it’s as much (in fact probably more) about form as function. I have a selection of watches to wear for the same reason that I have a selection of shirts/t-shirts/shorts/jumpers etc etc – because I want a choice of what to wear.

Looking at Kryton’s relationship with his collection it’s like the abusive partner he can’t live with but can’t live without. Apologies if that’s a bit flippant but it really doesn’t seem to bring him any joy!

Ha Ha you aren’t wrong!  In truth I love wearing my Omega for example, and my Aquaracer when on suit duty, and the cocktail time during next weeks posh exec dinner, but when I’m faced with a choice it plays to my anxiety and angst.   For all the reason above I really enjoy having a collection to chose from, yet at the same time don’t – the multiple divers are an issue for sure.  Having one very nice watch in each genre that I appreciate will help.

In the interim I find it massively enjoyable to watch the variety, complication and mechanics of the horological industry here and on various media platforms. That leads me to want to reflect on my more random prior experience and patiently use my new found and increasing levels of knowledge to make more informed decisions.

Blimey! I feel sooo superficial. No angst. No soul searching. No self flagellation etc. I just like fancy watches. 🙃

I wish I was like that, I’m a classic overthinker.  I’d be 100 times less stressed 😂

Kryton57Full Member
I wish I was like that, I’m a classic overthinker.  I’d be 100 times less stressed 😂

But that would stress you for not being accurate enough 🙃

Maybe you need to frame things differently?

e.g. I’ve decided that my watch collection will have mean=6 with sigma=2.2

😂^^

Anyway, the last hurrah, an oldie returns as an office watch alongside the SMP when smart casual…

S’nice that

@Harry_the_Spider I’d echo the Garmin instinct/instinct 2/crossover suggestions. I’m another one with a couple of G-shocks my instinct solar has all but displaced the G-shocks, it’s  comparable as a watch (IMO) and a good (durable, with good battery life) sports tracking device (if you’re not into bells and whistles)…

If only someone was selling a Garmin Instinct Solar in the classifieds…

in orange…

with a spare strap…

for £75.

😉

My SMP is on Omega deployant rubber.  Only available aftermarket and that’s nearer £500

I’ve had plenty of 3rd party rubbers before from cheap Amazon ones to Vanguards and RubberB

Nothing comes close to OEM

Jeepers, £500 notes.  I can understand the quality as the rubber on my SMP is leagues above anything else I have, but why are deployants so expensive?

im looking at a Hirsxh for the Hamilton – £34 or £82 with a deployant!

The deployant is £300

I’ve had snide ones before and “proper” copies like Artem.  You can tell the difference.   Not saying it’s worth 300 quid but there’s no hiding that it’s leagues better than a cheap one

Saying that I took the Omega deployant off my Speedy and replaced it with a Formex clasp.  Not as nice but you can adjust it which makes loads of difference to the fit

Just read that back wondering how I can be trying to justify a £300 watch strap clasp

Then realised that there are people here that will spend 10 grand on a push bike and suddenly all was well in the world 😂

Tbf said bikes aren’t *just* for pushing, you can also pedal some of them, which I believe justifies some of the cost 😉

I’m very fortunate that my lack of riding ability means I’m happy with gravel….so my expenditure on bikes these days is minimal….im very happy on my Planet X Tempest with no need to buy anything new for a while.

Which also means I can get away with spending more on my other hobby (watches!)

You need to discover guitars…

@igm. I’ve just started learning and that’s some rabbit hole 😂

Straying from watches for a second, my elder son started to get decent on the guitar, which shamed me into getting some lessons to learn to play the Yamaha acoustic my wife bought me 23 years ago.
Somehow we now have three folk learning guitar and four guitars in the house, plus two DIY guitar build kits as something for me and the boys to do over our last school holidays together.

Watches are cheaper I think.

For full ridicule I play golf (badly)….equally expensive. The missus has just decided she wants to learn how to play. It’s her birthday in a week, she’s got clubs and lessons from me….which I’m now regretting!

I need to buy another watch this year before she gets into golf and diverts my spare money elsewhere!

Fortunately I’ll never be able to play guitar (very limited use of one arm) so that’s a bonus!