A bit about buying affordable ($200 - $1500) watches

I retired my submariner as my daily, and purchased a Helson Shark Diver. Fantastic timepiece so far.

Great informative thread for a watch noob like myself. I just purchased a Seiko Kinetic Auto Relay and am loving it so far. I have a bad (or is it good?) feeling that I will quickly start spending more and more on them... Oh well

What's the verdict on Hamilton watches? I see styles I like and they fall into mostly the sub-$1000 especially if ordered off amazon.

You can't go wrong with a hamilton. Great movement and alot of the line has an 80 hour reserve on the autos.

I have a Pan-Europ and for what I paid, it's probably my favorite watch. It has way more of a reserve than my Lum-Tec and it's 100× more comfortable than my TAG.

Get a Hammy, you won't regret it.

Robm129 wrote

What's the verdict on Hamilton watches? I see styles I like and they fall into mostly the sub-$1000 especially if ordered off amazon.

Hamiltons are definitely nice value watches. Lots of people use them for their dailies.

I have started going the route of building my own watches. You can find the ETA 2824 and 2892 movements for a good price on Ebay, then you can snag blank dials and cases for fairly cheap as well.

Here's one I did with a ETA 2892-2 movement and a Sub-like case with sapphire crystal and high intensity lume. All said and done, cost just at $250 w/ ss bracelet with a high quality clasp and solid endlinks. Currently working on a Heritage Black Bay Homage watch with a 2892-2 movement in it as well, and I have a Seamaster Pro Homage that I did with a 2824 in it. They make nice dailies so I dont have to damage their more expensive siblings.

neverdone wrote

You can't go wrong with a hamilton. Great movement and alot of the line has an 80 hour reserve on the autos.

I have a Pan-Europ and for what I paid, it's probably my favorite watch. It has way more of a reserve than my Lum-Tec and it's 100× more comfortable than my TAG.

Get a Hammy, you won't regret it.

What Lum-Tec do you have? I was checking them out today. Looking to spend about $2k and get 2 watches that cover almost all situations. I liked a hamilton for weekend and Lum-Tec for a "tactical" style daily.

Robm129 wrote

What Lum-Tec do you have? I was checking them out today. Looking to spend about $2k and get 2 watches that cover almost all situations. I liked a hamilton for weekend and Lum-Tec for a "tactical" style daily.

I have an M51 Phantom, it's a few years old now. I had a quartz M48( if I remember correctly) and even that was a great bang for buck. I don't know about now, but mine came with a stainless bracelet, rubber and leather strap.

Davosa or Tissot are both decent brands

I am not a watch junkie but wanted some decent watch. I didn't want to end up buying some fake Rolex on the net for 30% off and paying 60% mark up to retailer is not something I wanted to do either. So I bought Japanese watch from factory dealer at a discount and chances are that it's fake are very slim since no one cares about faking Jap watches

chris82 wrote

Great informative thread for a watch noob like myself. I just purchased a Seiko Kinetic Auto Relay and am loving it so far. I have a bad (or is it good?) feeling that I will quickly start spending more and more on them... Oh well

Seikos are excellent watches. A family friend of ours worth $10 million+ wears a Grand Seiko as his daily watch. It's funny, the day he started wearing his Seiko many of his colleagues who were gung ho about Swiss watches went out and bought Seikos LOL. Being their boss and CTO of their company the know how successful he is and so it was almost like they aspired to be like him. Seikos provide a high value : price ratio and they are a mainstay among the ultra wealthy (particularly Grand Seikos) for their high quality and value.

NemesisX wrote

Seikos are excellent watches. A family friend of ours worth $10 million+ wears a Grand Seiko as his daily watch. It's funny, the day he started wearing his Seiko many of his colleagues who were gung ho about Swiss watches went out and bought Seikos LOL. Being their boss and CTO of their company the know how successful he is and so it was almost like they aspired to be like him. Seikos provide a high value : price ratio and they are a mainstay among the ultra wealthy (particularly Grand Seikos) for their high quality and value.

The Grand Seiko has one of the best movements out there. Its a must have at some point for any watch connoisseur.

Dont know about Grand Seikos, but sale margins on Seikos are probably 60-70% at retail stores. I bought mine 55% off from factory direct dealer and I assume he made money too. Bought my brand new Orient (one of the top models) for 70% off from private party

I got my tag heuer formula 1 chrono from Sams club for around $800. Respectable.

As an owner of two Omega watches (a Planet Ocean and Seamaster) I think my Seiko Monster is built just as well and seems to be more durable. It looks much less worn after years of use compared to my Omega's. It does have a less sophisticated movement but it's reliable and just as accurate. If anything my Omega's are running a bit fast.

That being said I just picked up a Seiko SNZG13 that I can use my Nato straps on

Seiko Men's SNZG13 Seiko 5 Automatic Black Dial Stainless-Steel Bracelet Watch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ITF2H8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_I7BYxbB2ZNJQR

Also been really tempted to get a Seiko Shinobu Ishigaki Cocktail Time since all my other watches are divers.

Seiko MECHANICAL x Shinobu Ishigaki SARB065 Mens Wrist Watch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038OLUMM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_F9BYxbWJ4NG4S

chris82 wrote

Great informative thread for a watch noob like myself. I just purchased a Seiko Kinetic Auto Relay and am loving it so far. I have a bad (or is it good?) feeling that I will quickly start spending more and more on them... Oh well

I bought one of those new at Seiko outlet in early 2000's if I recall for $150. Retail was $600 at time. I sold it years later, I really like it but recall it was a heavy piece.

Affordable divers & tacticals were my favorites, still are.
Luminox
Marathon
Deep Blue Abyss
Helson
Korsbek
Boschett
Dievas Vortex

Guns & watches took up most of my extra time & money until I bought my M4.
Everything else has now fallen by the wayside in favor of the M.

WMT and CWC make nice watches that you can find pre-owned for sub $500 if you looks hard or negotiate hard

Any pointers on good thin watches? I like to keep them light and thin.

Thanks

Great write up. I love the CW watches, im yet to buy one. But i think one of them will be my next purchase. I started off as a bit of a watch snob, wanting expensive swiss brands. But now i buy anything that i like the look of, regardless of brand. Although I must have a rolex deepsea one day.

nice thread. i love watches but have never been able to justify the cost of a rolex or omega. i do own three alpinas including a hand-wind regulator style just to prove my watch geekiness.



i would really like to add a couple more to my watch drawer: (1) classic bronze diver — was super tempted to pull the trigger on jomashop’s recent tudor black bay sale at $2800; and (2) panda chrono — haven’t seen the Hamilton intramatic in person yet but love the look. any good recommendations?

Seiko SKX favorite beater

BMW11 wrote

Seiko SKX favorite beater

Out of all of my watches, my 007 is the one I like to pull out the most and its my least expensive.