My old watch has packed up and I've decided it's time to get a half decent one.

I remember reading a good thread about watches a few months ago but with the search facility being down I can't find it

Can anyone recommend any good websites on this subject ?

There is a Bell & Ross watch that I like but after a quick check I can't seem to find anywhere in the UK that sells these watches. Has anyone got any advice about where to buy a Bell & Ross watch from ?

Also, is there much saving in getting a watch from abroad ? I know a few people who travel regularly so if there is any particular country that is best then I should be able to get one from there.

thanks in advance,

Andy.

 

thanks - I'll check that site out later

I'm after something a little better than my old mickey mouse watch but nothing too flash - I wan't to wear it everyday without worrying about it !

 

I got a citizen pro master dive watch and saved £150 getting it
from the canary islands, the exchange rate was great at the time,
3yrs ago, it's still going off the original battery
Defo look into getting it abroad, same watches over there
as over here but as sterling is so strong you can't fail. Next purchase is a Seiko diver, over here £700, in Andorra £380.
Andorra's really good for watches if you know anybody going as it's tax free etc.

CRAFT

 

yes agree with Craft

Got my Omega Seamaster for £500 from Tenerife


Tal

 

Thailand - Chiangmai Nightmarket

Rolex Submariner mechanical - £22
Breitling Colt Ocean quartz - £10

Both still working 1 1/2 years later

 

Do you know how to tell a fake Rolex from a good one?

The second hand on a genuine Rolex glides whereas the fake's tick..
has never let me down yet!

It's one to impress your mates with!

Dave

 

If you are in the real Rolex/real Breitling market please do NOT get a Breitling.

I had one, the "Super Ocean" and it was very poorly made, the strap broke, the rotating bezel seized times 2, the winder fell out and the face scratched easily. Accuracy was a joke. Sold it for £400 paid £1250 for it 18/12 earlier new.

I then bought the Rolex equivalent: the "Sea Dweller" new for admittedly rather more ( a rarer, more exclusive sort of super-submariner, goes down to 4000 feet below, though the most it gets with me is the morning shower!) 3 years ago and it has been superb, the build quality is like night and day compared to the Breitling, hewn from rock it seems. Accurate as a proper clockwork watch can be expected to be too. and in stainless steel with a black face it is subtle and classy unlike the over showy Breitlings (and gold Rolexes).

Just my experience with expensive watches.

 

They're all on drugs

It is a shame that you have to hide your identity whilst you slag off Breitling! It tends to reduce the authenticity of your claims.

Did you get your watch from an authorised dealer?
Did you pay the full price?
Do you actually drive/own a Scooby?

mb

 

my breit. was fine, no probs.

Tiggs

ps- how do you spot a fake? by that nasty feeling inside that you get knowing you have a nasty piece of cack on your wrist in some odd attempt to be something you aint- a decent watch owner

 

Have you check out the Tag's.. not expensive as Rolex but look good to me!

Dave

 

Well made "Italian" Rolex copies sweep the same as a Rolex. I have had one for 2.5 years and it never misses a beat. It automatic and came with both boxes and certificate!!! Only $150.00.But unless you realy know the fake markets you will never understand how good they get. Many repairers use fake bits...

Most people who buy the real thing do it so they can walk around with a smug look on their face!!!

Class aint a Rolex its a IWC or Phillip Patek.

Buy a "Tudor" if you want a Rolex but cheaper. my fake goes swimming once a week.

 

hmmmmm ROLEX!!!!
don't get me started

least with a ROLEX you won't lose money on them
bought my SeaDweller nearly 11years ago now (second hand, 18months old) cost me £1300, seen other second hand SeaDwellers in the same shop as where i got mine from back then.....not as good condition...between £1300 and £1500!!! think they are £2600 now new!!!! (correct me if i'm wrong)
Rolex Daytona Cosmograph in stainless steel fetch wicked money!
4 year waiting list!!!! cost about £3k new saw one in the same shop as above ith black face (IMHO White face is better) £6750 (mint never worn)!
give
Hallam's Antique & Diamond Jewellery
a ring and see what Quality watches they have in...0115 9411276
their in Nottingham

you pays ya money you takes ya choice!

Phil

 

What's a 'decent' watch? One that keeps good time, is reliable, waterproof, built to last? No need to look further than Seiko, then.

But that's not the point, is it? My first posh watch was a Cartier (clockwork) which was great if you're prepared to adjust it twice a day. I still like them though, with quartz movement, when I'm in touch with my feminine side

Got a Rolex Submariner now, after longing for one since a kid. Accurate to about one second a day Would never change it now, though a TAG is probably more sensible. A few years ago, I was trying to kill some time (ha ha!) with my young son and thought we'd visit a nearby Porsche showroom. Wouldn't give me the time of day (haa haa!) until he clocked (ho ho!) my watch. He then insisted I sit in a new 911 ("room for Sir's son in the back" creepy git) and offered a test drive. A Patek Phillipe or IWC would never do that.

One thing you need to know about Rolexes is that they need servicing every few years, it takes six weeks and costs about £250. My Missus had hers serviced recently and was informed she also needed a new gold/steel bracelet. That took three bl00dy months (had to go back to Geneva, so they claimed) and came back with a bill for nearly £800

Richard.

 

I had a Casio once.

BTW money can buy all the accessories of class, but it can't buy IT....

LOL
F

 

If you think a Rolex will get you "further" than a good IWC or Patek Phillip you have got to be joking. Its like a good "Rolls Royce" salesman once said " you have to tell the difference between a "Barker shoe and a J.Lobb"

Ask The QuarterMaster for the SBS about how many Rolexes used to be returned due to failer...

Any way the cool watch at the moment is a "Frank Muller" (Looks krap!!)

 

Richard
never had mine serviced in the 11 years i've had the Rolex SeaDweller! (it has a Gas Escape Valve wouldn't want it fiddlin with while it works) set the time and it will gain 5mins in 2-3weeks..but never gains anymore!

think Rolex commands the respect cus everyones heard of a Rolex...the 'masses' will not hav heard of (or seen) a Breitling/Raymond Weil/Patek Philippe watch........i do like the Pasha de Cartier's.

Phil

 

Salsa, agree about the Rolex thing. It is possible to be 'too' exclusive (at least in Porsche showrooms). Your watch sounds good, but it WILL need servicing. Mine only once in 12 years.

But never mind the watch. Has Miss GQ seen your McPherson Strut* yet? Cilla gets it sorted within a week

Good luck, mate,

Richard.

PS McPherson Strut - famous Scottish matrial ritual dance.

 

spoke to GQ this afternoon, she's going to come back to Nottm in a few weeks (mum and dad said she can stay in my sisters room) ???
she will come on the friday afternoon so she can SALSA with me at nite and the potter over the weekend with me...and no-doubt Trouser as well!

I'll get the SeaDweller seviced when it stops! its worn every day (not at work though! decorator by trade so it could get dirty)


Phil

 

This will probably turn a few people's noses up, but when it comes to watches I've found the perfect watch for me, a 65 quid Swatch Irony. It looks ok and sure as hell saves me scratching the life out of my other watch, which even though its titanium has taken a beating unfortunately.

I'm sure some will turn there noses up at the thought of a lowly swatch, but at the end of the day its very accurate, and is virtually indestructable.

 

thanks for all of the replies.

I've spent a while looking into all of the suggestions posted so far and the main thing I've learnt today is just how little I know about watches - lol. It's good fun investigating though

 

It is a shame that you have to hide your identity whilst you slag off Breitling! It tends to reduce the authenticity of your claims.

Did you get your watch from an authorised dealer?
Did you pay the full price?
Do you actually drive/own a Scooby?

mb



ooh...Touchy...touchy...jealousy will get you nowhere...and what is your identity, Boomer boy?

My Dea Dweller was brand new as my post said, from Boodle and Dunthorne in Regent street. £2250.

...and no I don`t own a scooby - just sold my second integrale evo and am looking for a 993 carrera S.

I was only trying to be helpful with my advice. If your self-esteem is so tied to your Breitling that you find my comments intolerable, then I suggest you save up for a Rolex.

 

I have a Rolex which my dad got me from Turkey for £7.50.

It has worked relentlessly for the past 2.5 years without needing any changes or adjustments. Perfect, and I wear it everywhere!!

DW

 

IMHO Cartier watches are the best made, best for flasing off but not best on price.

I think the Tankard series was nice (if thats the right name)

SCOBY

 

Don't buy in the UK!!! Middle East or USA are well worth a go, as is Mappin & Webb at LHR T4, just to avoid VAT.

Makes & Models:

Classics like Omega Speedmaster, IWC Pilot's Watch (what model are they up to now?), Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Baume & Mercier Riviera, (virtually) any Blancpain or Chopard, are all much more subtle than a Rolex, Breitling, Omega Seamaster. I wear a 5-year old Ebel 1911 which I love for its subtlety. Unfortunately I findthe new ones are a bit too over-styled.

I personally find the whole Rolex, Seamaster, Breitling, TAG thing much too flash and would rather have something well regarded by those in the know (a bit like having a SIT 5 years ago!). I also think that if you're buying a good watch, it's mandatory to get the "right" dial size, movement and finish. I (wrongly and snobbily) make character judgements when I see (for example) mid-sized, gold, quartz movement TAGs worn with high-visibility (generally by dumb IT reps, headhunters or estate agents). Sorry if I've offended anyone, just my $0.02!!!

 

I tend to agree with you.

A big sports watch will look OK on a man with suitable physique though, and ironically, on waif-like women.

 

What's the collective on how a man with a suitable physique looks on a waif-like woman? Or a waif-like man on a woman with a suitable physique? I'd watch.

 

Give these guys a try, I saved £700 on my Tag over the UK prices.

mail :- haeffner-uhren@t-online.de phone 0049 711 226 81 25

The watch was sent direct from Germany with fully insured courier.

Rgds Kevin A

 

12Lee LOL. Love your description of TAG owners. You certainly know your watches, or did you make up all those brand names?

About buying abroad, I tried to get my watch (Rolex) at airports and shops in Germany and Austria but the price was always virtually the same as at home, and I didn't want to get clobbered for VAT when customs found the watch clasped to my genitals at Heathrow

So I bought my watch, and hers, in the High Street (Was it Samuels? Can't remember) and paid £1,600 against an RRP of £1,900. Not bad, I thought, but that was about 12 years ago.

Richard.

 

The old addage, you can't judge a book by it's cover, springs to mind. I don't really think you can judge a bloke by his watch either. People who are wealthy don't own A rolex, they own several different watches for different occasion/purpose.
People with common sense buy one good quality decent watch and a cheap sensible illuminated plastic one for working under the car or going fishing. I guess it's like the scooby. Many people can afford cars with more 'image' at far greater expense but they buy a scooby because they want to drive a car not look at themselves in shop windows as they drive past.

For the record I have an Omega, which I bought as I know it will last a lifetime. I also have a Seiko which is on it's original battery after 8yrs!! Oh and a Timex ironman for fishing etc.

Don't use them in the scooby though as I have a state of the art digtal clock with a Bright button!!!

 

I want a Breguet but I can't justify their prices.