Watch buying Virgin
Discussion
Hi folks.
I've not purchased a 'nice' watch before and with 3 x mortgages and 3 x kids I can't afford to splash the £.
That said, I want to buy a watch with a max budget of 1.5k/2k that is either from my birth year (1982) or that of my eldest (2009).
I've been trawling through a few threads but wanted to ask what I should be looking for in these two years? I guess for my budget I'm looking for something aesthetically pleasing to my eye as it won't climb in value too much.
Any pointers from the empowered would be great!
Thanks..
I've not purchased a 'nice' watch before and with 3 x mortgages and 3 x kids I can't afford to splash the £.
That said, I want to buy a watch with a max budget of 1.5k/2k that is either from my birth year (1982) or that of my eldest (2009).
I've been trawling through a few threads but wanted to ask what I should be looking for in these two years? I guess for my budget I'm looking for something aesthetically pleasing to my eye as it won't climb in value too much.
Any pointers from the empowered would be great!
Thanks..
You'll need to give us more than that to go on. Are you looking for a dress watch, a diver, a chrono?
I would suggest that you look at an auto rather than a quartz, but that's your choice. I say that as the auto will outlast the quartz mech, parts will be more easily available, but the auto will need servicing every 8 to 10 years. A main dealer service could be £300 to £800, but most independents will charge £100 to £150ish for exactly the same work.
Next you'll need to answer a biggy... You want a birth year watch, but do you want a birth year watch, or a birth year watch? Let me explain...
A birth year watch is any watch made in the year of your birth. It should be possible for you to find a Rolex Datejust from 1982 that's in budget. But whilst it may have been produced in 1982, it isn't a birth year watch. I picked the Datejust deliberately as every other thread in this forum seems to be Rolex themed. Sigh.
The Datejust first hit the shelves in 1945 they're still making them and they've changed very little. So is a 1982 Datejust a birth year watch for 1982 or 1945? Or both? Or neither? Only you can answer that.
My take is that since a 1982 Datejust doesn't represent the fashions of the early 80's, it can't be said to be representative of that era. That's just my view, you are entitled to disagree.
If you do disagree, just for starters, take a look at the following classic watches:
- Rolex Datejust (1945)
- Cartier Santos (1904)
- JLC Reverso (1931)
If you want something more representative of the era, then you have a more, um, involving search. '82 was the era of the bimetal (stainless/gold) watch. Sadly it was also smack bang in the middle of the quartz boom that killed off many manufacturers. Many of the pieces from '82 aren't currently considered fashionable. Older watches were smaller, then there's the bi-metal thing. Choose well and you'll have retro-cool. The good news is that prices reflect the fact that these watches aren't currently considered very fashionable.
2009 is contemporary, watches aren't a lot different from what you'll get on today's highstreet.
I suggest that you take a look at ebay and chrono24, put the year in as your search terms. I also strongly suggest that you get advice here, on Watchuseek or Timezone before spending that kind of money on a vintage piece. There are many unscrupulous sellers building "authentic" watches from multiple broken watches. They often have repainted dials and little real value. No one can guarantee that you won't get one of these, but we can help you avoid the mingers.
Lastly, buying from a private seller you should always budget for a service. You may not need one, but treat that as a pleasant surprise rather than expecting not to service and getting a nasty shock. If you buy from a reputable dealer, you can avoid the pitfalls, but you'll pay a hefty premium for doing so.
Over to you, I hope that helps rather than confuses.
I would suggest that you look at an auto rather than a quartz, but that's your choice. I say that as the auto will outlast the quartz mech, parts will be more easily available, but the auto will need servicing every 8 to 10 years. A main dealer service could be £300 to £800, but most independents will charge £100 to £150ish for exactly the same work.
Next you'll need to answer a biggy... You want a birth year watch, but do you want a birth year watch, or a birth year watch? Let me explain...
A birth year watch is any watch made in the year of your birth. It should be possible for you to find a Rolex Datejust from 1982 that's in budget. But whilst it may have been produced in 1982, it isn't a birth year watch. I picked the Datejust deliberately as every other thread in this forum seems to be Rolex themed. Sigh.
The Datejust first hit the shelves in 1945 they're still making them and they've changed very little. So is a 1982 Datejust a birth year watch for 1982 or 1945? Or both? Or neither? Only you can answer that.
My take is that since a 1982 Datejust doesn't represent the fashions of the early 80's, it can't be said to be representative of that era. That's just my view, you are entitled to disagree.
If you do disagree, just for starters, take a look at the following classic watches:
- Rolex Datejust (1945)
- Cartier Santos (1904)
- JLC Reverso (1931)
If you want something more representative of the era, then you have a more, um, involving search. '82 was the era of the bimetal (stainless/gold) watch. Sadly it was also smack bang in the middle of the quartz boom that killed off many manufacturers. Many of the pieces from '82 aren't currently considered fashionable. Older watches were smaller, then there's the bi-metal thing. Choose well and you'll have retro-cool. The good news is that prices reflect the fact that these watches aren't currently considered very fashionable.
2009 is contemporary, watches aren't a lot different from what you'll get on today's highstreet.
I suggest that you take a look at ebay and chrono24, put the year in as your search terms. I also strongly suggest that you get advice here, on Watchuseek or Timezone before spending that kind of money on a vintage piece. There are many unscrupulous sellers building "authentic" watches from multiple broken watches. They often have repainted dials and little real value. No one can guarantee that you won't get one of these, but we can help you avoid the mingers.
Lastly, buying from a private seller you should always budget for a service. You may not need one, but treat that as a pleasant surprise rather than expecting not to service and getting a nasty shock. If you buy from a reputable dealer, you can avoid the pitfalls, but you'll pay a hefty premium for doing so.
Over to you, I hope that helps rather than confuses.
OP - If you want a sports watch/diver you could do a lot worse than an Omega Seamaster. Personally, I'd go for a 2254.50 from 2009
Classic design, much rarer than the more modern ones, no longer made and quite desirable. They have a slightly retro look to them, and are ageing very well. A future classic imho. They also use a modified ETA movement, so easily serviced by an independent.
They're actually going up a little in value. I bought one new 10 years ago, and it's now worth about £1000 more than I paid for it, looking at current second hand values.
You may need to up your budget a tad, but look around and you should pick up a full set for £1800/2000
Classic design, much rarer than the more modern ones, no longer made and quite desirable. They have a slightly retro look to them, and are ageing very well. A future classic imho. They also use a modified ETA movement, so easily serviced by an independent.
They're actually going up a little in value. I bought one new 10 years ago, and it's now worth about £1000 more than I paid for it, looking at current second hand values.
You may need to up your budget a tad, but look around and you should pick up a full set for £1800/2000
cbmotorsport said:
sandman77 said:
Really, I have recently been looking at picking up a datejust and have found they start at about £3k for one in half decent condition.
My thoughts exactly. ZesPak said:
mikeveal said:
I picked the Datejust deliberately as every other thread in this forum seems to be Rolex themed. Sigh.
That must be the most ironic thing I've read all year 
Trev450 said:
Omega Speedmaster is in your budget and worth looking at too.
Be careful, there are a lot of redialled non-original Speedys at the lower end of the price scale. Could probably get a decent Speedmaster Reduced on budget with a little patience.BUT, diligence will be required, seek advice from the boys on the Omega forum at WatchUseek before purchasing.
As the OP is new, I should probably explain that any water ingress into a watch quickly ruins a dial. This can be fixed by repainting. However the repainted dials are frequently shoddy. Part of the appeal of an expensive watch is the attention to detail, replacing an exquisite dial with something made with my first crayons kinda ruins the watch. Then there is the problem of the mechanism hidden behind that dial. If the dial was ruined, what do you think happened to the mech?
For these reasons, watch collectors generally avoid redialled watches. Whilst a non collector may not care as much, the redialled watch isn't as pretty and may be a bag of nails, so I think it's worth seeking advice. The problem is that unless you are an expert in a particular model, it can be hard to spot a good redial. There are so many variants of watches like the Speedmaster, that you really need to invest a bit of time to learn what is and is not pukka.
The good news is that there are forums where knowledgeable experts will willingly help a newbie out. There are two big ones, Timezone and WatchUseek. TZ is excellent but has a bit of a reputation cliquey, WatchUseek I find to be great.
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