Advice sought. Should this be "The One"?
Discussion
Long time lurker looking for some advice…
I currently own a Stowa (no logo) Pilots watch which I love for its simplicity and authenticity - Stowa being one of the 5 manufacturers selected to build the watch for the German government - although I do not wear the watch as often as I would like. Having not worn a watch for many years, I still find it I have to consciously think about wearing one.
Notwithstanding this, I really do like watches and hankered over an IWC Portuguese (white with blue hands) for many years thinking it would eventually be "the" expensive watch that I owned. However I eventually was turned off these, becoming more and more attached by smaller and more niche manufacturers, until I discovered Dornbluth and decided that one day I would own one of these. Whether a 99.1 or (possibly) a Regulator, I was smitten. I should perhaps point out as a taste reference that my absolute favourite watch brand has to be A. Lange and Sohn but these are way out of my price range. I also love Jacquet Droz, I also like Glashutte and that traditional "German" look although as far as Glashutte are concerned I think i'm too snobbish to accept one as my pride and joy. I am not at all attracted by a Rolex or brands such as Breitling and Tag (save for the original light blue Monaco).
I have now however seen another watch which has rather surprised me by how much it has gotten under my skin. It is a very different type of watch from the IWC and the Dornbluth in that it is not really (to my eyes) a smart dress watch but something a lot more casual and more of a daily wear. It hasn't been released yet and so I have not seen one in the flesh, but the latest object of my affection is this:
http://www.omegawatches.com/planet-omega/watchmaki...
I have been told this will be released in July/August and cost around the 6.5k mark. Now I am torn because I don't think I would be happy to own a fleet of expensive watches (5k and up) given I don't really wear them so frequently and because I couldn't justify it to myself (let alone SWMBO). I know watch taste is very subjective, but I would like some advice on whether if you guys had 5-7k to spend on ONE watch, would it be either the Dornbluth or the Omega (or perhaps and probably neither!)?
To my mind, the positives for the Omega is that it is an established brand and this is a limited edition watch which would presumably hold its value quite well. A Dornbluth however seems to me to have so much more of a "stealth cool" factor. The one thing which does put me off the Omega is that although ok for a weekend, the strap doesn't particularly appeal to me. However I am sure someone here could recommend a nice strap which may elevate this to being more of a dress watch? I was thinking some sort of a dark brown number?
Anyway, i'm left feeling a bit confused and thought I would throw it up to the Pistonheads massive for their comment…
A few images for those who don't want to search:
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/vA2chtCb[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/ctDrmRJt[/url]
Best,
OS
I currently own a Stowa (no logo) Pilots watch which I love for its simplicity and authenticity - Stowa being one of the 5 manufacturers selected to build the watch for the German government - although I do not wear the watch as often as I would like. Having not worn a watch for many years, I still find it I have to consciously think about wearing one.
Notwithstanding this, I really do like watches and hankered over an IWC Portuguese (white with blue hands) for many years thinking it would eventually be "the" expensive watch that I owned. However I eventually was turned off these, becoming more and more attached by smaller and more niche manufacturers, until I discovered Dornbluth and decided that one day I would own one of these. Whether a 99.1 or (possibly) a Regulator, I was smitten. I should perhaps point out as a taste reference that my absolute favourite watch brand has to be A. Lange and Sohn but these are way out of my price range. I also love Jacquet Droz, I also like Glashutte and that traditional "German" look although as far as Glashutte are concerned I think i'm too snobbish to accept one as my pride and joy. I am not at all attracted by a Rolex or brands such as Breitling and Tag (save for the original light blue Monaco).
I have now however seen another watch which has rather surprised me by how much it has gotten under my skin. It is a very different type of watch from the IWC and the Dornbluth in that it is not really (to my eyes) a smart dress watch but something a lot more casual and more of a daily wear. It hasn't been released yet and so I have not seen one in the flesh, but the latest object of my affection is this:
http://www.omegawatches.com/planet-omega/watchmaki...
I have been told this will be released in July/August and cost around the 6.5k mark. Now I am torn because I don't think I would be happy to own a fleet of expensive watches (5k and up) given I don't really wear them so frequently and because I couldn't justify it to myself (let alone SWMBO). I know watch taste is very subjective, but I would like some advice on whether if you guys had 5-7k to spend on ONE watch, would it be either the Dornbluth or the Omega (or perhaps and probably neither!)?
To my mind, the positives for the Omega is that it is an established brand and this is a limited edition watch which would presumably hold its value quite well. A Dornbluth however seems to me to have so much more of a "stealth cool" factor. The one thing which does put me off the Omega is that although ok for a weekend, the strap doesn't particularly appeal to me. However I am sure someone here could recommend a nice strap which may elevate this to being more of a dress watch? I was thinking some sort of a dark brown number?
Anyway, i'm left feeling a bit confused and thought I would throw it up to the Pistonheads massive for their comment…
A few images for those who don't want to search:
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/vA2chtCb[/url][url]|http://thumbsnap.com/ctDrmRJt[/url]Best,
OS
Dornblueth - if you want one you pretty much have to buy new which is great and you can personalise it. I very much doubt you'd be disappointed and would never sell on, passing it to your kids.
Omega... If it's 6.5 now it'll be sub-4k soon after, as lovely as they are they don't really hold value.
If I had 5-7k, I'd be looking at brand new watches for 9-15k and then searching them out second hand. That will get you a LOT of horology for your money, something Iike an AP Royal Oak or Vacheron Overseas with bracelet and leather options. Perfect combo of dress and sport.
Omega... If it's 6.5 now it'll be sub-4k soon after, as lovely as they are they don't really hold value.
If I had 5-7k, I'd be looking at brand new watches for 9-15k and then searching them out second hand. That will get you a LOT of horology for your money, something Iike an AP Royal Oak or Vacheron Overseas with bracelet and leather options. Perfect combo of dress and sport.
Fatrat said:
Dormbluth without a doubt at that level
It's next on my list
Go and collect it when it's ready ( there is a thread on here from a PH member who did that)
Took some finding, but I think it is this one:It's next on my list
Go and collect it when it's ready ( there is a thread on here from a PH member who did that)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...
sad61t said:
Fatrat said:
Dormbluth without a doubt at that level
It's next on my list
Go and collect it when it's ready ( there is a thread on here from a PH member who did that)
Took some finding, but I think it is this one:It's next on my list
Go and collect it when it's ready ( there is a thread on here from a PH member who did that)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...
forcedinduction7 said:
Is it within COSC criteria being a low-beat (18,000) movement?
I'm sure it's as well regulated as a diligent indie's watch can be but COSC is a huge process of temperature and postional variations over several days - they simply can't guarantee that kind of timekeeping.forcedinduction7 said:
What's the timekeeping like of it, I can't find any reference in reviews. Is it within COSC criteria being a low-beat (18,000) movement?
According to Dornblüth themselves, watches that leave them are regulated to -2 to +6 seconds a day. Seems OK to me, for a low beat movement. It's worth pointing out that Omega churned out hundreds of thousands of watches using low beat movements in the 60's that met COSC specifications.
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