Steinhart vs Longines

interize

Trying to decide between a Steinhart ocean 1 and a Longines hydroconquest auto. The Longines is twice the price, is it worth the extra money? Also any other alternatives i should consider. Thanks.

johnthemull

My experience of Longines is that they are well made, good quality watches that are probably the best value of all of the swiss watches out there.
I also own a Steinhart vintage red. It is really well made and I have no complaints to make about it for the money I paid.
The Longines is a better quality watch but at the price point you are taking about I think it is really better to make the decision based on which one you prefer. If it is the Longines, then just spend more time saving!
Either way you can't lose.

Anjobe

I was looking at these kind of watches a while ago. I also liked the Steinhart and the Longines. Of the 2 I preferred the Longines but thought it was a perhaps bit small. In the end I had all but made up my mind on a Certina DS Action Diver, but then I found a BNIB Seiko Spork on Ebay. If I hadn't won the Spork I would gone for the Certina, or maybe a Sumo.

fret_wimp2

These threads comparing 2 watches, one which is 2, 3 or 4x the cost of the first, or threads where someone asks "is this watch worth the price" rarely end well.

Is a patek Phillipe worth the cost of a luxury car? It must be to someone because they are still in business!

Its a terrible question because its a massively subjective hobby. One persons grail watch is another persons piece of junk. Or the features one person prises highly are useless to someone else. Theres very little sense to it. My general guideline is:

If i buy the cheaper watch, will i always be wishing it was the other watch?

As watches are effectively a piece of obsolete functional jewellery, why spend 700 quid on something you only half like when you can spend 1200 quid on something you really really want.

If you dont have the 1200 quid, wait and save. you only have 500 to gather, you already have 700. dont just settle. In the long run you will "save" yourself money, as what usually happens is:

-Person spends ages weighing up what watch they want, and end up at one thats more than they are willing to spend.

-Person finds cheaper alternative to expensive watch and thinks "Great, i got most of what i want at a lower price".

-Person always wishes they had the real deal.

-Person ends up not enjoying the watch they purchased and flips it at a loss. they are now farther from the watch they wanted than if they just waited and saved.

Eoin

The Steinhart isn't 700, is it??? I know their new GMT is over that, but thought their standard subs were around the 400 quid mark.

Anyway, personally I'd probably go for the Longines. I'm a Steinhart fan, but whenever I've bought one it's because I couldn't afford the real make & model they're copying. Can't fault their quality at all, but they don't really have the same aspirational feel for me that other brands do.

Lex Luthor

The Longines is a really nice looking watch