What watch for £350?

[audi321]

Mate of mine has asked me to find him a watch (coz I've an old Rolex I'm the guru on watches apparently!).

Anyway, he has a budget of around £350 and isn't bothered about new or 2nd hand.

Only criteria he has is brand! He's a brand snob! So I'd say providing it was a decent well known watch brand, he'll be happy.

I've seen a Maurice Lacroix for £378 on watches2u.com but is there any other brands which normally make expensive watches who make a cheaper version?

[Phunk]

This?

http://www.tissot.ch/products/tissot-heritage-viso...

[audi321]

I like it, but I fear Tissot wouldn't be a brand that would cut it.

[GC8]

But Maurice Lacroix would???

[16plates]

Not a great deal of choice if he wants a luxury brand at that pricepoint.

MAY get a pre-owned Tag Heure F1 but really... it's not a good watch.. Quartz, Chronograph, Plastic Dial, you're paying for the TAG name - which isn't even all that respected in the luxury watch 'scene'.

Best 'name' he could get is Omega in the form of a very vintage Geneve.

Could get a decent used Longines i expect. Or a Hamilton.


Personally... i'd be looking at a Steinhart or an Oris or Seiko but i appreciate neither are what he's after. There are loads of good, automatic, swiss made watches out there for around £350 - educate him man!

[audi321]

Turns out (after discussing this forum results) his budget could stretch to £500. Does that make much difference?

[bitchstewie]

For £350 if he's a bit of a brand snob I'd just tell him go and buy what he likes the look of.

I say that because it's a funny sum of money where the decent brands (Oris, Seiko etc.) probably aren't ones he'd consider so he probably is as well just going off looks and brand.

[GC8]

Id probably buy a new Hamilton, or a Glycine Combat Sub for £350. Increase the budget to £500 and Id be looking at Oris, although Id probably buy another older model BC3 new from the Belgian vendor on C24 for £300 in preference to the above.

Used Omega is available at £500, but also at less than a third of that, but for models that have little showing off value...

Not so long ago I bought my second favourite Rolex for only a shade over the upper budget. Again, not very good for showing off, but a fantastic watch.

[16plates]

audi321 said:

Turns out (after discussing this forum results) his budget could stretch to £500. Does that make much difference?

Plenty Tag Heure options at £500. Few more Omega options around but like a user mentioned above, probably not many 'show offy' type options, all more vintage watches.

Hamilton and Raymond Weils are plentiful at £500.

[mikeveal]

How about an Omega Dynamic? Produced from 67 to 73 IIRC. This is a first generation watch with an original dial, which makes it pre 1970. This is currently the only gents Dynamic on ebay and chrono24 that hasn't been re-dialed. The re-dialed watches are nowhere near as attractive...


£433 - Link


And as well as satisfying the brand snobbery, keep up with the Jones's brigade, it's actually a damn good watch.

[RobinBanks]

I've got a Longines k was going to sell for around that number when it's back from service. I don't know if he'd turn his nose up at Longines or not

[RobinBanks]

I also bought a fairly good Omega Constellation under budget last year if he'd like to look at those.