Reply With QuoteIt wasn't until after I'd bought my 1665 that I realised the orange 24hr hand was fixed, and couldn't be set to act as a GMT hand..
We all know there are misconceptions about watches that we've probably all fallen into the trap of believing at one time or another since getting into this mad hobby. But what experiences have you had with these?
What have you bought/sold/thought about doing that's not ended up as you planned?
Have any random thoughts you've acted upon ever come off? Or was it always a disaster?
My most obvious one is somewhere in the middle.
I fell for the new Omega Snoopy, but was way too late to the party to buy one at RRP and could never justify the going-rate for one.
When the Speedy Tuesday followed, I thought "let's do it" in the hope it'd go the same way and I'd be able to afford the Snoopy.
Obviously they never reached that sort of value and now I've an untouched ST that I DO really like, but can't help think it's not a Snoopy.
In hindsight I wouldn't have bothered and could (should?) have let someone who loved the ST have it but I've not really lost out as I could easily get my money back if I ever needed it. I would act differently now both with myself and others in mind.
So what are your naive watch activities - have any been disastrous and have any worked out?
It wasn't until after I'd bought my 1665 that I realised the orange 24hr hand was fixed, and couldn't be set to act as a GMT hand..
"....and then, many years later, I realised what a spanner I was for confusing the Sea-Dweller 1665 with the Explorer II 1655...."Originally Posted by gcleminson
I used to like you
Milgauss GV. broke my own rule one time and one time only.
2009 from an AD, specifically bought because i thought it might be half decent investment for the future, at the time i wasn't all that fussed about the model, only time i have bought a watch with investment in mind
Never ever wore it. Regret it, watches are to be worn and to make matters worse i really warmed to the model but in for a penny in for a pound
Last edited by watch-nut; 23rd June 2020 at 12:07.
Sorry! If it makes you feel better, I have made that boob myself a few times
In winter of 1994/1995 and while still a student at St. Andrews, I became aware of a Rolex Cosmograph 6263/0 at a pawnbrokers and bought it for £1,450. Think the case number was 5529917.
I liked the watch, but was aware there was money to be made. Spoke with a London dealer who was advertising that he wanted to buy them, but because of the distance he put me onto a chap more local to me. This was the fatal step. He recommended me to Andrew Batchelor, the "Glasgow Goldfinger," "Menace of Mayfair" --- or, let's face it, simple low-life crook with curious lifestyle choices : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-3rd-time.html
We met in The Old Course Hotel bar, a place I had threatened previously only with my driver on the 17th tee, and sold it to him, though retaining title to the watch until paid in full. Trusted him because he had been recommended. After many months I ended up with perhaps half of what I was owed, but never saw the watch again and continued to chase him for money for ages, as did many others. Hadn't lost over all, but missed a small profit (such a watch was well below £5k at the time). Of course, now I'd rather have the watch back (and would still claim title to it).
In some ways a good lesson to experience early in life without taking too bad a knock. As for Andrew Batchelor, sometime visitor to this forum, karma has been a regular visitor to his life thereafter.
Last edited by Haywood_Milton; 23rd June 2020 at 12:21.
Proper no-clue rookie error:
Thought I'd spotted a pre-war fliegernow know its a modern confection based on a genuinely old Junghans pocket watch. I've been told someone in the Ukraine creates these.
Could have been worse, I suppose: I paid microbrand prices, it works perfectly, keeps good time, the case is silver and the 1920s-style tooling on it is very nice, and overall it's in great condition.
[there are 2 hands, but I also can't take photos...]
Naive watch activity ?
Like leaving expensive mechanicals or solar recharge quartz in a draw for years and then finding out that its a very bad idea.
Yes i have done this and now i know its a costly mistake not to use watches regularly.
In my early days had a good run of luck sourcing vintage Rolex from abroad, the one that didn't go so well was a double-red SD repeat order from an Italian seller when a bloody 1675 GMT turned up (due to alleged brain fart at his end sending the DRSD to the GMT buyer who then disappeared). Anyway sorted that out financially on a deal to keep the 1675 then I made the big blunder of sending it to St. James's for service whereby the dial turned out to be glued on and had gummed up the movement, they could only break it off so I said go ahead. Replaced it with a modern service dial and hands costing a couple hundred.
The 1675 was a pointed crown guards gilt chapter ring with the small GMT hand...
Still got it, it bugs me so much I've held onto it as a memento of pain and anguish
Kickstarter watches.
I've got two, but I'll never buy another.
The first was the CJR Airspeed - That funky looking watch that looks 'a tiny bit' like a Ressence with an acrylic case and dome.
To be honest there's nothing really wrong with it. For a while I thought it was suffering the case cracking that was reported, but I'm pretty sure it isn't now and, having just spent the morning with watches on my Timegrapher, it's reporting +2s/d, which is more than acceptable. However, I waited ages after paying and when it finally arrived I did wear it quite a bit, but after the cracking was reported and I never got any reply from them, I pretty much stopped and it's very rarely worn now.
The second time I was lured in was by the Schaffen S65 - That watch that looks very like an IWC and to be honest, it is a lovely looking watch.
Mine was one of the first and even featured in the their PR for a while, with my personalisation (The Matterhorn mountain) featuring.
The trouble (once it finally arrived) was that, still in warranty, the mechanism seized. They offered to take it back OK, but I wondered if I'd ever see it again, given their slightly unenthusiastic response to my emails and videos. So it now lays, unusable and unworn in its box. One day I will get it repaired, but my enthusiasm for it is severely dented, which is a shame as, in reality, the movement is just a bought in part and seemingly well known for the fault it displays!
I won't ever buy a Kickstarter watch again.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Thinking that the last three watches I purchased would finally complete my collection.
Currently negotiating the purchase of the very final watch to complete my collection.
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Unfortunate, that. I mean it sounds like you got a decent watch the first time and the 2nd it might have been worth giving them the chance to rectify. I've bought 8 watches via Kickstarter. One is still in the offing and only one has been an unmitigated disaster, and even that one there is now a pledge (albeit 2 years after it was supposed to be delivered), that I'll get a refund. That taught me a lesson not to buy anything from KS that hasn't been reviewed independently by some of the many excellent microbrand independent review sites. Since then I've, touch wood, been fine. Don't let your (seemingly not-so-bad?) experiences put you off. There's some genuine quality on KS.
nearly paid £20 & postage more for a 40mm everest on evil bay than Eddy sells them for. Waiting for next shop open window.
:)))
Think pretty much all my watch related decisions are naive, as I've no profit in mind when I buy them or when I sell them.
Maybe, but I'm put off.
I won't not buy a watch that was launched via Kickstarter, but I'll buy a used example from someone later...
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Getting Christian Dannemann to service a £25 ebay Seiko
...buying a (fairly-expensive) all-the-bells-&-whistles G-Shock & realising, on receipt, that I couldn't read the thing when it was on my wrist. I could only see its digital read-out when:
a. squinting through my reading glasses with the watch within six inches of my left eye.
b. laying it on a surface & retreating about six feet, when it became legible.
'Twas sold at a resounding loss to a work-colleague who loved it...
______
Jim.
I find that Kickstarter is hit or miss in general. If the person has no demonstrated history of releasing new products to market, be very wary.
My Kickstarter watch was only a few months late (Covid and the usual manufacturing issues) and I quite like it. Thankfully my wife likes it even more than I do, so I feel less guilty about buying it if she takes it.
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As a rejoinder to the Kickstarter comments, I'm a couple of mildly-disappointing watches into learning not to buy watches that are pictured only with graphic renders on websites and adverts, rather than actual photos
My immediate thought when I read the OP was... Kickstarter and specifically the CJR Airspeed.
I think I’m right in saying that there were three forum members who bought one...snowman, Steve Harris and me. I was utterly seduced by the resemblance to a Ressence thing - the reality was that it felt light and flimsy. Everything I dislike in a watch, in other words.
I was lucky in that I never fell foul of the case cracking problem and in fact I sold it before it was widely publicised.
Mmmm, I’ve just realised that I sold it on SC... I hope you don’t hate me, GOAT...
Simon
Care to expand?
Not sure I have any particularly good naive stories really, by luck rather than judgement!
Have been incredibly lucky in buying watches on eBay, when I really didn't have any idea about things, all have been fine though. Probably flipped a little excessively early on, hunting for the 'next best thing'... Have calmed down that little naive activity these days!
I may have ended up with that watch and it went back to CJR for a replacement case. Just checked my messages and all came flooding back about the lack of customer service from CJR and that they admitted prioritising new sales rather than fixing problems with the watches they had already sold.My immediate thought when I read the OP was... Kickstarter and specifically the CJR Airspeed.
I think I’m right in saying that there were three forum members who bought one...snowman, Steve Harris and me. I was utterly seduced by the resemblance to a Ressence thing - the reality was that it felt light and flimsy. Everything I dislike in a watch, in other words.
I was lucky in that I never fell foul of the case cracking problem and in fact I sold it before it was widely publicised.
Mmmm, I’ve just realised that I sold it on SC... I hope you don’t hate me, GOAT
Simon
Given my experiences with them, I hope they are no longer trading as it really soured the experience for me - I could see that they had read my messages and just couldn’t be bothered to respond, and in the end got a rather rude response from them.
I chose an automatic Speedmaster Legend for my graduation instead of the Submariner LV that my mum wanted to get for me. The speedmaster is unreliable and now barely worn.
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I sold a PP Aquanaut 5167 for £15k because I needed the money at the time. Now wish I’d sold my car instead. I also realise I’ll likely never get another Aquanaut, at least not unless the prices drop by half (which seems unlikely) :(
I sold a 1968 Tudor Sub with fat font bezel and a slightly tatty Snowflake ( with badly relumed dial that James Hyman could have sorted) knowing full well I'd be able to find a nice Snowflake for £2k. That didn't work out well. In fact I sold a few watches before prices went crazy, knowing if I changed my mind I could always buy another. See Autavia GMT (and various other Autavias), red Sub, Tudor Big Block and so on. I also bought a Heuer Camaro without first checking the size of the thing, that didn't last long (too small).
"A man of little significance"
What happens if a mechanical watch is left for years? I’ve left reasonably expensive mechanical watches for a few years and haven’t noticed anything wrong with them, but will avoid doing so in future if it causes problems.
Generally, buying watches new and selling them for a 50% loss when I came to flip them.
I know for many that’s integral to the hobby but I won’t do it anymore; except the odd g-shock, which I don’t mind losing <£100 on.
Buying a Tag I wasn't 100% sure I was going to like thinking "its a valuable watch, i can always move it forward."
I guess this applies to any watch that's not a a forum / facebook favorite.
Ooft loads, I don't think naivety necessarily rather than some watches hitting the stratosphere shortly after id sold them which is the luck of the draw.
Two worst selling regrets are 5167a and 1665 great white.
I tried a couple of boutique brands in the early days and absolutely loathed them instantly so moved on at a slight loss just to get rid.
I originally joined this forum when I was a novice after buying a planet ocean which was described by a fairly well known reviewing blog to have a bi directional bezel. I remember being alarmed that mine was uni-directional so asking the forum for advice was my first post. Got me well laughed at but I didn't leave after the drubbing (apologies for that).. I think that PO was eventually the first watch I sold on here.
When I first got interested, back in 1994, I bought an 18ct gold watch with a quartz movement in the belief that it was mechanical.
I bought a watch with a broken balance staff, it ran OK dial up but that was all.
I bought a 60s Omega Dynamic from German ebay with a blue dial, my poor translation skills led me to believe it was black (strap was black), blame Mr Beer for that one.
All in the distant past, fortunately I wised up!
I definitely fell for "Wow, this revered vintage Seiko looks to be in great condition and is really cheap, what a steal!" only to afterward realize that it riddled with AM parts at least once.
Last edited by JimSclavunos; 25th June 2020 at 09:30.
Friends don't let friends bid drunk.
Wound up and instead of having 40 hours power reserve it just stops half way through like it got jammed or something.
Thats what happened to me anyway and it was a £1K hand winder watch so nothing too fancy.
Was working 100% perfect before i put it way so the only explination is being left idle.
I have to agree with this - you can get some very good watches on Kickstarter at a much reduced price - for instance the Ianos Avyssos I got from Kickstarter for about £660, whereas if I wanted to buy ir now I'd gave to pay about £1,060. It's a great watch.
Sold my first Rolex, a 5513, for £500 when I first landed, fresh off the boat. I was desperate then to get a watch with a sapphire crystal :-(
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Shipping parcels to Israel. Already lost vintage Squale, now another parcel is somewhere.
a pang of sympathy for you there - similar feeling on
my part. But at least I have a lovely VC instead.
Tag aswell here...
Bought a quartz tag chrono in the early 2000s when you were nobody without a TAG.
Watch was stolen a few years later but I suspect was worth pittance
For sure been there !
I'm not sure this qualifies as naivete, but it certainly took me a while to realize that "mid-size" actually means "very small".
I once asked a member here what the difference was between a mk1 and mk2 Speedmaster!
I was duped by Page & Cooper in to letting them service one of my Sinns when they said it was their "in-house" department and that they were the authorised Sinn service centre in the UK, so would take half the time if it went home to Frankfurt. It took 11 months and eventually went back to Sinn in Germany to sort it out. The most major foul up was that they managed to damage the case back just opening it. Sinn remarked that that was almost impossible if they used Sinn tools, so they restored it for free, even though they did ask whether I might have caused the damage myself! That was the occasion I sat in the office at P&C and asked what stock they could show me....
I've also bought some real dogs from e-bay. Why, oh why?
My most recent transgression was responding to a WTB from someone who was a covert dealer. I think in hindsight that all the clues were there.
Still much to learn
Happened to me too. Agreed to buy a midsize Seamaster from SC and when I met up with the seller in a coffee shop, only then did I realise how small it was. I didn’t want to let him down so went through with the deal and my other half ended up with a new watch that day...
I used to let chronograph running all the time...
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