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The frenzied world of rare watches

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Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#111

Post by MarkMarine »

ubermonkey wrote: post #107
thoms_a wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have to chime in with my agreement here. As an engineer, to me the beauty of the mechanical watch lies in its embodiment of "form follows function". I read this entire article as I find the horology and the hobbyists fascinating, but my passion is strictly that of an engineer for his tool. I like robust, well made tools by companies that value craftsmanship and longevity. Status, collectability and such are superfluo…

The tension now in mechanical watches between craftsmanship/longevity/utility and status/collect-ability is weird, and distorts the market a little. Rolex used to be a utility watch, not a luxury watch. That's clearly changed a LOT, even to the point that I occasionally hear people say silly things about babying them (e.g., not going in the water in one, which is crazy). Omega was less inflated when I bought my Brosn…

You just have to search for a brand that for some reason isn't flashy on the used market. I have a late 2000s JLC Master Compressor, you (could) get them for a couple grand used, like I did. Not sure about the prices now. I freedive with mine, I fix cars with it on, but if you know about the movement it's a watchmaker's watch.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#112

Post by RichardHeart »

clpm4j wrote: post #93
RichardHeart wrote: post #81

I've got $8M of watches. Their utility to me is just to brag about them. Which is funny, because I'm only met with downvotes whenever I do :). But therein lies the rub. At a distance, people hate, but up close, they love. It's a perceived distance to cooperation. There's ingroup profit in hate at a distance. But when you can join a better in group, or add a new asset to the one you're in, it turns to love. Thus, I co…

https://richardheart.com/ Are you for real? You look like someone straight out of central casting for the next ponzi scheme docu-series on Netflix.

You're half right? thehighestofstakes.com

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#113

Post by havelhovel »

Alex3917 wrote: post #77
kop316 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After skimming through a large portion of George Daniel's book "Watchmaking", if anything, I very much appreciate how complicated making a mechanical watch is, and even more so, how easy it is to get things wrong. From what I saw, you have to have a lot of tooks to make your own mechanical watch, and it would not be something I would want to do without someone skilled in the craft. That is a long way of saying, I am…

> it would not be something I would want to do without someone skilled in the craft. I mean how is that different than any other hobby? I've never made a watch but I forage for mushrooms, and you wouldn't want to do that without being skilled in the craft either. It's pretty much the same for any hobby; the whole point of having a hobby is to become skilled at some esoteric thing.

> the whole point of having a hobby is to become skilled at some esoteric thing

Hobbies are activities done for pleasure, nothing more.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#114

Post by PyWoody »

randomhodler84 wrote: post #25

What is the allure of these things? They keep worse time that an ntp synced phone, have no internet connectivity and few features. It’s all conspicuous consumption, right? If you know, you know — a way to signal wealth without being too brazen.

For me it's that there is no tech involved in a mechanical watch. No screen. No buttons. No perfectly kept time. If I don't wind it, it dies.

The watch I'm wearing on my wrist is virtually indistinguishable from one created over a hundred years ago. I think that's just neat.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#115

Post by Retric »

ubermonkey wrote: post #103
Retric wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That watch was pure product placement, you can see the sequence here: https://timeandtidewatches.com/the-complete-list-of-bond-wat...

It was not product placement as we think of it today, i.e. paid product placement; sometimes filmmakers use products that the character would use without any other motivation, in order to add depth to the character. (Aston Martin didn't pay them, either.) In 1962, pretty much the only watch that someone in Bond's role would have worn was a Rolex -- the whole idea of a waterproof dive watch was pretty novel at the tim…

I was mostly pointing out the sequence from Rolex > Seiko > Omega.

> Rolex invented the idea in the 50s

Your timeline is off: “In 1922, Rolex launched the Submarine – a watch attached on a hinge inside a second, outer case, whose bezel and crystal screwed down to make the outer case watertight.” https://www.rolex.com/about-rolex-watches/waterproofness.htm...

What they don’t say is the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Zodiac Sea Wolf both predate the iconic Rolex Submariner. By 1962 there where quite a few dive watches though rarely owned by people that used them for diving.

As to product placement that also goes back to the 1920’s films. By 1962 they where commonplace, though as you say hard to prove. Much like payola of the day, brands could make deals with individuals rather than the movie it’s self. Really it’s mostly the prominence in the early bond films that suggest otherwise.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#116

Post by Ferrotin »

Aea wrote: post #17
rosndo wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damage isn’t a huge problem, watches tend to be pretty sturdy and mere scratches aren’t going to hurt resale value in most cases (unless you have them repaired!) Theft on the other hand is a pretty big concern, I just had a 100k patek ripped off my wrist. I’m very lucky though, the local store manager was sympathetic and managed to help me skip the queue for a (slightly more desirable) replacement, effectively nullif…

Insurance on a $100K watch through Hodinkee is around $1400 a year, although I'm sure you can get a better deal. If you're an enthusiast then you're paying for peace of mind. If you're an investor then that's the equivalent of a 1.4% management fee per year. The price action right now is absolutely ridiculous, but if you already bought at say 5x retail then that dramatically eats into your potential profits. It's jus…

If you just want to invest or collect you can get cheaper insurance with clauses about keeping the watches in a safe deposit box.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#117

Post by doopy1 »

ubermonkey wrote: post #30
zucked wrote: post #13

I came into collecting modest watches around 2010. There was certainly a renewed interest in mechanical watches at the time, a lot of it being driven by things like MaleFashionAdvice on Reddit. I believe MFA had a significant hand in rescuing Seiko from obscurity with the SNK809 and SKX007. Old Seiko mechanical chronographs like the 6139 could be had readily for less than a thousand dollars. I had a beautifully resto…

Re: built for a purpose, I think a lot of folks today just see Rolex as a luxury brand, but when Sean Connery walked out of the waves in Dr No wearing a Rolex, it was because it was precisely the sort of robust, fault-tolerant timepiece a super-spy WOULD wear. Moreover, back then, they weren't NEARLY so expensive. Rolex's prices have drastically outpaced inflation FOR SURE. I had thought I'd buy a Subbie, too, but ev…

I think even back then a Rolex would run you at least 1-2 months salary. Granted money went further back then... but if you consider the median tech salary, a lot of Rolexes are still 1-2 months salary away.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#118

Post by itbeho »

ubermonkey wrote: post #107
thoms_a wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have to chime in with my agreement here. As an engineer, to me the beauty of the mechanical watch lies in its embodiment of "form follows function". I read this entire article as I find the horology and the hobbyists fascinating, but my passion is strictly that of an engineer for his tool. I like robust, well made tools by companies that value craftsmanship and longevity. Status, collectability and such are superfluo…

The tension now in mechanical watches between craftsmanship/longevity/utility and status/collect-ability is weird, and distorts the market a little. Rolex used to be a utility watch, not a luxury watch. That's clearly changed a LOT, even to the point that I occasionally hear people say silly things about babying them (e.g., not going in the water in one, which is crazy). Omega was less inflated when I bought my Brosn…

Fellow owner of a 2531.80 of a similar vintage. It's been on my wrist through many sailing and climbing adventures. Fantastic watch for the money and quite durable. Keeps great time for a mechanical watch as well.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#119

Post by [deleted] »

RichardHeart wrote: post #81

I've got $8M of watches. Their utility to me is just to brag about them. Which is funny, because I'm only met with downvotes whenever I do :). But therein lies the rub. At a distance, people hate, but up close, they love. It's a perceived distance to cooperation. There's ingroup profit in hate at a distance. But when you can join a better in group, or add a new asset to the one you're in, it turns to love. Thus, I co…

[deleted]

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#120

Post by anm89 »

maigret wrote: post #32
randomhodler84 wrote: post #25

What is the allure of these things? They keep worse time that an ntp synced phone, have no internet connectivity and few features. It’s all conspicuous consumption, right? If you know, you know — a way to signal wealth without being too brazen.

Did you never want something because it’s nice and inspiring? A sports car, a big Lego, a cap of your sport hero, a computer full of LED? Did you want this only to impress others? Have you had such a watch on your wrist and felt how it wore? Once you start learning about how those are built etc this becomes a small hobby that’s very nice to enjoy in all the trouble nowadays. Of course some wealthy people will buy tho…

Except I think very few people are impressed. I definitely have a vague negative association with people who wear watches. It's just some expensive show off fashion accessory that you have to lie about getting utility out of.
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