Post pics of your watches ***Please NO QUOTING PHOTOS***

redlead wrote: »

That's certainly a fair comment. The trend at the moment seems to be to go back to 1950s heritage watches. That was a great era though.

I agree with your points and wibbs statement, but it is a nuanced point. Milgauss BTW is misunderstood. Its Steel sport rolex so it cannot be got, although its less in demand than some other models. OP, Datejust, and a few others are less desirable. The milgauss retails 10-15 years old, very close to its current retail which unheard of in other brands. The problem with it was that it was the first of the bubble rolexs. On relaunch of the modern Milgauss, there was a waiting list and they sold initially for twice retail, this quickly dissipated and they got a reputation as the dog of the line cause a lot of people (scumbag flippers) were burned. The GV glass versions have always sold well, and the secondary market is strong with them.

Rolex take plenty of risks, Rainbow Daytona, skydweller, the hulk is a green watch for god sake. Where they dont take risks is mostly in the aspiration level affordable watches. Rolex is a mid tier watch in watch terms, and as much as spending 5k on a useless timekeeping device is mad, its small fries to some. If you are like me and that sort of money is a considered and long term purchase, then you generally dont want to take a risk that nobody will want it you you need to liquidate your money or that it will be a biblically slow sell. Some rapper spending 100k on a diamond Rolex is less likely to care. Also these classic designs are classic for a reason, they look damn good. Everyone copies them, everyone wants them, and that in itself degrades the original.

I love the oddballs, I try put some of personality into all my watches but without backing myself into a corner, the proplof above would be a cool watch to have, but thats a 6k watch and a limited resale market (and honestly is a flipping lump on the wrist. When you have to part with your own dosh on it, you have second thoughts. Messing around with inexpensive watches does not pose such a risk. its easy be a maverick playing fantasy watch collecting.

I agree watch design is fairly safe and reserved, but watch collecting is a safe and reserved hobby for mostly gentlemen. We are a traditional and cautious bunch. I hate to harp on watch values, but with most people it is a strong infulence. I would love to spend 20k on a perpetual calander JLC and instantly loose 5-10k but I simply cannot afford it. Being an oddball in the expensive watch market is a really rich mans game.

Jesus Wibbs, the vintage watch market is a nightmare to get into. As a Rolex collector I love the look of vintage models (cause its the look of modern models too ), problem is unless you have almost encyclopedic knowledge you can get burned bad, and in this "Hodinkee" age that can be a significant burn. The differences between a collectable watch and a ordinary model can be the smallest thing, the font of a number, the writing on the dial, the type of lume. These differences are easy to fake on a genuine vintage watch. You really need deep knowledge, making it hard to get into, as the beginner is easy prey. Its the same with vintage Seiko and all the frankenwatches out there. Again it comes down to the level of risk you are willing to accept.