The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Brei

[tifosi]

^^ I think they are MTO...LOL

 

[518aata]



Crocs with a suit, dude... crocs with a suit.

:

Interesting. When I'm trying to decide what color shoes to wear, I don't typically think of matching them to my shirt.

 

[bdeuce22]



@billsmith: this could actually get me killed here, but I'm going to suggest....a Tag.

I received a Tag Carerra (on bracelet) for my graduation from my parents. Wonderful gift that I hope to have for quite some time.

 

[jbarwick]

This popped up on Hodinkee and is related to all the NOMOS discussion.

For $1,900 that is a great watch. The small seconds crept up into no mans land but a little lower...even like 1mm or 2 and they would have had me.

 

[bdeuce22]



BUAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm sorry i read the references as if those were the prices! 

 My bad! 

So according to the last sentence, if you were the buyer would you go for the #3570.50 or the #3573.50?

I have been the buyer, I went with the original (3570). I like the domed hesalite more. I also like that I can easily get rid of the scratches on the hesalite. It definitely scratches much easier than sapphire, but it's a simple at home fix. The inscription on the 3573 also bugged me because it's wrong. All that said, there are plenty of people who have chosen the 3573 and loved it. I'm not sure there is a wrong choice, in fact both isn't even a bad choice. In the end, I didn't consider the price tag, I just went with what I preferred and that would be my recommendation after trying both side by side if possible.

@Betelgeuse you really need to look at both (maybe you have already and i missed it). The Hesalite (3570) vs. sapphire (3573) has been and will forever be debated on. If this were me and it was going to be something I wore daily, I would probably opt for the sapphire due to its increased ruggedness. However, if this was going to be a part of a nice collection you want to build, Hesalite all the way. in fact, it's on my short list of "Next Watch"

 

[Dino944]

Anyone that bought into the "A Patek is forever" "You never really own a Patek" line for their new stuff, thinking that they're going to appreciate like the older ones, is likely to be severely disappointed. I just don't see the same quality of design any more. The dial is such an important element on any watch, let alone something of horlogerie calibre; I'm truly amazed at how much their standards have slipped. They're not the only company that's suffering from this computer virus, either.

Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong.

I find it amusing marketing, but something to be taken with a grain of salt. I think the variations in quality and design, are things that some will overlook. Many Pateks go up in value at least in the short run by a few thousand dollars, the minute they go out of production. People start speculating on value and some will buy a watch just to get into a brand that has a reputation for appreciating.

Beyond their ads, I've seen sales people discuss vintage pieces and the prices they fetch at auctions to sell new pieces. However, beyond the quality issues that may exist on some levels, its a matter of quantity, and what the watch buying public believes. I've heard SAs trying to sell a person on a 5110 by telling them what vintage world time Pateks with cloisonne dials sell for and some newbies fall for it. A few issues with that, a 5110 is worlds apart from say a 2553 in terms of labor to create the dial, rarity, and ability to appreciate. Back when a 2553 was made, people wore them, they didn't save them and put them in a vault. So survivors in great condition are rare. Over the last 10-15 years people put all sorts of modern Pateks, AP, VC, etc into vaults waiting for them to appreciate (and some will, some won't), but they will never be as scarce or difficult to find as their vintage brethren. Not to mention, Patek now makes something like 45,000-50,000 watches per year, which is far greater than their annual production numbers in the 1940, 50s, and 60s.

I've seen SA's say the same about vintage Rolex Explorer IIs at auctions in an effort to sell a person on a modern one. Again only newbies should fall for the idea of mistaking that modern Ex2s will ever be as rare or valuable as an original 1655.

That doesn't mean modern watches aren't worthy of owning, or passing down to future generations. Simply, that one should buy the watch because its what they truly like, rather than based on the idea that modern watches have the same room to appreciate as vintage pieces do. If you buy a quality watch, it should last a lifetime, and you can pass it on to love ones when you are gone. If it brings them a fortune should they decide to sell it, that is great, but not something most people should rely upon when deciding to purchase a watch.

Still with other forms of investments not yielding the returns people would truly like to see, I think many modern complicated watches from high end brands will continue to sell quite well, unless the bubble eventually bursts and their is a "Market correction."

 

[DLJr]

For $1,900 that is a great watch. The small seconds crept up into no mans land but a little lower...even like 1mm or 2 and they would have had me.

That's the reason I prefer the 35mm in the Orion. That movement is designed for a 33mm case IMO, looks good in a 35mm, and begins to make me pick nits at 38mm because of the reason you stated. Putting the date underneath it helps me forget about it a bit though, or at least it's less distracting to my eye.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I have been the buyer, I went with the original (3570). I like the domed hesalite more. I also like that I can easily get rid of the scratches on the hesalite. It definitely scratches much easier than sapphire, but it's a simple at home fix. The inscription on the 3573 also bugged me because it's wrong. All that said, there are plenty of people who have chosen the 3573 and loved it. I'm not sure there is a wrong choice, in fact both isn't even a bad choice. In the end, I didn't consider the price tag, I just went with what I preferred and that would be my recommendation after trying both side by side if possible.

I couldn't resist the ability of being able to look at the movement.

@Betelgeuse you really need to look at both (maybe you have already and i missed it). The Hesalite (3570) vs. sapphire (3573) has been and will forever be debated on. If this were me and it was going to be something I wore daily, I would probably opt for the sapphire due to its increased ruggedness. However, if this was going to be a part of a nice collection you want to build, Hesalite all the way. in fact, it's on my short list of "Next Watch"

Now I can see that. The one I saw was the Hesalite and what seriously caught my attention has the domed crystal (don't know if that's the propper term) it looks insane! In the other hand, I mean, no one watches the back part but even with my Hamilton's and Tissot I spend a few minutes watching it work.

Will need to do what you say, bdeuce!

 

[in stitches]

all this talk of dial font made me have a look at my T-o-G dial, and then i went and took close ups of the font, and then i just kept snapping.

excuse my indulgence....

 

[Hayward]

One big issue here is that marketers associate different typefaces with different brand features or product lines. So as irritating as it is for many there will end up being multiple fonts on a watch dial.

 

[Belligero]



all this talk of dial font made me have a look at my T-o-G dial, and then i went and took close ups of the font, and then i just kept snapping.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

excuse my indulgence....

Very nice.

Offhand, I'd say that Rolex, Nomos and A. Lange und Söhne are currently doing the best job among the more well-known manufacturers with the use of type and lettering on their dial work, and each house has its own distinctive style. There are some smaller-production independents such as F. P. Journe and Greubel Forsey that have shown a great degree of skill and attention to detail in the field as well, but I'm sure I'm omitting a few.

On the other side, it's not just Patek that's slipping; most of the big players are surprisingly weak when it comes to this stuff. I've heard that work from watch manufacturers is drying up for certain Swiss design firms as the houses attempt to do it themselves — "pfft, I know how to use a computer" — and the results of this trend are not encouraging.

 

[Concordia]



@billsmith: this could actually get me killed here, but I'm going to suggest....a Tag.



Specifically given your parameters... on strap, <40mm, business casual, less than $2500 new (from a gray dealer such as Authentic Watches) ....how's about this Carrera? I would think it a decent "starter" watch for a college grad, class of '14.

Certainly the recipient would recognize the brand (how can you miss all the billboards and magazine ads?) And it's your basic all-rounder type of piece, but cheaper than say, an Aqua Terra.

That does rather look like a watch---

 

[Hayward]

For $1,900 that is a great watch. The small seconds crept up into no mans land but a little lower...even like 1mm or 2 and they would have had me.

This is one reason I mention the Tetra. It's the only Nomos with a balanced subdial in my opinion. If you want the round Nomos' I would go either for the 35mm versions or the date models. They way they add the date function to the movement is interesting in any case - it's a ring that goes around the outer edge of the movement, so as to not add thickness.

 

[Keith T]

stichy: great pix, especially the macro-looking ones.

I know how much you like that T-o-G.

You are excused.

 

[Cleav]

chose this today