Any watch fans here?

Cyrus

Just wondering if there any watch nuts or 'WIS' on here? and if there would be any merit in trying to get a sub forum going?

Im relatively new to the whole thing myself, got into watches about 2 years ago, currently i have a tag carrera (everyday) and an IWC portuguese (the good un) hope to add some more this year!

partyguinness

Yeah I love watches.

Spent 90 mins talking to a watch expert one day. He told me loads such as most high street watches are bull****:-

Tag Heur, Breitling, Raymond Weil, Omega etc- In fact he said that anyone who buys those watches knows nothing about watches and thinks they are buying a great watch for 2-3k. I was shocked by all this. He said they are all the same..just different brand ont he outside.

He said you are basically paying for the brand.

What is actually in them is not even a timepiece they are made in a factory in China and then shoved into the frame.

Real watches do not cost less than 10k..I wont be wearing anything less than a Patek Phillippe (when I can afford it) or a Jaeger Le Coutre. They are so expensive because they are hand made with real time pieces in them. The are limited in supply for the entire world. In fact Ireland might only get 2-3 (at best) of a top quality Swiss made watch in a given year. 99% of the brand nobody has heard of.

It ruined my perception of watches..:(

Cyrus

some of that is true, not all

Tag are probably the worst offenders, the watches do have swiss movements (invariably base movements, not upgraded in anyway) and have some of the work done in the far east, with assembly in switzerland for the ol swiss made credential.

That said most are well made, and still have quality movements, albeit unfettled. I would never pay RRP for one, my carrera cost me half what the good people in weirs and applebys charge.

Omega have in house movements in a lot of their watches and imo are a good mid tier watch maker, much like IWC and Breitling (in a cachet above TAG) but i would put Tag above most of the offerings from Raymond Weil etc and then you have all the quartz fashion rubbish like armani etc.

But a real watch doesnt cost 10k, a rolex sub non date can be got s/h like new for around £2.2k sterling, in house movement and made in switzerland.

Something like a damasko, hand crafted in germany with a patented ice hardening system used on the case starts from 750 euro with a base eta swiss movt

Zenith also do their own movements

Cyrus

bedlam wrote: »

Head over here and show your support http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055379367

done

Cyrus

bedlam wrote: »

In house but mass produced.

true that, at the other end of the scale, the likes of damasko use patented techniques with the casing and hand assemble the watches while using eta movements

but they are pretty difficult to get a hold of, especially the dc66/67

partyguinness

I dont know enough about watches to contradict anyone but it is what the watch guy was telling me and yes I will do my own research

Admittedly he was a complete watch snob and anorack but he did say that Seiko do great watches but as they are Japanese they are not so well received. He did also tell me about the 2 big players who make the pieces just have forgotten the names.

I really had my mind set on a Raymond Weil but after that conversation I am ruined and being so shallow I cldnt bear buying a Weil and having some guy laughing at my mass produced watch..:o

partyguinness

A remember seeing a Patek in a shop window a few years back and asking about it..the guy just took one look at me and said..."That costs €14k.." enough said I kept walking:)

Saw a lovely Jaeger LC in London 2 yrs ago..the price tag was £27,500.00...:eek: Rolex's are nice and relatively affordable but it has the whole Rap/Gangsta feel to it..I hate when that happens.

Any good recommendations?

Cyrus

i wanna play too

to be fair most JLCs in stainless steel without mad complications are 'relatively' affordable

bogmanfan

Tag seem to get a bad rap among the watch community, but they're far from the worst offenders. Lots of watches at twice the price or more that feature ETA movements. Also, a friend was in the Tag factory and saw the watches being tested etc and said it was really impressive. I have 3 Tags with one more incoming (and one of the three outgoing http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=89324&cat=32) and I think they make a very fine watch indeed.

bogmanfan

partyguinness wrote: »

Any good recommendations?

Anonimo watches. Dawson Jewellers on Dawson St sell them. Made in Italy by the people who used to make Panerai. I have a Slide Rule and I love it. With the explosion of Panerai in recent years, Anonimo have just begun to spend money on marketing, and will explode themselves pretty soon I think.

Cyrus

agree with that, they make some very nice pieces

harveydent

Rolex are for tacky flash people who know nothin about the watch except the price tag...... Patek Philippe are very nice indeed.

Cyrus

harveydent wrote: »

Rolex are for tacky flash people who know nothin about the watch except the price tag...... Patek Philippe are very nice indeed.

cant agree with that either, the stainless steel sport models are very nice in the main

MagicMarker

I worked at an authorized tag dealer last year, spent most of my free time wearing them! Almost bought one myself but couldn't dignify spending that much even with a 50% discount.

Instead I bought a cheap Invicta off eBay and couldn't be happier:)

When you face facts you may as well piss away your money if you spend more than a couple of hundred on a watch.

Cyrus

MagicMarker wrote: »

I worked at an authorized tag dealer last year, spent most of my free time wearing them! Almost bought one myself but couldn't dignify spending that much even with a 50% discount.

Instead I bought a cheap Invicta off eBay and couldn't be happier:)

When you face facts you may as well piss away your money if you spend more than a couple of hundred on a watch.

except if you piss it away its gone whereas if you are sensible about your watch purchases you will retain a lot of value in the asset

MagicMarker

Cyrus wrote: »

except if you piss it away its gone whereas if you are sensible about your watch purchases you will retain a lot of value in the asset

Yeah, as proven by bedlam over on adverts.

MagicMarker

bedlam wrote: »

Which are? and are you basing these facts on a Tag / Invicta comparison or a more general 'any watch'?

That it's just a watch, and that it doesn't do anything exceptionally different over a €50 watch to warrant a 2k price difference.

MagicMarker

My mistake, meant to say bogmanfan.

MagicMarker

That's right, you do pay for hours of craftsmanship and intricate work, and at the end you still get a watch.

phantom_lord

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's right, you do pay for hours of craftsmanship and intricate work, and at the end you still get a watch.

you get a watch of a different class imo.

Cyrus

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's right, you do pay for hours of craftsmanship and intricate work, and at the end you still get a watch.

so what differentiates an aston martin from a nissan micra?

both will get you from a - b

StealthRolex

Cyrus wrote: »

so what differentiates an aston martin from a nissan micra?

both will get you from a - b

Crash an Aston Martin at 120mph and you might, just might walk away

Try to get a Nissan Micra up to 120mph and you might, just might, kill yourself.

When you do get it to 120mph the sudden stop _will_ kill you if the parachutes don't open.

StealthRolex

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's right, you do pay for hours of craftsmanship and intricate work, and at the end you still get a watch.

People pay similar amounts for a holiday every year or so and at the end what do you get? A few memories, a couple of hangovers, the odd spot of stomach trouble. Maybe a permanent reminder you don't want or a spot on a "Holidays from Hell" TV show.

Pay 50 quid for watch, it's worth nothing on resale and some kid in China gets 50 cent. If they're lucky.

Pay a few hundred or a few thousand on a German or Swiss watch and a European, possibly Irish, get's a living wage.

You're choice - support exploitation or support craftsmanship