Saxo Boy

Having grown tired of constantly checking the time on my phone I've decided to wear a watch again.

I've set a budget of £300 and I realise I'm not going to get a show stopping timepiece (i.e. Rolex/Omega) for that money. Nevertheless, I don't want to make any rookie watch buying mistakes and buy something for £300 that's made in China for £2.75.

In terms of style I like divers/outdoor watches, just as long as they aren't absolutely massive. I like the Submariner but it's clearly not in my price range.

One watch I'm seriously looking at is the Nite Hawk Z-400T and I'd appreciate input on whether its a decent enough watch for that kind of money.

Other suggestions greatly received. Just remember I don't like things that are overly cluttered/funky. For example, all Breitling's are too busy for my tastes (not to mention too expensive). Also, I'm not interested in 2nd hand watches so it has to be new.

thenewgalaxy

I wouldn't spend £300 on a new watch you'll be getting something cheap with a name on it.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

http://www.twsteeluk.com/p-74-tw-ste...iver-tw75.aspx

chopperman

That sought of money could buy you a Tissot which are great watches or if it were me i maybe temped to spend a little more for this.
http://www.silvermans.co.uk/tabid/62...0/Default.aspx

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Have a look at luminox - some nice watches from them at reasonable prices.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

If you like classic yet contempory watches then have a look at http://www.magrette.com/

Dingdongler

I like the night view on that watch Saxo but personally I'd go for a nice G Shock

Matteeboy

I recently got this for £150; it retails for twice that and there are loads of similar models.
Proper automatic (nice, sweeping hand), 200m waterproof and looks far more valuable than it is.
I have a few G Shocks (one is a £250 version) but they don't feel at all special.
In my mind anything over £100 has to be automatic or it's a bit of a waste. Jus something "real" about them.

fitzscoob

Bought one of these watches about 3 years ago, love it still.

www.christopherward.co.uk

billythekid

Traser.

speedking

This is still going strong. I think Seiko are good at the price point.

Saxo Boy

Thanks for the input guys, feel free to keep the suggestions coming.

Surely at this price point you're not spending enough for a 'name'? As a novice watch buyer, I have no idea how to assess the 'spec' and whether it represents value for money. I'll probably end up with the pretty one

thenewgalaxy

If you buy a high value item these days you get nailed on VAT for starters, plus greedy high street profit.

Seikos are very nice watches but I wouldn't spend £300 on one. They're worth half that the moment you walk out of the shop, if you're lucky.

I would have a look at buying something nearly new or in excellent condition second hand, you'd be surprised what big names you can pick up. I picked up a Rolex Submariner for around a third of what it's now worth about five or six years ago and the previous owner had barely worn it.

Not my cup of tea but things like Tag Heuer, Oris, Tudor and Rado can go for very low prices from outlet stores and from well known second hand dealers.

Don't rush into a purchase and haggle hard!

Matteeboy

Grand Seikos are £4k+ and sell very well.

That's the thing with Seiko - they aren't a cheapo brand. They make their own movements (unlike 95% of brands, even well respected ones with all use ETA movements - basically Swatch) and do anything from £100 up to £25k. And they are super accurate as autos go too.

Christopher Ward is a good shout although £300 may not be enough. Steinhart makes good watches which might just fall in budget but again, mostly ETA movements (although that's not always such a bad thing).

At £300, you aren't exactly looking to "invest" - just wear it. And the only brands that truly hold onto their money need at least £3k throwing at them.

Leslie

My watch cost just over £100. It is tied to the Rugby time signal so it is always accurate to a fraction of a second.

It looks respectable without being garish which is all I need from a watch. I don't feel I have to impress others anyway.

Les

EddScott

I've had a Code Blue for about 4 years and its great. I love the way it glows in the dark.

I do really like this though.



Not sure about the TW as its probably too big for my feminininine wrist and perhaps a bit too blingy for me.

boomer

It moved to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL several years ago don't-ya-know

Must admit, i do miss the antenna array (not just for time) beside the M1 where it joins the M6

mb

The Dogs B******s

Great looking watch

chopperman

I own a couple of expensive watches and i must admit, i bought them to impress me, not others ! My very complicated 36000 vbh Zenith never fails to impress me. I neither know nor care what others think.

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Agree'd

Seiko are great watches. I've got a few seiko's. I specifically love their diver watches, especially the automatics with 'Pepsi' bezels.

My advice, get yourself on creation watches. You'll pay far less than over here and it'll be in your hand in two days with no import duties to pay!

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Quite nice.

http://www.creationwatches.com/produ...atch-2744.html

This is mine. They normally come with the rubber strap or jubilee bracelet. Creation do them with the seiko super oyster style like this..

http://www.creationwatches.com/produ...atch-2745.html

I go for the J model seiko's as they're supposed to be fully made in Japan (you'll see the same models above with a K in the part no instead of J.

Seiko vid



I've also got one of the newer 5 sport seiko divers but they don't have the screw down bezel like above. They do have a see through back though which is nice to see the self winding movement.


If you really like the Rolex Submariner, you could always get an Invicta Pro Diver, pretty good replicas, nice and heavy & well finished. Or the Grand Diver. Only trouble is you'll have people saying "oh a rolex" then you'll have to explain.



Personally I love the Seiko's

Matteeboy

Be a little bit careful of Creation; I bought the above watch from there as it's not sold in Europe; yes it was a good price but it came with a cr4p box and photocopied instructions! Then the second hand fell off after a month I checked their warranty and it's actually not an official one; they expect you to send it back at your expense, wait two months then get it back again at your own expense.

Not happy with this, I tried Seiko UK who were very understanding and sorted it all FOC; pressure and time tested twice and fully serviced.

So Seiko is great, not so sure about Creation; I wouldn't buy from them again!

Saxo Boy

Reading everything with interest; thanks guys.

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

I did look into the box thing, their angle is they are able to sell at RRP with all the bells and whistles, or they can sell them cheap but they buy them watch only. You can actually add the seiko no to the order for a couple of quid too.

Mine actually came with genuine instructions & the warranty card (compared with my other seiko's)

They've supposedly cheered up their warranty, it's their own 2 year one and they now have a London helpline number.

Saxo Boy

Thoughts on the Deep Blue Daynight 65 T-100.

I know it's well out of budget but it looks fantastic and has automatic movement and tritium tubes.

Also, thoughts on Watch Obsession as an online retailer...seems to be only UK based website I can find that stocks this watch.

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Gotta love a bit of tritium. I'm a bit of a torch geek too & tritium plays quite a role in the flashaholic world. I've got a couple of tritium key fobs, so handy.

Matteeboy

Looks very nice to me!

James; I have quite a torch collection too (plus silly power bike lights)...

Daryl

I've bought some straps from them and they were excellent to deal with. That watch looks nice, but I prefer the extremely bright lume on my Seiko Monster to the much duller tritium (had a Traser Code Blue, but didn't like it much).

I've got a few decent watches (Omega Planet Ocean, Rolex Milgauss, Panerai Luminor), but I absolutely love the Seiko Monster, it has to be the best value watch ever and I wear it more than any of the others!

I've also got a Seiko Pepsi which is great, but doesn't feel anywhere near as solidly built. If you don't like orange, there's always the more subtle black version! At £123 delivered from Creation watches, it's an absolute bargain and is about to go out of production, so grab one while you can.

You could even see if anything else takes your fancy and buy something nice to go with it!

DCI Gene Hunt Again

Matteeboy

Men are supposed to have arm fur ;-)