First proper watch

[MGLL]

Looking to buy my first proper watch and have been thinking IWC Ingenieur 3227-01 or 372501


I have long been seeking a mint 3227-01 but have not yet seen one in the flesh. The other day whilst on my search I saw the 372501 and thought it looked stunning. What would you recommend? The purchase will be my first proper watch and a present to myself for finishing my Masters. It will most likely be a keeper and a watch I will wear often but in a rotation with my Tissot PRC200 on black leather strap (dressy?) and G-shock GA-150 in black (gym/sports).

I would also consider other watches. My criteria is steel, sports/dive/tool watch, worn with jeans and t-shirt as well as suit, preferably in-house movement, 39mm minimum, 45mm maximum. I would prefer something a little bit unique (hence the 322701), nothing with too much colour, just classic and timeless. I also considered a Rolex SD/Sub but feel they are becoming a little common and you see too many replicas... Budget is $3,500 to $5,750. (£2,000 to £3,500)

Advice/pictures greatly appreciated,

Marco

 

[Gauss17]

My recommendations for your criterion:

Rolex Explorer I, 39mm, 100 M WR

IWC vintage Ingenieur, 42.5mm, 120 M WR

 

[MGLL]

My recommendations for your criterion:

Rolex Explorer I, 39mm, 100 M WR



IWC vintage Ingenieur, 42.5mm, 120 M WR

Thanks for the reply. I did consider the Explorer 1 and it is a beautiful watch, however I do personally prefer the Ingenieur. I know that despite saying 39mm is the minimum, ideally I would prefer to go a little bigger. Despite this being my first proper purchase I do love watches and Genta's designs. A 39mm RO auto would be the perfect watch for me right now but it is out of budget. In your opinion what makes the Explorer 1 stand out over the Ingenieurs I posted?

I am looking for a watch with a steel strap as well.

 

[MGLL]

Here are some pictures of the watches in question:

3227-01



3227-01 wrist shot




372501




Photos taken from various forums.

 

[papa kot]

- You already have a sports watch (G-Shock)
- A watch that is generally accepted with a t-shirt/jeans may not be accepted with a suit
- You budget is too low for something decent that you can wear for years without being ubiquitous
- You will have an advanced degree which promises, in theory, a higher pay in the future

With this in mind, may I suggest saving your money until you can delight yourself with something worthy of your hard years in school?

 

[DJosef]

Looking to buy my first proper watch and have been thinking IWC Ingenieur 3227-01 or 372501

I have long been seeking a mint 3227-01 but have not yet seen one in the flesh. The other day whilst on my search I saw the 372501 and thought it looked stunning. What would you recommend? The purchase will be my first proper watch and a present to myself for finishing my Masters. It will most likely be a keeper and a watch I will wear often but in a rotation with my Tissot PRC200 on black leather strap (dressy?) and G-shock GA-150 in black (gym/sports).

I would also consider other watches. My criteria is steel, sports/dive/tool watch, worn with jeans and t-shirt as well as suit, preferably in-house movement, 39mm minimum, 45mm maximum. I would prefer something a little bit unique (hence the 322701), nothing with too much colour, just classic and timeless. I also considered a Rolex SD/Sub but feel they are becoming a little common and you see too many replicas... Budget is $3,500 to $5,750. (£2,000 to £3,500)

Advice/pictures greatly appreciated,

Marco

Okay, forget sports/dive/tool. You already have two of those. (The PRC200 is NOT dressy. It's a sports watch. Anything that has these small gimmicky dials on it is a sports watch.)
Also, I'd drop the 39mm minimum requirement. Get something understated and yet classy.

- You budget is too low for something decent that you can wear for years without being ubiquitous

$5,750 is LOW for a watch? Well may be if you're out for a minute repeater, or something made of solid gold, but it's more than enough to get a proper, respectable automatic.
In my opinion, a watch doesn't need to be worth a small home in Florida. In fact, I prefer if it isn't. There is a place in a man's life for buying a >$10,000 watch, but it's when he has made it* and wants to reward himself. Or if he's a hopeless watch otaku.
(* - Made it, as in become a C-level executive of a publicly listed company, or made his first million in private assets.)

 

[papa kot]

Okay, forget sports/dive/tool. You already have two of those. (The PRC200 is NOT dressy. It's a sports watch. Anything that has these small gimmicky dials on it is a sports watch.)
Also, I'd drop the 39mm minimum requirement. Get something understated and yet classy.


$5,750 is LOW for a watch? Well may be if you're out for a minute repeater, or something made of solid gold, but it's more than enough to get a proper, respectable automatic.
In my opinion, a watch doesn't need to be worth a small home in Florida. In fact, I prefer if it isn't. There is a place in a man's life for buying a >$10,000 watch, but it's when he has made it* and wants to reward himself. Or if he's a hopeless watch otaku.
(* - Made it, as in become a C-level executive of a publicly listed company, or made his first million in private assets.)

$5,750 is indeed low for a watch that meets the criteria of being proper and non-ubiquitous.

Most of the watches that come with this price tag (even used) are mass produced and "exclusive" only in the words of clever marketing gurus. While dropping more than 5 grand on a watch may sound ridiculous, I'd rather get a watch as opposed to a brand new car whose value will depreciate by that much within a couple of years.

The bottom line is: Either get something understated for less than $2K or wait until you can afford something useful.

 

[UnnamedPlayer]

$5,750 is indeed low for a watch that meets the criteria of being proper and non-ubiquitous.

Most of the watches that come with this price tag (even used) are mass produced and "exclusive" only in the words of clever marketing gurus. While dropping more than 5 grand on a watch may sound ridiculous, I'd rather get a watch as opposed to a brand new car whose value will depreciate by that much within a couple of years.

The bottom line is: Either get something understated for less than $2K or wait until you can afford something useful.

wanker

 

[jt10000]

$5,750 is indeed low for a watch that meets the criteria of being proper and non-ubiquitous.

Most of the watches that come with this price tag (even used) are mass produced and "exclusive" only in the words of clever marketing gurus. While dropping more than 5 grand on a watch may sound ridiculous, I'd rather get a watch as opposed to a brand new car whose value will depreciate by that much within a couple of years.

The bottom line is: Either get something understated for less than $2K or wait until you can afford something useful.

Probably right about exclusivity. And a little pathetic to care about it that much.

 

[papa kot]

Probably right about exclusivity. And a little pathetic to care about it that much.

Well, the OP stated that he wanted something unusual...

This is not that uncommon though... If you spend so much money on an accessory -- and let's face it a mechanical watch is one today -- you'd want something slightly different.

 

[jeff13007]

JLC Reverso in stainless steel with a brown strap!

 

[RogerP]

Here you go: classic elegance with a subtle dose of sixties style:




And here's a wild card. Probably the last piece that you want to get if your goal is to impress brand snobs, and likely only appreciated by a subset of watch enthusiasts, but the Grand Seiko automatic lineup gives up absolutely nothing in quality to any remotely comparable IWC / JLC / Omega, and is far less common than any of those:




A nice crossover beach-to-boardroom piece would be this Omega Aqua Terra. The new cal 8500 movement is just superb:




For a dress watch, I will repeat myself in suggesting that vintage pieces offer an unbeatable combination of classic style and value in a manufacture piece:

 

[MGLL]

My recommendations for your criterion:

Rolex Explorer I, 39mm, 100 M WR



IWC vintage Ingenieur, 42.5mm, 120 M WR

JLC Reverso in stainless steel with a brown strap!

Here you go: classic elegance with a subtle dose of sixties style:




And here's a wild card. Probably the last piece that you want to get if your goal is to impress brand snobs, and likely only appreciated by a subset of watch enthusiasts, but the Grand Seiko automatic lineup gives up absolutely nothing in quality to any remotely comparable IWC / JLC / Omega, and is far less common than any of those:




A nice crossover beach-to-boardroom piece would be this Omega Aqua Terra. The new cal 8500 movement is just superb:




For a dress watch, I will repeat myself in suggesting that vintage pieces offer an unbeatable combination of classic style and value in a manufacture piece:

Thank you guys for actually being helpful unlike some of the others in this thread. I forgot to mention that I am looking into the second hand market (should have been obvious by the Ingenieurs I am looking at being dis-continued), and as a result have a little more scope. The Explorer that you mentioned is indeed a beautiful piece but I don't feel particularly drawn to it, I wouldn't want to spend so much on something that I didn't absolutely love! That Omega Aqua Terra is another that I have been keeping an eye on and is absolutely stunning. Does anyone have any experience with owning one?

With the responses in this topic coupled with my knowledge and research I am edging towards finding a mint 3227-01.

 

[usctrojans31]

Wholeheartedly recommend Bremont anything. They are rare and known mostly to horological fans and I'd argue that there is no better bang for the buck.

 

[MGLL]

Wholeheartedly recommend Bremont anything. They are rare and known mostly to horological fans and I'd argue that there is no better bang for the buck.

Thanks for the advice, any particular model?