Any watch experts?

[Titus]

I am toying with the idea of getting a decent watch but know absolutely nothing about them. Can anyone give good advice on brands and what to look for in a starter watch in the $300-$500 range? Are the Citizen or Bulova brands an OK place to start?

[Miatamoto]

Ask Cosmos. He's a watch ho.

[Titus]

Ask Cosmos. He's a watch ho.

Yep... hoping he and miataspeedracer chime in as I have noticed they both often are sporting sharp watches.

[Rebel]

I've got a Citizen EcoDrive and love it. Has a Chronograph and alarm (although I'd have to dig out the instructions on how to use those functions)

It's calibrated to skip day 31 in months where there are only 30 days and even keeps track of leap years.

[miataspeedracer]

Not an expert, per se, but I do have a pretty solid understanding about watches and watch brands in general.

Things you need to consider:
1. Top end of budget
2. Automatic vs. Quartz
3. Type of watch-- dress, sporty, chronograph, diver?
4. How important is brand recognition to you?

Answering those will give us a good starting point. Also, check out watchuseek.com for great forums.

[Titus]

Not an expert, per se, but I do have a pretty solid understanding about watches and watch brands in general.

Things you need to consider:
1. Top end of budget
2. Automatic vs. Quartz
3. Type of watch-- dress, sporty, chronograph, diver?
4. How important is brand recognition to you?

Answering those will give us a good starting point. Also, check out watchuseek.com for great forums.

1) $500
2) no clue
3) chronograph/dive
4) Not really important... Some day I will own a Rolex which is important to me for personal reasons, but I know very little about most brands and could care less what others think of the brand I am wearing.


I spoke with a close friend of mine this evening that is a watch collector. His advice to me was to forget getting something now, and save money until I can afford the watch I really want (Rolex Submariner). I am feeling like this may be sound advice, especially when he pointed out that a $500 watch looses most of its value the day you buy it while a $5000 watch looses very little value even after years of ownership.

[miataspeedracer]

That's fairly sound advice. Generally speaking, most watches worth spending serious money on will be automatic. Well maintained, they will last you a lifetime. A quality watch is an emotional investment-- you are buying a mechanical work of art that is rather anachronistic in today's age of quartz timepieces. Any $39 Timex will be more accurate than your $4000 Sub.
Honestly, under $500 you will find what most people refer to as "mall brand " watches. Seiko, citizen, bulova, etc. Nothing wrong with that--99% of the population wears these reliable, accurate watches. But they will never be special pieces you keep and cherish.
For now, I'd recommend doing a lot of research on forums to figure out what you want. Well researched and bought, you could buy a quality used automatic and see if it suits you to wear a watch that is not as accurate as a quartz Seiko.
Good brands to look at are Breitling, Omega and Oris, though there are plenty more. I'd steer away from Movado and Tag Heuer, two fairly popular entry level luxury brands.

I'm partial to Sinn, a German brand of highly respected watches. I have two...so far. I think my next watch will probably be an Omega.

[ken o]

A Rolex keeps crappy time and cost $400 to have it serviced. It is man jewelry. But it will go up in value. My Sub is almost 19 years old and still looks great. I looked at a newer one and the band and case are much nicer looking. No longer the utilitarian driver's watch.

I always want an Omega Moon watch.

What about a TAG?
http://www.righttime.com/rt/pre-owned/980.013b.htm

[trickyrix]

I'm a fan of my TAG. I got it as gift and it's been pretty dang reliable and tough for the last 15 years. Hell, I even accidentally backed over it with a Corvette once. Face down on the driveway. Bent the clasp but didn't scratch the crystal. I did wear out the original band - and a new genuine replacement was going to be stupid-expensive - but I'm rocking a generic replacement that's almost identical in appearance.

Of course, now that I'm bragging on it, I realize the battery just died. Nuts.

[Jiggerachi]

I have a citizen ecodrove and for all practical reasons it's all you would need for a quality watch. Citizen is nothing on the high end which maybe some day after college i'll start investing. I'm partial to automatics, but I can't afford any of the nice ones so for now my citizen works well and looks nice, and for sentimental reason i'll keep it for ever.

My next watch will be an Omega Speedmaster no matter how long i'd have to save up for it.

[brandonmpace]

I recommend this one. Just read the reviews!
http://www.amazon.com/Breguet-Compli...owViewpoints=0

In all seriousness, I've had a couple automatics, but I would let them sit for too long and I didn't have an automatic winder to spin them once in a while. My fave right now is a Croton with swiss movement. Pretty sure it's made of tungsten or something. I'm no expert lol.

[Radio-Active]

Never spent too much on a watch, but I really liked the looks of the Luminox and it's 25 year glow in the dark abilities.


Linkie:

[Sharpie]

If you have specific questions you want to ask, this is the most knowledgable guy I know on many subjects. He was a professor of mine at UNT, and has the most eclectic resume.

http://www.bestfixwatch.com/

[sammm]

I have a sweet Casio that's on its 3rd band.

[sxk122]

I poke around on here...
http://www.watchtalkforums.info

I personally rock an Invicta Automatic Pro-Diver #6036. It has a Japanese Automatic movement, and has kept time to within +/- 4 seconds a day. I picked it up for $80 in July. It has a nice look, and is built solidly. That being said, Invicta is known for poor quality control, and some models are better than others.

[cone-cerned]

I still have the Bulova that my parents gave me for high school graduation in 1964. It still works fine, when I wind it. And, like sammm, I have been through several bands.

[sxk122]

I also have a 1969 Bullova that my dad gave me that used to be his. I'd wear it more often, but it's small by modern standards. Still keeps time well, and it hasn't been serviced in at least 15 years.

[CosmosMpower]

Not too much good stuff at 500 especially new. At 1k you have some options.

I would look at Hamilton, seiko diver watches like the orange monster, Oris, Tissot or look at some smaller boutique stuff like lum-tec and tw steel.

[sxk122]

another thing you may look at is the fact that the invicta diver watches are often reffered to as homage watch... they look strikingly similar to Rolexes...

also, for the TCB in you, you might keep an eye on this site

http://invicta.chronoshark.com/default.aspx Today's (11-21-2010) offering is an automatic with the same movement as my watch. I don't personally dig the two-tone styling, but you may.

[miataspeedracer]

I had a seiko orange monster for a while-- until I cracked the crystal. Solid watch and good value for the money. Only downside was accuracy; it was running + 10 sec per day.

Mr. Brg has a seiko monster right now. You can get more feedback from him.

In my opinion, the best entry level " good" watch is the Omega seamaster. ( the bond watch) You can probably find a quartz version for around $1k. The automatic will be more. But it's a classic design from a well respected brand. Consider it the BMW 3-series of watches.