where to buy a luxury watch?

Blackpitts

hi all,
there is no forum about wrist watches...so i write here...hope you can help me.
anyone loves big wrist watches? something like Breitling, Omega, Tag Heuer, Roles, Eberhard?
where I can find a good shop in Dub or a collector who wants to sells one of those?
take care

Gone West

Theres a guy who has a stall just off grafton st.
he has rolexes and theyre not crazy expensive.
real 21 carat gold and all.

JackKelly

Weir and Sons on grafton street or Dundrum. Also there are a few jewlers on teh small lane between grafton street and powerscourt (?) shopping center

rubadub

a nigerian on ebay is selling rolexes pretty cheap

seriously though, I know a guy who got a watch cheap in another country, think it was €3000+ the holiday was paid for by the savings it would have cost him to get it here. It was bought in an official dealers shop which he verified before travelling. Not sure what country, may have been the canaries. But certainly check out the agents first through the official website.

Gilgamesh

you oculd even try h.Samuel in henry street or in Blanch shopping center.
the is also a good place in the Ilac center, forgotten the name of them though

nesf

Moved from AH.

Ken r

Walker and Hall in Liffey Valley stock Breitling , Tag and Omega.
If you like Breitlings they've got the 06 catalogue in stock.
I found them very helpful.

Ken

Wibbs

I agree with rubadub. The prices here can be insane. Rolex would be the only brand where the prices would be similar to the rest of the world(they insist as part of the terms of dealership). They also have a well deserved rep for quality. Omega are nice quality too. IWC make some nice watches too. Most are "big" too. Some nice mechanical Longines as well. Their pilot series have some very nice big watches. At least with Longines, they actually had a big connection with aviation, unlike Breitling. There are some nice Zeniths as well, but they tend to be pricey.


As for the rest you mentioned, I would say Breitling are mostly overpriced with a largely false connection with aviation, Tag Heuer and Eberhard are glorified jewelry watches with mediocre mechanical movements. Cartier etc would fall into this category too. Don't pay over the odds for a quartz watch from the big names either. No matter what they say in their blurb, the most expensive quartz movement costs less than 20 quid and that's retail. Makes a nonsense of a 2000 buck quartz Brietling. Buy a casio for 50 quid and save your money.

michaelanthony

Applebys

Creamy Goodness

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=284205

have a read through that thread there's a british web site that sells luxury watches

www.watchfinder.co.uk

makes me long for an omega watch, if only i had that much disposable money :rolleyes:

Hagar

If you're buying a seriously expensive watch consider a cheap flight somewhere and bring one back.
It has to work out cheaper than Ireland.

DublinWriter

Blackpitts wrote:

hi all,
there is no forum about wrist watches...so i write here...hope you can help me.
anyone loves big wrist watches? something like Breitling, Omega, Tag Heuer, Roles, Eberhard?
where I can find a good shop in Dub or a collector who wants to sells one of those?
take care

Well I see SSIA time is nearly upon us!

There's a good Jewellers on Patrick St. Cork who sell Rolex - and most importantly they display the prices too (unlike Weirs).

There's also a second-hand dealer on Nassau St. about 100 yards up from the Mansion House and on the same side of the street.

My ultimate luxery watch would be a Rolex Daytona (10K+ and a 12 month waiting list), but personally I wouldn't feel safe walking around with anything worth more than €500 on my wrist.

I'd avoid second-hand unless from a reputable dealer.

sharkman

Try www.timezone.com

cerebus

In Dublin, Appleby's just off Grafton St. carry Blancpain - very cool, and next on my list of purchases.

Weir & Sons carry Omega, as does Paul Sheeran.

I suggest visiting some of the manufacturers websites to see where their Irish dealers are located. For example:

Omega
Blancpain
Rolex

Would you consider going for something a bit more unusual than the usual run-of-the-mill Rolex? Do some research, check names like Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Audemars Piguet and see what takes your fancy...

DublinWriter

Wibbs wrote:

As for the rest you mentioned, I would say Breitling are mostly overpriced with a largely false connection with aviation

I agree, but Breitling are very 'collectable', although I haven't seen them put out anything in the last 20 years that would be an antique of the future.

I was always tempted to buy a B1 and pull the emergency pin just to see if any RAF air/sea rescue hellicopter came to my aid in the middle of Grafton St.

Apparently the B1 radio-transmitter only has an active range of about half-a-mile and appears to be a very expensive gimmick.

DublinWriter

cerebus wrote:

Would you consider going for something a bit more unusual than the usual run-of-the-mill Rolex? Do some research, check names like Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Audemars Piguet and see what takes your fancy...

But I'd avoid Rado. So very 1997, unless you really like that style.

cerebus

DublinWriter wrote:

But I'd avoid Rado. So very 1997, unless you really like that style.

Wouldn't really be my thing either, but each to their own.

OP, if you are after a really big watch some of the recent Panerai monstrosities might be worth checking out.

junkyard

You can buy very good fake watches that look the part. I bought one about 2 years ago, a fake version of a real one I had so I wouldn't wreck my good one and to be honest I paid about 150euros for it but comparing the 2 its very good quality for a fake considering the real thing cost over 5000euros. I'm not condoning fake watches but its hard to resist.;)

Squirrel

I go a good Seiko for Christmas, only cost about €200. It's good quality and looks the part. I like it, I never had a watch that cost over £30 punts before

Guv

Weir & Sons have one of if not the largest Watch selections in all of europe in terms of ranges stocked and actual numbers.

All jewellers can do 20% discount for cash if you bargain very, very hard. 15% would be a good result and fair to both parties.

I used to like Rolex's but now I see them as not much really - for me they are quite small and very light compared with say an Omega. Big dissapointment.

Best advice buy yourself a Ltd edition stainless steel watch from a top swiss manufacturer and it's value will go up. For example the ltd edition 007 seamaster (10,000 were made) has gone up by 3-400%.

As said previously avoid quartz like the plague - cartier or casio - quartz is quartz!

What is your budget?

MiCr0

my lovely new watch

just thought i'd share :-)

out of interest - how many watches do most people have?
I've got 3 and people seems to think its excessive :rolleyes:

Wibbs

bedlam wrote:

If accuracy is a requirement, look for a COSC certified watch.

If accuracy is a requirement? I would say, that if you're buying a mechanical watch from any of the makers and they're not running within seconds a day, bring it back for adjustment or replacement. COSC certification is ok, but over sold IMHO. Many makers don't bother with it anymore. IIRC Iwc only have one that's certified and I'm sure 99% of their output would pass the test with flying colours. The last time I looked Patek don't use it at all. The test mainly had it's uses in the past when watches from different makers could vary wildly in accuracy. Most watches from good makers would fly the COSC test. It's not particularly stringent. Terms like superlative chronometer from Rolex mean nada, it's just marketing. "Real" mechanical chronometers have a different escapement and far more accuracy.

guv wrote:

I used to like Rolex's but now I see them as not much really - for me they are quite small and very light compared with say an Omega. Big dissapointment.

Same here. I never really liked them. They're a nice watch but too often faked and I must admit, the type that tends to wear one, puts me off. They're the Porcshe 911 of the watch world.;)

MiCr0 wrote:

out of interest - how many watches do most people have?
I've got 3 and people seems to think its excessive

I've got 6. All tick, mostly vintage(some very:D ). I used to have more, but that was excessive. Luckily for me I bought most of them before the whole vintage thing got really outa hand price wise, so I made a few quid on one or two of them when I sold them.

Funny enough, if you want a robust mechanical watch, Seiko are not a bad place to look. Some of them are way better than some of the more flashy European models.

Omnipresence

Until Ireland stops being this rip-off economy .. the only answer to me when people ask "Where should I buy ... " is ... online...

You always save money this way... the mark-up for everything in this country is too much...

Sure go into town and look at watches but when your happy with one.. order the model online you will always save money...

-A

Wibbs

bedlam wrote:

Very valid point . However the rating does give you a benchmark, which with out it it can be harder to say there is an issue. You could have a watch that was running +9sec a day which you might this is bad while the watch maker feels it is with in an acceptable range. At least with cosc you can say its +3 seconds faster than is acceptable....

True enuf. You can beat them with the cert:).

That reminds me, the other thing you have to consider is where do you get a watchmaker when it comes time for a service. I mean a proper service too. Not dunking the movement in meths and then oiling the visible bearing surfaces. This can be very expensive here and the quality of work varies a lot. If anyone knows a good one I'd love to hear about them.

Another make which are quality are Sinn. Beautifully made with quite a bit of military background. Seriously sweet tool watch. Chronoswiss would be a small maker with some distinctive offerings and a rep for quality.

Delboy05

DublinWriter wrote:

There's also a second-hand dealer on Nassau St. about 100 yards up from the Mansion House and on the same side of the street./QUOTE]


was up around there today. there's a jewellers on the street level and repair shops upstairs!!!! Is it the jewlers that are sellling the watches? - are all their watches 2nd hand or do u specifically have to ask to see them.

thanks.

C-J

theres a jewellers down towards the Molly Malone side of Grafton St that is quite reasonable compared to others they always have amazing Rolexes in the window.

Wibbs

bedlam wrote:

Well Weir and Sons (Grafton st) have a couple of Swiss trained staff as far as I am aware. There is also supposedly a watch repair place further up the road opposite the Haagen Daz shop, allegedly good but I have never dealt with them.

I've had a few bad experiences with Weir over the years. Dubious advice like a watch being "overwound". Anyone says that run away, they're clueless. Even to get a battery swapped out in a quartz takes over an hour as they ship the work off the premises and their prices are truly off the wall. I may try the other place though. Thanks for the heads up.

There is also the option of buying Irish

V cool. Nice enough design too. Not sure about the hands though. The tourbillion is a nice touch and hard to execute, though a bit of a case of complication for its own sake, as to increase accuracy it's far more suited to a pocket watch. Delicate too. Then again I'm one of those who reckons a date is a complication too far.....:D Good to see an Irish crowd getting into it though.

Squirrel

Mine is alot like this, just a Silver face, with white on the smaller dials, and mine also doesn't have the line around where the numbers are on the smaller dials

And I have 2 watches, this one and a watch I use for training. A cheapest of the cheap Timex sports watch

tripper

There is the coolest shop in Dundrum Centre, I got mine there, its called rokx or some ****

reversed

Have you ever had a look at those Fortis watches?
The have a simply design, not too showy, and are quite affordable.
The Rolex GMT Master II is also a very nice piece.

If you want to buy a watch over the net, be sure that you had it at least once around your wrist to get a feeling if it's really "your" watch.
When you buy it in a shop, you'll have a contact, when there are problems or questions.

Cheers,
Reversed

SexyD4Lady

As mentioned on the first page, Appleby's is a fabulous jewellers that stock a wide range of luxury, high quality watches. Their ranges include Jacob & Co, Breitling, Raymond Weil, Tag Heuer, Omega, Cartier, Gucci etc. Prices stard at around €500 for a very nice watch, but be prepared to pay anything up to €6000. All depends on your budget though.

Wibbs

SexyD4Lady wrote:

As mentioned on the first page, Appleby's is a fabulous jewellers that stock a wide range of luxury, high quality watches. Their ranges include Jacob & Co, Breitling, Raymond Weil, Tag Heuer, Omega, Cartier, Gucci etc.

You should be writing ad copy.:D Out of that lot I'd only be looking at Breitling or Omega though. The rest are in the main over priced quartz tat to trap the unwary, or those that are fashion conscious but style free. I'm sure if one requires a handbag then Gucci would be fine and Jacob & Co are just hideous. Your most blinged up rap artiste would rightly hurl chunks at the very sight of one. Google them and be afraid....

Guv's advice is good, buy a stainless steel model from a good swiss/german maker and you can't go wrong. Avoid quartz unless the watch is under 2/300 bucks. Rolex are OK, but go for a less obvious model(reversed's choice v good). Or go vintage, but that's an even bigger can of worms.

Blackpitts

Thank you for all your advice.
I wouldn't go to internet to buy a watch, I'm really scared to get a fake...but maybe www.watchfinder.co.uk is reliable...
I definitely go for a Breitling...I don't like Rolex, Omega are OK but personally I think Breitling has something more.
another question, is there a magazine about wrist watches? many newsagents have every type of magazine (once i saw one about cotton farming ...) but nothing about watches..that's really strange.

Blackpitts

bedlam wrote:

There are a number of watch magazines, but I've never seen them for sale on the news stands. Perhaps you might be able to pick them up at a jewelers. If you want to get an idea of styles and prices from a number of companies you could always pick up the 2006 Wristwatch Annual. It is an ok reference although they do have a number of mistakes and watches featured tend to have prices north of $7,000.

What sort of budget do you have blackpitts? Also when you said you were looking for a "big" watch did you mean a big brand name or a large watch eg 40+mm case?

I meant "big" first as brand name...but a good breitling of 44mm (i.e. Navitimer World) would be perfect
My budget is around 3K euro, I wouldn't go over it.

WhiteWashMan

i bought my watch from www.wristwatch.com
they tend to do pretty much everything, but the nice thing was they also tend to have a lot of last seasons watches as well, which they sell at an absolute bargain. i got my seiko for about 150$ reduced from about 550$

mind you, you may also get hit my import duty as well.
either way, its still a marvelous place to go watch hunting becuase you get such a huge range of watches to look at, and not just the current season, and they do pretty much every brand you can think of.

man, there are some bloody ugly watches out there!

Blackpitts

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i bought my watch from www.wristwatch.com
they tend to do pretty much everything, but the nice thing was they also tend to have a lot of last seasons watches as well, which they sell at an absolute bargain. i got my seiko for about 150$ reduced from about 550$

mind you, you may also get hit my import duty as well.
either way, its still a marvelous place to go watch hunting becuase you get such a huge range of watches to look at, and not just the current season, and they do pretty much every brand you can think of.

man, there are some bloody ugly watches out there!

hey this site is pretty good, thank you.
But i read some bad comments on internet 'cause some buyers had to pay some duties, since (i quote from the website) "Wristwatch.com leaves the responsibility for customs and duties to the customer".
did you pay any duty or VAT or extra-cost on your watch at the time of delivery?
tnx

Wibbs

Blackpitts wrote:

I meant "big" first as brand name...but a good breitling of 44mm (i.e. Navitimer World) would be perfect
My budget is around 3K euro, I wouldn't go over it.

3K gets you a lot of watch if you look hard enough.. How much does a navitimer go for these days?

If you go vintage, you could some really lovely stuff that can only go up in value. How about an officially issued German Luftwaffe pilots chronograph from Heuer(befor they became TAG and tacky:) ) for 1800 quid. That's an actual pilots watch with real history, not faux authentic. I'd love one of these.(Sorry I dunno how to reduce the size)

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i bought my watch from www.wristwatch.com
they tend to do pretty much everything, but the nice thing was they also tend to have a lot of last seasons watches as well, which they sell at an absolute bargain. i got my seiko for about 150$ reduced from about 550$

Bloody hell! They are cheap. If you wanna spend 3 grand on some swiss job, they may not be the best, but for the rest(which is 90% of peeps), you're going to save serious money compared to Irish prices.

mind you, you may also get hit my import duty as well.

I've gotten a fair few watches sent to me from overseas. The best method is to get them to send it by ordinary post. Strangely enough it appears to be way safer than Fedex, DHL etc and I've never had one opened, or paid any duty. If you check out the watch forums out there you'll find similar advice. Just a thought.

man, there are some bloody ugly watches out there!

Man you can sing it.:) Check out this lot http://www.jacobandco.com/catalog.htm. Jesus:eek: and this crap comes at a price...

silent

I'd like to hear any recommendations for good watch forums, I remember one/two but just can't remember the address and google is not much of a help. ideally for breitling/seiko
btw, whoever recommended sinn - thanks, they have an awesome catalog online - http://www.sinnwatch.com/sinncatalog.pdf (2005), only if all watch makers were like this and not the crappy flash/javascript website which give almost no information at all (or in font size 6 in a 100x100 px window )

cerebus

silent wrote:

I'd like to hear any recommendations for good watch forums, I remember one/two but just can't remember the address and google is not much of a help. ideally for breitling/seiko

Timezone is a good starting point. Has both a Breitling and a Seiko forum.

Lady_Macbeth

MiCr0 wrote:

I've got 3 and people seems to think its excessive :rolleyes:

Why? There is only one time.

€14.99 quartz in Argos. What's the point in spending extravagent amounts on an everyday watch that has the potential to be stolen/damaged while you're using it? And still provides exactly the same service as something that you could get for a tenner or less....:o

silent

Lady_Macbeth wrote:

Why? There is only one time.

€14.99 quartz in Argos. What's the point in spending extravagent amounts on an everyday watch that has the potential to be stolen/damaged while you're using it? And still provides exactly the same service as something that you could get for a tenner or less....:o

whats the point of buying a ferrari when all it does it gets to from A to B same as a micra
whats the point of getting a bespoke suit from Saville Row when some crap from M&S will clothe you as well
etc
because some people like quality and the little bit extra

thanks for the forum suggestions, but I remember there was one even better
edit: nice forum for people on a budget TOP20PMW - The Best 20 Watches below USD 1'000!

Wibbs

silent wrote:

btw, whoever recommended sinn - thanks, they have an awesome catalog online - http://www.sinnwatch.com/sinncatalog.pdf (2005), only if all watch makers were like this and not the crappy flash/javascript website which give almost no information at all (or in font size 6 in a 100x100 px window )

I bask in the glow......:D Damn fine watches they are too.

Lady_Macbeth wrote:

Why? There is only one time.

Why? Because somethings are better measured well or not at all. It's in the feel, the winding, it's in the craft and it's in the face of the faceless mundane of the cheap and nasty. Sometimes the expensive and nasty. If you cannot measure time with style and thought, time the most precious thing anyone can possess. If you think that a piece of crap from argos provides the same service, you'll never know the why or the diff between style and fashion. Or something.... This was brought to you by 3 beers and a loooong day.

BTW for military style watches try http://www.mwrforum.net/cgi-bin/mwr.pl V good if you like that sort o thing.

Lady_Macbeth

Wibbs wrote:

If you think that a piece of crap from argos provides the same service

It does.

Wibbs

You're a chick, right?

Lady_Macbeth

Wibbs wrote:

You're a chick, right?

Was that directed at me?

Because no, I'm human actually. Was it something I clucke...I mean, said?

Blackpitts

Lady_Macbeth wrote:

Why? There is only one time.

€14.99 quartz in Argos. What's the point in spending extravagent amounts on an everyday watch that has the potential to be stolen/damaged while you're using it? And still provides exactly the same service as something that you could get for a tenner or less....:o

so you don't see the point, then I have to assume you wear only one cheap pair of shoes/jeans/shirt until they are not usable.
and you mustn't post anything in a forum called "fashion" then.

peterl

i bought my Tag in Ernest Jones in Grafton St. (if you haggle you'll get a few bob off !)
Years ago I bought a Gucci abroad and had trouble with servicing, repairs etc.
I'd recommend paying any extra and buying it here for the peace of mind.

Wibbs

I take your point but, if you go to a shop that claims to be a main dealer of whatever brand you're trying to get serviced/repaired and they refuse or claim they can't repair it, report them to the brand in question. It won't go down too well.

That's the sadly common crap you get in this country. The come over all poncey with the "you didn't buy it here so, we're not fixing it" line. Sod that. Report them. Why the hell should I pay more in this country for a service and "peace of mind" that their dealership contract says you're entitled to, just because they get huffy? If more complained rather than moaned or just accepted the status quo in this town, this kind of thing would be rare. End of rant.

DublinWriter

Lady_Macbeth wrote:

€14.99 quartz in Argos. What's the point in spending extravagent amounts on an everyday watch that has the potential to be stolen/damaged while you're using it? And still provides exactly the same service as something that you could get for a tenner or less....:o

You mean like the difference between a €5,000 engagement ring and one worth €50 with a fake diamond that looks almost identical.

Which would you honestly prefare?