Have you gone from affordable to luxury and back again?

[Neil.C]

Just wear what you enjoy.

I think its nice to try out cheaper brands to see if you like the style of a certain brand (I have had about 2 Precista watches and 2 Panerai homage watches to see if I really want to buy a Panerai and I am still undecided!)

Its nice to have a watch of a certain price that you are are not too bothered if it gets a knock or a scratch.

Its nice to have something a bit special you have worked towards, you may not wear it all the time but its a nice little reminder all the same.

Micro brands have gone up in price but there are still a few little gems still out there (Zeno, Serica to name a few)

There will always be another watch more expensive than the one you own (Stowa, Dornbluth, Lange....Rolex, Blancpain......) Why bother worrying about it?

A Rolex can make someone feel good because they feel it gives them a bit of status or even it has a special memory. A Timex or a vintage Accurist may do just the same because it belong to a family member or it was a first watch someone owned.

Life is too short to get worked up over these kinds of things.

Wise words.

Some people really can get bent out of shape about other people's watches.

Silly really.

[James.uk]

Yes.

Started with Seiko and Zeno… then Breitling and Rolex… ended up buying one of every sports model. In some cases even more than one to have each version / dial colours etc…

Then the prices went nuts and they all got sent to the Bank. This was combined with my area of south London getting more London like ( if you know what I mean ) so I’ve been selling a few and not wearing the remaining ones…

I’ve rediscovered less costly watches and mostly wear a Zeno or a Citizen each day. The last watch I bought was a Seiko.


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[pacifichrono]

Yes, me too. Started on a small budget, both affordables and simple vintage pieces. Graduated to Heuer, Omega, and Rolex. Now in my mid-'70s I've sold most and just rely on a few modest favorites. This is usually my daily wearer these days:

[Der Amf]

2013 Nivrel
2015 Max Bill
2018 Presage
2019 Globemaster
2020 Tangente
2022 PRX quartz

Guess that's a yes?

The Omega and the Nomos, it felt like I was there for their benefit, not great for daily wearers. I'm not allowed to buy anything especially nice until I can prove myself capable of mistreating it.

[YCymro]

The last watch I bought new was a Casio that cost me 49€, but the watch before that was about a 1000 times more. I haven’t got into the mega-expensive watches.

Surely, €49,000 is mega expensive?

[Rod]

Most of my watches are in the £120 to £500 bracket which do for me.
My signature (which I can't edit)shows more expensive ones, most have which have gone bar a couple of Omegas.
I've no desire to buy above £500 as I get no more enjoyment from what I have.
Changing a strap/look can give me that buzz😁.
I'm increasingly wearing Garmin sport/ smart watches too.

[Passenger]

Never left the affordables...when I was approaching 30 and looked semi seriously at Rolex...the reward/ made it notion, iirc entry cost was only about 1k to 2k, it didn't feel like the right time because I was still drinking to excess, blackouts, shenanigans so it seemed imprudent, the odds of breaking, losing or having it nicked too high...Nowadays I've grown up a bit, the only one I'd wear is discontinued and appears to go for silly money above rrp...can't be bovvered and they're just watches...guess I'm simply not towards the top end of the WIS spectrum, I'll live. Oh, and of course if you want to make a few quid, investments, there's better ways.

[stevecross]

The most expensive watch I have now is a Pelagos and it never gets worn, I think my first watch in the 1970s was a Sekonda, I then purchased over my lifetime many good quality watches including Omegas, Brietling and now in my sixties I have gone back to cheaper watches. Most recently a G shock and today a Pegani, for me I no longer crave that Rolex etc that I did when I was younger. I am at the stage where even the Pelagos can go as the appeal has just gone, perhaps its an age thing?

[robert75]

Perhaps watch companies themselves are not really helping by over inflating prices. Every watch company out there seems to be desperate to create a "waiting list" "Enquire online" "Speak to a consultant" and "Book an appointment" I am buying a watch not having a hip replacement! I suppose at some point people are going to just lose interest especially people who know that only a few years ago you could just walk into any watch shop and buy whatever you were after and often with a few quid off.

[Passenger]

Perhaps watch companies themselves are not really helping by over inflating prices. Every watch company out there seems to be desperate to create a "waiting list" "Enquire online" "Speak to a consultant" and "Book an appointment" I am buying a watch not having a hip replacement! I suppose at some point people are going to just lose interest especially people who know that only a few years ago you could just walk into any watch shop and buy whatever you were after and often with a few quid off.

Plus the now very real possibility of needing the 10/15k for the hip or knees operation.

[Wallasey Runner]

I’ve drifted between the two numerous times. You get caught in a loop of if I sell these 10 watches I can buy something nice and if I sell this nice watch I can buy a load of cheaper watches. Rinse and repeat many times.

I don’t tend to buy brand new watches anyway, so all the malarkey that is endlessly moaned about on here doesn’t really apply to me. If the shops had stock and you could go in and buy it might be different, but they don’t so it isn’t an issue.

For the first time in years I now have a mix, a couple of decent watches and 6 or 7 lower end watches and the balance seems to work. Instead of flipping from one camp to the other I now feel comfortable cherry picking the watches from each camp that I want to own.

As always, many differing opinions on here and long may it continue, no right or wrong and each to their own and all that.

[thieuster]

Answering the OP's question? Yes. I sold everything expensive (partly here) except my late father's 1973 Speedmaster. These days I mostly wear an SKX007 or modded versions of that type of watch.

[NigeG]

What an interesting read.

I started with a Hopalong Cassidy when I was about 8. Had numerous Timex in the 70’s, followed by Casios in the 80’s. My first premium brand watch was a Breitling Colt in 1995.

I’ve then gone on to have a variety of Omega, Panerai and Rolex models. I’ve regretted selling some, some more than others it has to be said.

At the same time I’ve still bought and kept a variety of less expensive watches: Smiths PRS25, Steinharts, Seiko etc.

I’m now on the cusp of going more budget conscious again. I’m rapidly falling out of love with the independent local AD that has the Rolex franchise. I’ve spent a reasonable amount with them over the past few years, never asked for a penny off of any of my purchases. I’d like the new OP Celebration model. I’ve been told I’ll need an appointment to register my interest and they’re really busy, the earliest date that is convenient for me and them is towards end of July! Ridiculous!!

I had a look elsewhere and found a lot of the mid priced brands are heading the same way. This isn’t delivering a Premium Customer Experience in my book at all.

So I find myself looking at more Steinharts and contemplating a couple of Pagani Design or San Martin pieces and saying stuff the big R


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[adzman808]

Yeah I guess…

To begin with I was just rabid for watches and I’d buy cheap ones (microbrands, Seiko) in all different configurations.

I decided that I preferred divers, aspired to and bought a 114060 (back when that was about as hard as walking into any Rolex store)

This was supposed to be the ONE watch… but of course it wasn’t and I started to aspire to a Daytona, whilst buying microbrands/homages again.

Then my personal circumstances changed (negatively) and I didn’t really think about watches, just picked one out to wear.

Things got a little better and I had the chance to buy a Daytona homage, thinking of the lyrics

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you'll find
You get what you need

So I bought it (first watch in ages) and it really resonated with me, did everything I wanted and didn’t break the bank. Kinda see? You can enjoy this on a budget, stop aspiring to stuff you can’t easily have

Since then I’ve drifted in and out of watches… picking a microbrand/cheapish one when I felt the itch.. (squale/glycine/citizen/hamilton/zoretto stuff like that)

That said I recently bought a BB58… first time I’ve spent over £800 on a watch in many years… I haven’t worn it yet… I’m saving it to make it feel more special… (yes daft I know)

Last watch I bought was a £270 Borealis bull shark… and again I find it hard to justify owning anything more expensive and worrisome about loss/damage.. as the bull shark looks how I like, has dimensions I love, killer lume and runs at +1spd. The prospect of spending x10 (or x20) that for a mid tier brand is hard…

(perhaps the BB58 will be a mistake…)

Oh and the Rolex? Well I couldn’t let it go… the year I got it was such a special year for me, I was doing great professionally, I had just become a father and buying the watch cemented all of that.

That said it’s maybe spent 4 weeks on my wrist in the past four years! (But 3 years being my daily with a LOT of marks and scratches to show for it)

So I didn’t 100% leave “luxury” (mid tier luxury at best) but I think my heart did..

(The BB58 I think is just my 6538 style obsession… I like Rolex styled dive watches with big crowns and without crown guards, ironically more than I like my actual Rolex, I have the bull shark, the kingston, now the BB58, I wouldn’t be shocked if I end up with the San Martin one, the Protos one, the WMT one, maybe make my own… )

For me… OMWV, my watch journey has been about finding my niche.

[adzman808]

Just as an appendix to the above...

Mid tier luxury vs affordable (FOR ME) =

better bracelets, quieter rotors, less wobbly crowns, nicer crown action (and of course far, far greater cachet)

Is that worth the extra? Well that's for you to decide

But I do feel that with what appears to be big strides in cheap manufacturing in the past decade the affordable watches are far better in the above points than they've ever been

[kaiserphoenix]

I think its safe to say I've gone the full spectrum well sort of. From Gshocks all the way to FP Journe Optimums (Currently a 160K USD) watch in the Black Label variant which I own. (Im aware that obviously there are many more leagues above me like minute repeaters and tourbillions in the 500K + range).

This has been both good and bad for me and has also changed the way I treat this "hobby" now. Basically I have 2 tiers of watch collections, first one being the "premier league/Investment grade" of my watch collection which includes watches like the FP Journe, Patek Philippes and Independents such as Gronefeld. Total value here will exceed a small home in the country side probably. For this reason however I am now unable to wear them for fear of damage/theft etc and now end up being a safe queen and cash drain for insurance and safety deposit box rentals. However since these watches keep growing in value...I have no choice but to keep them as if I sell, I will be black listed due to the rarity of some pieces and I only buy first hand (since that is the cheapest method...).

Then I have the more everyday collection which is insured differently, ie I will keep 2 or 3 at home such as Casios to Rolex for example which are more durable but more importantly relatively easily replaceable as there are millions of them around.

In an ideal world I would like to wear the Journes or PP but in this day and age and valuation its impossible and that is very sad in all honesty.

[Filterlab]

I've gone all over the place - low to high to low to high to low, and I've now settled on only high-end(ish) pieces. Just the ones that have spoken to me over the years.

Aside from a Casio thing which I wear when moving bricks and the like, and an Apple Watch for gym duties only (hideous thing, I hate it), I have three nice pieces which won't go anywhere...

2008 Fortis Cosmonaut Chronograph


2010 IWC Mark XVI


2021 Omega Speedmaster 3861


That suffices for every watch situation I reckon.

The only type that could sway me to make another purchase is the Seiko Spring Drive, probably the titanium diver's version. But I'm not spending any more on acquisitions for a while as I've spent almost eight grand in the last couple of months. Gets out of hand too easily this lark!