Watch Collectors/Fanatics

[Bravo73]

Speedmasters seem to be a veritable minefield due to the hundreds of variations of movements, cases, ages, specs etc etc. Unless there is a resident Speedmaster expert here, you might be better off asking your question over on https://forum.tz-uk.com/forumdisplay.php?7-Watch-Talk. There are plenty of Speedmaster experts there. 

[pete]

On 12/04/2018 at 08:20, Chillidoggy said:

Went to the launching of the 2018 Bremont collection last night in Bromley. I tried on all the new models, and had a talk with company co-founder, Giles English. Bloody nice chap, good orator, very interesting to talk to, and so enthusiastic about his brand. So nice to see a British company challenging the establishment.

Caption competition?

 

Lord Ian you say.

[Mark Blanchard]

My wife bought me a 1973 Pulsar LED for my birthday.  Was more expensive than a Rolex when it was new. 

It was used by a well known Esprit S1 driver.  The watch is barely visible in this picture though.

[Chillidoggy]

"The name's Blanchard...….Mark Blanchard."

[Neal H]

Is that the one that can undo zips?

[Bibs]

Someone get this man a yellow 3 wheeler!

 

[jbuenavides]

 

To-go-to watch, I can't leave the house without it on my wrist as I tend to check the time. 

[ramjet]

I have a very old Seiko Chronograph (automatic). My mum (God rest her soul) bought it for me when I was much younger. I lived in the NT in an isolated little town and no one ever told me you should get a watch serviced.

It would be at least 45 years old.

The green glow-in-the-dark stuff is now glow-in-the-dark-if-you-put-your-eye-really-close-to-the-face-while-shielding-all-extraneous=-ight-out stuff. If any small bit of the moon is out all bets are off. Starry nights are also an issue.

A couple of months ago, it just stopped. If it needs parts, I don't even know if you could get anything.

My Tissot which my wife bought me was all fine until a really hot day in Sydney when we were out and now the second hand stops, you can count to 4 seconds in your head and then the second hand quickly moves forward four seconds and then parks its lazy butt for another four seconds.

I rang the jeweller where I bought the watch. "We don't do repairs or have repairers. You will need to find one yourself."

I thought about looking at a Vincero watch. Not of the standard of some of the watches on here (or the price), but then I thought that I hardly wear the ones I have. All 2 of them.

And so it begins.

[KennyN]

@ramjet It would be possible to restore your Seiko if you can find a watchmaker, the lume can be repainted on the dial and hands using modern lume material which really glows for hours and the movement, if not repairable, can be replaced relatively cheaply whilst retaining the original hands.  It could be worth it for a watch that is clearly a sentimental piece for you.

If your Tissot is a quartz movement it might just need a new battery.  Some watches do that weird second hand thing as a sign to let you know that the battery needs replacing.

[Neal H]

Any recommendations on a good place to get an on line valuation or indeed a good place to sell a watch. I’m thinking of selling mine.

[Bazza 907]

I'm tempted to get a new watch. I'm no expert and I've been happy with my Seiko for the last 35 years but fancy a change.

I start looking around at Omega Seamaster planet ocean (I may be wrong in the description here) watches and find that the second hand values of them are actually very close to the new ones (if bought Ex VAT at Heathrow/Gatwick etc - appreciate though I'd need to pay duty etc). The second hand ones seem to being sold by guys who buy them cheap then sell them on making a tidy profit, I assume. Seems odd but then I discover that they have to be serviced every few years (not unreasonably I suppose) but the guys selling them second hand don't seem to price the (c£600+) cost of the service into the equation - "it's hardly been used so doesn't need a time due service".

Lastly I discover that the watch doesn't actually keep very accurate time either and that I'd be better off buying a cheap quartz watch if I wanted an accurate one.

Have to say that it's rather putting me off bothering. Am I missing something??? 

[Barrykearley]

23 minutes ago, Bazza 907 said:

Have to say that it's rather putting me off bothering. Am I missing something??? 

Most phones now actually come with a clock function. Now since this is indeed a lotus community we should all consider the old adage “add lightness” and ditch the wristwatch

[KennyN]

4 hours ago, Neal H said:

Any recommendations on a good place to get an on line valuation or indeed a good place to sell a watch. I’m thinking of selling mine.

 

Chrono24.co.uk will give you a good idea of what your Breitling is worth.  A dealer, such as Watchfinder.co.uk will offer a fair price, but it's a bit like trade versus retail when selling a car, unfortunately.

It's a nice watch though 👍

[Neal H]

Thanks, I’ll take a look at those two.

[KennyN]

2 hours ago, Bazza 907 said:

Have to say that it's rather putting me off bothering. Am I missing something??? 

It's true, a quartz watch is far more accurate than a mechanical watch.  I have a Breitling Emergency Mission with a SuperQuartz movement that's accurate to 15 seconds per year and far more expensive mechanical movement watches that are +/- 4 seconds per day when certified, but they get worse over time and need servicing to regulate them again.

The servicing isn't cheap, but it's only needed every 3-10 years depending on the movement and the watch comes back pretty much as new.  There are many more parts and much more time/skill involved in the service of a watch compared to getting your car serviced, which is generally a couple of hours, a couple of filters and a few litres oil for similar money.  A full watch service is the equivalent of removing and stripping an engine, cleaning all of the components, checking the tolerances, replacing any worn parts, reassembling and tuning, then bringing the body work back to near showroom condition.  When you look at it like that, a watch service is not too bad cost wise.

[ramjet]

Are they guaranteed to corner like your Lotus though? Huh? Huh? 

[C8RKH]

10 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

Most phones now actually come with a clock function. Now since this is indeed a lotus community we should all consider the old adage “add lightness” and ditch the wristwatch

It's rumoured that most phones today will actually let you speak to another human on their phone as they have some form of a voice communicator.

Apparently a group of young MIT types are collaborating on their computers to confirm this amazing discovery.

@Bazza 907 the only thing your missing is that these watches are largely just trinkets most often worn, these days, to evidence the size of your disposable income. Hence why they appeal to largely middle aged men with sports/GT cars. 

Success invariably in these circles means nice car, nice watch and 20 year younger trophy wife. 🤣🤣🤣

That reminds me, my Daytona probably needs a service. 

[Bibs]

9 hours ago, KennyN said:

A dealer, such as Watchfinder.co.uk will offer a fair price, but it's a bit like trade versus retail when selling a car, unfortunately.

The founder of watchfinder is local to me, in fact he was in my local pub the other day. He's worth £100m! 

[KennyN]

2 hours ago, ramjet said:

Are they guaranteed to corner like your Lotus though? Huh? Huh? 

Only if you have your car corner weighted to counteract the additional weight on your wrist 🤣

[Dan E]

40 minutes ago, Bibs said:

The founder of watchfinder is local to me, in fact he was in my local pub the other day. He's worth £100m! 

I believe the founder of The Lotus Forums is fairly local to you, he is worth £101m 

[KennyN]

42 minutes ago, Bibs said:

The founder of watchfinder is local to me, in fact he was in my local pub the other day. He's worth £100m! 

I bet he wasn't wearing a Casio G-Shock, although some of those are silly money these days!

[Bibs]

5 minutes ago, Dan E said:

I believe the founder of The Lotus Forums is fairly local to you, he is worth £101 

Fixed that for you

 

[philcool]

Brought my second watch at watch finder years ago when they only had one office at Maidstone 

Should have invested and gone in with them but knowing me I wouldn't want to sell any 

Just got the Patek back from service £1400 companies to my mates Porsche Cayman oil and filter 2nd service £560 I done the first oil and filter change £98 including Mobile 0-40w 8L and the correct Mahle oil filter 

[Bibs]

3 minutes ago, philcool said:

Just got the Patek back from service £1400

Ouch!

[philcool]

That's only £200 more than I paid 9 years ago on my first annual caliber so was expecting a bit more