Old or Modern on a small budget
Discussion
Hi, I don't know too much about watches but looking to get one for my son's 21st. Budget isn't massive at £500 but is it better spent on an old/2nd hand one or a new modern one? He likes the plain classic look watches.
Not that I'd expect him to sell it at any time but it would be nice to know its still worth its money rather than dropping like a stone. Automatic movements look great too rather than quartz purely from the engineering inside them.
Any suggestions of makes or models?
Thanks
Not that I'd expect him to sell it at any time but it would be nice to know its still worth its money rather than dropping like a stone. Automatic movements look great too rather than quartz purely from the engineering inside them.
Any suggestions of makes or models?
Thanks
Ligne said:
Vintage, steel Omega Seamaster would be my choice in that budget.
If it was me and my 21st, I'd be very happy with this:https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/1956s-vintage-sea...
Modern, but an old design:
https://www.stowa.de/en/Antea/
My wife is getting me a Stowa Antea 1919 for my birthday next month.
£500 will buy a lot of good value in a vintage watch - there are plenty of lovely old Omegas for that money, some even in solid 9ct or 14ct gold, and 33-35mm is a perfect size for a classy, tasteful look.
Be careful to do your research and buy the right one. Buying vintage can be a minefield. Unless you have written proof of a movement service (and from sometime who knows what they’re doing, not some hamfisted amateur), then really you should be budgeting another £150-£200 for a service on top as well.
A lot of old watches have had a painted redial, replacement hands & crown. Unless you’re buying as a collector or expect to re-sell with original provenance, then it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes the job done can be crap - badly painted uneven dials, too-large crowns and completely the wrong hand-set. Also, they’re hard to make water-resistant to any great standard.
If you value observing the movement via a sapphire display case-back, then you won’t see too many vintage models with those.
The suggestion above of Stowa is by far the best course of action. £600 will buy you a classic-looking, brand-new watch, water-resistant, under warranty & good for 7-10 years before another service. You can get a rock-solid, easily-serviced mechanical movement with display back, and Stowa are a company with great customer-service & a long history.
https://www.stowa.de/en/Marine+36+classic+arabic+w...
Pay another £120 and you can get a higher-grade (i.e. better accuracy, parts, materials & decoration) movement and heat-blued hands as well.
Just shy of £1,000 gets you a solid-silver dial & personally engraved rotor: https://www.stowa.de/en/Marine+Klassik+40+silver+d...
Terrific value for money.
Christopher Ward do decent, ‘classic looking’ three-hand watches too.
Be careful to do your research and buy the right one. Buying vintage can be a minefield. Unless you have written proof of a movement service (and from sometime who knows what they’re doing, not some hamfisted amateur), then really you should be budgeting another £150-£200 for a service on top as well.
A lot of old watches have had a painted redial, replacement hands & crown. Unless you’re buying as a collector or expect to re-sell with original provenance, then it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes the job done can be crap - badly painted uneven dials, too-large crowns and completely the wrong hand-set. Also, they’re hard to make water-resistant to any great standard.
If you value observing the movement via a sapphire display case-back, then you won’t see too many vintage models with those.
The suggestion above of Stowa is by far the best course of action. £600 will buy you a classic-looking, brand-new watch, water-resistant, under warranty & good for 7-10 years before another service. You can get a rock-solid, easily-serviced mechanical movement with display back, and Stowa are a company with great customer-service & a long history.
https://www.stowa.de/en/Marine+36+classic+arabic+w...
Pay another £120 and you can get a higher-grade (i.e. better accuracy, parts, materials & decoration) movement and heat-blued hands as well.
Just shy of £1,000 gets you a solid-silver dial & personally engraved rotor: https://www.stowa.de/en/Marine+Klassik+40+silver+d...
Terrific value for money.
Christopher Ward do decent, ‘classic looking’ three-hand watches too.
Edited by UnclePat on Sunday 5th August 14:52
How about a Tissot Visodate? New but classic looks.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tissot-Gents-Watch-Visoda...
This one is under budget too. I have a couple of dress watches, one is an old and worthless manual wind HMT and the other is a Raymond Weil on black leather. I'd like another brown leather / croc strap watch for more dressy occasions. I love the Longines Master Collection but they are double/triple the budget so have looked at the Tissot myself as a cheaper alternative that I'd still be happy to wear.
Edited to add, just noticed you can get them cheaper. https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Tissot-Visodate-Mens-...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tissot-Gents-Watch-Visoda...
This one is under budget too. I have a couple of dress watches, one is an old and worthless manual wind HMT and the other is a Raymond Weil on black leather. I'd like another brown leather / croc strap watch for more dressy occasions. I love the Longines Master Collection but they are double/triple the budget so have looked at the Tissot myself as a cheaper alternative that I'd still be happy to wear.
Edited to add, just noticed you can get them cheaper. https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Tissot-Visodate-Mens-...
Edited by toon10 on Monday 6th August 16:43
How about a Seiko SKX007 / 009 modded to his own tastes. Bezel, chapter ring, crystal, hands and even dial can easily be changed. Less than £400 would get him a watch he can effectively design himself - including a new, high quality bracelet. Loads of specialists in modifying this particular watch.
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