Budget watches?

[Conor D]

My Dad bought me a Fossil watch for Christmas, I like it but I'm not too keen on the rubber strap. He said he's happy enough for me to have a look and if I'm not happy change it for something else.

I went into the jewlers today, had a look and realised I don't have a clue what's good and bad.. I don't really want to buy purely on price and end up getting shafted.

If I change I have £115 credit, and then I'm willing to go to around £200 with my own money.. I looked at a few watches, Rotary, Accurist, Tossit, TW Steel. Then alot of the designers seem to have watches; Fossil, Hillfigher, Lacoste, Guess, D&G.

What are their watches generally like, would they be high quality, or marked up purely because or their name.

So for around £115-200 are there any companies to stay away from, or ones to look out for? Any tips on what to look out for when buying - I'm new to watches.

[tonym911]

Conor D said:

Tossit

Presumably that's the one with the extra long wristband.

[Conor D]

tonym911 said:

Conor D said:

Tossit

Presumably that's the one with the extra long wristband.

Tissot. My iPhone decided to correct me.

[ShadownINja]

I would only spend more than £50 on a Rotary, Tissot or Seiko. The rest will be worthless by the time you get home because they didn't cost much to glue together in the first place as the 3 year old orphan in Zhejiang Province was probably paid under 5p to make it. (Ok, it's a massive exaggeration but you're really paying for the name more than anything with the others.)

To expand, I currently have a £200 Tissot automatic on my wrist and it feels like a quality item - suitably solid and maybe loses 20 seconds a day (pretty good). I just fancied a change from my daily Breitling. Also, a good few people (specifically, not watch enthusiasts) would be quietly impressed if you say you have a Tissot... it's Swiss Made, don't you know?

Edited by ShadownINja on Tuesday 28th December 16:55

[pokethepope]

With that budget I'd go for a nice automatic Seiko diver's watch (hundreds of varieties), a Citizen or a G-Shock. .

[andy tims]

pokethepope said:

With that budget I'd go for a nice automatic Seiko diver's watch (hundreds of varieties)

+ 1

[magpie215]

andy tims said:

pokethepope said:

With that budget I'd go for a nice automatic Seiko diver's watch (hundreds of varieties)

+ 1

^^^^^That right there

[GC8]

Seiko dives will be grey imports though; and not found in a Seiko dealers. Of the brands mentioned Id go for Tossit. Some of the 'brands' (CK, D&G) are Swiss and many are manufactured byt the same firm; but youre getting Swatch quality at Tissot prices (and more).

I favour the Seiko divers watches, but theyre not always the answer for someone new to watches. Start with an SKX007J on an Oyster, if you do. Id avoid Monsters, other than the purple night Monster, although others will doubtless disagree. At the top end of you budget youll find some less common Seiko dives, with superior calibres - these could be a good place to start.

[Escort2dr]

Wouldn't touch a Rotary these days - the one I got last Christmas for £75 ended up with a cracked screen through light use - turned out it was quite common on that model. I am in a similar position - keep coming back to Seiko (or maybe Citizen?).

[pacman1]

OP, since you are obliged to shop at that jewellers by virtue of the credit note you have, are they online? We could pick something for you.

[Nick_F]

GC8 said:

Seiko dives will be grey imports though; and not found in a Seiko dealers. Of the brands mentioned Id go for Tossit. Some of the 'brands' (CK, D&G) are Swiss and many are manufactured byt the same firm; but youre getting Swatch quality at Tissot prices (and more).

I favour the Seiko divers watches, but theyre not always the answer for someone new to watches. Start with an SKX007J on an Oyster, if you do. Id avoid Monsters, other than the purple night Monster, although others will doubtless disagree. At the top end of you budget youll find some less common Seiko dives, with superior calibres - these could be a good place to start.

Imports don't get much greyer...

[Conor D]

pacman1 said:

OP, since you are obliged to shop at that jewellers by virtue of the credit note you have, are they online? We could pick something for you.

They have a website but it's not great, there's actually very little online. Most of it's womens watches.



What are Accurist watches like? This is a watch in particular that caught my eye:
http://images.accurist.co.uk/LATEST-WATCHES/LATEST...

[carreauchompeur]

I've got a lovely Citizen Ecodrive, which can be had for about £250 now I believe. Packed with features, and it's a titanium strap/body so very light.



It's done me well for a while despite lots of abuse, I think it looks pretty good too.

[Escort2dr]

I've got an Accurist as a daily watch (G-Shock for policing) and it has been spot-on, though I am not so sure they have an inspiring reputation on here. Nothing special?

[Conor D]

I've been having a look online and there are some nice Tissot watches available, specifically this:



The Tissot V8, it comes in a White Face and Black. Online it seems to be around the £200 mark.

Does anyone have any experience with buying from Jewelers, if they carry Tissot already and they don't have the particular watch in stock.. Would they be prepared to order one in or can they?

I'll have to get back in and get a better look at what all they have in stock.

[The real Apache]

Buy what you like, you can filter a search for your budget here

http://www.watchmann.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Laco6...

some other sites here

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-wenger-battalion-div...

http://www.wernersflyingwatches.com/products.asp?P...

http://www.pilotur.dk/english/index_files/Page498....

[tonym911]

I think you've picked a nice one there Conor, Tissots are good looking watches at sensible prices. Most of the High St chain jewellers (in England anyway) seem to sell Tissots. Do you ever get over here?

[Conor D]

tonym911 said:

I think you've picked a nice one there Conor, Tissots are good looking watches at sensible prices. Most of the High St chain jewellers (in England anyway) seem to sell Tissots. Do you ever get over here?

I have to buy from the same jewellers now because they give a credit note. They do stock Tissot watches, but I don't think I saw the V8 when I was in.

I really don't know if they would order one in for me, or if that's a common procedure but I hope they can.

[pacman1]

Nice one, Apache your third link got me to this...

http://www.wernersflyingwatches.com/products.asp?P...

[GC8]

Nick_F said:

GC8 said:

Seiko dives will be grey imports though; and not found in a Seiko dealers. Of the brands mentioned Id go for Tossit. Some of the 'brands' (CK, D&G) are Swiss and many are manufactured byt the same firm; but youre getting Swatch quality at Tissot prices (and more).

I favour the Seiko divers watches, but theyre not always the answer for someone new to watches. Start with an SKX007J on an Oyster, if you do. Id avoid Monsters, other than the purple night Monster, although others will doubtless disagree. At the top end of you budget youll find some less common Seiko dives, with superior calibres - these could be a good place to start.

Imports don't get much greyer...

Indeed. My post want anti-parallel market; I was simply pointing out that Seiko dives werent likely to be found in the dealer in questions window. I then distracted myself and went off topic on a Seiko dive tangent...