The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[Jamesbond1]

They are all above MSRP. I guess that is my answer.

Anything on chrono24 will be above MSRP. Best to see your local ad.

 

[Texasmade]

Anything on chrono24 will be above MSRP. Best to see your local ad.

I can almost guarantee that unless the person is a VIP, all he’s going to see are a bunch of ladies models or two tone DJ’s. You’re still living in 2018 if you think a blue dial SS DJ is readily available and can be purchased at a discount.

 

[tim_horton]

I guess what I'm trying to ask is - for one's first purchase, is it a better idea to get the one 'grail' watch or get two very good watches for the same overall cost that complement each other in terms of their purpose (the Aqua Terra being more sporty and the Flagship Heritage being more dressy).

Without a doubt, get the grail watch - in this case, the Rolex.

 

[chocomallo]

Following chocomallo's request of different watches and in honour of Foo's self-present:

Yeah buddy! Fun watch. I’ve never seen it in person but I like it from pictures. Here is an unusual Bulgari that I only saw recently. It’s a Tadao Ando co-design but not the titanium one that we typically see. A bit large at 44mm (I think that was the size) but spectacular on the wrist. And I think a more cohesive design than his titanium one in the way that the tourbillon serves as the source of the expanding circles. But it was something like US180k. Apparently it was the last one available in a series of 8.

 

[Journeyman]

But then again, this thread is basically a circle jerk these days. On a quarterly basis we see like 10 different watches on average. And most of them are of the banal type.

You're largely correct about this, and this has been (briefly) discussed a few times in this thread over the years.

I think that there are two main reasons why we see the same watches again and again.

The first is marketing, emotion and "groupthink" (which includes social signalling). Pretty much none of us are immune to this, as it's really powerful. Take Rolex as an example - it has successfully built a brand reputation that really resonates with people for a variety of reasons, as it variously denotes adventure, taste, wealth, history and more. Just look at the positive feedback that pretty much any post with a Rolex in it generates in this thread. It can be really hard to escape that pull and, if you have the money, there's really no reason to resist it as Rolex does make good, reliable watches.

The second reason is that most "luxury" watches are not cheap and, although most of the people here appear to be affluent and to have significant disposable income, they're not oligarch-rich. As a result, when they buy watches, they want something that is not horrendously expensive, that will hopefully be reliable, and that will also hopefully maintain reasonable resale value if they want or need to sell it in the future.

Associated with the second reason is something that @gdl203 mentioned a few years back - although people might be attracted to designs by smaller, independent brands, they are cautious about servicing and parts for those brands, and also cautious about resale value in the future. It's safer to stick with larger, established, well-known brands as you know that you will be able to have them serviced and get parts for them years in to the future.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

No other discussion of shoes or clothing choices seems to inure the same level of analysis as does someone’s choice of what watch to buy and wear.

 

[chocomallo]

You're largely correct about this, and this has been (briefly) discussed a few times in this thread over the years.

I think that there are two main reasons why we see the same watches again and again.

The first is marketing, emotion and "groupthink" (which includes social signalling). Pretty much none of us are immune to this, as it's really powerful. Take Rolex as an example - it has successfully built a brand reputation that really resonates with people for a variety of reasons, as it variously denotes adventure, taste, wealth, history and more. Just look at the positive feedback that pretty much any post with a Rolex in it generates in this thread. It can be really hard to escape that pull and, if you have the money, there's really no reason to resist it as Rolex does make good, reliable watches.

The second reason is that most "luxury" watches are not cheap and, although most of the people here appear to be affluent and to have significant disposable income, they're not oligarch-rich. As a result, when they buy watches, they want something that is not horrendously expensive, that will hopefully be reliable, and that will also hopefully maintain reasonable resale value if they want or need to sell it in the future.

Associated with the second reason is something that @gdl203 mentioned a few years back - although people might be attracted to designs by smaller, independent brands, they are cautious about servicing and parts for those brands, and also cautious about resale value in the future. It's safer to stick with larger, established, well-known brands as you know that you will be able to have them serviced and get parts for them years in to the future.

Thanks for your reply. I think you are spot on. I went overboard in my comments yesterday. This happens to be one of the better watch communities online I think.

As for gdl203, his screen name always makes me think of the M203 grenade launcher. A wise man is he.

 

[dan'l]

The second reason is that most "luxury" watches are not cheap and, although most of the people here appear to be affluent and to have significant disposable income, they're not oligarch-rich. As a result, when they buy watches, they want something that is not horrendously expensive, that will hopefully be reliable, and that will also hopefully maintain reasonable resale value if they want or need to sell it in the future.

This is a good observation and while I do not have „significant disposable income,“ I tend to think along the same lines when planning watch purchases.

I inherited an AP ultra-thin from my dad and sent it to AP for service. It was, in my opinion, outrageously expensive to have it overhauled. OK, it was around €2500 but I found that on the steep side for a time-only watch from the 60s, and this was at least ten years ago before AP started getting a lot of attention and raised their prices. I also have a Cartier mono-pusher chronograph I‘ll have to get serviced soon and was already quoted at least €2000. It is a lot of money and sometimes I think that this hobby just isn‘t for me, or at least I shouldn‘t have rarer pieces that are difficult to have serviced.

 

[classicalthunde]

Anything that’s a men’s Rolex in SS is hard to get right now.

found this out the hard way when i went into my local AD to inquire about the new submariner...I have a GMT II from the mid 00s, so I haven't really been in the watch market for quite some time and was pretty floored when the waiting list for the standard steel model was 2-3 years!

do waitlists vary by store, or is it pretty even across the board absent being a celebrity or having a close personal relationship with the AD? I am planning on bringing my GMT in for service this spring/summer, would the flagship store be any different in NYC?

 

[mak1277]

found this out the hard way when i went into my local AD to inquire about the new submariner...I have a GMT II from the mid 00s, so I haven't really been in the watch market for quite some time and was pretty floored when the waiting list for the standard steel model was 2-3 years!

do waitlists vary by store, or is it pretty even across the board absent being a celebrity or having a close personal relationship with the AD? I am planning on bringing my GMT in for service this spring/summer, would the flagship store be any different in NYC?

I'd say you're lucky to have been offered a waitlist position at all. I know most (all?) of the DC area stores have stopped taking waitlist names on any of the steel sports models.

 

[classicalthunde]

I'd say you're lucky to have been offered a waitlist position at all. I know most (all?) of the DC area stores have stopped taking waitlist names on any of the steel sports models.

Yea, I work in a small but affluent town with a nice jewelry store, there is certainly the market for rolexs but probably not the volume that you would see in a major city. I mainly put my name down as a precaution (no deposit required), very different than when i bought my previous watch where i was a walk in and it was a couple fo weeks to get the 'pepsi' color variant as opposed to the 'coke' version

I'm in no particular rush, but I only have one nice watch and two sons, and figure I should probably even the field now and get some enjoyment out of a second watch before they start eating me out of house and home and disposable income

 

[Phileas Fogg]

found this out the hard way when i went into my local AD to inquire about the new submariner...I have a GMT II from the mid 00s, so I haven't really been in the watch market for quite some time and was pretty floored when the waiting list for the standard steel model was 2-3 years!

do waitlists vary by store, or is it pretty even across the board absent being a celebrity or having a close personal relationship with the AD? I am planning on bringing my GMT in for service this spring/summer, would the flagship store be any different in NYC?

Put it this way, if you were a baller with a track record of purchases, I’m sure they’d find a way to get one on your wrist.

 

[classicalthunde]

Put it this way, if you were a baller with a track record of purchases, I’m sure they’d find a way to get one on your wrist.

yea, not the case here unfortunately...

 

[Phileas Fogg]

yea, not the case here unfortunately...

you and me both man!

 

[Texasmade]

found this out the hard way when i went into my local AD to inquire about the new submariner...I have a GMT II from the mid 00s, so I haven't really been in the watch market for quite some time and was pretty floored when the waiting list for the standard steel model was 2-3 years!

do waitlists vary by store, or is it pretty even across the board absent being a celebrity or having a close personal relationship with the AD? I am planning on bringing my GMT in for service this spring/summer, would the flagship store be any different in NYC?

Most waitlists are bullshit. If you buy a platinum DD or a platinum women's watch, your new sub will magically "just arrived from our latest shipment". If no other expensive purchase, it could be several months (if the AD thinks you have potential to be a long-term customer) to never. I don't even bother going in to talk to Rolex anymore.