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The frenzied world of rare watches

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Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#41

Post by throw8383833jj »

Alex3917 wrote: post #21

Watches are a good example of the fact that, past a certain point, the only thing you can really do with money is paying other people to do your hobbies for you. Like you could learn how to make mechanical watches yourself, but wait, no, why not pay someone else to take up that hobby for you. At the same time, if you actually like doing your own hobbies then money loses its utility pretty quickly.

I'm a newbie on this subject. can you really make your own watch? don't you need to buy all the pieces for it? or need a blacksmith shop or something? how much would it cost for someone to build a watch from scratch with no workshop or prior pieces on hand?

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#42

Post by ilamont »

cletus wrote: post #19

So I really like mechanical watches but I've kind of lost interest because it's nigh-on impossible to buy anything new (unless you're a high net worth individual) and the secondary market is utterly insane. Example: Rolex Daytona in steel retails for ~$13,000. You can buy that from the store and immediately sell it on the secondary market for $30,000+. The Patel Phillippe Nautilus 5711A is similar ($25-30,000 retail,…

Some go for astronomical prices, most notably the Paul Newman Daytonas [2], which are funny because when they were production watches they typically sat on shelves for years because no one wanted them.

There was an episode of Antiques Roadshow where someone brought in one of these in new condition. I think the story was he had purchased it at the military Px in the late 60s and then it ended up in safe deposit box for many decades. When the auction expert told him it was worth $400k he literally fell down in shock.

ETA: $500k. He bought it in the early 70s. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/01/29/a...

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#43

Post by grog454 »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #23
nightowl_games wrote: post #11

I bought a Casio F91W so I can turn my phone off at night and use the watch for an alarm clock. I'm happy to have the most popular watch in the world. It's simple, cheap, reliable, and has a retro look that has grown on me.

When I "got into watches" a decade ago, I got a bunch of interesting looking ones from Gearbest I think (today it'd be Aliexpress). Mechanical, quartz, retro, futuristic, large & small, multi-dial crazy kitchy contraptions and plain classy ones. Got it happily in and out of my system for couple of hundred bucks total , probably 12-18 or so different pieces :). Don't understand paying more than, say $300-400 for a wat…

> Don't understand paying more than, say $300-400 for a watch, absolute MAX

Based on some of the other posts in this thread it seems like there are some people who wouldn't understand paying less than $3000-4000. Interesting divergence for the same hobby!

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#44

Post by random314 »

nightski wrote: post #39
Alex3917 wrote: post #21

Watches are a good example of the fact that, past a certain point, the only thing you can really do with money is paying other people to do your hobbies for you. Like you could learn how to make mechanical watches yourself, but wait, no, why not pay someone else to take up that hobby for you. At the same time, if you actually like doing your own hobbies then money loses its utility pretty quickly.

In my experience hobbies are typically far more expensive than paying someone else to do it purely due to economies of scale.

Not for veblen goods

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#45

Post by overtonwhy »

Ultra wealthy people obsessed with fancy jewelry while 12% of the world doesn't have electricity at home. Sad. Please put your resources to work doing something beneficial for society. Maybe this film scene can move your heart: https://youtu.be/W9vj2Wf57rQ

How many lives could that watch have saved?

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#46

Post by kop316 »

Alex3917 wrote: post #21

Watches are a good example of the fact that, past a certain point, the only thing you can really do with money is paying other people to do your hobbies for you. Like you could learn how to make mechanical watches yourself, but wait, no, why not pay someone else to take up that hobby for you. At the same time, if you actually like doing your own hobbies then money loses its utility pretty quickly.

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 confused on how making a mechanical watch is a "hobby"?

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#47

Post by throw8383833jj »

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.

and i'm surprised people still want to signal wealth, this day and age. I would imagine you'd be treated worse by the average person, if you're signaling wealth.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#48

Post by grog454 »

bri3d wrote: post #36
pmoriarty wrote: post #4

I wonder how many of these are counterfeit.

I think that amongst the "high end," counterfeits are probably not that common. Dealers tend to have a reputation to maintain and even the best clones are easily distinguishable once the case-back is opened up and the movement inspected. There are a few rare Rolex models with "1:1" clones which can have an authentic movement installed. There may be some "high profile" counterfeits of these pieces floating around, but…

> learn in great detail the specific, minute differences between each replica factory's attempt at a counterfeit vs. the original.

Can you provide some links to examples?

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#49

Post by TigeriusKirk »

throw8383833jj wrote: post #47
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.

and i'm surprised people still want to signal wealth, this day and age. I would imagine you'd be treated worse by the average person, if you're signaling wealth.

>I would imagine you'd be treated worse by the average person, if you're signaling wealth.

This runs completely counter to my personal experiences and observations.

Re: The frenzied world of rare watches

#50

Post by waynesonfire »

blakesterz wrote: post #3

I guess it's like any other collectable, just way WAY more expensive. Though I'm not sure what's lost by wearing it? "Such market conditions have presented a dilemma for collectors who actually want to show off their popular models, knowing the message that will send to other connoisseurs. “If you wear them, you’re an idiot, ” says one collector. “Either you paid five times retail, or you bought it retail and you’re…

Oh, and let me guess, the collector would happily take the watch off their hands? Who's the idiot?
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