Feeling confused about luxury watches

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mvlow
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Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by mvlow »

I really didn't become a watch enthusiast until last year having purchased mostly practical (usually quartz) watches throughout my life. I started out my enthusiast journey last year with a Seiko SKX, and then purchased a Hamilton and a CW. I have also purchased a few quartz watches including a Victorinox, CW bespoke edition, and a Citizen. I have recently been thinking about taking the next step up in quality and price but have not had the chance to see any of these watches in the flesh as there are no AD's in my town.

After much online research on various watches I decided there were several brands I wanted to see. I found an AD 160 miles from me that carried several of the brands I was interested in seeing and decided to make a visit while in town visiting family yesterday. I excitedly went to the store knowing I would be able to see for the first time Omega, Longines, Oris, and Breitling. I was most excited about seeing the Omega Speedmaster and Seamaster as they are such a popular watch and have such great history.

Here is where I am confused. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was expecting to be amazed by the looks and quality of these luxury watches compared to the watches I currently own. Unfortunately I was not blown away and came away feeling a little deflated. I handled and looked at several of the watches on my list and just didn't get the feeling I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, they were all nice looking, well made watches, but I didn't come away feeling like they were worth spending thousands of dollars more than I currently spend on the watches I already own. Sure, things like in-house movements, customization, and history all add to the monetary value of some of these watches, but the bottom line for me is that I was expecting to be wowed by the look and feel of them on my wrist, but I felt no more excitement for them than I do for my CW and Hamilton.

I have tried to analyze why I was so disappointed, but can't quite figure it out. It might be my upbringing of not being used to expensive things. The good news is I can be quite happy spending $1,300 on a Sinn or $2,000 on a Fortis Chrono instead of a lot more on an Omega and enjoy the watch just as much. I think my favorite watch that I handled yesterday was the Longines Legend Diver. It was just so unique looking compared to everything else I saw.

Anyway, I just want to share and was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience while looking at moving into more expensive watches.
Malcolm


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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by smegwina »

You are not at all unusual.

Luxury/expensive watches are pure folly, and from a materialistic pov, in no real way worth the additional money, yet many gain huge pleasure from them. It depends on the person.

If you are happy with the CW, is an Omega going to give you three times the pleasure?... Probably not. Will a Lange or a PP change your life..... Probably not.

Many on here have wonderful collections. Their values range from an absolute fortune/a small fortune all the way to a collection of a couple of watches that would cost a couple of hundred quid. - Yet all are equally relevant and worthy of praise.

To some, the cost of having a completely hand made Roger Smith is worth the 200k. To many others it isn't.

To some, the history, legacy and superb finishing on a submariner makes it worth the extra over a Trident. To some it isn't.

To some paying extra for a cosc certificate is worth it, to others it isn't.

To some, a quartz Seiko will do just fine, to others it won't.

There is no right or wrong.

Watch collection is a hugely personal thing, and the true worth is not calculated in financial/technical/materialistic terms, but in the pleasure that it gives its owner. How they derive that pleasure is completely up to them and that is what makes this crazy hobby such a fun and infuriating pastime.

Buy what you want, not what you think you should get.

I am currently deriving huge pleasure from my cheaper purchases and shall continue to do so!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by jkbarnes »

smegwina wrote:You are not at all unusual.

Luxury/expensive watches are pure folly, and from a materialistic pov, in no way worth the additional money.

If you are happy with the CW, is an Omega going to give you three times the pleasure?... Probably not. Will a Lange or a PP change your life..... Probably not.

Many on here have wonderful collections worth an absolute fortune/a small fortune all the way to a collection of a couple of watches that would cost a couple of hundred quid. - Yet all are equally relevant and worthy of praise.

To some, the cost of having a completely hand made Roger Smith is worth the 200k. To many others it isn't.

To some, the history, legacy and superb finishing on a submariner makes it worth the extra over a Trident. To some it isn't.

To some paying extra for a cosc certificate is worth it, to others it isn't.

To some, a quartz Seiko will do just fine, to others it won't.

Watch collection is a hugely personal thing, and the true worth is not calculated in financial/technical/materialistic terms, but in the pleasure that it gives its owner. How they derive that pleasure is completely up to them and that is what makes this crazy hobby such a fun and infuriating pastime.

Buy what you want, not what you think you should get.

I am currently deriving huge pleasure from my cheaper purchases and shall continue to do so!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
Great reply! +1 to all of that!
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by mvlow »

smegwina wrote:You are not at all unusual.

Luxury/expensive watches are pure folly, and from a materialistic pov, in no way worth the additional money.

If you are happy with the CW, is an Omega going to give you three times the pleasure?... Probably not. Will a Lange or a PP change your life..... Probably not.

Many on here have wonderful collections worth an absolute fortune/a small fortune all the way to a collection of a couple of watches that would cost a couple of hundred quid. - Yet all are equally relevant and worthy of praise.

To some, the cost of having a completely hand made Roger Smith is worth the 200k. To many others it isn't.

To some, the history, legacy and superb finishing on a submariner makes it worth the extra over a Trident. To some it isn't.

To some paying extra for a cosc certificate is worth it, to others it isn't.

To some, a quartz Seiko will do just fine, to others it won't.

Watch collection is a hugely personal thing, and the true worth is not calculated in financial/technical/materialistic terms, but in the pleasure that it gives its owner. How they derive that pleasure is completely up to them and that is what makes this crazy hobby such a fun and infuriating pastime.

Buy what you want, not what you think you should get.

I am currently deriving huge pleasure from my cheaper purchases and shall continue to do so!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
I agree with everything you said. I have always researched my watches to death before buying them and have only purchased what I like and not based on what others like. I guess that is why I was so surprised by my reaction, because after all of my research I really thought I would fall in love with the Omega Speedmaster, but it just didn't happen. My wife has been encouraging me for a couple of months to treat myself to a luxury watch, but I'm not sure I want to after my visit to the AD yesterday. I will give it some time for my thoughts to percolate and then see if I feel the same way. At the moment I am leaning towards getting a Sinn 104. The simple clean German design speaks to me, and it is several thousand dollars less than some of the watches I saw yesterday. Unfortunately I can't see it in the flesh before buying, but that was the same way with my CW and Hamilton and I am enjoying them.
Malcolm


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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by Thegreyman »

^^^yes very good answer from Nick (@ smegwina).

Although I have a couple of fairly pricey watches, I'm really getting a lot of pleasure at the moment from my couple of hundred pound Trident quartz. I like having the higher end ones too, but if I had to sell them for whatever reason and get by with a few of my less expensive ones I'm sure I'd be happy enough with those.
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by copemanphoto »

smegwina wrote:You are not at all unusual.

Luxury/expensive watches are pure folly, and from a materialistic pov, in no real way worth the additional money, yet many gain huge pleasure from them. It depends on the person.

If you are happy with the CW, is an Omega going to give you three times the pleasure?... Probably not. Will a Lange or a PP change your life..... Probably not.

Many on here have wonderful collections. Their values range from an absolute fortune/a small fortune all the way to a collection of a couple of watches that would cost a couple of hundred quid. - Yet all are equally relevant and worthy of praise.

To some, the cost of having a completely hand made Roger Smith is worth the 200k. To many others it isn't.

To some, the history, legacy and superb finishing on a submariner makes it worth the extra over a Trident. To some it isn't.

To some paying extra for a cosc certificate is worth it, to others it isn't.

To some, a quartz Seiko will do just fine, to others it won't.

There is no right or wrong.

Watch collection is a hugely personal thing, and the true worth is not calculated in financial/technical/materialistic terms, but in the pleasure that it gives its owner. How they derive that pleasure is completely up to them and that is what makes this crazy hobby such a fun and infuriating pastime.

Buy what you want, not what you think you should get.

I am currently deriving huge pleasure from my cheaper purchases and shall continue to do so!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I absolutely agree, this is the best explanation I have seen/read yet.

When you buy a $1000-$2000 watch from Sinn, Oris, CW or ? you get to stretch your dollars, lets say you considered an Omega and it might be $6500 you can get 4 or 5 great watches for the same money giving you a bigger bang for the buck.

Works for me.

Keep us posted as to what you do and post pictures........we all love pictures.

Cheers, Mike.
Cheers, Mike.
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by Richard D »

My advice is, buy to keep and you won’t go wrong.
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by Ian Mc »

Don't rule out second hand.
If you do the diligence, get all the supporting documents, boxes etc and the watch pleases you, you can save a small fortune - which you can spend on another watch!
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by mvlow »

Ian Mc wrote:Don't rule out second hand.
If you do the diligence, get all the supporting documents, boxes etc and the watch pleases you, you can save a small fortune - which you can spend on another watch!
I agree that second hand can be a good way to save some money. Before going to the AD I had researched pre-owned prices on Speedmasters and had decided that if I went that route, I would have to go through a reputable dealer. I would be willing to pay a little more to know I was getting the genuine article. I just don't have the expertise to go through places like eBay as there are so many people trying to rip you off in the luxury watch market. Even pre-owned the price of a good condition Speedmaster would still give me pause when I see I could get a chronograph from the likes of Sinn and Fortis and probably be just as excited with my purchase. I guess what I am saying is that it is about the money, but it also isn't about the money if that makes sense. I will have the money to purchase a new Speedmaster Moon Watch, I was just expecting to be more excited when I saw it in person. Now I am not sure I would spend that amount of money on a watch, when I could buy two or even three watches from great brands for the same money.

While there, I looked at the Oris 65 and Oris Aquis. I kind of had the same feeling even though they are far less expensive than the Speedmaster, they are more expensive than my CW C60 Vintage, but didnt get me any more excited than my CW.

My thought before going to the AD was that I was going to see something more expensive than I already own that I would be excited to buy. That just didn't happen. In my mind I was ready to take my hobby to the next level, but now I am not sure I want to.
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by missF »

i don't think you sound confused at all. i think you're seeing things very clearly, and without being caught up and bowled away by hype, or by what you think you're 'supposed' to do. you're drawing your own lines as to what you appreciate, and what simply isn't worth the extra money - for you that is. everyone will draw up those lines differently, but i wouldn't be confused as if you're somehow missing something - i don't think you are :thumbup:
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by kiter65 »

I’m completely the opposite...started off with CW’s,Steinhart etc, then moved on and was blown away when I first started to look at Omega’s,Tudor’s and Rolex etc, but as already mentioned it’s all down to the individual. Buy what you like not what others like :thumbup:
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

If you expected to have a reaction like Meg Ryan in the diner you would probably have been disappointed. What I have found you do get with high quality watches, provided you bond with them, is a kind of slow burning satisfaction that just goes on and on.
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by mvlow »

missF wrote:i don't think you sound confused at all. i think you're seeing things very clearly, and without being caught up and bowled away by hype, or by what you think you're 'supposed' to do. you're drawing your own lines as to what you appreciate, and what simply isn't worth the extra money - for you that is. everyone will draw up those lines differently, but i wouldn't be confused as if you're somehow missing something - i don't think you are :thumbup:
Thanks missF. Maybe surprised by my reaction to seeing these watches would be a better way to explain my feelings. I had such high expectations that I was going to be blown away by these watches that I felt deflated when they didn't excite me the way I thought they would. I really expected to come away conflicted as to whether I should get the Speedmaster with the Hesalite crystal or the Speedmaster with the sapphire crystal. you could have knocked we over with a feather when I left feeling I wasn't sure I wanted one at all :shock:
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by mvlow »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:If you expected to have a reaction like Meg Ryan in the diner you would probably have been disappointed. What I have found you do get with high quality watches, provided you bond with them, is a kind of slow burning satisfaction that just goes on and on.
Luckily I didn't have a Meg Ryan reaction as I would have probably been thrown out of the AD :lol:
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Re: Feeling confused about luxury watches

Post by Macdaz »

I think your first and only mistake is to attempt to apply logic to this completely irrational of hobbies.

I don't really like quartz, but if you told me I could only keep one of my watches, it would be my quartz Seamaster, Why? Because it's an Omega and I love it. There are many reasons, which I won't bore you with, but that's the way it is. No rhyme, no reason, just because we love what we love.

I have a collection full of divers but I obsess about the Tudor Black Bay. It's my Birthday soon and I'm planning my next purchase (Not the Black Bay). Do I need another watch? Of course not. Do I want one? Will it make me happy? Am I an idiot? Yes, yes and it depends on who you ask, but probably, yes!

Buy what you like for no other reason than you like it and never make the mistake of buying something else because somebody or something made you feel like you should.

Now get planning which watches you can buy with the extra cash you now have available! :-D
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