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

[velomatt]

What are you looking for in a vintage watch? Chrono? Time only? Any ideas of what may look good? Vintage watches turn into Franken-watches pretty quickly at that price point. Seems like a Longines may be a good brand to look into.

Time only, sweep second hand would be nice. I was looking at some 50's and 60's Tudors that were promising. I'm not a huge fan of bracelet watches, so prefer straps. Simple, clean designs. Dislike roman numerals. Stainless steel in this price range obviously.

Example:

 

[Belligero]



Time only, sweep second hand would be nice. I was looking at some 50's and 60's Tudors that were promising. I'm not a huge fan of bracelet watches, so prefer straps. Simple, clean designs. Dislike roman numerals. Stainless steel in this price range obviously.

I found this Enicar in a Budapest street market for about €200:

The movement inside is gorgeous, despite the solid back. Still runs, too!

I think the best bet for finding something similar is on forums, and watchrecon.com aggregates the private listings, so it's a good tool to find something specific or just browse around. The bigger watch dealers don't typically mess around with relatively inexpensive stuff from bygone makers like this.

 

[in stitches]



Say what!? I thought you were big-time into Rolex and AP!

Lol, good point. Id say my personal fave 3 brands, in no order, are AP, Rolex and JLC.

That being said, Id say they are all pretty big outfits. When I said Independents, I meant the smaller, more niche, brands. Not the well established older brands that have managed to stay out of corporate hands, and huge kudos to them for doing so, its no easy task.

Though I think this poses a great end of 2015 question!!

TWAT dwellers, what are your fave 3 watch brands? Feel free to expound why or not, but list 3.

AND GO!!

 

[tifosi]

My three in no particular order are; Rolex, AP and Seiko.

 

[RFX45]

Hublot
IWC
Invicta

 

[tifosi]

Hublot
IWC
Invicta

Couldn't be serious, could you??? haha

 

[in stitches]

Seiko and Invicta?

To each their own.

 

[rnguy001]

@in stitches -

IWC
Omega
JLC

throw in Panerai for good measure for the Richemont trifecta. (Belligero-shields UP!)


@RFX45, @RogerP - beautiful watch no doubt. Only wish I had the $97,000!

 

[tifosi]

Yea, I like Seiko. Some of the first watches I ever had and that brand has always stayed with me. Granted, now, I'm talking Japanese Domestic Market only Prospex divers and Grand Seiko... but still a Seiko.

I don't think RX was being as serious as I...

 

[TradThrifter]

Choosing only 3 is really hard. Mine would probably be

Seiko
Omega
JLC
runner up: Rolex

Currently have 2 of the 3

 

[jbarwick]

Brands I could afford?
Rolex
Hamilton
IWC - The Port Chrono is lovely. I would purchase one.

 

[academe]

P
JLC
Lange

Runners-up:
Vacheron
Rolex, Omega (sports watches)

 

[MSchott]

Fair enough. But I'm not talking about the high-end exotics such as Kari Voutilainen and Roger Smith. I just feel better buying or supporting independently-owned established manufactures such as...

Nomos
Rolex
Audemars Piguet
Patek Philippe
Seiko
Breitling
Chopard

...as well as several other independents — interesting outliers such as Ochs & Junior and the low-profile Germans such as Sinn, Stowa and Laco come to mind — than I do with the big three conglomerates, who I find less likeable and too influenced by marketeers.

I can't help thinking that a maker is selling out and a minor sense of loss when one of the megas acquires it. Same deal with beer companies.

Good points. I've owned Chopard with their LUC movements and currently own an Archimedes (Ickler). Many of these you list are good values as well as being independent of the Big 3 luxury conglomerates. I'm also a fan of Girard Perregaux which isn't really an Indy but Sowind is a small group. I own a JeanRichard with the JR1000 movement. However, if my collection consisted solely of Lange, I wouldn't be too sad

.

 

[Lowndes]

Thanks for all the help with IWC vs. jLC. I went back to the store today and was able to compare the IWC Portoguese Chronograph with the JLC Master Chronograph. As much as I was trying to convince myself to get the IWC I just loved everything about the JLC a little more so went with that one. Below is a stock photo of what I went with (getting it on a brown strap though).

 

[WSW]

The latest Talking Watches episode on Hodinkee was very fun. I really like their new trend of featuring atypical watch collectors and exploring how each guest began collecting and eventually arrived at his present collection. It really shows that there are many ways to enjoy this hobby. The line about how even Jesus would need to wait for a Patek application piece was very funny, especially in the context of the story.