Reply With QuoteWell i've just dropped a non-refundable deposit on the Eterna Kontiki Bronze without seeing it. Now that you mention it, it is a bit bonkers!
There are plenty of watches out there where it's easy to visit an AD, try out a variety of styles and brands, and make a decision. But in the crazy WIS world, there are lots of watches not readily available to buy from a local dealer, and the chances of ever seeing one 'in the wild' let alone trying one on, are remote. So you take a punt with a few hundred (or thousand) quid and hope for the best. My nomination - which i happen to own - is the Sinn U1. But what other watches, even those that are pretty common on tz-uk, have you bought without ever laying eyes on outside the internet?
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Well i've just dropped a non-refundable deposit on the Eterna Kontiki Bronze without seeing it. Now that you mention it, it is a bit bonkers!
For me was the MM300, until relatively recently could not be seen at an AD. I ended up being disappointed with it and swiftly moved it on actually...
Every single watch I've bought has been bought unseen. From Vostok to Hamilton to omega to Rolex. Nothing i hate more than visiting jeweler's or watch shops.
MM300 for sure.
I read the title on Tapatalk and immediately thought
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I struggle to remember the last watch that I bought after seeing it in the flesh and handling it etc. The majority are bought on the strength of photos and write ups etc - the curse of SC, waiting lists and watches bought from the US and the Far East, although I am going to stop that - been stung with import duties, VAT and handling charges too many times leading to an inevitable loss when flipping.
My Speedy Tuesday is being delivered to David M Robinson in Liverpool One, so I will see that, but again that is another done deal based on pictures and the hype on here that panicked me into clicking the yes button
Same here - nearly every one has been bought on the strength of internet photos etc
(I did see a Speedmaster the same as mine through a shop window 40 years ago but it took me until last year to buy one)
Rolex I have seen in the flesh, everything else based on internet information.
I bet most Seiko divers are never handled before purchase
Dave
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Just about any watch from any microbrand.
I must admit the one that immediately came to mind was the mm300. I really fancy a better class of Seiko Diver but never seen or held one! - now I come to think of it, any watch that regularly appears on this list must mark the wearer instantly out as a WIS. Another probable culprit is the Casio gw5000, anything Damasko - anything reasonably easy to try on doesn't count - and much as I agree it isn't always possible to try on eg another limited edition speedy, if you try on a vanilla version and like it you're not taking that much of a gamble are you? - takes a large set of cojones to spend a few thousand pounds on something you may or may not like imho, is that part of the attraction i wonder?
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For me it was mm300, sbgm021, Prometheus Piranha, and Dagaz Typhoon. Now all flipped. And a vast variety of Seiko 5's etc.
The 5712, I waited 2 years without seeing one in the flesh, when I finally arrived at the PP London that sunny Afternoon I was a little nervous, I spent some time looking at it through the box twisting and turning it, I remember thinking WTF have I done.
To say I was underwhelmed at first would be correct.
It's only the PAM I was unsure of (hence gone already, swapped for the other two), the other two are pretty common / popular units anyway, so even if I wasn't keen I wouldn't have lost on them if I were to sell on
I bought this one off this forum having never handled or even seen an LW in real life. I just really liked it as it's different.
Most popular, hmm, I bought various Swatch watches with mechanical automatic movements over the web.
In terms of most valuable, a Nomos Club Automat.
Almost all of my watches have been bought new or used face to face with dealers in Asia. Better to browse a huge range of watches, let pieces jump out of the glass cases and to get everything on the wrist to see if it really speaks to you. I think the only exceptions were a Black Bay (face to face at Iconic), a Sinn U1T (face to face at a dealer in Hamburg), a Sinn 556i and Tudor Ranger (eBay) and a brace of cheapy Chinese Seagulls from internet dealers on Chinese Taobao.
I've had it a week, and I could not be happier.
IMG_1073 copy by Dave in Wales, on Flickr
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