Any Watch Collectors here?

[dodge man]

That is a very nice looking time piece... what case size is that?

If I measure correctly, I had to Google how, it’s 38mm the Lumi Nox I posted earlier. I consider it smaller.

 

[tradosaurus]

I was getting into watches and subscribed to the largest watch forum for about a year.
It seems to me that with machining tools available at reasonable costs that you can buy precise quality watches at a fraction of the cost of the name brands like Rolex.
I now wear almost exclusively a rechargeable smart watch I bought for $40 4 years ago that keeps track of my steps during the day.

 

[Darth_DMack]

I was getting into watches and subscribed to the largest watch forum for about a year.
It seems to me that with machining tools available at reasonable costs that you can buy precise quality watches at a fraction of the cost of the name brands like Rolex.
I now wear almost exclusively a rechargeable smart watch I bought for $40 4 years ago that keeps track of my steps during the day.

I work in a secure facility (Intel) and can't have anything "smart" unfortunately. I have an Apple Watch that I wear when home, to track my heart rate, sleep cycle, etc... but I rotate my watches daily. Very rarely do I wear the same watch two days in a row... I just got back from Doha, Qatar... was there for three weeks. LOTS of very high quality Rolex replicas there, I almost picked one up, but I really want a legit one, for reasons stated earlier.. there are some VERY good smart watches out there now.

 

[dodge man]

A couple more of mine, none of these are very valuable. The first pic were my grandfathers. The one on the left is a Westclock? It was his “beater” watch. The one on the right is an Elgin and was his nice one, it unfortunately has a cracked dial. You set this one by unscrewing the crystal and that uncovers a lever you pull out so you can set the time.

The next picture on the left is a Fossil my daughter gave me a couple years ago. You can Bluetooth into it with your phone and control some of the buttons. The one on the right is a Bulova and is called a skeleton watch I believe. It winds with the movement of you wrist.

 

[tradosaurus]

I'm to the age where if the watch shows a day and month it has to readable without reading glasses.

 

[Torvy]

Dad is retired USAF and spent time in Europe and Asia where he was able to pick up some quality watches. His daily wear has been a stainless steel Rolex for as long as I have memory. My brother will get that when dad passes. Brother already has the Seiko. I got one that most people don't know. It is a Perregaux (Swiss). Not large faced. It is old, classic and valuable. I would only sell it if it was a life or death emergency.

 

[dodge man]

I’m sure I’m not the only one who saw the Antiques Roadshow where the veteran had bought a Rolex back in the early 70’s while in the Air Force. He never wore it and had all the original paper work for it. Seems like it was worth over $500,000 as I recall. I seem to remember the original warranty card was worth quite a bit alone.

 

[JasperFrank]

It is interesting that TSA has an issue with 20K in cash, but not one with a 50K watch.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Here's my Citizen....

 

[NHBX]

I’m sure I’m not the only one who saw the Antiques Roadshow where the veteran had bought a Rolex back in the early 70’s while in the Air Force. He never wore it and had all the original paper work for it. Seems like it was worth over $500,000 as I recall. I seem to remember the original warranty card was worth quite a bit alone

 

[airbiscuit]

You'll probably enjoy this guy's videos'

 

[Tomtint]

I guess I'm a bit of a watch collector..I have about 6 of them. I bought a Festina on our honeymoon 28 years ago.. Still love that one but it has a deep scratch on the glass face, Bought as Rolex about 15 or so years ago.. Stainless with a white gold bezel and blue face. Datejust model. Don't wear that much these days. Bought a Stainless and koi wood watch in Maui about 5 years ago from a jeweller..cant remember the name but they are a chain and fairly well known.. And bought another one from the same jeweller in Vegas last year that's gold with a black leather band..I wear that one frequently. Also have a couple sub 200.00 watches in the box.

 

[Darth_DMack]

I just watched the video... wow!!!! One never knows, really. That guy bought that watch not knowing what he bought... thank goodness he never wore it, and saved the original paperwork. I would not be that lucky... I buy things to use... but, now, I'm into the collection mindset. Thank you for sharing this!

 

[Darth_DMack]

I have an OLD Bulova that my dad was given when he graduated high school in 1964. He wore it all the time, and I have fond memories of it as a kid. It would fall off my arm, easily.

When he passed, my brother gave it to me.

I want to send it off and have it restored... it is nothing but sentimental, not worth anything, and WAY too small for me to wear, but it was his. It is so worn, the stainless case and backing, all the numbers are un-readable. No clue if it can even be restored... but, I will sure try.

 

[Darth_DMack]

All:

Thank you SO MUCH for the input into this thread. I humbly appreciate you all!

I will get some pics of my watchs and post. Unfortunately, I'm at work during the day and I work in a SCIF (basically, the Bat Cave) and can't bring cell phones or anything digital into my office. I can access this through a non-attributed server...

 

[dodge man]

Another one from Antiques Roadshow. A Patek Phillipe(sp?). Appraised at over a million as I recall.

 

[Darth_DMack]

View attachment 860600

Another one from Antiques Roadshow. A Patek Phillipe(sp?). Appraised at over a million as I recall.

I can understand and appreciate RARE and Collectible items... but, the practical Joe in me, can't FATHOM paying a cool MIL for a watch. Granted, I don't play in that income level, so of course it won't compute. Just looking at modern Patek Phillipe wrist watches, that anyone can buy today, they are incredibly expensive.

 

[dodge man]

My son is into F1 racing in noticed Mille being advertised all the time. He said they are expensive watches and he wasn’t joking. They can get into 7 figures easily. I can understand a person not wanting to damage or take something very expensive out in public but I also think it’s a shame not to use something as intended.

 

[Darth_DMack]

My son is into F1 racing in noticed Mille being advertised all the time. He said they are expensive watches and he wasn’t joking. They can get into 7 figures easily. I can understand a person not wanting to damage or take something very expensive out in public but I also think it’s a shame not to use something as intended.

I have a few things that I love... well, I love NICE things, not necessarily all EXPENSIVE things. I love watches, hence this thread. One thing that I find myself buying lately are knives. It has turned into a hobby. I am in a few blade forums and found that there is a cult following for some knife makers. I don't want to derail my own thread here and turn it into a knife topic... just adding that I can relate to people who collect things. Heck, I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan, and have quite a collection of memorabilia.

Even as much as I love watches, I don't know that I could EVER spend a year's salary on a watch. I am looking heavy at Omega and Rolex, I'd like to have at least ONE heirloom watch before I end my trips around the sun.

Some of the higher end "micro brand" watch makers can get pricy.

 

[drssg]

I have an OLD Bulova that my dad was given when he graduated high school in 1964. He wore it all the time, and I have fond memories of it as a kid. It would fall off my arm, easily.

When he passed, my brother gave it to me.

I want to send it off and have it restored... it is nothing but sentimental, not worth anything, and WAY too small for me to wear, but it was his. It is so worn, the stainless case and backing, all the numbers are un-readable. No clue if it can even be restored... but, I will sure try.

I have my father's Omega watch, which I think he bought in the 50s. As a small child, I was fascinated by how it was able to wind itself by harnessing the energy of your arm's motion. I thought that was simply genius.

In recent years, I was surprised to learn that all the parts in the watch are still available, and they even offered the option to restore the face like it was brand new (I didn't do that).

The watch had stopped being waterproof decades ago, and there were a number of internal parts that were corroded. I spent about $600 on a watch that the jeweler said was worth about $100.

I enjoyed wearing it for several years, until I noticed water condensation inside the face again. I didn't send it out for repair again, and I decided to just have it as a keepsake.