Steinhart - Should I or shouldn't I?
Discussion
I have been mulling this question for a while.
I currently own a Rolex Explorer (214270 for the beards) a Seiko Kinetic and a Fitbit Versa for activity tracking etc.
I love the look of the Rolex GMT, but can't justify spending that much on a watch when I have other interests to pursue.
My quandary, is that I have just received a decent tax rebate of nearly £3k and have nearly pressed the buy button on the Steinhart website about 3 times, but something is holding me back. I have only mentioned the amount to demonstrate that it isn't really the cost of £550 ish that is stopping me.
I doubt I would encounter many people and need to explain that "no it isn't a Rolex and no it isn't a fake Rolex" but for anyone who has personal experience of ownership, I would be very interested to hear your opinions.
This being PH, I anticipate a varied response and that would be very welcome.
I love the looks of the watch and they seem to have a good reputation as a quality brand, but something is stopping me and I'm not entirely sure what.
I did try and search before asking, but we all know the search is crap and I trawled through pages and pages trying to find something related and failed miserably.
Thank you in advance for your opinions.
I currently own a Rolex Explorer (214270 for the beards) a Seiko Kinetic and a Fitbit Versa for activity tracking etc.
I love the look of the Rolex GMT, but can't justify spending that much on a watch when I have other interests to pursue.
My quandary, is that I have just received a decent tax rebate of nearly £3k and have nearly pressed the buy button on the Steinhart website about 3 times, but something is holding me back. I have only mentioned the amount to demonstrate that it isn't really the cost of £550 ish that is stopping me.
I doubt I would encounter many people and need to explain that "no it isn't a Rolex and no it isn't a fake Rolex" but for anyone who has personal experience of ownership, I would be very interested to hear your opinions.
This being PH, I anticipate a varied response and that would be very welcome.
I love the looks of the watch and they seem to have a good reputation as a quality brand, but something is stopping me and I'm not entirely sure what.
I did try and search before asking, but we all know the search is crap and I trawled through pages and pages trying to find something related and failed miserably.
Thank you in advance for your opinions.
I like Steinhart watches. I do not own one, but I have spent quite a lot of time looking at them and have been very tempted on numerous occasions.
The whole "they just blatantly copied a Rolex thing" doesn't bother me or interest me. I think they are good watches for the money.
I have owned a few different homage watches alongside the 'originals' upon which they are based, and I enjoy them all the same.
Depending on what you like the look of, I can massively recommend a San Martin watch. I bought the '1960's Vintage Sub' type homage model they do, and the photos do no do it justice. The quality is amazing for the money. For a few quid more they will custom print your own dial design which is what I did, and had the 'San Martin' replaced with the 'Spectre' octopus logo from the bond films.
https://wrwatches.com/collections/san-martin-colle...
More of their collection here:
https://wrwatches.com/collections/san-martin-colle...
Would buy another San Martin tomorrow without any hesitation.
May I suggest also having a look at:
Ocean X Sharkmaster (and Sharkmaster 1000)
Ginault Ocean Rover
Edited to add:
The only word of caution I will add is that if you are buying it purely to 'scratch the itch' of that particular Rolex model, then possibly expect to be unsatisfied until you do actually get the Rolex version. Years ago I bought homage watches because I didn't want to spend Rolex money, and I was just not satisfied at all, and could not rest until I got the actual Rolex versions.
The weird thing is that now that I own the Rolex models that I always wanted, I pretty much never wear them, and prefer to buy and wear homage stuff like my San Martin instead, alongside other watches that are also a more reasonably priced. I just enjoy them more.
Make of that what you will.
The whole "they just blatantly copied a Rolex thing" doesn't bother me or interest me. I think they are good watches for the money.
I have owned a few different homage watches alongside the 'originals' upon which they are based, and I enjoy them all the same.
Depending on what you like the look of, I can massively recommend a San Martin watch. I bought the '1960's Vintage Sub' type homage model they do, and the photos do no do it justice. The quality is amazing for the money. For a few quid more they will custom print your own dial design which is what I did, and had the 'San Martin' replaced with the 'Spectre' octopus logo from the bond films.
https://wrwatches.com/collections/san-martin-colle...
More of their collection here:
https://wrwatches.com/collections/san-martin-colle...
Would buy another San Martin tomorrow without any hesitation.
May I suggest also having a look at:
Ocean X Sharkmaster (and Sharkmaster 1000)
Ginault Ocean Rover
Edited to add:
The only word of caution I will add is that if you are buying it purely to 'scratch the itch' of that particular Rolex model, then possibly expect to be unsatisfied until you do actually get the Rolex version. Years ago I bought homage watches because I didn't want to spend Rolex money, and I was just not satisfied at all, and could not rest until I got the actual Rolex versions.
The weird thing is that now that I own the Rolex models that I always wanted, I pretty much never wear them, and prefer to buy and wear homage stuff like my San Martin instead, alongside other watches that are also a more reasonably priced. I just enjoy them more.
Make of that what you will.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 26th March 18:32
Thank you both, very useful so far.
I did briefly own a Rolex GMT and by briefly I mean a few hours, I bought one from Watchfinder and it arrived with all sorts of undisclosed damage, so it went back the same day.
As I have a Rolex I have no current plans to buy another one, I do like them, I just have other things to drop that kind of money on.
I did briefly own a Rolex GMT and by briefly I mean a few hours, I bought one from Watchfinder and it arrived with all sorts of undisclosed damage, so it went back the same day.
As I have a Rolex I have no current plans to buy another one, I do like them, I just have other things to drop that kind of money on.
I owned one - Steinhart Ocean One.
Great quality, no doubt about it. A great watch in its own right, however I never felt entirely comfortable wearing it - I felt like a bit of a fraud as more than one person thought it was a sub.
I have since sold it (on eBay, for close to what I paid iirc) and moved on to a Rolex Submariner. Which is absolutely not an £8000 better watch! But it was an aspirational item for me so I do enjoy wearing it.
I probably wouldn’t buy another Steinhart, only because my tastes and budget has changed but I do maintain they are excellent watches.
Great quality, no doubt about it. A great watch in its own right, however I never felt entirely comfortable wearing it - I felt like a bit of a fraud as more than one person thought it was a sub.
I have since sold it (on eBay, for close to what I paid iirc) and moved on to a Rolex Submariner. Which is absolutely not an £8000 better watch! But it was an aspirational item for me so I do enjoy wearing it.
I probably wouldn’t buy another Steinhart, only because my tastes and budget has changed but I do maintain they are excellent watches.
I'm in a similar position in really liking the look of the ocean one premium 500 titanium and have the funds sat ready but I just have a nagging doubt at the back of my mind which is stopping me ordering.
Whilst it looks great and has great movement and spec I just think for similar money I could get a watch from a more well known brand like Tissot (seastar) or certina (D's ph200m) or a Seiko (king turtle)
Whilst it looks great and has great movement and spec I just think for similar money I could get a watch from a more well known brand like Tissot (seastar) or certina (D's ph200m) or a Seiko (king turtle)
AmosMoses said:
Maybe it’s just not grabbing you? I often flirt with buying watches and then ultimately go off them. Might be worth picking up a used one and then moving it on if you don’t like it.
A used one won't cost much less than a new one. As has been said, they hold their value.If you like a Steinhart then go for it. I have a Steinhart vintage Military. It’s a great watch, excellent value for money and I enjoy wearing it. Not so expensive that I need to worry about it. I have 4 Rolex watches but still enjoy wearing the Steinhart from time to time.
The secret is to but a Steinhart because you like it, not because you want to fool people into thinking you have a watch that isn’t what it is.
Good luck, it’s a low risk transaction they hold value pretty well.
The secret is to but a Steinhart because you like it, not because you want to fool people into thinking you have a watch that isn’t what it is.
Good luck, it’s a low risk transaction they hold value pretty well.
I have a Steinhart GMT, bought back in 2013. I wear it all the time, and I’m delighted with it. No issues whatsoever, highly recommended.
I can also recommend the Davosa Ternos Professional GMT, a Rolex Batman homage with the back/blue ceramic bezel. I bought one because I wanted & could afford a Batman, but I don’t have the connections to get hold of a new one and can’t afford £15k for pre-owned.
It’s a step up in both price and quality from the Steinhart, and it really is a top quality bit of kit. It’s also noticeably bigger & chunkier than the Rolex, which is fine by me as I’m a big chunky bloke, but it might look daft on someone smaller.
https://www.watchshop.com/watches/davosa-ternos-pr...
I can also recommend the Davosa Ternos Professional GMT, a Rolex Batman homage with the back/blue ceramic bezel. I bought one because I wanted & could afford a Batman, but I don’t have the connections to get hold of a new one and can’t afford £15k for pre-owned.
It’s a step up in both price and quality from the Steinhart, and it really is a top quality bit of kit. It’s also noticeably bigger & chunkier than the Rolex, which is fine by me as I’m a big chunky bloke, but it might look daft on someone smaller.
https://www.watchshop.com/watches/davosa-ternos-pr...
Steinhart make terrific watches, with all manner of designs. I have a Steinhart Marine watch: the quality is excellent and it keeps better time than more expensive watches I've owned. (I've had various posh Swiss brands.)
blue_haddock said:
I'm in a similar position in really liking the look of the ocean one premium 500 titanium and have the funds sat ready but I just have a nagging doubt at the back of my mind which is stopping me ordering.
Whilst it looks great and has great movement and spec I just think for similar money I could get a watch from a more well known brand like Tissot (seastar) or certina (D's ph200m) or a Seiko (king turtle)
Any of these watches would be great. And if Steinhart ever offer the Ocean One 500 Titanium with a blue bezel, I'll get one. Although if you can stretch to one of the latest divers from Christopher Ward, the quality and finishing are significantly higher than the likes of Steinhart and Tissot.Whilst it looks great and has great movement and spec I just think for similar money I could get a watch from a more well known brand like Tissot (seastar) or certina (D's ph200m) or a Seiko (king turtle)
Salted_Peanut said:
Any of these watches would be great. And if Steinhart ever offer the Ocean One 500 Titanium with a blue bezel, I'll get one. Although if you can stretch to one of the latest divers from Christopher Ward, the quality and finishing are significantly higher than the likes of Steinhart and Tissot.
The only one that even vaguely takes my interest in the CW range is this onehttps://www.christopherward.com/retro-dive/c65-tri...
But if I was to go to that kind of price I think I'd rather stretch a bit further and get an actual squale or a doxa 200 sub.
blue_haddock said:
The only one that even vaguely takes my interest in the CW range is this one
https://www.christopherward.com/retro-dive/c65-tri...
But if I was to go to that kind of price I think I'd rather stretch a bit further and get an actual squale or a doxa 200 sub.
CW captured my interest for a short while, but very quickly, they thought "Hang on, we're cool! Let's double our prices!https://www.christopherward.com/retro-dive/c65-tri...
But if I was to go to that kind of price I think I'd rather stretch a bit further and get an actual squale or a doxa 200 sub.
"And constantly f
k about with our branding. That's a good way to create loyalty."Doofus said:
CW captured my interest for a short while, but very quickly, they thought "Hang on, we're cool! Let's double our prices!
"And constantly fk about with our branding. That's a good way to create loyalty."
I do actually have a Christopher ward, a c7 rapids which is basically a tag f1 'homage' I really like it because it only has the chequered flag style logo and not the full name written out and badly placed!"And constantly f
k about with our branding. That's a good way to create loyalty."Doofus said:
CW captured my interest for a short while, but very quickly, they thought "Hang on, we're cool! Let's double our prices!
Christopher Ward (IMO) still has a cool vibe, and it increased prices in line with significant increases in quality. Have you handled one of the latest models? I'll compare Longines' HydroConquest to a similar-price CW diver: the C60 Elite 1000. This comparison is a good example because the HydroConquest is a benchmark of excellence for its price. And I have owned both watches.The prices are similar, but the CW is higher-class in the metal. The case finishing is even better than Longines; the bracelet is superior (micro-adjustment, more comfortable and better made). And while Longines' L888 movement is good, the C60 Elite 1000 trumps it with a COSC-certified movement. The icing on the Anglo-Swiss cake is that the CW's depth rating (1000m) exceeds the Longines (300m).
While I agree about the branding, the changes were in response to customer feedback. And sales increased significantly since the new branding. CW has been working through the usual issues for transitioning from a startup-micro-brand to an established boutique manufacturer in its first fifteen years. But it's rapidly becoming a proven premium product.
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