No wrong answer in my book.
When I buy a watch, it involves a lengthy process of research which includes trawling the internet, visiting stores if appropriate, and ensuring I have all available information to hand. Only then do I scour the entire globe for the best available example, at the most appropriate price before parting with my hard earned cash. Usually takes several months.
My brother, on the other hand, walks in to a shop, looks at 4 models and walks out with one in under an hour Who's doing it right??
Photo is his purchase yesterday.
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No wrong answer in my book.
I think his method has attractions. No angst about subtle model variations, and no buyer’s remorse. Nice pick up.
It's possible to walk into a shop and just buy a watch? Witchcraft!
No problem with a Panerai, they’re all the bleedin same anyway!
He doesn’t like the chase, just the goods at the end. He’s gone “ugly early” but lucked out with a good looking watch.
the real worry now is that he might start to frequent watch forums and convince himself that anything over 36mm is an unwieldy dinner plate
Last edited by robinsongreen68; 24th January 2024 at 19:50.
How did your brother decide that he fancied a luxury watch? That would be a fairly lumpy whim purchase.
Did he do some basic online shopping first? Good on him for going in and getting it done.
Doing the research makes “the journey” fun and exciting in my opinion and help ensure you’ve chosen the right watch for you
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Your brother has it right. Go to shop, see what watches you like that are in budget, don't care about movement or residuals, buy it, wear it, scratch it, just don't worry about it.
WIS would care about things like movements which in reality have very little impact on the actual performance of the watch which is, after all, basically just wrist bling. I'd imagine very few watches are bought for tool purposes aside from some very specific digital diving watches
This looks like an example of thin slice decision making, where the subconscious brain has already considered the important stuff and come to the correct decision. Sometimes further research and analysis by your conscious brain subverts this, and all that effort ends with the wrong decision (watch).
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell was an easy read on the subject
When you appear to just “go for it” it isn’t as impulsive as it may seem, you have subconsciously considered what is import to you.
Or something like that!
Dave
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I think we all wish we were free of the burden of watch nerdery... well, I do anyway. It isn't healthy poring over the ridiculous tiny details like the minute hand being a fraction of a mm too short, the subdial cutting the tiniest slice out of the 5 and 7 numerals, the Prospex logo. Constantly buying and flipping watches, chasing the dragon, I wish I could just have A watch and be happy with it.
I have a few watches that I spent a long time finding.
Some because they were especially rare and inherently hard to find, and some because I wanted to find the right example at the right price.
I feel much more attached to them as a result of investing my time and effort finding them.
In the same way that Groucho wouldn't be a member of a club that would have him as a member, I am not too sure I would feel immediately attracted to a watch that I could just walk in and buy.
It takes a substantial amount of the fun away.
I have a couple of watches on my "list" at the moment that I could just buy today, if I decided to abandon my methods and fork out shedload more for them. But I don't do it.
And that totally ignores the pleasure of buying a fixer-upper, and turning the ugly duckling into the swan you envisaged.
In October 2018 I saw a photo of a slightly daft looking Seiko I wasn't aware of before. The next day I went to the Seiko boutique in Knightsbridge, spent a decent while pondering it, and bought it. It soon established itself as my no.1.
In October 2019, I bought a Globemaster (a watch I had been mulling over for years) and mentally relegated the Seiko to beater status.
In September 2020, I sold the Omega and bought a Tangente (ditto)
In September 2021, that I sold the Nomos .... and accepted that this far from faultless £600 Seiko is the one for me. I've had many watches more interesting, more beautiful, more this, more that, but it seems this is what I want on my wrist, most of the time.
Both are doing it right because both methods can have very satisfactory results.
I love the hunt of researching a watch to the nth degree before buying in the knowledge that I pretty much know all there is to know about its history etc.
But, then again, some of my completely impulsive purchases have been my favourites and remained in my collection where the well researched "grails" have long departed.
I like his buying style and have done very similar myself. Have also spent a long time over thinking things too.
I just buy what I like and the older I get the clearer that is. Haven’t regretted a purchase for many years although regretted a couple of sales