Poor man's watch thread

[LIMatt]



Don't sleep on the Seiko Sumo, @Charhan1
  The quality is ridiculously nice for its $400 price tag new. 

$400?! The yen has slid that much? I paid $600 a couple of years ago.

 

[Journeyman]

Here are the sites I check regularly (some more budget-friendly than others):

http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/chronotrader/index.cgi?md=index
http://www.theoandharris.com/
http://www.watchsteez.com/
http://www.luxuwrist.com/
http://watchestobuy.com/
http://www.finertimes.com/
http://www.classicwatch.com/
http://www.europeanwatch.com/
https://bulangandsons.com/
http://www.analogshift.com/
http://www.matthewbaininc.com/
http://www.manoftheworld.com/collections/timepieces

Also check chrono24 and the 'bay. Private sellers (as opposed to dealers) are generally cheaper, but as the saying goes, "Buy the seller, not the watch."

Some very good/useful links in the above list - thank you very much.

 

[Jtchinoy]



$400?! The yen has slid that much? I paid $600 a couple of years ago.

They implemented artificial inflation in 2014. Come January 1st, 2014 the yen dropped to 100 to 1 overnight. Was as low as 125 late last year and is now at 118.

 

[VirgilVerne]

Shopping around for a simple, rose gold watch. Something you can wear with a tux. Budget's in the $500 range anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Jarmo]

Shopping around for a simple, rose gold watch. Something you can wear with a tux. Budget's in the $500 range anybody have any suggestions?

http://tisell.kr/front/php/product.php?product_no=33&main_cate_no=4&display_group=1

This one is pretty but it is quite massive at 43mm.

 

[Journeyman]

Shopping around for a simple, rose gold watch. Something you can wear with a tux. Budget's in the $500 range anybody have any suggestions?

Definitely go vintage/second-hand.

If you look around, you'll find quite a few good-quality, vintage watches from the 1950s and 1960s by Omega, Hamilton, Bulova, Tissot and various other decent makers around that price, and probably lower.

Rose gold might be more difficult, as yellow gold was more commonly used back then. Also, the watches will most likely be "gold capped", meaning that the case is steel with a thin layer of gold wrapped around it - apparently more gold than "gold plated" and thus less prone to wearing off, but not solid gold.

 

[mimo]

Shopping around for a simple, rose gold watch. Something you can wear with a tux. Budget's in the $500 range anybody have any suggestions?

The prices of old Omegas have gone up a bit because of how hard the brand is marketed these days, and there are also a lot of fakes/parts bin specials around. But, still worth a look from respectable sellers.

Solid gold in that price range is going to be tough, but not impossible: most vintage watches were smaller and slimmer than the modern styles, and the smaller they are, the cheaper they tend to be as a result. If you're looking for something very subtle to wear with a dinner suit, then perhaps a smaller watch will be fine for you, depending on your wrist size and personal taste.

Yellow gold is more common, but there are definitely red/rose/pink gold versions around. I'd take a look for Edox, Marvin and similarly obscure brands from the 50s and 60s, and in that price range you might even find Hamilton, Longines or Zenith - just. Case size is likely to be a maximum of 34-35mm for a manual winding men's dress watch from that period, but personally I think that fits your purposes quite well. I speak as someone wearing a 35mm 1970 Omega with my suit most days - on a 7.25" wrist that belongs to a 200lb body!

 

[Oli2012]

Orient makes a few rose gold models in the Bambino line.

 

[mimo]

All that glitters is not gold.

 

[Churchill W]



Shopping around for a simple, rose gold watch. Something you can wear with a tux. Budget's in the $500 range anybody have any suggestions?

I thought rule of thumb was not watch with tuxedos. Regardless of that I wear my Nomos Tangente as it's the closest thing to a "dress" watch that I have. It's going to be tough to find a solid rose gold watch in that price range. You can probably do the color of metal, but don't think you;ll be able to do the real thing.

 

[VirgilVerne]

I thought rule of thumb was not watch with tuxedos. Regardless of that I wear my Nomos Tangente as it's the closest thing to a "dress" watch that I have. It's going to be tough to find a solid rose gold watch in that price range. You can probably do the color of metal, but don't think you;ll be able to do the real thing.

True, I usually don't wear watches with tuxes but I'd like to have that option anyway just in case :/ Don't really need solid gold since I'm not gonna wear it much, therefore the low price range.

 

[Churchill W]

If I were looking at watches for that I might look at Tissot. Personally I would prefer something handwound and without a date.

 

[Veremund]

This is my go to watch when wearing a tux.

 

[Churchill W]



This is my go to watch when wearing a tux.

Nice, I would say something even without a second hand would be better.

 

[mimo]

True, I usually don't wear watches with tuxes but I'd like to have that option anyway just in case :/ Don't really need solid gold since I'm not gonna wear it much, therefore the low price range.

The vintage watches I suggested were proper gold - if you want pretend gold, anywhere from $50 up is good! But personally I think it's tacky.