Watch Crew: What to buy?

hah, it wasn’t a submariner, could have been a datejust…it wasn’t a huge watch, but had a bunch of bling…chances are that if it’s shiny, she will like it. Although my fiance has TINY wrists, so even a 31mm would probably be too big.

Yep, I’ve created a monster…She was browsing one of her fashion magazine and yells to me, “Tom, how much does a Tag Heuer cost?”. Me - “Idunno, anywhere from 300 to 5k? Let me see which one”. Then she shows me this:

http://images.bizrate.com/resize?sq=500&uid=461632218

covered in diamonds, $4k…fml

So, does anyone know of any more reasonable watches that look like that, but are WAY WAY cheaper? She doesn’t need the diamonds, more than happy with just some rhinestones or whatever. She just likes shiny stuff.

OMG yes, I never understood why people like her so much.

Xander, gorgeous watch…

On a related topic, I recently had a Nixon watch stolen by the cleaning crew here at work. I made the mistake of taking it off during the day whilst typing, left it at work thinking nothing of it, and the next day… poof, gone. I’m not heartbroken though as the watch was MEH at best. It was a gift so that was a bummer, but now I can start saving for something much nicer to put around my wrist someday.

Anyone got some hot used gear!?

What are you looking for?

^^^^ Thanks

boardjnky4 Jeller bought his wife a ladies TAG, PM him. I know hers doesn’t have the diamonds, but it looks fairly smilar. I would use the watch as a carrot to dangle in front of her to keep the wedding costs down. “if you really want that…for the wedding, we won’t be able to get you the TAG you wanted”

I actually have a TAG professional that I use as my “I don’t need to be careful with it” watch. The thing is indestructable, not a scratch on the face after all the abuse it’s seen over the last 15 years. I would say that’s a great sign of durability, something to keep in mind.

X…

yeah, it’s definitely a great watch…I would buy it for her if I had the money, but we just can’t afford it…We are not at a point in our lives where I can justify THAT much money on a watch, especially for her, when all she cares about is the how sparkly it is.

I would, however, spend 500-1000, and I do think I should be able to reasonably buy her a nice reliable watch for that price.

ORIS F1, 2008 model and older… ebay or WUS it… you can get them for under $500 in great shape. retailed at $1400 and are a great entry level swiss auto. I had one and made $100 of the sale after 2 years.

ebay search

There is a brand name jewellery store at the outlets in NF on Military that has a case with prevously worn Tag’s in it for 40% off retail. They actually have had 2 Carrera Chrono’s for like $2,100 in there that i’ve seen. The store is right across for the CK store, i forget what it’s called.

btw, this is my favourite thread on the network

Thanks Bing, i’ll look into it! Having not been much of a watch guy, this thread has really opened my eyes. Nice thing is that a true quality watch can be an investment, not a depreciating asset. I’ve never looked at it that way.

If you got some goods shoot me a pic!

Budget? Most of the stuff I have is on the slightly more expensive side.

---------- Post added at 11:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 AM ----------

My latest.

So your telling me my Oris Williams F1 is worth less than $500? I think the retail was closer to $3k (not what I paided but that was the sticker).
Granted regardless of the price I really like the watch. I haven’t worn my Rolex in at least 6 months.

I guess i’d be closer to that $300 range that Bing described as it is truly an entry level watch for me. Gotta start somewhere.

I’d like to make a purchase shortly after xmas when some holiday money opens up :slight_smile:

EDIT: That is pretty sexy looking. Specs? The style of Xanders really struck my eye fyi…

For $300, I would recommend looking into Tissot or some leftover Tag Heuer Formula 1 on amazon

Most of the watches posted in this thread are gonna be WAY more than your budget (makes me sad too, don’t worry).

This is the first time I have ever read this thread because I’m more a function person than a form person and as a result spend very little on ornaments or accessories.

However, Bing, you hit the nail on the head and answered my personal question “why do people buy this stuff”?

I appreciate your posts.

I have about 3 Seikos and the oldest is about 34 years old and is still ticking! I have never had an issue with any of them including my current 8 year old diver series Seiko that I wear and abuse every day or my 11 year old dress Seiko Chrono.

My diver:

To Bing, I agree 100% with your post.

I’m done with japanese movement…sorry, but it’s a POS

Honestly, I cannot see how you can agree with bing’s post on craftsmanship, then post about how much you love your seiko…

It’s a Girard Perregaux Laureato Evo3. Xander has a Panerai 112 fyi.

Because I have had success with my Japanese movement Seiko(s) and I do not have the bank to blow $+1K on a watch. I do appreciate craftsmanship and always have, however I am also a realist. Simple as that. It’s not just a fluke but actually 3 different Seikos used with success with a total of over 48 years of combined service without hiccups. Point and case.

I can see the cost savings…don’t blame you there. If I had a product work out pretty well for me over time, I would probably be loyal as well. Fact of the matter is that this thing died in 2 years and they refused to cover it. That shows me that they just plain don’t give a shit about my business. I’ve had watches break many times, not fancy ones(couple hundred bucks) and the manufacturer has always fixed them/replaced them.

I’m currently wearing a BRUTALLY abused ESQ (swiss quartz), that I’ve had since I was probably around 15/16 years old. I really like my swiss made Hamilton, that one is too new to make a reliability judgement on, but they’ve got a long standing reputation for quality.

Most of the swiss watch makers stayed true to using quality materials for their movements (all metal components, etc…) rather than cut corners like the japanese equivalents, who use plastic in their watches (no wonder they go bad, eh?).

Paul and Don are two different people as far as i know :slight_smile:

maxwell, up your budget to about $500 - $600 and get the Oris or a nice Hamilton.

Anything Tissot or a Tag F1 is poo poo… you can’t even sell them on craigslist… pawn shops are full of people who realized that… “oh… i bought a tag F1…quartz… shit”

I was directing my thoughts to dezod, should have clarified

meh, they’re not GREAT watches for value/resale, but they’ll likely be reliable and and accurate. I mean, you’re telling him to DOUBLE his budget. Yeah, it’s ideal to spend 2x the amount, but sometimes you’ve just got to work with what you have. It’s better than buying an Invicta :wink: