Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

Wibbs · 24-01-2022 5:48pm

In 2019 they had a rush on them what with the moon landing 50th birthday and prices spiked. They've softened a little since then.

Cyrus · 25-01-2022 9:58am

Itll be seen as derivative but they have an extensive back catalogue of their own to draw inspiration on, i could see me buying one of these,

i think zenith are being clever in drawing customers from the hype brands

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/zenith-defy-skyline-2022-time-only-el-primero

CalamariFritti · 25-01-2022 11:58am

Is it normal that you pine for watches you let go a little while back?

Moved an Aqua Terra on last year now every time I see one I want it back. What worse every time I see this model (which isn't often as it was a class model) its for 2k more than I sold it for.

Even worse for my TAG carrera twin time. Thought I had moved on from it and sold, now I'm thinking it was really my nicest watch and I'm looking at eBay every other day. In fact there is a perfect one on eBay UK right now but sadly (luckily?) the tax man makes it prohibitive.

unkel · 25-01-2022 12:20pm

With the ongoing trend of prices going up steeply for luxurious watches and other goods, you have to think twice before selling it. Sold my Porsche Boxster last summer (for nearly 3 times what I paid for it 5 years before), but knew full well that I will never be able to afford one again if I sold.

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 12:20pm

Well the original Defy was out before the Genta AP of 72(Patek came later to the game, Rolex with their Oysterquartz later again). Though the AP is the one everyone sees as genesis, the expensive steel sports/dress watch was very much an existing trend in the industry. Longines' Ultraquartz of 1970 was another and a watch in steel that retailed at quadruple the price of a Speedmaster. Genta's design is a beauty that refined it even further but he didn't lick it from a stone. The Zenith Defy was as close as you can get to the egg of that particular chicken. And it was doing G-Shock for mechanical watches long before Casio did it for digitals. A 60's Defy is built like an absolute tank, with the movement getting its own shock absorber. I think it was in Italy where they were nicknamed the Bank Vault. I had a 1970 example back in the 90's. Cost me all of 200 quid. I sold it on for 300(woohoo! 😁) to someone on the old Timezone forum IIRC. It was a white dial one and I didn't wear it very often. If it had been a blue dial I'd likely still have it. In the vintage world old Zeniths are kinda like Longines were for a long time, save for a few models, undervalued and underappreciated.

That said this new one is clearly looking to take some of the current AP/PP shine, as PP and a load of others did with AP in the early 70's, so I suppose that's got 'legacy' too. 😁 That's something that can be forgotten these days. In the past Swiss brands were naturally enough copying each other's trendsetters to beat the band to get customers. Blancpain come out with the first modern dive watch template and two years later Omega, Rolex and Longines all brought out their versions. When Supercompressor cases became the rage, everyone and his dog licenced that two crown design. A couple of 30's pilot watch designs could have had any number of brand names on the dials.

micks_address · 25-01-2022 12:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118529830#Comment_118529830

Feel the same. I sold that model twice. I do see them going for much more in the uk etc but I think they'd struggle to sell here locally.. the aqua Terra is probably as nice as an explore for less than half the price..still want an explorer 39mm mark 2 :)

unkel · 25-01-2022 12:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118529945#Comment_118529945

There's one for sale on adverts from a regular on the forum.

https://www.adverts.ie/sports/rolex-explorer-214270-39mm/25268119

Dig deep though, these have shot up in value in the last 12 months as they have been discontinued. To think I bought mine less than 2 years ago for €5450!

micks_address · 25-01-2022 12:39pm

Yep I know about that one. Trying to avoid spending that kinda money on watches this year

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 12:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118529927#Comment_118529927

Now pretty much all cars have a bottom of their depreciation curve, but Boxsters were criminally undervalued for so long. I could never understand why.

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 12:51pm

A new hodinkee vid showed up in my 'Tube feed last night. Minstrel Ed Sheeran being interviewed by Ben Clymer. Lots of Patek talk among other stuff, but what surprised me was an almost zero mention of Rolex. That must be a record on that channel and certainly a surprise in the current climate. I also noted they mentioned how IWC have fallen off the radar, with Clymer saying how that when he was working in the financial biz they were the 'anti Rolex' that the hipper guys would sport. That must have been in the early 00's. Back then on the forums a very regular thing to read would be "which should I buy IWC or Rolex?" The answer was usually the former. These days they're almost never mentioned in the new watch hobby, or for that matter the vintage end of things.

Fitz II · 25-01-2022 12:59pm

Sheeran has some amazing watches, like stunning stuff. He is so far past Rolex its not even funny. A celestial would be his beater....

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 1:16pm

Going by the video it seems he went straight from a cheap fashion type watch via a Hublot that he apologised for 😁 to Pateks and Richard Mille. I think he said he has an IWC Big Pilot and buys IWC for friends and crew(as one does). He also suggested he's backed off from Mille as they're a bit too "look how much this cost" these days.

scwazrh · 25-01-2022 2:19pm

Wibbs: He also suggested he's backed off from Mille as they're a bit too "look how much this cost" these days.

I was glad to hear him say that and in general talk about his interest in watches as opposed to their price .I know we have mentioned it lots here before and most of us seem to agree that the money aspect of "how much is that worth " and "its a store of wealth " is very old at this stage.

scwazrh · 25-01-2022 2:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530045#Comment_118530045

Boxsters were criminally undervalued for so long

Was it not because the first two generations were always seen as the " hairdressers" car ?

Cyrus · 25-01-2022 2:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530562#Comment_118530562

isnt any convertible considered a hairdressers car, generally by people who dont have one 😁

the 986 and 987 are great cars.

scwazrh · 25-01-2022 3:09pm

isnt any convertible considered a hairdressers car,

I wouldn't of thought so but I thought the early boxsters were always seen as less desirable or not a real Porsche hence why the prices used to be a lot lower ..It was never the type of car I was interested in so maybe it was an unjustified opinion.

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 3:28pm

That was part of it alright. The MR2 suffered from a similar label, the MX5 too, as did the Audi TT(looking back a very pretty car IMHO). Plus the Audi had a nasty habit of becoming a sudden unwanted offroader if you went too quickly into a bend, or even not so quickly. The "not real Porsche" was another label, which I always thought was just basic snobbery myself. I remember them having a rep of being tail happy for the unwary, but then again until electronical trickery came along all 911's were like a frenzied wagging dog just as likely to go in reverse as forward if you weren't very careful, or couldn't drive. Old 911 Turbos were an exquisitely designed and shaped road safety hazard at speed. Never hurt them. If anything it added to their allure.

scwazrh · 25-01-2022 3:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118531026#Comment_118531026

Yeah the Audi TT was always known as a posers car which was a pity as I always liked it but could never bring myself to buy one due to its rep. The poor mans porsche was another label that I remember being slapped on the Boxster , as you say pure snobbery similar to Tudor / Rolex comparison

unkel · 25-01-2022 3:47pm

The Boxster 986 with manual gearbox as about as far from a "hairdresser's car" as you can get. Clutch is hard and long and there are no modern driving aids like traction control. The back breaks out very easily. Not a car for the faint hearted 😂

Sure, the car was made to provide Porsche some hard needed cash. For the non-S, they used parts from the sister company's parts bin, like an Audi gearbox and cheaper suspension, but it mostly is just a smaller and lighter 911 with far better weight distribution. It was a huge sales success and some say it can be credited with saving Porsche from going bankrupt.

@Wibbs - it's the Irish motor tax regime. When a certain age, these cars were mainly second and third cars, only taken out occasionally. The last time I taxed it for a year, I took it out maybe 6 times. So each time I drove it, it cost me the guts of €200 in tax alone. That's not sustainable, nobody wants a car like that. Hence the rock bottom pricing. Now they are creeping towards vintage €56 tax, I'd say most of the 90s Boxsters are mostly untaxed (for most of the year) and / or off the road until then...

Wibbs · 25-01-2022 3:59pm

@Wibbs - it's the Irish motor tax regime. When a certain age, these cars were mainly second and third cars, only taken out occasionally. The last time I taxed it for a year, I took it out maybe 6 times. So each time I drove it, it cost me the guts of €200 in tax alone. That's not sustainable, nobody wants a car like that. Hence the rock bottom pricing. Now they are creeping towards vintage €56 tax, I'd say most of the 90s Boxsters are mostly untaxed (for most of the year) and / or off the road until then...

Yeah, I've a few rellies and mates with older but not vintage cars for 'weekend fun' purposes and they say pretty much the same thing Unk. One friend has a Alfa Brera 4x4 with all the trimmings(it was Alfa's own and their press car) and he restored it back to spanking newness and as we speak it's in storage with ten other similar type cars in an out of the way place and he's come to terms with only taxing it for the summer months.

banie01 · 25-01-2022 4:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118530862#Comment_118530862

I had a gen2 Mégane convertible for a few yrs. The joys of letting my then 6y.o have a say in picking the car, and the roof action on it being kinda cool!

It was fun, but? It was deffo a hairdressers car 🥺🤣

No matter how black I made it, how cool the red and black leather was or how awesome the android head unit I put in it...

Great craic with it tho, and it's something that a couple of months off his 18th birthday we still laugh over.

Cyrus · 25-01-2022 4:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118531258#Comment_118531258

i loved the brera, nearly bought one a few times, that and the 156 GTA,

Hubba

Fitz II · 25-01-2022 4:11pm

I love me a boxster quite fancy a 718. I think the "hairdresser" thing has kinda worn off now and they are getting more and more desirable. Tax as unkle says is the only real issue with them. (well that and IMS bearings, but if that was going to happen it would have happened them by now) I wish ireland would bring out a weekend plate scheme like some asian countries. I think the entire 2 seater convertible segment has fallen out of favour a bit...911 are amazingly practical and when I had small kids you could easily get two in the back and enough luggage for a weekend.

Wibbs I have been backwards on track in a boxster many times, they can be a handful as they want to rotate and there is no weight over the rear so they can snap, but below the limit they corner like houseflies and they engine has good torque.

Very strong hints that the Macan will go electric next and then the boxster/caymen. Now an electric boxster would be a thing I could really get with.

unkel · 25-01-2022 4:43pm

I had visions of converting my Boxster to electric if it ever blew the engine (or even if it did not!). Unless you can DIY pretty much the whole conversion, the costs really are prohibitive. Even just with a Nissan Leaf donor the car would be amazing electric. Imagine it with a Tesla motor, it would be insane 😎

Fitz II · 25-01-2022 4:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118531439#Comment_118531439

Could you imagine the instant response with the top down...top speed is irrelevant, just that electric push. And if they can make it light it would be a monster on track.

Thirdfox · 25-01-2022 5:09pm

BTW just for pricing info the Octo was sold for 8800 in the end (pre-Chrono taking their cut) - plenty of interest when it was put in front of an international audience.

Plenty of chancers offering 7k too (but unlike adverts no offers of soggy socks or bags of crisps in part trade :D)

unkel · 25-01-2022 5:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118531453#Comment_118531453

In the 5 years I owned it, I don't think I've ever driven it faster than about 140km/h. And that wasn't on the motorway, but on a tiny mountain road 😂

I could live with a tiny range (so a very small light battery pack). The car wouldn't have to weigh any more than the original. With the instant torque of an electric motor it would be insane on track or in the twisties

micks_address · 25-01-2022 5:59pm

Hi folks,

I have a AliExpress Casio faketanium bracelet that's grand but it uses spring pins for each link. The springs in them aren't the strongest so links tend to come loose on one end. Never enough for the bracelet to come off but still annoying. Any quick diy fixes for it? It's only one link and it's where I had to take out a few links for fitting. I've tried different bars etc from the spare links but still happening.

Cheers

Mick

micks_address · 25-01-2022 6:09pm

Poor pins

micks_address · 25-01-2022 6:18pm

All the pin sets I've seen on Amazon or eBay seem to have flanges on them? Anyone see ones that are just straight sprint pins?

Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

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