Suggest me a watch for £1500
Discussion
Ohhh, finally i can reply!! (Something has been annoying forum admins so they stopped new members posting 
), so apologies for asking a question and then not replying
Went looking at watches with the wife over the weekend (think she prefered the bubbly on offer to some of my choices)
Despite my diffidence towards dive type watches, the tudor black bay, with a black bazel and a leather strap is the current front runner.
Tried on all sorts from reymond weil, breitling, omega and came to various conclusions. First being that me liking a certain type or watch normally means it dosent suit me, Bracelets dont seem to suit me, some manufactures straps and amost too small to go over my hand when set to the right size for my wrist, and my wife gets too tippsy on a single glass of bubbly, and when it comes to dial's i'm incredibly fussy!
Think some more time will be spent looking this weekend comming, but i'm thinking its going to end up being the tudor
), so apologies for asking a question and then not replying Went looking at watches with the wife over the weekend (think she prefered the bubbly on offer to some of my choices)
Despite my diffidence towards dive type watches, the tudor black bay, with a black bazel and a leather strap is the current front runner.
Tried on all sorts from reymond weil, breitling, omega and came to various conclusions. First being that me liking a certain type or watch normally means it dosent suit me, Bracelets dont seem to suit me, some manufactures straps and amost too small to go over my hand when set to the right size for my wrist, and my wife gets too tippsy on a single glass of bubbly, and when it comes to dial's i'm incredibly fussy!
Think some more time will be spent looking this weekend comming, but i'm thinking its going to end up being the tudor
Edited by pessimal on Monday 31st July 21:14
If you get the Tudor, I would recommend getting it on the bracelet. You can buy a good leather strap for not a lot of money if that what's you prefer, but you'll have to spend a few hundred pounds to get the bracelet retrospectively.
If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
cbmotorsport said:
If you get the Tudor, I would recommend getting it on the bracelet. You can buy a good leather strap for not a lot of money if that what's you prefer, but you'll have to spend a few hundred pounds to get the bracelet retrospectively.
If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
This. Not sure what the retail difference is between the watch with the bracelet vs with the strap however it's normally relatively minimal compared to the cost of buying the bracelet on its own. If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
A fair bit cheaper but I like these.. they will engrave them FOC for you too.
http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series...
http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series...
gregd said:
A fair bit cheaper but I like these.. they will engrave them FOC for you too.
http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series...
i always like the look of watches like that, but on the wrist there a bit smart/classy for me.http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series...
cbmotorsport said:
If you get the Tudor, I would recommend getting it on the bracelet. You can buy a good leather strap for not a lot of money if that what's you prefer, but you'll have to spend a few hundred pounds to get the bracelet retrospectively.
If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
I might have a look and see how much extra a bracelet is, but to be honest, this is a watch to keep rather than sell on, so any reduction in resale value isnt of any interest, and i think part of the appeal of the watch to me is the distressed leather strap. To me it fits the watch nicely, and suits my style rather more than the bracelet. We quickly got to the point where we didnt bother looking at any watches with a bracelet as the first 3 or 4 i tried on just didnt work on me with a bracelet.If you ever need or want to sell it on, then it'll be worth more on the bracelet.
Good choice of watch btw.
i'm assuming that there's no discounts on purchasing these, or is it possible to negotiate a free service etc.
talking of which, how often or necessary is it to get these serviced?
cheers
Hi Pessimal, a few thoughts/comments:
- The Black Bay is excellent – robust enough for work, but a little ‘dressier’ looking than a lot of dive watches, and no worries about wearing in the
sea/pool on your holidays.
- I’ve read on a few Forums that the UK RRP of Tudor will be increasing by 5% from 1st September. Price increase rumours are often nonsense
and used by Sales Assistants to pressure buyers, so take it with a pinch of salt, but I just thought I’d advise. Tudor’s Parent Co. Rolex increased
prices by near 10% in November 2016, and most other brands have followed suit – except Tudor, so they may well be due one.
- IT Tech – if you do potentially work with the hardware side of things, does that involve poking around any strong magnetic sources? Mechanical
watches are much better than they used to be, but still susceptible to being magnetised, which messes with timing (easily & cheaply fixed, but a
bit of a pain). At the price point you’re looking, and as already suggested by CardShark and others, a lot of fantastic Sinn & Damasko models
(available on straps) are properly anti-magnetic, as well as using hardened steel that will easily deal with your work. The new ‘in house’
movement Black Bay does though use a silicon hairspring, which is as anti-magnetic as it gets, for that timing-critical single part at least. The
Black Bay has an anodised aluminium bezel insert which scratches fairly easily, but is cheap to replace. Other dive watches have ceramic
inserts which are more scratch-resistant.
- I know you don’t like bracelets, and Tudors (whether you pick the bracelet or leather strap version) come with an included fabric strap in the box
as well – it’s very high quality if you do fancy a change (they’re woven in France on hand-operated wooden looms, by the same people that
weave fabric used by the Vatican & Chanel).
- Discounts on Tudor? I wouldn’t expect anything massive – 5% should be easily achievable though as a starter, but push harder and ask for
extra freebies e.g. carry-pouches, merchandise as well. If you find an older-model Black Bay (with ETA movement) lurking, you're in a stronger
bargaining position. If you’re paying via 0% Finance, you likely won’t get any discount.
- Service intervals – everyone will have very different opinions on this, but most manufacturers will recommend servicing every 5 years or so.
Personally, if the watch is working well (i.e. not suddenly suffering changes in timing/power reserve), I’d happily push that by 2-3 years further if
you treat it gently in your work/life environment. Maybe longer if not a daily wearer. If you regularly plan to use it in water, then after a few
years I’d get it pressure-checked every so often to ensure water resistance. The new Black Bay with ‘in house’ movement needs to go back to
Tudor, and a service will cost you roughly £500, give or take. The older, slighly cheaper ETA movement Black Bays can still be found in some
ADs and have a more generic (but still very good) movement that any competent local watchmaker can service - and cheaper, for about £250.
Both have their pros & cons, and there's piles of discussion online for you to research.
- The Black Bay is excellent – robust enough for work, but a little ‘dressier’ looking than a lot of dive watches, and no worries about wearing in the
sea/pool on your holidays.
- I’ve read on a few Forums that the UK RRP of Tudor will be increasing by 5% from 1st September. Price increase rumours are often nonsense
and used by Sales Assistants to pressure buyers, so take it with a pinch of salt, but I just thought I’d advise. Tudor’s Parent Co. Rolex increased
prices by near 10% in November 2016, and most other brands have followed suit – except Tudor, so they may well be due one.
- IT Tech – if you do potentially work with the hardware side of things, does that involve poking around any strong magnetic sources? Mechanical
watches are much better than they used to be, but still susceptible to being magnetised, which messes with timing (easily & cheaply fixed, but a
bit of a pain). At the price point you’re looking, and as already suggested by CardShark and others, a lot of fantastic Sinn & Damasko models
(available on straps) are properly anti-magnetic, as well as using hardened steel that will easily deal with your work. The new ‘in house’
movement Black Bay does though use a silicon hairspring, which is as anti-magnetic as it gets, for that timing-critical single part at least. The
Black Bay has an anodised aluminium bezel insert which scratches fairly easily, but is cheap to replace. Other dive watches have ceramic
inserts which are more scratch-resistant.
- I know you don’t like bracelets, and Tudors (whether you pick the bracelet or leather strap version) come with an included fabric strap in the box
as well – it’s very high quality if you do fancy a change (they’re woven in France on hand-operated wooden looms, by the same people that
weave fabric used by the Vatican & Chanel).
- Discounts on Tudor? I wouldn’t expect anything massive – 5% should be easily achievable though as a starter, but push harder and ask for
extra freebies e.g. carry-pouches, merchandise as well. If you find an older-model Black Bay (with ETA movement) lurking, you're in a stronger
bargaining position. If you’re paying via 0% Finance, you likely won’t get any discount.
- Service intervals – everyone will have very different opinions on this, but most manufacturers will recommend servicing every 5 years or so.
Personally, if the watch is working well (i.e. not suddenly suffering changes in timing/power reserve), I’d happily push that by 2-3 years further if
you treat it gently in your work/life environment. Maybe longer if not a daily wearer. If you regularly plan to use it in water, then after a few
years I’d get it pressure-checked every so often to ensure water resistance. The new Black Bay with ‘in house’ movement needs to go back to
Tudor, and a service will cost you roughly £500, give or take. The older, slighly cheaper ETA movement Black Bays can still be found in some
ADs and have a more generic (but still very good) movement that any competent local watchmaker can service - and cheaper, for about £250.
Both have their pros & cons, and there's piles of discussion online for you to research.
Good choice.
They will need a service every 5 - 6 years or so if they are the same as other autos.
You should be able to push for a decent discount provided you're not looking to take a retailers interest-free credit, try a few different places and see who is prepared to move the most. Or look to get the bracelet in with the price of the leather strapped version! Your style will change and swapping to the bracelet gives you a way of freshening up the watch to suit your mood or if you're taking the watch on holiday. Leather doesn't like getting wet.
They will need a service every 5 - 6 years or so if they are the same as other autos.
You should be able to push for a decent discount provided you're not looking to take a retailers interest-free credit, try a few different places and see who is prepared to move the most. Or look to get the bracelet in with the price of the leather strapped version! Your style will change and swapping to the bracelet gives you a way of freshening up the watch to suit your mood or if you're taking the watch on holiday. Leather doesn't like getting wet.
At that price range, Stowa do some lovely watches. Can also be personalised with coloured screws, etc.
https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
desolate said:
There is a PHer who makes his own watches
http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk/home/field-en...
If you can get along with the design, it's a great watch for the money.
This is my favourite quote, 'The designed deceleration limit before timing and movement exceeds tolerance is 1000G laterally and 600G axially, so if you do accidentally drop it try and do so sideways.' http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk/home/field-en...
If you can get along with the design, it's a great watch for the money.
Hadn't sen that before, nice looking watch.
pessimal said:
is there an easy way to check if its the in house movement or the ETA movement?
Yep, the older ETA version (which I have) has the Tudor Rose logo on the face and the in-house movement has the shield logo. The newer one has a riveted bracelet too, which IMHO is a bit clunkier looking. I've got mine on the bracelet but sometimes swap it onto leather or a NATO, which is a bit fiddly to do if you're cack-handed like me. Pints said:
At that price range, Stowa do some lovely watches. Can also be personalised with coloured screws, etc.
https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
I was about to say the same! I'd go with the Stowa Flieger TESTAF TO1 ... For around £1245, it comes with an ETA 2824-2 Chronometer quality automatic movement, titanium case, a stunning display back, and an extra thick anti-reflective coated crystal to meet the shock test requirements.https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
For me, I love the almost brutal legibility of the watch. It's also a lot of watch for the cash! Sure, you could have a Sinn EZM 9 with a date and slightly more pleasing dial, but you'll need to spend a further c.£1800 ...
Tudor are a good shout too!
gregd said:
pessimal said:
is there an easy way to check if its the in house movement or the ETA movement?
Yep, the older ETA version (which I have) has the Tudor Rose logo on the face and the in-house movement has the shield logo.The fact that the wording is different too helps, but the shape is a more immediate tell.
crashley said:
desolate said:
There is a PHer who makes his own watches
http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk/home/field-en...
If you can get along with the design, it's a great watch for the money.
This is my favourite quote, 'The designed deceleration limit before timing and movement exceeds tolerance is 1000G laterally and 600G axially, so if you do accidentally drop it try and do so sideways.' http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk/home/field-en...
If you can get along with the design, it's a great watch for the money.
Hadn't sen that before, nice looking watch.
I shan't try and influence you about the Field Engineer chronograph as watch choice is an intensely personal thing, but on servicing then as noted before 5 to 8 years is about right. Servicing is actually just cleaning any dust out of the movement and re-oiling it. If they're keeping time well then you can run most movements for way over 5 years without any worry of wear as the bearings will be jewelled (synthetic ruby - aluminium oxide with a mohrs hardness of 9) and able to run un-lubricated with no problem. I think Cartier were selling a mechanical watch with a vacuum inside the case recently. Not sure why they would want to because in a vacuum any lubricating oil will instantly evapourate, but it just shows how robust movements can actually be. I know we think of Cartier as a ladies brand, but they do have some very nice mens watches, including the iconic Tank, introduced shortly after the first British tanks made their way across the Western front. The French naming a watch after an British war machine is not a weird as the Germans doing it (IWC Spitfire).
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