Recommendations

banie01 wrote: »

Sinn 556 blue maybe? Range of straps available too.
Sporty yet dressy and a really lovely watch IMO.

Thanks for the suggestion....that's a lovely watch and very much in line with what i'm looking for. The only problem is, and i know this makes me sound like a bit of a snob, Sinn wouldn't be very recognizable (i do know them though as i like my watches) to someone who isn't into watches, e.g. my wife. I think if she was buying it for me, she'd want to be able to look at it and know that its a high end watch. Plus she has a longines herself which i bought her so she likes the idea of one that she'd gift me.

But i'd welcome similar suggestions.....

I know exactly what you're saying on that but don't agree with you on the fashion watches......i'd be familair with all the brands you're probably referring to because of my interest but that doesnt mean i'd want them on my wrist to feel like i have a nice watch....I'm perfectly happy with a nice longines or tag for that price range to add the the couple of tags i already have...i accept that the budget (i wouldnt want my wife to go overboard unless i was going to add to it myself) restricts me to the likes of tag or longines and i did suggest that myself in my OP. Unless you go second hand as already suggested, you'd need to up your budget to at least 3 to 4k to break into entry level breitling or omega i think and tudor...i think i'd struggle to justify that outlay on a singular purchase at this stage but will consider in a few years time maybe....

redlead wrote: »

That was me, I thought I sent a double post and deleted. All my point is, is that the criteria of the watch being a recognised brand to a non watch enthusiast really limits your options because I don't think your average punter would have heard of any of them bar Tag and possibly Longines. You and I know that the Sinn in the first response is a very good watch whereas a Gucci is a sh1tter. To most, Gucci is probably a great watch. Seem as you already have a few Tags, it would be nice to get something else so I'm sure your wife would be perfectly ameniable to get whatever you want if you bore her by telling her all about why it's so good.

I appreciate your comments and understand where you are coming from but as i've already stated, if my budget limits me to the likes of tags and longines, then i'm good with that...worse problems to have!....I like the brand recognition thing myself within quality watches....what i mean by that is that i'm not into fashion watches just because as a clothing brand they might be high end....i like well known watch brands that happen to make good quality watches....i know a lot of you guys on here know your watch stuff inside out and know these niche brands and the quality and value they represent but its not really my thing....the Sinn one though i would know that bit better than stowa so i'm not ruling that out....

Anyway, getting back to my original query, have people any experience in buying online from the states or Uk, used or new....any recommendations?

redlead wrote: »

Your budget doesn't limit you to the likes of tags and longines though, your requirement for general brand recognition does. Theres loads of good watches at that price point; Oris, Nomos, Sinn, Stowa, Rado, some of the master Junghans to name a few. There's no point in looking for recommendations if you only want watches you already know about suggested.

Buying from the US will likely result in you being stung on tax. You could get lucky but its a risk. Generally you are better off buying from anywhere within the EU, UK or Monaco etc as you won't have to pay any extra tax. You already know about watchfinder but Chrono24 is an excellent resource to research and find other dealers. You need to do a bit of due diligence on the dealer yourself which is easy enough based on verified purchases on the site etc. Its generally very safe as your funds are held in an escrow account until you are happy with the watch and give the go ahead to release the funds to the dealer. I've bought several watches there, new and used and never had any issues. As 893 provided there is the adverts/message boards options too. The best deals used are to be had here but you probably need to know your stuff a bit more to make sure you know what you are getting. You want new in any case so not really an option this time. Obviously the last option is ADs but this is also the most expensive. You'll save a few hundred going with a grey market dealer.

I appreciate your comments on this but if you look at the original post, i wasn't actually looking for recommendations on the watch specifically in the first place but welcomed them when they are offered. On more than one occasion, I outlined my personal preference for a watch and whether you agree with how that constrains me or not, that's just the way it is. I'm just not into the more quirky makes you mention like stowa and nomos...they look nice and i'm sure are well built and in some cases better than entry level tags but for me, watches are as much about how they feel on your wrist as much as how they are perceived objectively if that makes sense....probably not a politically correct way of viewing watches on a forum like this but waddia gonna do ay! ....Oris and Rado are nice alright but don't really like the styles that would be in that price range for me....

All that aside though, thank you for the guidance on the used purchases. That's the feedback i really need. I would be factoring in customs if i was considering US alright. From trashing it out with you guys, i'm going to give the Chrono24 a proper look. I don't mind second hand if its in very good condition so i'd be a bit nervous about buying without seeing but i guess i could ask for more pics from the dealer if there was one i was really interested in.....I bought my first tag from creation, i.e. gray dealer, so that wouldn't put me off for this kind of money......