Watch for under £1000
Discussion
Hi I have very little knowledge on watches and have been looking too get a nice one for £1000 MAX, I really like the look of some MB&F, HD3 Complication, Urwerk, Richard Mille, Concord watches that I have seen whilst looking around the net, I understand that these watches are waaaay out of my league but what I'm getting at is I like "different" (for want of a better word) looking watches, If anyone could suggest a make or particular watch that is different looking for around the £1000 mark I would most appreciate it!
Thanks
Jordan
Thanks
Jordan
Check out www.wernersflyingwatches.co.uk. Pick up a cheapo before committing.
I really like the "TAUCHMEISTER T0195" on the website..... Is it any good??
http://www.wernersflyingwatches.com/products.asp?P...
Cheers
http://www.wernersflyingwatches.com/products.asp?P...
Cheers
jordan020 said:
I really like the "TAUCHMEISTER T0195" on the website..... Is it any good??
What do you mean by "good"? It's a serious chunk of metal. The strap should be suitably chunky. The movement is a Chinese one (mind you, aren't most watches? ) so the accuracy won't be anything like COSC... might gain/lose a minute a day. Certainly eye-catching.How about a Hamilton Ventura? An absolute classic, but you rarely see them.
Not as quirky as the watches you mention, but classier IMHO.
£1000 would just buy you an original vintage electric watch, but personally I'd stay clear. The Ventura was the worlds first electric wristwatch and was notoriously unreliable. The 500 calibre movement was the worst, 501 was better, but is still not good compared to a modern watch (or even a mechanical of that era!)
However, Hamilton are making reproduction venturas with both quartz and automatic mechanical movements.
PS, of you do find an original Richard Mille for a grand, please let me know.
Not as quirky as the watches you mention, but classier IMHO.
£1000 would just buy you an original vintage electric watch, but personally I'd stay clear. The Ventura was the worlds first electric wristwatch and was notoriously unreliable. The 500 calibre movement was the worst, 501 was better, but is still not good compared to a modern watch (or even a mechanical of that era!)
However, Hamilton are making reproduction venturas with both quartz and automatic mechanical movements.
PS, of you do find an original Richard Mille for a grand, please let me know.
Oris hunter
RRP is just a tad over budget but I have seen them advertised for 1k.
http://www.worldlux.com/cgi-bin/navigate.cgi?dept=...
RRP is just a tad over budget but I have seen them advertised for 1k.
http://www.worldlux.com/cgi-bin/navigate.cgi?dept=...
ShadownINja said:
jordan020 said:
I really like the "TAUCHMEISTER T0195" on the website..... Is it any good??
What do you mean by "good"? It's a serious chunk of metal. The strap should be suitably chunky. The movement is a Chinese one (mind you, aren't most watches? ) so the accuracy won't be anything like COSC... might gain/lose a minute a day. Certainly eye-catching.Chinese QC is variable and that's their main problem. The kit itself *can*, in certain situations, be very good indeed. The most accurate mechanical watch in my collection is my BHI Tourbillon 151. This is the cheapest Chinese tourbillon movement available, but given a quick once-over by the BHI guys before sale. It is bloody lovely - the tourbillon is flying, it has a screwed balance for poising, and mine is accurate to within a second a day so far (only had it since Christmas and haven't kept it wound all the time, so have only done 50-hour tests, which is the run-time of the mainspring as indicated by the power indicator).
If you want a really interesting complication for less than a grand then check out the BHI tourbillons. They are MUCH better quality than you can really comprehend for the price (less than £600). I was expecting the leather strap to be pretty crappy too, but it's actually rather nice and padded, and comes with a (fiddly) deployant. Bargain of the century if you like complications.
It's a bit 'grown up' looking, and for some, too damn close to Breguet design language (it's very, very, very similar to a particular watch in the Breguet Classique range that costs £68,000). But I love it.
Incidentally, and even funnier, is that the Chinese 'replica' counterfeit Rolexes now shipping with 'replica' Rolex 3135 movements (i.e. ETA 2836-2 with altered bridges and magenta wheels to look superficially more like real Rolex movements) are sodding accurate as well. As in more accurate than all of my genuine watches except the above-mentioned tourbillon and my genuine Breguet transatlantique (I'm hoping that the JLC Reverso Chrono will trounce them all when it finally comes back from Switzerland...).
Chinese QC may suck, but their products are pretty damn good. If you can lightly service a watch (i.e. clean and lubricate) yourself, then getting a watch with a movement from one of the well-known exporting Chinese watch factories can be great value for money. Just open it up, clean it and lubricate it before use, and the job's a parsnip.
It's getting to the point now where it'd make serious business sense for some Swiss watch brands to buy in ébauches from China, service and decorate themselves, and then sell as Swiss Made (Claro-Semag already do this but with a *very* cheap base movement from Sea-Gull)... in terms of accuracy, the Chinese movements are as good as most Swiss movements.
NB. I'm talking about the 'decent' Chinese movements here, not the $1 copy-of-a-copy-of-a-clone crap that China also produces by the bucketload. Movements from the Beijing Watch Factory, Sea-Gull, and Liaoning are all OK in my experience of them.
To the OP - this is my tourbillon:
There is no catch. It is a flying tourbillon, with power reserve, and it all works. And it keeps superb time, and the power indicator *is* accurate - those numbers can be relied on (as in hours before mainspring runs down). If you let the mainspring get really low then the reduced amplitude will speed up the watch and throw the accuracy out, but keep the indicator above 10 at all times and it's a great timekeeper. And it's lovely to look at.
If you're into Richard Mille (grail watch for me, RM005), Urwerk etc. then this tourbillon will be far too traditional for you, though.
ok reading you first post you wanted different hhmm nothing I know mathces what you have put as an example. can you post up some pics of the ones you like and we can get an idea
personallly I think these look different
how about a Doxa 1000T sharkhunter $1490 dollars so arounf £950
http://www.doxawatches.com/sub1000t_sharkhunter.ht...
personallly I think these look different
how about a Doxa 1000T sharkhunter $1490 dollars so arounf £950
http://www.doxawatches.com/sub1000t_sharkhunter.ht...
Edited by Pesty on Wednesday 6th January 21:47
Edited by Pesty on Wednesday 6th January 21:47
cyberface said:
ShadownINja said:
jordan020 said:
I really like the "TAUCHMEISTER T0195" on the website..... Is it any good??
What do you mean by "good"? It's a serious chunk of metal. The strap should be suitably chunky. The movement is a Chinese one (mind you, aren't most watches? ) so the accuracy won't be anything like COSC... might gain/lose a minute a day. Certainly eye-catching.ShadownINja said:
cyberface said:
ShadownINja said:
jordan020 said:
I really like the "TAUCHMEISTER T0195" on the website..... Is it any good??
What do you mean by "good"? It's a serious chunk of metal. The strap should be suitably chunky. The movement is a Chinese one (mind you, aren't most watches? ) so the accuracy won't be anything like COSC... might gain/lose a minute a day. Certainly eye-catching.Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff