For most this would be a great honour but in this instance it is ironic as ohai and I rarely see anything eye to eye.
I was in almost exactly the same scenario when I finished the charter. I had always planned to treat myself with a watch when I finished. I knew nothing about watches and the one I liked when browsing in shop windows was the Tag Carrera. When I started to properly research it I found out that everyone hates Tags. Then I started trying to figure out why little cronographs added c$3k to the price. I floated a bit towards a speedmaster due to all the ‘hold their value’ arguments but then started to notice that every 2nd junior gobshi t e I came across was wearing an unremarkable Omega they probably couldn’t afford. Finally I realised that I haven’t worn a watch since I was about 10 and they’re just male jewellery worn by most people in order to impress other people and I invested the cash instead.
I almost bought an IWC in an airport earlier in the year but that was only because I was sh i tfaced drunk.
Update: my watch still has not SHIPPED from Jomashop after 3 days
I ordered it Monday morning, called first to make sure it was in stock
Checked order update online Tuesday morning and still said “processing”
Called Tuesday around noon to see if it had shipped, was assured it would ship later Tuesday
Called Wednesday, order still “processing” and now they don’t know when it will ship, but assured me that it is definitely in stock
Just received email update from them saying it will ship in the next 2 business days…
If it doesn’t ship out by Friday I will be cancelling my order and going to the AD to buy the watch
Starting to remind me of buying gold from Hannes Tulving…and that’s not a good thing
never had issue with jomashop
I read a lot of online reviews for Jomashop that described similar shipping delays. I’m sure the watch will come… eventually.
Update: Got my shipping email. Should have watch tomorrow.
Overall, satisfied with Jomashop as far as pricing, selection etc. Just wish they had a little faster shipping on in stock items.
Looks good bro. I’m highly relieved to see you paired a silver ring with a silver watch. The people that do not seem like brown belters / black shoes kind of people.
Great watch dude!!
so my friend wants to spend 10k on a watch. so what’s the watch that retains or even appreciates the most at these levels? thx.
the gaudier the better. tyty
lol classic
is it better to buy pre owned/ used? vs a brand new rolex? im pretty sure this guy just wants to buy new. i even tried to give him advice on buying a used bmw. still went with a brand new one. best place to purchase the rolex? website? or retail area?
When buying high end watches new, the most important thing is to differentiate between authorized dealers and grey market dealers. Authorized dealers charge full MSRP, but give you a little stamp on the certificate that entitles you to a factory warranty. The markup is generally 20% to 30%. You can decide yourself if that is worth the money.
With the grey market, people sometimes worry about authenticity. However, I would not worry too much about counterfeits, as long as you go through reputable stores with many positive ratings. “But it is very expensive thing… I want to be sure”, you might say. Well, if you’re going to miss a probabilistic fraction of that $10k, maybe you shouldn’t spend that much on jewelry.
With respect to retail stores or online stores - the benefit of retail stores is that you can try on the watch in person. If you don’t really know what you want, this is quite useful to narrow your selection. You should have a fair price in mind before going into a store though - since you don’t want the dealer to over charge you. It’s also easier to “defer” sales tax if you buy online. 8% of a few thousand dollars buys a lot of Chipotle.
As for what watch will hold its value… there are only two answers - Patek Phillipe or Rolex. For $10k, Patek Phillipe is probably too expensive, other than the cheapest model - Cavatiellerrr something. The one with the little spikes on the bezel. The best Rolex for stable value are stainless steel Submariner or even better, Daytona. These models are popular enough to sustain a commodity like market place, but have limited (manipulated by Rolex) supply relative to demand. Stainless steel is generally the most desirable for the money, since watch people place value on name tag, quality and movement before material. For some models, the steel/gold (although not the solid gold) models might be cheaper on the gray market than stainless steel equivalents.
The other reason why I recommend Rolex for value is that it has relatively low maintenance costs. There are many Rolex dealers around, parts are abundant, and many independent shops have experience maintaining Rolex watches. Rolex service might cost $400 every 5-6 years. However, service for IWC or JLC might be $600. Vacheron, Blancpain, or others might be even higher. I’d guess that maintenance for Omega or other high volume brands would be comparable to Rolex’s. However, they are not as collectible and generally don’t retain value as well. The exception would be some special edition models. For instance, that Snoopy Speedmaster I wanted before for $12k now goes for about $16k. It’s not a special watch, other than that it has a dog. Indeed, I did not care about future value, just the animal theme. So, it’s hard to know what will be cool later sometimes.
whats the best website ohai? and thx a lot.
The most popular watch website is Chrono24.com. It’s like a Craigslist for watches, but most of the sellers are established businesses. Even if you decide to later shop in a retail store or elsewhere, this is the best place to determine the value and target price of a model you want.
Also worth mentioning: if you go on any watch forum, the users there will be talking about some guy called “DavidSW”, who has a website with the same name. Apparently, it is quite reputable, and I estimate that his listed prices are 5% to 10% cheaper than the normal market.
I’ve bought watches from Chrono24 (seamless experiences), but not DavidSW.
Most people do not end up buying in the grey or used/vintage market because as a newcomer, it’s nearly impossible to know what to look for or discern if it’s a good deal or not. It is possible to buy a watch that looks like it’s in very good shape only to find the internals haven’t been serviced or there’s some sort of anachronistic issue with them (wrong hands to dial, etc though this is more prevalent in vintage watches). Of course this becomes a rabbit hole which is why you find most watch guys who dabble in these areas are obsessive to detail.
If you do intend to buy used you can use watchrecon or watchuseek for seller-to-buyer sales. There is also rolex forums and omegaforums which have classifieds and some reputable seller/dealers. I caveat all this in saying that caveat emptor, and don’t get into this area unless you are going in two-footed.
yep after much reading. i feel its all a waste of money either way. best to just get something that you prefer.
pre owned seems to be the best way to go about it. its not hard to find the reputable sellers. best way to make money on it.3
thx anyways ohai
ohai. thoughts on this website? i read an article on forbes.
https://www.crownandcaliber.com/collections/rolex-submariner-watches#sort:ga_unique_purchases:desc
It’s fine. They are more for used watches, but there is nothing wrong with that - probably better value in fact. I thought they put their inventory on Chrono24, but it seems that it is not the case, or is no longer the case.
Regarding those Submariners - if you can, it is good to consider the newer model that starts with 116… Not only is the movement updated and more robust (also in-house, if you care about that), but the bracelet is much better. I have one of the old reference Submariners. The bracelet is not great - stamped metal and hollow links. The new Submariner is much better. You can see pictures of the clasp, and the difference between stamped and carved links is obvious. The new one looks and feels better, and won’t stretch over time.