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luxury watch collecting on a budget

2K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  Hasan Joe 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I know that title dosent really make sense , but if you was a watch collector who could afford anything , as a lower price entry watch that was well respected what would you buy , im a novice but the rolex air king came to mind , but that's just my very inexperienced guess , or a tudor perhaps or grand Seiko . im trying to imagine with the millions of watches to buy what a watch collector would know was a safe bet say under £2500
 
#5 ·
I'd echo what @Bonzodog and @craig12 have said. Money is no guarantee of having a class collection. For me collecting is buying what you like and going out there and make memories with it. Take my Tudor gmt it's not the most expensive watch nor the cheapest but for me it's bang on, I've been lucky enough to take it too three different countries so it's fast becoming a companion, not an investment.
 
#11 ·
Its an interesting question, I have 2 Omegas which were all purchased for around the £300 mark, they are older but have been cared for well over the years, I have a Zenith and a Breitling too (purchased from this forum) for under a grand, I like watches with a bit of a history I love my Omega Hummer (below) because it represents such a short period of time when it was the top technology (a bit like the mini disc player I foolishy purchased just before Ipods came out!) but was quickly outdated. Just go with what you like, rather than the ticket price. If I had £2,500 to burn I would be on the look out for a new Omega Seamaster 300 42mm

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#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
It will depend entirely upon what type of watch you like. For 2500 I would guess you are talking about a nice pre owned Air King the 34mm versions not those horrible looking monstrosities with the huge numeral that look like something Invicta would have rejected for being too ugly. You can find a very nice Rolex 6694 for 2500 which would be a safe bet if you were buying to keep. Even with service costs you would be unlikely to lose your money on it. Tudor Black Bay GMT assuming you are not daft enough to want it NOW! and will simply have the good sense to wait for it to arrive in stock you would be unlikely to lose money on that (2500 buying it on a leather strap) I think the other Black Bay watches will likewise hold their value very well ones with the ETA movements seem to be selling for near enough what they were going for new a few years back.

Other watch brands if bought at a discount would probably be a watch to own at little financial risk, by that I mean any loss if at all would not be significant. The old Nomos club for example sold for about £900 with display back and £750 without and they are often seen going for around the same price now (I think they may be discontinued replaced by some awful looking thing that looks like they were taking design ideas from the eyesore that is the new air king)

Sinn watches seem to have little loss in them assuming you buy the right one as discounts are hard to come by. Oris are a bit like Longines. Great watches and represent excellent value for money but very often found at discounts/sales of up to 20% so you would have to factor in the fact that if you come to sell one everyone will also know that they can buy the same watch new for 20% discount so you will have to price it keen to sell.

Plenty of other watches if bought at discount would be a safe bet. Omega speedmaster moonwatch, Omega seamaster (Not the new dial version) Breitling professional........

I should probably say though, I wouldnt describe any of the above a a luxury watch.
 
#19 ·
I agree with @WRENCH...if I had a spare 2.5K kicking around, I would be after a few more Seiko 7T32s. Why? Because I like them. I've got Rolex and Omega, and they do exactly the same thing as the Seikos....they tell me the time...I just paid extra for the priviledge and probably won't do it again.
 
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#20 ·
£2500 can get you into a Vacheron Constantin, or an Audemars Piguet in an 18k gold case.

Not everyday watches granted, but the brief was luxury. Most other watches mentioned here are tool watches (albeit nice tool watches in many cases)
 
#21 ·
Its not hard to find a luxury watch for less than 200 quid. We call them vintage. But thats just a euphamism hope thats the correct spelling. For numerous old Zeniths and Omegas. Etc. Then again for me 200 quid on a watch is a luxury budget. A few grand should get you a luxury car. Like an S Class Merc, Jag XJ, BM 7. Thats my budget.

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#23 ·
This reminded me of a conversation I had with a colleague a few weeks back. He will be coming into bit of money soon and talking about wanting to buy a watch. So as I known to be a bit of a enthusiast he was pointed towards my direction. I asked what type of watch dive, dress, pilot etc to which he answered 'not sure'. I knew this was going to be difficult!. So tried a different approach, showed him a few watches from my collection, again he just scratched his head with a bewildered look on his face. Now considering he was wearing a fashion branded watch(don't know what) my final thought would be to ask what type of budget he had to spend and again you guessed it noeyeddeer!. By this time I had completely lost interest and I could see another colleague of ours just roll his eyes towards the ceiling as if to suggest this guy is an absolute tool!. He parted are separate ways and I just went back to doing my work, about 5 minutes later out no where I hear 'I want to buy a watch that will hold it's residual value' to which I replied 'Residual value! your a clown that is wearing a fashion watch, you wouldn't know residual value if it hit you the face!'. Some people :bash:
 
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