Should it be an investment ??

[Mad Mitch]

Thought I would ask on the forum. Bought an Omega Speedmaster Legend Collection Michael Schumacher. Should this hold a decent value or appreciate in value. ???

Steve.

[tubbystu]

Have you worn it ? Have you taken off the plastic protective stickers ? Still got the box and all the papers etc.

If not been worn, then it will keep more value and stay retain value into the future.

If been worn, then it will have a value but it will not significantly increase, ever. Probably worth 50% of UK list price if you wanted to cash it in quick. Probably 70% of UK list for insurance value.

At least you get to wear it, if you have worn it previously IYGMD.

HTH

[owenemyr]

The only watches that can be expected to (at best) retain their values are the vintage watches of top end manufacturers, and all produced before the crash of 1973.
The heyday of swiss watches was the 40's, 50's and early 60's, when companies like Omega/Rolex had 25% of their manufactering staff employed on quality control, and these two companies were essentially factory line manufacteres.
Obviously top end watch making houses were better, and have greater potential.
Buy a good quality vintage watch, enjoy it, and you can still get your money back.
Given the current "mark-up" on new watches, and the great numbers produced, its obvious who is making the money.

[Mad Mitch]

Cheers guys. As i thought really . I wear the watch every day and have had it since August 2007. Noticed one for sale a couple of weeks ago ( Thought they would have sold out by now??) in the jewelers I bought mine from.It had gone up £350.00. so happy about that. On another note, it has to have a service this coming year, is it best to send via selling dealer/shop or send direct. OR use quality independent repairer for cleaning etc. What sort of costs would you expect with no damage to sort out, just routine service/clean.

Cheers
Steve.

[Ordinary Bloke]

I'm completely new to 'real' watches, never worn anything worth more than a couple of hundred pounds. Although I still have my first watch, a timex from the early 70's, about the same time I decided I wanted a Porsche 911.

I'm interested in buying a nice watch, a few £K maximum, although I'd want it to be an investment for the long term. I assume a pre-1973 Rolex could be a self-winding watch. Do they really need servicing? By whom, and how often and at what price?

Where would I look at such watches, to work out what I like?

Is there a good London/SE shop I could visit?

Thanks...

Edited by Ordinary Bloke on Tuesday 16th December 22:25

[Ordinary Bloke]

Busy forum, isn't it? Anyone tell me where I should start learning?

[Seb d]

Ordinary Bloke said:

I'm completely new to 'real' watches, never worn anything worth more than a couple of hundred pounds. Although I still have my first watch, a timex from the early 70's, about the same time I decided I wanted a Porsche 911.

I'm interested in buying a nice watch, a few £K maximum, although I'd want it to be an investment for the long term. I assume a pre-1973 Rolex could be a self-winding watch. Do they really need servicing? By whom, and how often and at what price?

Where would I look at such watches, to work out what I like?

Is there a good London/SE shop I could visit?

Thanks...

Edited by Ordinary Bloke on Tuesday 16th December 22:25

If you're looking at Rolexes, I'd say that any popular and desirable pre-owned Rolex like a 16610 Sub won't ever really drop in value if you buy one at the right price.
Yes, a pre-73 Rolex is self-winding and yes, mechanical watches do need servicing (though many people don't and haven't had problems), especially older ones. As for how often, if it's a watch you wear on a daily basis then I'd say every three years otherwise you can get away with 5, perhaps even longer if it's worn very rarely. My first port of call would always be the manufacturer - it's possible that a watch of that vintage may be too old for Rolex to service, though I wager they would have the necessary parts for their own watches stretching back quite far, but if that's the case then a classic watch specialist would be my next choice. Unfortunately, I can't recommend anyone - I've only ever used one specialist and that was for a Tudor that was too old for Rolex as they didn't have the correct spare parts, and I wasn't particularly impressed with them. To find a Rolex of that vintage you'll need to hit the streets - London's West End is home to the Burlington Arcade which in turn is home to a number of watch shops specialising in old watches and particularly Rolexes. Hope this helps

Edited by Seb d on Wednesday 17th December 22:43

[Ordinary Bloke]

Thanks Seb, Rolex springs to mind simply because I've heard of them, and associate them with quality/desirability. But I haven't even started to look at what's available, and what manufacturers & styles I like.

Are there any websites or books I should read to learn about watches?

[NJH]

Go over to TZ-UK and join up. A good few of us on here are also regulars on there. Beware though it is very addictive, I started 10 months ago by just wanting something to replace a 10yr old Citizen and ended up buying 12 watches this year! I have sold/traded out 5 though. The best way to buy cheap and sell at a good price is to do it all on secondhand watches bought/sold through forums like TZ-UK. There are a fair few serious flippers on there as we call them, guys that buy/sell 50 or so a year. My one a month is small fry in comparison.

The only sure fire financial advice right now with watches is that due to the crash in the pound you can sell abroad for more then here, only really useful for traders though I just don't have the guts personally. I do it for fun so I try not to see it as an investment, keeping stuff moving is the best way to insure you don't loose much money. The most I have lost on a secondhand watch was 40 quid on something that would have cost over a grand new, sometimes you might get lucky and make a small gain.

Last and most important bit of advice, don't tell the wife!

[Seb d]

Ordinary Bloke said:

Thanks Seb, Rolex springs to mind simply because I've heard of them, and associate them with quality/desirability. But I haven't even started to look at what's available, and what manufacturers & styles I like.

Are there any websites or books I should read to learn about watches?

Blimey, where to begin! Timezone.com is a very good site which deals with mainly upmarket brands and has a number of extremely useful forums covering a wide range of different manufacturers and is a good place to start as it will introduce you to a number of extremely prestigious companies. Watches.co.uk is a good site if you want to see a nice selection of watches from a wide range of manufacturers and will give you an idea of what you can get for your money. Once you've learned about a few more companies, get in touch with them directly to request some catalogues - yes you can view their collections online, and I suggest you also do that, but some of the catalgues are rather special and well worth having, especially for free As far as books go, The Watch would be a good place to start and while I don't have a copy myself (although that my change by the time I go to bed) it has had some positive reviews. Every year I buy myself Watches International, an annual of sorts, covering all the year's releases from the World's major watch manufacturers. It's not very expensive, has some beautiful photography as well as a bit of information about each manufacturer.

Regarding Rolex, there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, I have one myself, but there are a lot of very special watches available for the same sort of money that are far more exclusive and produced with a lot more passion. Ultimately, buy what you like, not what other people like, you're the one who'll be wearing it after all

[Ordinary Bloke]

Sorry to bring this up again, but where in London (or Bucks/Berks/Herts area) area would I find a quality watch dealer with second-hand quality watches in stock? I need to see some of these things close-up to work out what I like...

[Ordinary Bloke]

Bump...

[Shuvi]

Ordinary Bloke said:

Sorry to bring this up again, but where in London (or Bucks/Berks/Herts area) area would I find a quality watch dealer with second-hand quality watches in stock? I need to see some of these things close-up to work out what I like...

You can't find one in London?

[Ordinary Bloke]

Shuvi said:

Ordinary Bloke said:

Sorry to bring this up again, but where in London (or Bucks/Berks/Herts area) area would I find a quality watch dealer with second-hand quality watches in stock? I need to see some of these things close-up to work out what I like...

You can't find one in London?

I wouldn't know where to look for quality used watches, I am completely new to watches (well, over £200 watches)...

Where can I go and look at used high-quality watches?

[paultje]

I'm also looking for a new timepiece and, as I dive, have been looking at Rolex Subs, Sea Dwellers etc.....I have had an Oyster Date since 1986 and it has been without fault. Serviced a few times ( about £200 a throw, less than the 911 ! ), which makes the watch look as new again. As for shops, try watches.co.uk they are in Chiswick High Rd., West London. I intend going there shortly myself.......

[Gompo]

Ordinary Bloke said:

Shuvi said:

Ordinary Bloke said:

Sorry to bring this up again, but where in London (or Bucks/Berks/Herts area) area would I find a quality watch dealer with second-hand quality watches in stock? I need to see some of these things close-up to work out what I like...

You can't find one in London?

I wouldn't know where to look for quality used watches, I am completely new to watches (well, over £200 watches)...

Where can I go and look at used high-quality watches?

..Not been myself, but Burlington Arcade is meant to be quite good; I am probably the least experienced person here to comment though! Also Selfridges on Oxford Street.

http://www.burlington-arcade.co.uk/category.php?se...

[Ordinary Bloke]

Thanks, I'll go take a look. This one is a bit 'ordinary' looking:

http://www.daviddugganwatches.co.uk/watchdetail.ph...

but I'm sure it's worth every penny. I'm confused...