Reply With QuoteIf you believe in keeping expensive watches unworn in a safe, you may as well leave your money in the bank. Wear or don't buy.
Bit of an open ended question, and very relative to how much you spend on watches
But for daily wear - do people have a watch brand/models that because they cost more then e.g. 8k£, or are exclusive that they don't get that much wear.
To maintain condition of watches, aside from servicing/polishing do people have any 'tips' to minimize damage. After all they are meant to be worn/used
If you believe in keeping expensive watches unworn in a safe, you may as well leave your money in the bank. Wear or don't buy.
Hard to know until comes to real life,I've found from experience that I'm not that happy with a 5k watch .
I believe that by 'suitable for daily wear' the determining factor would be how much you could bear to lose or damage the watch in question.
For myself this can be hard to measure in financial terms as I could afford to both buy and insure my watches!
Far more difficult is sentimental value; to this end I'd far rather lose or damage an expensive Rolex that I've bought than my dads old TAG Heuer 2000 watch which is worth far less financially but far more sentimentally.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Probably as open ended a question as its possible to ask! But a good 'un nevertheless.
Apart from massive variance in disposable incomes, there are countless other variables such as hobbies, sports, jobs, attitude to risk etc etc that will affect what people wear day to day.
For myself, I'd happily wear my Black Bay or Alpinist daily everywhere, they both have a few slight knocks and dings, so are simply enjoyed and not babied. But my factory job building and testing car engines would soon have either battered horribly. So it's a thirty quid Timex for me (until Friday comes along of course).
I wouldn't own a watch that I wouldn't be happy to wear every day so that makes the range pretty broad.
Not v helpful but true from my perspective.
I think the qbove comments sum it up, a lot depends on your job and daily routine. If you work with your hands you're far more likely to mark/damage a watch and to me it makes no sense to spoli something expensive. I used to wear a Seiko 5 that cost me £35, it looked smart enough but I didn't mind it getting the odd scrape or two.
It's impossible to generalise based on value; some of the expensive modern watches could be fixed if they got damaged (new case, new bracelet, new bezel etc) but for many vintage watches this isn't an option; a 60s Omega worth £500 could be harder to restore if it got damaged than a new Rolex costing 10x the price.
I disagree with the 'if it lives in a sage you might as well not own it' comments, I get pleasure from owning watches that rarely see the light of day.........that's the collector's mentality and some don't get it.
Paul
Absolutely any watch - up to and including all the Rolex sports watches (for cost).
It's what they were made for.
I have watches I don't wear often Paul, but not for the reasons posted - cost, fear of wear/damageetc. I also don't go with specific watches for holiday, nights out, walking down a street in fear of mugging - I just wear what I want, when I want to.Originally Posted by walkerwek1958
I only choose not to wear a watch when conditions dictate. When I go mountain biking I am not about to wear any of my mechanical pieces (£150 - £4000) I am sure they would be fine, but I will not put them at a known risk of some damage. Other than that I just pick whatever I think will suit what I wear. It is a fancy piece of metal made to wear.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
If you have a lovely watch and don’t wear it, it’s a bit like not shagging your girlfriend to save her for the next guy. Get it worn, whatever the value.
Its one type of collectors mentality.
Some collectors like to use their watches for the purpose that they were invented for.
There are also collectors who's habits have the audacity to vary outwith those parameters too.
Some don't get it.
As others have said, it depends on your job. I'm office based, 15 minutes from home in a pretty safe location, I'd be comfortable wearing a watch of any value.
I work in an office so feel all of my watches to be safe for 'daily wear' and very much enjoy wearing them in rotation. However weekends with the kids I tend to stick to my G-Shock GW-5000 or my Speedbird 3 on a NATO.
Absolutely!
It's just a matter of time...
I used to work in am environment where there was a fair risk of a watch being damaged to some extent, and I still wore any piece without worry. No point leaving the good ones in the safe. That being said, I wear my g shock for mountain biking/gardening/property maintenance work.
Sent from my SM-G920F using TZ-UK mobile app
Personally I choose not to wear some of my watches when I am woodturning/knifemaking/fixing the car/stickmaking/fishing/knife-sharpening/digging over the allotment, etc.
This is just my choice, as I can't see the point of needlessly exposing a nice object to my general clumsiness and ham-fistedness. Instead I'll stick the Seiko beater on and stop worrying.
Rightly or wrongly, as I've aged I've found that the appreciation of rarity, sentimentality and residual values has altered my perception.
At the back of my mind I can always hear my wife asking "what on earth made you......"
Why am I not surprised that you disagree with me........
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 21st September 2017 at 23:38.
The more it costs the more I wear it because the more I like it, or I wouldn't have bought it.
Its an interesting question.
90% of my wear is either my G-Shock, or my Explorer II that was 10 years old when I got it. The Explorer was deliberately bought as a watch I could wear without getting too precious about it, and came from a shortlist of 114270, 16570 and (1)16233, so £3-3500. My 16610 I used to wear a lot and dived with it, but since service it is almost unworn. Its a bit too expensive for me to wear casually, and it would be very hard to replace with one in its condition. My Speedy Pro I'm still trying to bond with....
I think £5000 is my reluctant to wear point. And I've just bought a second G-Shock.
Dave
I wear and don't worry, as many have said thats what they are for and why we buy them. Another example is that I have a very lovely vintage VW camper van and it's a real show piece. Many people say to me 'are you not worried someone will scratch it' and my answer is always 'yes, but there is no point me owning it if I can't take it out and enjoy it'
Wear what you have and enjoy (but be careful not to let anyone scratch it)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I probably have around 25 watches, with at least half being older Speedmasters and Heuers. These older watches are individually worth a fair bit but I'm totally relaxed about using them on a regular basis, as they all have a degree of wear or patina already. I have a couple of Heuer Pasadenas that see regular, everyday use and my '68 Speedmaster Transitional is worn at least once or twice most weeks. My working environment is mostly office based and, while I don't particularly cosset my watches, I am not naturally abusive of any of my possessions. Consequently I'm happy to wear any of my watches on an everyday basis, regardless of their cost / value.
For my normal day-to-day activities I will happily wear a £100 watch, or a £10,000 watch.
Just whatever i feel like wearing really, cheap or expensive. If im going to do something like gardening or work on the car, I just take it off, then when finished and washed up put it back on.
As to something like gold then i wouldnt wear for work just because its too showey, not that it would get damaged.
I do have a number i have never worn and probably never will, just like to look at them from time to time.
I am a bit more selective as regards what I wear during DIY car maintenance these days
Totally depends on what I'm up to.
I aint wearing any of my better watches when I go motocross at the weekends , that's for sure !
I also feel some people judge me differently if I'm wearing a better watch in the industry im in .
That said the one I feel most comfortable with for every dya work wear is just my cheap little Tissot T Race. I don't know why, I just love that little watch and its the cheapest I own which shows its not the value of the watch that really counts.
Really I think most watches could be a daily wearers, unless they’re on their last legs, secure in the knowledge that the next service will sort them out. The exceptions might be irreplaceable vintage pieces that you never want to re-finish. It’s more a question of which ones you’d choose to wear for the daily grind, if you have a collection and there’s a choice in the morning. Then the more hard wearing, or replaceable ones might get used more often, and the special ones might get worn when your really feel like it or there’s something worth dressing up for - the same as clothes, you don’t wear a tuxedo on the way to the gym. Most watches could be daily wearers though, unless your job would trash them. I must admit I do take my watches off when I’m working at home. No point in scratching up the clasp just from typing when you’re in your own house. They go on one of those leather booklets that came out of one of the watch boxes, that sits next the keyboard. Visitors have been known to give me funny looks though!
Last edited by Itsguy; 22nd September 2017 at 08:36.
Agree, while I don't get it, my dad collects stamps and medals. He obviously doesn't go around wearing the medals but has joy from owning them.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Normal daily wear, all mine are suitable regardless of price.
Gardening or workshop duty bring on the Seiko 200m 'hardman' of the watch drawer. 👷🏻
I own a range from Seiko solar quartz through to Lange's 1815 up/down and cycle, randomly but roughly equally, between them - unless my activities/location (e.g.seaside) suggest sticking to sports or beater watches. But I guess that 'collectors' might be as happy (or happier) just looking at/admiring/sharing their largely unworn treasures - obsessions come in many forms!
It's easy to forget what the purpose of a watch is when you get caught up in the whole collecting mentality. Ended up with some rare and expensive watches over the years (thanks to TZ and its members), but realised for me there was a limit as to what I felt was comfortable price wise to wear combined with worry of damage due to rarity. Ended up with a bunch of "safe queens". Subsequently lost my passion for watches and ended up selling the lot over the last 2 years.
Where am I now? Loving the less expensive and I don't need to worry about their rarity or cost. However, still love vintage Rolex so will probably get myself another at some point, but £5k max would be my limit (special enough but not precious enough so it can be worn all the time).
I will happily wear anything I can afford, and anything which cost very little too. They are all just watches in the end.
If I started worrying, I would just sell the watch. For me, the only point is to wear them. So not really a collector. And I try to remind myself that these things, however lovely, are just toys for grown ups. They are not 'real life'.
Sent from my iPad using TZ-UK mobile app
Last edited by paskinner; 22nd September 2017 at 09:58.
Well I worn my Sinn U2 for over 10 years straight in all sorts of environments. The U2 @ currently over 2k isn't the most expensive, but neither is it a "cheap" watch.
At the moment I'm wearing my new Sinn U1000 (cost 3.6k) for work and a Seiko diver "Air-Diver" .....
Sinn make proper Tool Watches, which are meant to be worn. My U2 has been serviced and will be coming back over from Germany next month when my Sister visits.
I'm a bit more careful with my U1000 because it is "new".... but I'm sure that it is just as though as my U2 which looks fantastic considering what it has been through.
My only reservation now is a trip to Kenya later this year, I'd love to take my U2 and add another country to the list of places it has been.... but I suspect that there is a fairly high chance of getting mugged or worse. So I'll probably get a Timex or maybe one of Timefactors offerings..... something that is under the radar or could reluctantly been sacrificed.....
My current collection contains pieces ranging from £60 to £4k, all of which I'm happy to wear on a daily basis. That's just me though, each to their own I say.
Ryan
I only wear Rolex, this is one occasion when I agree with Archie Luxury - don't do shitters, what is the point in wearing rubbish.
Unless you watch one of his latest vids where he admits he error on GS's
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
If I had a well known expensive watch I wouldn't wear it anywhere there might be thieves about. Had a friend who woke up sans Omega after being drugged in central London. But that might come down to the watch recognition factor rather than price.
My system for looking after watches:
1. When doing anything you don't normally do - put on a casio.
2. Put in a watchbox at night not on bedside table.
3. Only take on and off over a soft surface such as bed.
4. Wear smaller, thinner watches!
5. Wear natos often to preserve straps/bracelets.
6. Don't be tempted to take your watch apart.
7. Don't change straps when you're in a bad mood.
8. Wear the casio to the beach/swimming even though you've got divers!
9. Never put your watch in the glove box of a hot car.
10. Don't try and invent new ways of cleaning your watch.
11. Don't start wearing nice watches until you've grown out of binge drinking/partying hard.
Tend to be with the "buy it to wear " camp.
A Rolex OP at present but I work in an office.
I have heard of people wearing a Rolex on building sites for 20 years or more but that could be an internet myth.
When I do any DIY (very rarely,I assure you) or go shooting,then I will probably switch to my Seiko solar quartz or Timefactors Seafire (a super value watch I am finding BTW).
I used to be reluctant to wear my more expensive watches, but I realised that they were just sitting there collecting dust.
I didn't want to sell them so now I wear all of my watches and just rotate them.
Normally if I know I'm going to be in a suit during the week I'll save one of my nicer ones for then.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Although I tend not to wear my Rolex when doing pay negotiations...
My SDc4000 is by far the most expensive watch I own - I love everything about it and rarely take it off. It's not pristine but that makes the odd knock easier to take.
Just switched the strap on my Heuer Carrera Re-Edition, as the other (3yrs old) was getting a bit grim. Such a smart and understated little watch I wear it very regularly.
Just gorgeous 👏
As others have said in various ways above, I don't think that there's any absolute right or wrong answer, it's all relative to what you do in your day...
I also wear all my watches on a daily basis from a G-Shock to Nautilus.
But I think there is a sweet spot, I feel very relaxed about wearing a sports Rolex but once we head into PP territory the potential damage or loss risk does negatively affect the wearing experience.
So I would say a 4k-5k cap. I think a SMP is my definition of comfort level. Iconic, not showy, easily replaceable (liquid), good value/price point. I have the GMT version on rubber at present.
I wouldn't buy a watch I wouldn't wear on a daily basis. There are no safe queens in my collection. The value of the watch doesn't make any difference in my wearing.
Get yourself a nice Rolex sports model. You won't look back.
UOTE=dng992;4500503]Bit of an open ended question, and very relative to how much you spend on watches
But for daily wear - do people have a watch brand/models that because they cost more then e.g. 8k£, or are exclusive that they don't get that much wear.
To maintain condition of watches, aside from servicing/polishing do people have any 'tips' to minimize damage. After all they are meant to be worn/used[/QUOTE]
Posting Permissions
