Expensive Watches.

[Chris Hobson]

My current wristwatch is a Garmin Fenix 6. It is the most expensive watch I've ever owned at around £400. It was around half price due to it being last year's model. It is loaded with a huge amount of tech, it never needs putting right, it does all kinds of monitoring of my fitness levels, counts my laps when I go swimming, maps runs and cycle rides by using GPS as well as doing regular watch stuff like time, day and date plus alarms.

Recently I have been getting ads for high end wristwatches and I have to say that I'm mystified. I get that you might want to wear a flash watch to show off how much money you have, it's not something that I would ever feel the need to do even if I was very wealthy, but I understand why some people might. But £30,000 for a watch? You can buy one that keeps perfect time for a tenner. Some of them don't even look expensive which surely has to be the whole point, Cartiers look like the aforementioned ten quid fashion watches.

Has anyone here ever paid silly money for a watch that does little more than tell the time well? If so, maybe you could explain why in a way that I might understand.

 

[silver minion]

My current wristwatch is a Garmin Fenix 6.

Recently I have been getting ads for high end wristwatches and I have to say that I'm mystified. I get that you might want to wear a flash watch to show off how much money you have, it's not something that I would ever feel the need to do even if I was very wealthy, but I understand why some people might. But £30,000 for a watch? You can buy one that keeps perfect time for a tenner. Some of them don't even look expensive which surely has to be the whole point, Cartiers look like the aforementioned ten quid fashion watches.

Has anyone here ever paid silly money for a watch that does little more than tell the time well? If so, maybe you could explain why in a way that I might understand.

No, but if anyone has £30k lying around I could put it to better use than a nice watch.

 

[pjgtech]

Nope, I don't do "expensive" watches, or even wear jewellery for that matter.
However, I do have a fair few relatively cheap watches, (about a dozen at the last count) as I do like unusual watches.
I have a 24hr watch, so it has the numbers 1 to 24 on its face rather than 12.
I have a backwards watch, so the hands go anti clockwise and its 12 to 1 rather than 1 to 12.
I have a watch with two faces for those that travel the World and need two time zones, (I don't!)
I have a Binary watch, which has no numbers just LED lights telling you how many minutes and hours have passed.
Plus a few others....
🙂

 

[dannybgoode]

A lottery win would see me spend that much on a watch.

It's not about the fact a cheap watch is as accurate etc. They are essentially pieces of wearable art. A really nice watch is a thing of beauty.

You don't get it - that's fine. I don't get people who spend money on all sorts of things but it's their money and their choice. It's not for me to criticise that.

I have a Binary watch, which has no numbers just LED lights telling you how many minutes and hours have passed.

I have the clock version of that and also a very rare officially Atari licensed Pong clock.

 

[pjgtech]

S'pose its the same as cars, houses, clothes, holidays, etc.
Some are happy to spend a fortune on all the above, and more, some are more frugal.
£300k on a car when a £30k will get you where you are going?
£1m house when a £300k house will still put a roof over your head?
£250 pair of jeans when a £20 pair will look the same?
Now being retired I have to be careful what I spend my money on, more than I did previously,
It's about what you can afford and what makes you happy.
I have various hobbies where I spend my money and I like to travel (cruises, etc) but I don't spend a fortune!
Each to their own....

 

[Alan44]

Interesting question and a question I'm asked quite often.
A good watch is a piece of quality engineering on your wrist
It will keep it's value and increase as the years go by
The right watch is an investment
It will last longer than a holiday

As for me, I have no tattoo's or piercings, no gold chains, but I do like a good watch and own 4 of the below

 

[CliffH]

My current wristwatch is a Garmin Fenix 6. It is the most expensive watch I've ever owned at around £400. It was around half price due to it being last year's model. It is loaded with a huge amount of tech, it never needs putting right, it does all kinds of monitoring of my fitness levels, counts my laps when I go swimming, maps runs and cycle rides by using GPS as well as doing regular watch stuff like time, day and date plus alarms.

Recently I have been getting ads for high end wristwatches and I have to say that I'm mystified. I get that you might want to wear a flash watch to show off how much money you have, it's not something that I would ever feel the need to do even if I was very wealthy, but I understand why some people might. But £30,000 for a watch? You can buy one that keeps perfect time for a tenner. Some of them don't even look expensive which surely has to be the whole point, Cartiers look like the aforementioned ten quid fashion watches.

Has anyone here ever paid silly money for a watch that does little more than tell the time well? If so, maybe you could explain why in a way that I might understand.

My father collected expensive watches (albeit hundreds of pounds each rather than thousands!): I think he liked the high quality work that (apparently) goes into them. Unfortunately, when he died I resorted to selling them (on my mother's behalf) on eBay, as I know nothing about watches and didn't have the time or inclination to go to a specialist shop. So, I'm sure that I didn't realise their full value.

 

[Lisa65]

I have a citizen eco-drive watch which is solar powered and made from titanium so super light. I think I paid around £150 for it years ago.
And I have the smartwatch I bought recently which tracks my libre readings, steps, sleep, heart rate etc.
I personally wouldn't spend thousands on a watch even if I had the money, if I scratched it or something I'd be furious!

 

[Merluza]

I've never spent that much but I have been given high quality watches, the one I use daily I've been wearing for about 15 years and I love putting it on every day. It doesn't do all the fancy things that yours does, it tells the time and the date, but it's the only piece of jewellery I wear and to me it's special, not least because of who gave it to me.

I've always liked watches, ever since as a child I found an old Bulova that had belonged to my father, and the ability to own and wear a good quality one is special to me, I suppose I just like watches that are beautifully engineered and I have several, some classic ones, in my drawer. Flashy ones I don't care for.

I really only like watches that tell the time and date and are designed to do that, I'm not interested in ones that tell me the phases of the moon, the tides in the Far East, where I am or what I should have for breakfast, I just like a handsome piece that tells me the time.

 

[trophywench]

I like a watch with a small face for the sole reason that I have skinny wrists just like my skinny ankles and when I decided a few years ago that I really ought to have a 'good' watch' to wear far best since my every day Seiko watch with its leather strap (which I had to replace when the original completely broke in two whilst on holiday in France in approx 2014 so I replaced with a red one, said by the jeweller there to be 'lezard' and cost me 18 Euros) was well over 20 years old and even 'decent' jewellers in our vicinity seemed to have difficulty getting the back off and back on again after replacing the battery. So I did - a 9ct gold round faced Longines which is about 1 inch diameter and very slim so only and a ditto bracelet. That was 10-ish years ago and was over £1,000 at the time. And gold hasn't exactly gone down in price but as you can't melt the watch itself down without removing all the workings, the bracelet which can be detached is I daresay worth more in hard cash than with the watch. I have carefully kept the links they had to remove to get the bracelet small enough for me.
And of course cos it's Sod's Law - the Seiko is also fine and still keeping good time.

 

[Sally71]

I used to love Swatch watches, all the bright colours and pretty designs. I had one of theirs that had no numbers or even markings on the face, and no hands, only two spots where the ends of the hands would be (presumably printed onto clear plastic circles that were rotating). Loads of people asked me how can you tell the time with that one! To me it was obvious, your brain automatically draws a line from the dots to the middle, and you don’t really need the numbers, you know 12 is at the top and 6 is at the bottom etc and can guess close enough where it is in between. Currently I’ve got a Fitbit to count my steps every day. I can’t imagine spending hundreds of pounds on a watch, but if I had the spare cash and the watch had extra features that I liked then maybe I would.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

I got a Galaxy watch 4 for CGM use due to the 6 & then the 7 coming out for around £90. But there is the Galaxy Fit 3 for under 40 quid released last year to no fanfare Apple Watch looking sleek band like with a stripped back wear os getting great reviews on performance & battery life, but any form of CGM monitoring on it is a no, no. I wouldn’t bother with a smart watch other than the CGM. Been a bit careless with watches in general in the past hence a shell case fitted to this one.

 

[Chris Hobson]

I do appreciate the fine workmanship and engineering that goes into watches. I also get that buying something of high quality that lasts a lifetime and will become an heirloom makes sense. In the case of the one that cost 30k, I suspect that it had some rarity that would mean that the value will very likely go up.
Edit:
Nope, I got that wrong, it was a new one, that really is the price.

I have a couple of Citizen watches that are solar powered. The first one is a chronograph moonphase calendar watch that I bought before my eyesight deteriorated. Now on that one I can't tell the time without my reading glasses. The second one I bought specifically for the clear bold face, I wear it sometimes when I go out.

On the subject of unusual watches, I spotted one that had two circular grooves, each with a ball bearing in it. Not for me as it wasn't really very easy to read but a nice novelty.

 

[CliffH]

I used to love Swatch watches, all the bright colours and pretty designs. I had one of theirs that had no numbers or even markings on the face, and no hands, only two spots where the ends of the hands would be (presumably printed onto clear plastic circles that were rotating). Loads of people asked me how can you tell the time with that one! To me it was obvious, your brain automatically draws a line from the dots to the middle, and you don’t really need the numbers, you know 12 is at the top and 6 is at the bottom etc and can guess close enough where it is in between. Currently I’ve got a Fitbit to count my steps every day. I can’t imagine spending hundreds of pounds on a watch, but if I had the spare cash and the watch had extra features that I liked then maybe I would.

I remember when there was a craze for Swatch watches and some 'limited editions' sold for incredible sums.

 

[Docb]

I remember when there was a craze for Swatch watches and some 'limited editions' sold for incredible sums.

I think that there is a tiny possibility, a tiny possibility verging on racing certainty, that those "expensive" watches were given to "personalities" with much publicity greatly emphasising their largely theoretical "price" tags. Swatch were a very competent marketing organisation that just happened to sell watches.

From my end of the telescope, I just need something that tells me the time without running out of battery every five minutes.and resets to the correct time when it charges up. Don't need to prove how "on trend" I am.

 

[Chris Hobson]

Even a cheap watch nowadays is an amazing combination of precision engineering and technology. A modern inexpensive watch is a more accurate timepiece than even the most expensive watches of the pre-quartz era. They can be very durable too and last for decades with just a new battery from time to time. The finish is sometimes not too good so they sometimes start to look tatty, but if you're using it just for work that probably doesn't matter. I used to love the G Shock watches as I had a fairly physical job. I later used a Seiko Titanium which was very robust although the high water resistance rating meant that having the battery replaced was expensive as it was a specialist job.

 

[CliffH]

I think that there is a tiny possibility, a tiny possibility verging on racing certainty, that those "expensive" watches were given to "personalities" with much publicity greatly emphasising their largely theoretical "price" tags. Swatch were a very competent marketing organisation that just happened to sell watches.

From my end of the telescope, I just need something that tells me the time without running out of battery every five minutes.and resets to the correct time when it charges up. Don't need to prove how "on trend" I am.

It's true that you don't need to prove it: we know that you're on trend anyway. I was on trend in 1986/7, when the girlfriend of a friend of mine was a fashion buyer for Next, which meant that we got free 'prototype' clothes .

 

[Satan’s little helper]

On the subject of unusual watches, I spotted one that had two circular grooves, each with a ball bearing in it. Not for me as it wasn't really very easy to read but a nice novelty.

They try to design faces like this for smartwatches? I find it too busy for a quick information pick up. Time & BG. That’ll do for me.

 

[Pam123]

Hubby has quite a collection The most expensive ones are his Red-arrows limited edition citizen eco-drive, and 2 Bulova ones 3 Diesel watches 1 Earnsure 1 Heritor can’t remember the rest

 

[Satan’s little helper]

which meant that we got free 'prototype' clothes .

Are you saying these “suckers were nuclear?”