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Watches

So, I know nothing about watches but see them as a good investment if bought for keeping for a few years and moving on. If you had a 1k budget what would you be buying ?

On a 1K budget, a used rolex (if you can find one) and hope/pray it goes up in value. But watches are not a good investment. It's a very high-end industry, so only Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe are the brands that hold value. And these cost a minimum of 10K or more...Rolex is pretty much the only safe bet, but as the saying goes, it takes money to make money if you're gonna try make money on Rolex. The thing on watches is that most companies hope for a "hit" watch; for example, Hublot hit it out of the park with the "Big Bang" watch, which sold tons. And because it sold tons, they continued to make more and more. Same with Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak Offshore...they made tons and tons. So now these expensive watches have saturated the market and there are too many of them out there, so most of the Big Bang models or Royal Oak Offshores will go down in value, not up, over time. Rolex is a company that can afford to make a limited production model, and it will sell out and they will NOT make more of them. This creates a buzz among collectors, and because they only made, say 1000 of them, they increase in value. Right now, the yellow gold, green dial Rolex Daytona is a hot item because there are only a few of them out there--if you happen to have 52K.

If I had to guess, I suspect Nomos will go up in value a bit in about 10 years, but their watches start around 3-4K. There are also some limited edition Seiko's that might go up in value. In particular, Seiko's from the presage line: see here:

 
On a 1K budget, a used rolex (if you can find one) and hope/pray it goes up in value. But watches are not a good investment. It's a very high-end industry, so only Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe are the brands that hold value. And these cost a minimum of 10K or more...Rolex is pretty much the only safe bet, but as the saying goes, it takes money to make money if you're gonna try make money on Rolex. The thing on watches is that most companies hope for a "hit" watch; for example, Hublot hit it out of the park with the "Big Bang" watch, which sold tons. And because it sold tons, they continued to make more and more. Same with Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak Offshore...they made tons and tons. So now these expensive watches have saturated the market and there are too many of them out there, so most of the Big Bang models or Royal Oak Offshores will go down in value, not up, over time. Rolex is a company that can afford to make a limited production model, and it will sell out and they will NOT make more of them. This creates a buzz among collectors, and because they only made, say 1000 of them, they increase in value. Right now, the yellow gold, green dial Rolex Daytona is a hot item because there are only a few of them out there--if you happen to have 52K.

If I had to guess, I suspect Nomos will go up in value a bit in about 10 years, but their watches start around 3-4K. There are also some limited edition Seiko's that might go up in value. In particular, Seiko's from the presage line: see here:


Wish I could find a Grand Seiko for 1k...heh
 

Disappointed I missed this thread .. was about to start one and thought to look.. so yeah

Been YouTubing watches almost very night since March.. how they work, which brands, 2nd hand v new etc etc... I had an itch some years ago after seeing an Omega Speedracer and fell in love. But I just couldn’t justify the expense... so ended up buying the cheapest Tag (formula 1) I could find.. it looks great (love sporty rubber straps) but didn’t satisfy the itch.

So back in the market for another.. justifying by saying I have 2 boys as well..

After all that research I have narrowed down to the new Omega Seamaster 300m.. but also love the aqua terra. The Rolex Explorer would be awesome too but that Omega has the wow factor and the mechanism is years ahead. Can dress it up and dress it down... stunner! I have skinny wrists though so not sure it’ll suit me.. that’s where the aqua terra I think had more size options.

View attachment 97259
I have this exact watch and it’s brilliant. I don’t wear it enough to be honest because I usually wear a tag connected as my day to day to track my running but the build quality is anazing and it’s just a great looking watch. I have an aqua terra aswell but this is my pride and joy.
 
@verreauxi In love with this watch as I'm a sucker for simplicity (for the most part, it's why I've always loved pocket watches). Alpina has a good horology heritage but I just can't bring myself to do it.

That or a Laco Flieger style...no,no,no...walk away Rob, walk away.

Amazon product ASIN B0728D52Y3

I can't see the watch in question as my internet is crap tonight (not sure why, I think the 5G towers are causing Covid). But I do like Alpina, another smallish watch company with great DNA that was eaten up by Frederique Constant (and now Citizen). But for my money, and a bit more money, I would go for a Stowa Pilot (Flieger) over both Laco and Alpina. Stowa Pilot watches are awesome.

But yeah, if you've been drinking tonight like me, then put down the mouse and the one-click pay on Amazon and walk away...
 

It’s not to wear, purely for investment. Once bought it would be stuck away for 10 years . I understand there are hundreds out there but was just asking for suggestions.

Kurt, don’t want to burst your bubble but it’s almost impossible to find a watch for less than £1000 that would be an investment watch. Reckon you would have to travel the antique markets and hope to get lucky. I have a mate, used to be a collector, who reckoned anything less than $10k and you might as well buy that Casio you always liked... he was a watch snob of note.

If you have no interest in the watch I reckon there would be a lot more growth in pure equity shares or some other investments that would deliver a better return.

Edit: I see you’ve been answered very well above. Seems the 10k bench is the standard minimum investment.
 
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On a 1K budget, a used rolex (if you can find one) and hope/pray it goes up in value. But watches are not a good investment. It's a very high-end industry, so only Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe are the brands that hold value. And these cost a minimum of 10K or more...Rolex is pretty much the only safe bet, but as the saying goes, it takes money to make money if you're gonna try make money on Rolex. The thing on watches is that most companies hope for a "hit" watch; for example, Hublot hit it out of the park with the "Big Bang" watch, which sold tons. And because it sold tons, they continued to make more and more. Same with Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak Offshore...they made tons and tons. So now these expensive watches have saturated the market and there are too many of them out there, so most of the Big Bang models or Royal Oak Offshores will go down in value, not up, over time. Rolex is a company that can afford to make a limited production model, and it will sell out and they will NOT make more of them. This creates a buzz among collectors, and because they only made, say 1000 of them, they increase in value. Right now, the yellow gold, green dial Rolex Daytona is a hot item because there are only a few of them out there--if you happen to have 52K.

If I had to guess, I suspect Nomos will go up in value a bit in about 10 years, but their watches start around 3-4K. There are also some limited edition Seiko's that might go up in value. In particular, Seiko's from the presage line: see here:

On a 1K budget, a used rolex (if you can find one) and hope/pray it goes up in value. But watches are not a good investment. It's a very high-end industry, so only Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe are the brands that hold value. And these cost a minimum of 10K or more...Rolex is pretty much the only safe bet, but as the saying goes, it takes money to make money if you're gonna try make money on Rolex. The thing on watches is that most companies hope for a "hit" watch; for example, Hublot hit it out of the park with the "Big Bang" watch, which sold tons. And because it sold tons, they continued to make more and more. Same with Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak Offshore...they made tons and tons. So now these expensive watches have saturated the market and there are too many of them out there, so most of the Big Bang models or Royal Oak Offshores will go down in value, not up, over time. Rolex is a company that can afford to make a limited production model, and it will sell out and they will NOT make more of them. This creates a buzz among collectors, and because they only made, say 1000 of them, they increase in value. Right now, the yellow gold, green dial Rolex Daytona is a hot item because there are only a few of them out there--if you happen to have 52K.

If I had to guess, I suspect Nomos will go up in value a bit in about 10 years, but their watches start around 3-4K. There are also some limited edition Seiko's that might go up in value. In particular, Seiko's from the presage line: see here:

I’m not sure I completely agree, you certainly don’t see any cheap big bangs or royal oaks even on the used market.
 
I can't see the watch in question as my internet is crap tonight (not sure why, I think the 5G towers are causing Covid). But I do like Alpina, another smallish watch company with great DNA that was eaten up by Frederique Constant (and now Citizen). But for my money, and a bit more money, I would go for a Stowa Pilot (Flieger) over both Laco and Alpina. Stowa Pilot watches are awesome.

But yeah, if you've been drinking tonight like me, then put down the mouse and the one-click pay on Amazon and walk away...
Agree Stowa Pilots are great watches, the brand has decent heritage and it won’t break the bank completely. I’ve had one for years wear it a lot and never had any problems.
 

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