Reply With QuoteI'm like you - I have found a lot of joy in my collection of Soviet watches, and have a few higher end watches too - all Omegas, which I prefer to Rolex, and not just because of the price difference.
Just go with what you enjoy!
Hi guy's.
I'm just wondering how the guy's who don't have deep pockets keep their enthusiasm for a hobby which can be so very expensive?
I love watches, and want to contribute to this forum, but at the moment I'm having a problem with it sapping my spirit due to most threads being, or turning into, debates about very expensive watches that I've never even seen other than in shop windows.
For example, there was a thread recently about the "best value" luxury brand. Now to me, a luxury brand is anything European and over around £300 or so and I thought it might be a thread that I could learn a lot about high quality at a realistic price point, perhaps a debate about the merits of the likes of Steinhart, Stowa, Roamer ect, but straight away the suggestions where JLC, Rolex, Patek, and the usual suspects. Surely these are the sort of grail watches that only the top 5% of earners can easily justify purchasing? I don't know why but when people post that a brand I own, like maybe a C ward is a joke and I should be looking at £4000 watches instead it takes the joy out of the hobby somewhat.
Don't get me wrong I love looking at the expensive watches and I'm glad you guy's can afford them, and that to own a watch like that you have to work very, very hard, it's not just handed on a plate...but I'd still like to know what drives the people with the same passion, but perhaps a young family and big mortgage or other thing's that restrict finances for luxuries like hobbies.
I hope I've managed to convey this without sounding like a whinge or some sort of class warrior, because I'm not. I'm just looking for thought's of you good people.
I'm like you - I have found a lot of joy in my collection of Soviet watches, and have a few higher end watches too - all Omegas, which I prefer to Rolex, and not just because of the price difference.
Just go with what you enjoy!
Quite right, there's absolutely no reason they have to be expensive, in fact there are loads of great watches for under £300. It's fun searching them out and discovering bargains and under the radar brands. Vintage Omegas are entirely possible too without breaking the bank. Quartz is also very undervalued in general, even from major brands. I've veered into a few more pricey pieces but some of my absolute keepers are the cheapest.
I am like you and don't have a big budget but don't particularly care what people think of the watches I wear. Only thing that matters is if I like it. Yes I would love a high end watch but finances don't allow but if they did would never look down on someone who couldn't. Just ignore the snobs. Says more about them then you
I think you have to remember you are on a watch forum so luxury brands are bound to be fairly high end just as a clothes forum would discuss Brioni or other brands most of us would consider too expensive.
I certainly don't see any snobbery here.
Maybe start your own thread to discuss the brands you are more interested in as we all like to discuss watches and appreciate good value?
Well this a a very pertinent post, one which I've asked many times before. You only have to look at what is going in in the bear pit to realise that if you want this kind of info you have to first trawl through the current in house arguments between certain posters and ultimately search it yourself.Originally Posted by coldwarkid
As a newb myself I 100% agree with what you're saying.
A minority here own, or would even want to own, the high end watches.
Christian Ward gets a bad rep here, not sure why, I've never seen a Chr Ward watch, so can't say if its deserved.
There are plenty of Seiko fans here and many of our esteemed hosts own watches are in the lower reaches of your quality watch range.
Think of it like being on a car site and seeing people argue the relative values of the Pagani vs the Bugatti and just enjoy.
There are plenty of people interested in more affordable watches here.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
As others have said you don't have to buy big name hight ticket prices to enjoy and take part in this hobby :-). Some very nice watches can be bought comparatively cheaply :-)
I don't have a very high disposable income, but it's still possible to enjoy this hobby even if your taste runs to the high end stuff, as mine does. I pride myself on living well, within and (often above) my means, so I just take a long term view and am trying to pick up a decent watch every year or two, living like this would kill many members here I know ;) but work hard, save hard and buy well (pre owned) and don't waste money on buying dozens of cheap watches for the sake of collecting. I find it just as satisfying (almost) learning about watches, reading the forums and blogs and drooling over other peoples watches.
Last edited by Le samourai; 4th January 2014 at 14:18.
your collection will be your own, it is you who will build it up over time, it is you who will have the pleasure in buying each watch, then enjoying them, i have stopped buying for the time being as i have some whoppers to get rid of, but i am drawn like a magnet to here and some other place, often twice or three times each day, go ahead and enjoy collecting.
Regarding cost remember people who bought even 5 years ago will have a collection that would be massively more expensive to acquire today. Also when bought well watches can easily be sold again so some collections are more just a way of parking some cash than seen as necessarily a permanent purchase - hence the enthusiasm for the easily liquidated, good residual Rolexes.
Any forum will have a mix of people with differing financial means. I enjoy looking at watches I will never likely be in a position to own but I think that is part of the fun!
Take the long-term view. I`ve been involved with collecting watches since 1994, starting off with fairly modest stuff. In 1996 I was skint (domestic 'rearrangements') and I couldn`t afford anything. Over the years things changed and I`ve ended up owning some quite expensive stuff, having done quite a bit of buying and selling at one point. I`m now getting 'back to my roots', getting more pleasure from quite modest vintage watches rather than Rolexes etc........I`ve been down that road and seen it for what it is.
I think the car park analogy is a good one.
Paul
Lots of good common sense above.
We all spend our money differently. For me...
most expensive watch > most expensive bicycle > either of the family cars.
I have a few watches into four figures but I get just as much pleasure from some of my Seiko or cheaper watches. If I had a budget of e.g. £200max enforced on me, I could still have a very interesting and satisfying collection. Today I am wearing this just because the magnificent blue dial glinted at me from the watch box this morning....
(sorry for poor quality pic)
There are some amazingly good value watches available under £300, whilst I'm lucky enough to own a couple of forum favourites at the upper end, my happy beater is a Quartz Seiko, and my holiday fave is my Seiko Orange Monster, both watches coming in at just over £100 apiece, don't ignore car boot sales members on here have bagged some great watches for next to nothing, enjoy your journey and post pics of your finds.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
It's your hobby and your choice. What you see on here is everyone else's hobbies and their choices.
If you look around you'll find people building up collections, reducing collections, buying higher end watches, buying lower end watches, modding, restoring etc. the list is endless.
Just enjoy your version of this madness and have fun.
I think that we all sometimes need to remember that this is a hobby and that we do it for fun, I do find at the moment that I get greater pleasure from less expensive stuff.
I have watches in my collection that I love but bought over 20 years ago, my Rolex 1016 explorer and IWC mk XI come to mind that I would not pay the present market place price for.
Some of the less expensive watches like Eddies and Kemmner may well become cult classics in the future,who knows what will happen to the prices of Steinhart if they become a major brand as they aspire to, Stowa and Laco are well made and good value but both are going up in price and they may look like a steal now in five years time.
Seiko and Orient are amazing value also and vintage Seiko is now very sought after.
What I am trying to say badly, buy what you like and what makes you happy some will turn out as gems both because you like them and in value some you will just like.
OP - you are not wrong there is a lot of chatter about high end pieces on here. Odd when our host offerings are such excellent VFM and acknowledged as such by virtually everybody who posts on this site.
A few suggestions:-
1) Don't be put off by all the high end chatter. High end watches are sometimes interesting, sometimes iconic and sometimes deserving of the value attached to them.
2) The value of any watch is what it's worth to you.
3) Understand the ETA argument. It's important to understanding which high end watches might have real horological interest and which might be a triumph of marketing over watchmaking tradition. However be mindful of the fact that without ETA there might not be a Swiss watch industry at all and that ETA themselves seem to be trying to rectify the over reliance on them as a movement brand. It's also worth understanding the difference between ebauche and movement as ETA supply both, or have in the past.
4) Look into vintage watches. In the pre-Swatch era nearly all makers made their own movements so if that is where your interest lies you can learn more about the development of watches by collecting in this segment.
5) Either learn to sift the information or ask those who insist on moving the discussion out of your price bracket to refrain from posting in your thread.
6) Horology is a broad hobby, seek out those with similar interests to yourself, be that brand or complication or history or whatever and enjoy your hobby.
It's all about what makes you tick. As it were.
I started out collecting Timex, had (and still have) literally hundreds of inexpensive vintage watches. I also have a large number of obscure Swiss ebauche type watches, all for around £25-£30 each.
I've been through various phases, including (but not limited to) Russians, Seiko, Omega and Rolex, but some of my favourite pieces are about what they say to me, rather than how much they cost. I think my response to you is a double-edged one, enjoy what you collect, collect what you enjoy but you'll have to be careful that what starts out (as it did for me) as an inexpensive hobby is now actually causing me insurance concerns!
In order to get to where I am in my collection I taught myself to repair and restore vintage pieces, and bought, sold and traded my way to my more expensive pieces. I've always been realistic in my expectations, my grail was a Speedmaster, once I'd achieved that, I wanted a good chronostop, then a SMP300, then a vintage SM300, then a 2254, then a 5513...
To my mind, a watch bought with an excess of cash is always worth less, and valued less, than one I've saved and worked my way toward. Just my opinion, of course.
I'm on a budget at the moment but having more fun buying, selling and messing about with Seiko, Citizen and old lesser known vintage stuff than when I could afford high end Swiss watches.
There are lots of fanboys on here representing specific brands, if you create a 'what watch' thread - regardless of budget - someone will pipe in with inappropriate suggestions.
Example A;
"I'm looking to spend £300 on a good sturdy diver. What's my best value option?"
(reply 1) "A quartz Omega Seamaster can be found for £600-£700 if you don't mind one with irrepairable scratches and dents and the bezel hanging off"
(reply 2) "Hey, if you're stretching the budget a little then a Rolex Sub n/d can be had for £3k"
end of thread...
Example B;
"I'm stepping into the big leagues and thinking of waxing £3000 on a sturdy diver. Options?"
(reply 1) "Well, I'll save you £2500 right now. You won't find better than a Seiko Tuna."
end of thread...
You'll always get a mixed bag of responses. Maybe we should start an open topic to show off budget models! I haven't spent more than a couple of hundred quid on a watch in ages but still pleased with my bit of a collection.
I'd still choose my 20-30 Seiko watches over one Rolex I'm afraid. I've tried both, and I prefer having a diverse collection to one 'go-to' watch.
Most blokey "hobbies" that involve purchasing things and showing them off, will attract an element of one-upmanship. There aren't that many outlets for blokes ( it's always men, there are few-to-zero female members of watch fora ) to discreetly showoff while pretending it's all a technical hobby. You can partake in that or not, but you don't need to buy stuff - knowledge and interest is valued above all. Only you can control how you feel - don't let someone else's opinion make you feel bad about anything. If you are interested in the relative merits of European watches around the £300 mark, you'll find many others are too. Ask away. One of the interesting things about this forum, is that although there are some exceedingly well-heeled members, there are no points for too obviously displaying one's wealth. If anything, it is generally avoided. Perhaps the UK influence.
Best not to focus on the money side of the "hobby" at all. There will always be someone with more money than you. A £4000 watch is a PoS to some. A watch of any kind is a luxury to many more. They tend not to have access to the internet though, so they are under-represented on watch fora. The people posting here are not representative of the general populace. Even the wealthy would find some of the purchasing habits regularly displayed here without undue comment as most exceedingly odd. Enjoy your hobby, and by the wonder of the internet, vicariously others' too.
Paul
I'm lucky enough to own a couple of 'insurance worrying' watches but, as others have said here, they aren't always the ones that give the most pleasure. I'd certainly advise you to have a look at Russian watches (but then I'm a bit biased as I'm quite interested in them). There are some truly awful ones out there, but lots of really nice ones well within your price bracket. Many of them have interesting stories to tell as well. I'm currently awaiting a Vostok Amphibia - fascinating watch with a very different approach to waterproofing, described as the 'Kalashnikov of the watch world' and less than £100. £40 or thereabouts gets you a Luch one-hander (think of it as a budget Meistersinger).
There are also some watches with the Poljot 3133 Chronograph movement at the top end of your budget. The 3133 is based on the Valjoux 7734: when the Swiss stopped making them the Russians bought the whole assembly line and shipped it back to Moscow. They made a few minor tweaks and it became the 3133, which is widely regarded as being one of the best Russian movements out there. Production of 3133s ended a couple of years ago but there are lots of 3133 driven watches about.
Your budget also gets you into some watches with ETA movements - the brand that stands out to me here is Hamilton.
The most important thing is to buy watches that you will enjoy. If you want any ideas on seeking out Russians drop me a PM and I'll give you details.
So true!!!
There's lots to choose from: Casio, Seiko, Citizen, Smiths (vintage), Sekonda (vintage), Vostok, Poljot, all the Russians, Timefactors, some boutique brands, lots of other vintage brands.
I started collecting around 10 years ago and have generally picked up one or two watches a year. Some have certainly been more expensive, but I also own and take a great deal of pleasure from some of the more accessible (sub £500 in my book) brands: my Orient Bambino gets lots of wrist time as does my Russian Poljot. The Christopher Ward C60 GMT is a very handsome and sturdy travel/dive watch and my little Seiko 5 gets a regular airing when I'm out and about at weekends. Part of the fun is establishing and growing your collection and taking pleasure in how these watches speak to you as opposed to what they say about you. I'm fortunate to be in the top 15% (approx.) of wage earners in the UK but I also have to balance off the expense of the mortgage, having a young family and all the usual cost of living stuff; an expensive watch is therefore always a considered purchase and I would certainly not buy new if the retail value of the watch was over £2k (unless it was a very special occasion watch) - there's a huge amount of excellent pre-owned stock out there and, just like with cars, buying new just doesn't make financial sense to me any more.
SGR
This is a really great thread and a nice way to bring the subject of watches back down to earth a bit. of all the watches I own (around 25) my 2 most precious are the police watch i wore for my wedding (about 120 quid new, worthless second hand) and a tissot my wife bought me for my 30th (about 400 quid new, worthless second hand!) and they are the only ones i could truly never be rid of.
The replies above show the real forum opinion which is that we like watches, all watches (and especially those which people post pictures of!!) if you look at the collections of some people here with very swanky expensive models, you will normally see something very affordable in there, sometimes as a beater but often as something appreciated against the grain of their normally very expensive tastes. It is collections like those which i find most interesting. I really enjoy looking at the threads about the super gucci watches that i will never own because they are interesting and lets be honest, we all like a bit of eye candy.
it can be difficult to compare less expensive models to those high end pieces but the beauty of watches is that actually, finding something you like at a price point you are happy with, is a complete joy. I would say that is the best way to maintain enthusiasm. (oh and dont forget to post pictures of whatever you pick up, we all like pictures!)
Thanks for starting such a great thread.
My approach (as a military musician soon to be free lance once again so very little money flying about) is to have a rolling collection. I used some money left to me to buy a decent piece (Rolex air king) and have now managed to own well over 200 awesome watches by lots of "big" brands by having this approach of flipping & trading. I have a few keepers and of course I've added money to the "collection" over time but fundamentally I rarely have more than 3 high end watches at any one time and all of them are always half way out of the door for the next one.
I do suffer with watch boredom and even more with watch envy and infatuation. To be honest other than the PRS 22 GMT, the DnV and maybe one other ( a1968 omega Seamaster Geneva) I don't really have a "keeper". Its more of a journey and to be honest I'm not sure where I will end up.
Maybe a rolling collection would work for you too?
Last edited by jrpippen; 4th January 2014 at 17:32.
Have to agree with the above comments, don't get sidetracked with people saying you have to spend £xxxx as a lot of it is them trying to justify to themselves why the spent that much and also showing off!
If all you did was look at Seiko and G-shock then I think youd be kept busy for a long long time!
A lot of great responses so far on this thread. Let me just add that it's possible to build a nice collection on a budget. I started collecting vintage and Vostoks about 14 years ago. My collection now consists of pieces that are about midway between those Vostoks and budget vintage watches I started with and the eye popping beauties that you mentioned in your opening post. It didn't take me long to figure out that two $50 watches could be swapped for a $100 watch, and that two $100 watches could be swapped for a $200 watch, and so on. Before long you're shopping for $1000+ watches. If you train yourself to only ever allot a small portion of your household budget to the hobby, you can still own expensive watches. It just takes more time, patience, and learning. Just always try to buy used at good prices so you sell at a minimal loss.
What you'll have to come to terms with eventually is how much of your personal wealth you want parked in watches. For me, I started to blanch when I got five or six watches in the $1000+ category. But every one has their own threshhold. I still own a number of less than $1000 watches and I enjoy them immensely too.
The dirty little secret no one has mentioned is that you will find that you will spend a ton on shipping charges buying through the mail. I honestly can't believe the USPS is experiencing financial trouble - I'd think I spend enough with them to keep them afloat!
If you buy what you like the look of / can afford, you won't go far wrong!
I have more fun now trying to snare something rare / funky that I see out there.
What I will say is, there are some great bargains to be had at the lower price end of watch collecting.
I will also say that there are some great watches too at the higher end. It's not snobbery, there are some beautiful pieces to be had out there that DO cost a fortune, the worse thing that you CAN have is watch envy.
At the end of the day, you'll strap it onto your wrist and it will tell you the time of the day.
Don't ever break the bank to do that. It's not worth it!
I will admit that if I win the Euromillions, I will be smashing some seriously beautiful high-end pieces on the mother-of-all-sprees.
However, I don't what it is with me (probably the fact that I am a Yorkshireman!!), I really DO love snaring a bargain, and I know that this characteristic of me will NEVER change..
I don't prefer expensive watches. I buy ones I like. Some are very cheap, some not so. All that matters is enthusiasm for the subject. You sound like you have a great attitude so ignore the unpleasant few on here and you'll have fun and learn a lot. I do.
Thanks guy's. There's some truly great advice there to be mulled over. I might start taking more of an interest in sales corner now I've got access, and Russian watches are something I could easily see myself getting into. Although I understand what a good buy vintage can be, with my limited experience I think I'd better steer clear for the time being as a £150 watch can soon turn into a £300 watch if I then find it needs a service that I wasn't expecting. Plus the vast majority tend to be a little too small for my tastes.
Also, there's a certain amount of vicarious enjoyment in looking at nice pictures of other people's watches - after all, even if you're lucky enough to have the odd nice one, you can't have ALL of them! But you don't have to own something to appreciate it, fortunately.
I'd also suggest - take your time discovering what you REALLY like. You mention the possible over-representation of expensive watches here, but for me at first I was discouraged by the ubiquity of divers. I don't really like divers, but spent quite a while thinking I SHOULD like them, because they're everywhere. But I really don't!
In short, think very carefully about what works for you - there's a lifetime's worth of fun to be had in the many different corners of this hobby.
I think one of the most appealing aspects of this hobby is the sheer variety of timepieces available, to suit all wrists and pockets. Most of my favourite watches come from my early days of collecting, particularly vintage Casios, Citizens and Seikos. Many would consider these as tat but some of these watches were ones I wanted when I was in my teens and on a pittance of a salary. I married and had kids when I was quite young and again, there wasn't much spare cash for anything. It has been a delight to rediscover these watches and to be able to buy most of them for what now seems to be a modest cost.
I'm very much like you OP, I'm a civil servant with a modest income and two children under 4..my 'high end' is what is regarded as the 'low end' of luxury watches, I have a Helson, an Oris BC3 and a vintage Omega, which cost me in the region of £300-400 each..this is my absolute maximum unless I look at finance
Some of the threads I read on here are on another planet to where I am..People talk about 3-4k watches as the norm and I can only gasp at the disposable income many of the forum users must have
Saying that I don't get down about it..my modest watches are beautiful and beautifully made..and still a step up from what I see around me on the street nine times out of ten
There are plenty of really nice time pieces for my max £500 budget (most I'll ever go to) and if and when my financial situation improves I will have a good idea on how to spend the money wisely :)
Even though I have a very limited budget, it's still the thrill of the chase and hunting down rare watches that does it for me. Although my collection is fairly eclectic, vintage Soviet watches are where the excitement is at as far as I'm concerned. A rare Vostok Albatros Radio Room costs 3 or 4 times what a similar common Vostok would cost but is still cheap in relative terms at about £100 to £150. I love mine and wear it more than anything else I own.
My current grail is a Poljot 3133 Nuclear. I've only ever seen 2 and neither was for sale...
Actually I've been on this site for well over 10 years and for a long time most of the discussion was around £500 and below watches - lots of Seiko, timefactors, Zeno etc. In the last few years it has all got a bit brand- conscious and 'look how much I've spent' for my liking - frankly you don't need to spend more than £200-£300 to get a great watch with a decent movement and an interesting story. I'm sure plenty will argue that as time progresses you spend more on the hobby, but personally since Rolex and Omega started asking over £3k for a steel watch I just backed out of that particular price bracket.
I like to hear about all kinds of watches but have less interest in those which cost the same as a new car! Nice to get a sensible thread - its all been getting a bit 'Paneristi' around here lately!
I agree with you 100%.
To the OP there is plenty of choices out there. Vostok, Seiko, Orient and of course our host!
Haters gonna hate, snobbers gonna snob.. you don't have to care about them, really.. just enjoy what you can afford to buy.
An opinion I share.
I think when I treat myself to something it always feels more valuable if it was hard-earned, or a bit of a stretch, than if it came easily to me - with the exception of items of sentimental value which are, obviously, priceless.
I also firmly believe that the man who sets himself a limit to what he is prepared to spend on something - be it time, money or emotional investment - generally makes the wiser choice.
A well-considered £300 watch purchase will surely bring far more REAL happiness to somebody than chucking thousands of pounds at something just because you can.
Last edited by Umbongo; 4th January 2014 at 18:59.
Plenty of great and/or interesting watches available at the lower end of the market and that is where I tend to be.
The most I've spent on any single watch was one of our hosts (PRS30) and it was way out of my comfort zone at the time. I've yet to spend that much again. I always want to feel comfortable wearing my watches and - for me - I think I'd feel a bit conscious of it if I was wearing something expensive.
It's always nice to read about the high end stuff but I often find the most interesting threads are where someone has turned up something interesting and cheap and shows it off.
It's a very interesting thread this. The forum has definitely drifted upwards in terms of average values since I joined. Not really noticed until now tbh. Thewatchforum always feels more like it did here at the start.
What a watch cost doesn't matter, surely it's value is the pleasure you receive from it!
Personally I love reading about the more expensive brands but I have never spent more than £400 on a watch which covers my Mondaine automatic and my PRS 82 but I bought a G Shock for £90 on SC last week and thinks its a great watch.
Whilst it would love a Sub C, I may never have the bottle to spend that much on a watch so for now the 8 or 9 I have give me a lot of pleasure as does reading this forum.
Ithink ive spent around 500 pounds tops and that a lot to me ,but ive flipped many watches to pay for crisis like car bills and other stuff ,if i had kept every watch i would have maybe 400.sure id like a new top watch if funds will allow but im happy with much lesser watches in value terms .Then you dont have to worry about wearing a watch freely at work or social depending how physical your job is .Then dont forget there guys on her who have collected for many years and have traded many watches to get maybe 3-5 grail watches .Im saving for something special and certainly cant see me trading it when i bank it to be honest
I've been collecting seriously for six or seven years. During that time, I was at times amassing rather than collecting - and at quite a rate. I've since trimmed a bit though.
I buy what I like at any price-point. Therefore I have watches costing a tenner to those in the thousands. To touch on a few points made already, the past couple of years have taught me :
- I enjoy my cheapest watches just as much as I do those at the other end of the scale. In fact probably moreso as it makes me feel good that such a high quality feeling/looking piece can be had for a fraction of the cost of the more exclusive brands.
- if I started collecting again, I don't need to try to buy every single one I fall in love with! Enjoy vicariously. Some watches can be enjoyed just as much by seeing photos of them or in shop windows or on somebody else's wrist.
- the thrill of the chase is the best bit. If you accept that, you can chase cheaper watches knowing that the end result is had at much lower cost to you and the pleasure derived is the same as if it had been very expensive!
- Do treat yourself with the odd more expensive purchase if that is what you desire. Spend your bonus, save for it, buy on a whim...but scratch that itch so you know if that's what you actually want - or you'll never know. Once you try, you may realise it's not for you anyway.
- To do the above, use the cheaper option of 'flipping' - use the Sales Corner when you get access and buy watches much cheaper than if you were buying new. You'll take much less of a hit and you can get to try all different types whilst you learn what you like. This can take years , mind!
One of the great things about this habit is that you don't need to buy big to gain pleasure.
Enjoy the journey.
Joined this thread pretty late but it is perfectly acceptable, easy (and refreshing) To purchase watches on a budget. There is a bit more of a chase to find those vintage watches or obscure companies from around the world than there is picking up a high street brand name everyone and his cat knows.
Russians
Tons of them about and you will find lots of people have/had a Vostok in their collection at some point. Then there is Moscow Classic which use old Russian mechanical and hand wind movements, Zarya which are about £30 on ebay, Slavia, Poljot, Strela and lots of others.
Chinese
Seagull have lots of automatic and hand wind watches plus you have Beijing and Shanghai watch companies who produce decent quality stuff.
Then there are lots of other brands out there Christopher Ward are pretty good. I have had 2 of their watches and both have been excellent quality. Their customer services is superb (I had a problem with one of my watches, they sent me a bag to send it back free of charge. Checked the watch, serviced it and even changed the strap for a brand new one for good measure!!!)
There are also the Seiko SARB watches that come in around the £300 marker. I wear mine daily its pretty good quality gains about +15 to +20 seconds a day which is within the spec of the watch.
Then there are vintage watches. If you look around hard enough you can find some cracking watches at a good price. Omega is always a good bet but also Longines, Zenith, Smiths, Hamilton.
As for Stowa, I have a Stowa antea KS. The quality is excellent gains about +5 to +7 seconds a day. I heard stuff about the Stowa straps being of poor quality and prior to it arriving I was about to pick up a Nomos strap but now its arrived I don't think I will bother at least for now because the quality is excellent. I would recommend getting a Stowa to anyone, very good customer service (Very polite and professional in their e-mails and respond within business hours) and the great thing is you don't pay until the watch is ready to be shipped.
I plan to get a Stowa partito this year, along with the more expensive Nomos Zurich or JLC Reverso.
Good luck with the watch hunting.
Pulsar and Seagull
Stowa Antea KS
Seiko SARB 33
Vintage Zenith
Hamilton pocket watch
Buy what you like at a budget that doesn't hurt and you won't go far wrong. Just remember to factor in servicing costs on anything used that you buy.
There are so many watches out there at sub £100 that you could spend your entire life sifting through them. Seiko and Citizen for instance cover all styles and tastes - and auto versus battery powered.
I already posted this on the budget watch thread (by mistake)! I am enjoying both threads very much. Maybe all the post-Christmas belt tightening has gotten people thinking about budget options?
I'm a public sector worker and I can only consider 'affordable' watches. Just out of curiosity I recently tried on a few 4 figure watches. I had an hour to kill before catching a train so I loitered in a few watch shops to take a close look at some of the Rolex and Omega's that I have been reading about on this forum. They were very nice watches but I could never justify spending the serious coin that they cost. One of the shop assistants tried to explain that if I bought a Rolex on interest free credit then it would have gone up in value by the time that I'd finished paying for it. That may be true (I don't know) but I won't be biting, not when I can get a PRS-82 for a fraction of the cost and without any of the associated guilt of such a big spend or the worry about it being lost/stolen. I'm glad that I tried the Rolex and Omegas on because now I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. I'm more than impressed by the build quality of the Smiths and Precista watches that I've handled and I think that my Speedbird has a much better bracelet than the Omega's.
Just my experience and my opinions.
Now, over a much longer period, quite probably a Rolex will go up in value (although it may need a service too), but a new (undiscounted) Rolex being worth more than you paid for it new over an interest free period? That is possibly a little optimistic at present.
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