Great looking collection. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thought I would do a review as i'm a few years in to collecting high end and many years in on lower end ones. 2014 saw me flip a lot of watches, I have just been buying what I like, no particular focus to my collection which has been enjoyable and not bothered me previously.
I have had a cause for a rethink which I have been mulling over for the last month. Its been bought around by a few things, my wife is pregnant for the first time and seems selfish and quite possibly not viable to keep spending such sums of money as we will lose her income and I will have added expenses, also in the short term I expect my priorities will shift from spending my nights hunting and reading about watches to a baby in the house :)
Not only the above but all the talk of further price increases due to the swiss currency crises just puts me off, I don't want to get into whether its needed or justifiable on the manufactures' end but the thought of prices going up a further 10-20% just puts me right off. A lot of the watches we buy already cannot be justified on the prices they are asking which we accept most of the time but its just going too far for me. I'm not ruling out further high end swiss watches in the future but just not right now and certainly not at the same rate.
So what am I going to do, well..... Keeping some of my Rolex's, Daytona and DSSD etc but Seiko started off my watch collecting fascination and that's where i'm going to focus my collection for now. Pieces such as an MM300 and the Grand Seikos starting off with a SBGX009. Seiko have been doing watches a long time at all levels and I really like a lot of what they do. We'll see how that goes :)
To give some perspective on my current collection these are the watches I have had and sold in the last 2 years:
Omega Aqua Terra
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch
Rolex Explorer II 16570
Zenith Pilot Big Date Special
Dreadnought Voyager GMT x 2
Tudor Heritage Black Bay x 2
Rolex Submariner 14060
Omega Seamaster 2254
Panerai Luminor Marina
Zenith El Primero 410 Ltd Ed
Breitling Avenger II Seawolf
Rolex Yacht-Master 16622
Rolex Explorer II 216570
Rolex Submariner 14060
Omega Speedmaster 45th Apollo Limited Edition
Rolex Submariner 114060
Omega Aqua Terra Co-axial 38.5mm
H Moser & Cie Limited Edition
Blancpain Fifity Fathoms Aqua Lung Limited Edition
Panerai Luminor 0061 C
Rolex Yacht-Master 16622
Bremont ALT1 Z/CR
Tudor Heritage Chrono
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape
Breguet Type XX Aeronvale
Rolex Explorer II 216570
Glashutte Original Sport Evolution Panodate
Longines Conquest
Rolex Explorer 114270
Rolex Datejust
On to some pictures, here's a group shot:
My Rolex Submariner TT is currently away with Rolex having a service and a new bracelet. Don't have a picture on photobucket but you all know what they look like. This may get sold on its return.
Starting with the cheapies that I have which are all kept purely for sentimental reasons.
Casio quartz from my sister 14 years ago:
Rotary Aquaspeed quartz from my wife about 7 years ago:
Seiko quartz chronograph from my parents about 12 years ago and my daily wearer for nearly a decade:
Tissot PR100 quartz which belonged to my grandfather:
Swatch quartz from parents, about 7 years ago:
The classic Seiko auto diver, killer lume, rugged tool watch and generally awesome for the price:
On to the higher end Swiss pieces, starting with a 2007 Rolex Daytona in stainless steel, picked this up from London, was a few years old but unworn and still with the stickers on, I wore this on my wedding day:
Longines conquest diver with a reliable ETA movement bought by my wife and given to me whilst on honeymoon, I love this watch, a real tool watch and goes with everything and no fuss:
Picked this one up late last year as I wanted to try them. People are always really for or against Hublots as they can take the piss with their RRPs and special editions but I the best lies in the Big Bang collection and I got this one at a sensible 41mm and its just a really cool watch, nothing ground breaking just a modern watch with a cool construction. Hublot pioneered the rubber strap (not sure what else they have done :) ) and its easily the best I have ever worn, so comfy. I am going to sell this one to put a bit of money back in for the baby finances:
My latest piece is the Rolex Deepsea D Blue dial. Dedicated to James Camerons dive to the Marianas trench. Although not a limited edition the distribution is controlled so not the easiest to pick up straight away, especially in Guernsey we only have one Rolex AD and didn't want to pay over RRP on ebay or chrono24 etc. It wears much better than expected as they are a chunky watch and 44mm isn't over the top. The bracelet is a big improvement over other in the line up such as a Submariner, the adjustment on the clasp is first class. Although I will never use the technology I love the fact its all in there. The dial is just mesmerizing if you catch it in the right light:
Next up is the Zenith Stratos El primero flyback chronograpgh. Not had this long and it is up on SC as it wears to large for me but I wanted to try it as I really admire Zenith watches, the El Primero movement is beautiful and legendary. Zenith chronos are one of the best out there and having the flyback on the chrono is a nice complication to have. The rubber strap is amazingly comfy as is the Hublots. The dial has a great sunburst effect in the right light and the blue is really vivid and vibrant.
So looking to shift a few piesces and bring a few Seikos in and really looking forward to trying some Grand Seikos.
Thanks for reading.
James
Last edited by champagne_james; 25th January 2015 at 15:35.
Great looking collection. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Nice selection. Hublot looks very nice.
Nice looking watches there James
You've sold a lot of nice watches to get to where you are! Nice collection- I'm really liking the hublot!
Really nice James. Thanks for sharing. Actually really like the Hublot...
Thanks for the positive comments guys.
Out of all the Hublots I thing that model of the Big Bang is the best, not overstated or in your face but still cool!
I wouldn't say the watches I have now are particularly better than others I have owned in the past but it's been a journey. The only 'regret' I may have but it's not a huge one is the Blancpain FF, that was a great watch. At the end of it they are only possessions and can always be replaced :)
Lovely collection there. And the first Hublot I have found good looking too!
Good luck with the little nipper, truly a great adventure and worth all the time and money they take from you.
Hey... First off many congratulations James... As a dad of three, I can confirm that it is all good! (Well, mostly!!!)
The zenith does it for me from your collection... Will never understand why you dropped the Moser?!!!