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Confessions of a Watch Geek
- ansgri 10y agoIf you want a watch that looks like a Russian oligarch just curled up around your wrist and died, you might be interested in the latest model of Rolex’s Sky-Dweller. Beautifully written.
- drvdevd 10y agoAgreed. I actually don't care about watches, personally, but I found the author's writing compelling enough to remember why I care about some things that just might not be considered "practical". Very inspiring.
- exodust 10y agoVery smooth writing, like a luxury watch. I can't believe I've now opened a few tabs of watch manufacturers, looking at their goodies. Haven't worn a watch in years, but curious to see if any designs take my fancy. I'm not a fan of classic, I'd prefer something sci-fi, dark, modern, hi-tech, unexpectedly cool with a comically over-the-top product video... https://youtu.be/R5aj53a1wQE https://youtu.be/R5aj53a1wQE
- ansgri 10y agoThanks for the link, I think it's a step in the right direction. I've stopped wearing Pebble Steel because it's too ugly, though the functionality is perfect: you can see what's happening with your phone to decide whether you want to take it out of the bag to respond to a call or a message. What would be perfect, is a classic timepiece design with really high-contrast and high-resolution display as a watch face, which would display something only in case of incoming notification. I.e. a smart watch should have a mode where it looks totally "dumb" and classy.
- gloves 10y agoI'm not a watch geek, but I do love them. The thing I love the most is they are quite unique in the sense they can be passed through the generations and become more than an object. The watch my grandfather gave to me before he passed away is, and will always be one of my most prized material possessions, which I also hope to pass down to my children one day too. It's why a fitbit, apple watch or the like will never do for me.
- travanx 10y agoI still remember getting my first paycheck after graduating and buying a Breitling 15 years ago because I liked the logo. And got a cheaper Rolex when I started my first company. We were watching a TV show where someone gets a Patek as a gift and told my significant other that's a really expensive watch. She had no idea. Then I went onto explain how cool different mechanical watches are because you can hear the different movements tick. She didn't think so. I wore a fitbit for the last week.
- professorumbra 10y agoI'm a big fan of mechanical watches, but I think the market nowadays is too much about limited editions and unnecessary flamboyance. How many different "limited" Omegan Moon Watches are there, for example?
- huhtenberg 10y agoThe mid-to-high-end watch market (in the $1K-50K range) is going through a _major_ crisis right now. For past several years they've been aggressively raising prices due to steady Chinese demand, which now has been all but extinguished by a combination of several factors. So the watchmakers are now is a pickle of situation - watches are massively over-priced, their "normal" customers are well aware of that, but they can't lower prices without damaging their "lux" image and upsetting those who bought at a current price level. Some try and introduce cheapened models (like steel Pateks), but it doesn't seem to be working well for them. Fun times. http://wornandwound.com/bloomberg-reports-swiss-watch-exports-poised-worst-year-since-1984/ http://wornandwound.com/bloomberg-reports-swiss-watch-export...
- professorumbra 10y agoInteresting. It seems that the luxury image is more a burden than an advantage to many manufacturers. But the brand ownership is concentrated and the owners might not care about those kind of difficulties. I'm more of a fan of utilitarian watches anyways. Sinn for example makes very affordable tool watches that are also technologically on par with many luxury brands.
- hanklazard 10y agoYeah, Sinn is a great brand and probably in a price range that seems more sane than some of the entry level Rolex, Panerai, JLC, etc. I have a Sinn 556i and it is probably one of my favorite watches. As much as I don't want to have two Sinn's out of principle, the 104 is also a gorgeous watch. Another point about Sinn is that they use pretty standard movements, like the ETA 2824, which could easily be swapped out or serviced by most any watchmaker--it's this ease of servicing that is making me think twice about moving up into some of the more expensive Swiss/German pieces with unique in-house movements. For those reading this who are not familiar with mechanical watch service costs, fancier Swiss watches like AP and others can cost 1500$ or more just for the watch equivalent of a "tune-up."
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- Philomath 10y agoNice article! I really enjoyed the smooth writing style of the author. He really made me engage with the story. To be honest, I also love watches but I find myself not using it when I wear it, making it practically useless. It might be because I'm always working with my laptop and thus I can watch the time at the screen.
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- loydb 10y agoI love that Nomos was featured heavily. I don't own one yet, but they are for sure my favorite manufacturer.
- gingerbread-man 10y agoYou might like Habring2 as well. The founder invented a novel mechanism now used in split-second chronographs. Their watches are mechanically amazing, and (relatively) cheap, because they focus more on mechanical refinement than aesthetic perfection of the internals.
- blacksmith_tb 10y agoHabring2 are likable, but not what I'd call 'relatively' cheap, as none of their models are less than $4000 USD. For people who are interested in modestly-priced mechanical watches, I would suggest Seiko, especially some of their models intended for the Japanese Domestic Market, many of which are less than $500 USD. They have very good quality throughout, though the aesthetics vary (I like some of their divers quite a bit).
- gingerbread-man 10y agoI agree 100% on Seiko. (For what it's worth, I wear a quartz seiko my parents gave me as a high school graduation gift.) Habring2's "relative" affordability is relative to other manufacturers of similar mechanical note, like Lange or Patek.
- hanklazard 10y agoI recently bought a Rodina watch, which is a Chinese company that makes "homage" watches to the Bauhaus school (ie. Nomos). The style is so simple that it can easily be copied. Anyway, if you have any interest in "trying out" the Nomos look on your wrist for a while before spending a couple of thousand on the real thing, I think it's a great option. I personally found that I never really bonded with Bauhaus, so I sold the Rodina ... kept the stakes really low to play in the hundred dollar range rather than the 2-3K$ range.
- icantdrive55 10y agoI collect, and repair watches. I usually like stories about watches, and the people who cherish them, but not today. I'm just in a weird mood? This popped out, and made me cringe: "Mechanical watches are far less accurate than quartz watches, but often far more expensive, because their bearings are more intricate. All contemporary Rolex watches, for example, are mechanical." 1. They are not more expensive because of the synthetic rubies that are called jewels. They are more expensive because of the name, and marketing. 2. I've noticed a lot of guys under 35 just arn't into mechanical watches. I do get it. And women--just arn't into watches at all. I don't know why, but sometimes I think it's because we die so early. 3. As it stands now, a guy could go out and spend 10 grand on a watch. The second it goes out of warranty, and needs a service, or a part; it has to go back to the factory, and is repaired at factory prices. Prices like $800 for a mainspring, and service. 4. See the watch comapnies decided to not sell parts to Watch Repair people(like myself), or even a customer. 5. It's like buying a vechicle, and when it breaks down; you need to take it to the dealership. 6. They claim it's for quality assurance, but it's a money grab. In my American eyes it violates The Sherman Anti-trust Act. Yes--a federal lawyer/Investigator agreed, but didn't feel it wasn't worth doing much about. She said someting like, 'It's a wealthy person's problem, and not on my todo list." All the while, those politicians are wearing Rolexes? 7. The bigger watch houses have consolidated. Swatch owns many of the high end watches you see out there. Rolex is separate. I believe Rolex even own the company that provides the oil to those fancy watches. It's called Moebius oil. And they want it used on all their watches. 8. If you get into watches that's fine. It can be addicting. Would I ever buy a new watch I could not work on, nor buy parts for--hell no! 9. If the Watch Industry reads this, your customer base has changed. Lower your prices, and enough to with the games. Customers are tired of the maximum 20% discount you require your boutiques to stick to. They are tired of being told a grey market watch bought at Costco is not really a Rolex, and you won't even honor the warranty. They are not the uninformed Dongle heads of the past. Don't insult their intelligence--they are all carring around a smart phone that tells the time. 10. My parting words are this. I still love my old watches. I hope more young people get into the industry and Shake things up. There something very gratifying about resurrecting an old watch found on eBay. I went from collecting to repairing, and there's definetly a shift of attitude when you know what's under the hood. My everyday watch is a watch I found in a thrift store. Years ago, the lady behind the counrt said the old Timex is $2.00. I took it home and it set on my desk for 5 years. One night I noticed a little fish on the crown. I thought, why would Times brand the crown? I opened it up, and it was a IWC 853. All the markings on the dial were gone. I served it, and wear it proudly. People think it's a cheap watch, and I don't care. I can wear it to the worst parts of the city, and never worry about theft. I look at that chalky dial, and it just makes me feel good. Knowing how to repair it feels better. Sorry about the lenght of this post--depressed, or something?
- bbarn 10y agoExcellent article. I've always loved watches, but not as much as tech. I've got several beautiful watches, and one of them I'll wear at my wedding probably. Every other day of my life it's currently the Garmin Vivoactiv HR.
- ericcholis 10y agoThe reddit/r/watches community is pretty active with a wide range of watches (automatic and fashion). Good resources to find quality watches and avoid marketing hype. I admit, I love the smooth movement of the second hand on an automatic watch. My sister-in-law got me my first automatic and I thought it was broken....until I put it on. They are tiny feats of precision engineering, even the cheap ones. I'm partial to a Seiko Men's SNK807 Seiko 5.
- hanklazard 10y agoAgreed on Reddit as a good resource for watches. For opportunities to purchase, I'd recommend /r/watchexchange ... I've spent way more money there than I'd like to admit!
- boyce 10y agoI love watches in the same way I love classic British sports cars. I love the designs and the decisions behind them, the stories of the designers and manufacturers, reading about how to dismantle and maintain them. If someone has an interesting one I am asking them all about it, appreciating it as a mechanical object and as an aesthetic piece. I would never ever own one - there's too many things in pieces in my house and garage already.
- rhaps0dy 10y ago> receipt for $4,137.25 [...] by my own standards I had just thrown away a small chunk, roughly 4.3 writing days, of my independence Wow, this person earns a lot by writing o.O
- smcl 10y agoYep - I thought this (and the "I own and collect fancy watches...") was a bit of a humblebrag - but then supposed that writers likely make a decent living overall but their income might be concentrated into smaller super-busy periods.
- CM30 10y agoNo kidding. That's a few months (or more) worth of wages for a typical journalist, especially in more competitive industries. The author seems to be a novelist though, so perhaps that money comes from the royalties on their books or something.
- md_ 10y ago0_o Gary Shteyngart is a quite famous novelist. So, yes. ;)
- tsunamifury 10y agoWatches have become a bit like horses or combustion cars might become in a few years -- items that have lost most of their practical value attached to industries that need to focus on higher and higher prices in order to inflate their veblen good status. I enjoy watches, especially mechanical ones, and a bit of the marketing and story behind them, but even as a upper income individual, I find their prices to be completely unabsorbable. Rolexes and Omegas start at 8000 and their second hand market has become just as artificially inflated. An Audemars steel watch starts at 13k! These are impractical prices for all but the very wealthy and betray the working class value that their origin stories rely on. But what I find really fascinating is the Chinese replica market, which now can make nearly identical watches at almost 1/100 the cost. Does the fact that you can own a completely identical Rolex for just 500 dollars not call into question the swiss market veblen good strategy? I predict a significant crash in sales forcing some of the brands out of business and maybe inspiring a few to make a real middle class watch. But it's a powerful lesson that China can now manufacture even the most "hallowed" quality to practically the same degree.
- semi-extrinsic 10y agoAs I understand it, the Chinese replica market buys essentially all their movements as genuine goods from Japanese manufacturers like Seiko. The movements (i.e. the really complicated parts to make) for expensive quartz watches cost less than $50. So the Chinese don't have to replicate the tricky part, they just have to build a mechanical case from mineral or sapphire glass and stainless steel that's pressure tight to (usually) 10 or 20 bar, and fit a strap to it. (I'm wearing a sub-$50 Parnis flyback chronograph as I type this.)
- hanklazard 10y agoHmm, that's not my understanding. Most higher-end replicas use "Asian" ETA clones (ie A2824 and others). The manufacturers have copied ETA parts over the years and now are able to create fairly reliable and, when they want them to, authentic-appearing Swiss movements, at least to the untrained eye. This brings the cost down much lower than the Seiko and Miyota automatics, which even purchased in bulk are much more expensive than Asian ETA clones. These Chinese movements look the part, but tend not to last as long, have larger tolerances, etc. Source: a number of watch shops around my city where people frequently try to trade-in fake watches.