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

[TheWraith]

Good to be back here. Good to see a lot of old faces (mimo, Dino, Journeyman et al). No new watches for me--yet--but hopefully this year.

 

[Scuppers]

Understanding that it’s all relative, but how much can you haggle/work down a price at an AD for a watch that isnt super competitive to find (IWC Portofino or JLC MUT)?

I imagine you can probably knock at least 3% off with a cash offer right? Is there a rule of thumb otherwise? I don’t want to be offensive, but I don’t want to put money on the table that I don’t have to either...

15-20% would be a reasonable purchase offer. No less.

 

[Dust For Eyes]

I thought that was an interesting little piece! Biden 100% strikes me as straddling that Rolex-Omega divide. I was a little nonplussed with the whole Timex thing in some former presidents, seems to be overkill signaling that they don't care, but maybe I'm overthinking it. They didn't mention what Trump wears?

Reminds me when then French President and watch connoisseur Nicholas Sarkozy nearly lost one of his watches when shaking hands with a crowd.

 

[Scuppers]

Reminds me when then French President and watch connoisseur Nicholas Sarkozy nearly lost one of his watches when shaking hands with a crowd.

Since been debunked as an attempt to alight him of his fine timepiece.

 

[radicaldog]

Timex is a very WASP/trad choice, though.

Yes. It’s the US equivalent of the European (well, mostly Italian) affectation of wearing a Swatch with conservative business dress.

 

[dan'l]

Haven‘t checked in for a week or so and this thread is on fire! Lot‘s to catch up on and plenty of moments!!

I hear the sound of the world's smallest violin playing for the owner of the APRO ultrathin and Cartier monopoussir.

Haha! It‘s an ultrathin from the 60‘s, so not in the Royal Oak case. It‘s a pure dress watch and small for today‘s tastes, but it belonged to my father and I wanted to have it in wearable condition.

I‘m absolutely delighted to be the owner of a Cartier monopoussir. I bought it back in 2013 or so, before it started to get popular.

Wow, those are some relatively high prices. However, with the AP I'm wondering if it needed some parts replaces being from the 1960s. I haven't heard of them having a service cost that high, at least not on newer pieces.

As usual, your observation is spot-on, Dino. They had to do some work on it, like replacing a jewel or two and the crown, if I recall correctly.

I serviced my Cartier monopusher about five years ago and it cost USD 2500. I am sure it is more now. The movement was not replaced but there were some modifications to the springs and bridges at the 4 o'clock when viewed from the backside. My watch serial number is around number 50 of the first series (I have seen both CC and CE if i recall correctly). So I agree it is an expensive watch to own long term. Although I think it was the only service the watch has had in 20+ years. I serviced my Patek 5026 last year with the 240 microrotor movement and it was about USD 1500. Both through the brand service centers. The Cartier took 9 or 10 months. Patek was 6 months if I recall.

We have the same watch - thanks for sharing your experience. I went through my notes and Cartier had quoted me €1750 for a routine service and a turn-around time of 7 months. But that was nearly 4 years ago, so I‘m sure the prices have increased since then.

 

[thuhoan]

Understanding that it’s all relative, but how much can you haggle/work down a price at an AD for a watch that isnt super competitive to find (IWC Portofino or JLC MUT)?

I imagine you can probably knock at least 3% off with a cash offer right? Is there a rule of thumb otherwise? I don’t want to be offensive, but I don’t want to put money on the table that I don’t have to either...

I managed to get a 22,5% (excluding sales tax) off of a VC Traditionelle, last month. Probably because its a) not a Rolex or PP, b) a dress watch and c) a precious metal

 

[cchen]

Agree for some folks. But then Obama immediately went for a white gold Rolex Cellini as soon as he was out of office.

It was probably the only Rolex that was in the case

 

[Darkside]

I’ve been reading up about history of the Cartier Tank and can’t figure out which is “the one” to get. Tank Louis seem the most classic though Americaine are appealing too. How large is too large? Most the automatic movement models are in XL size.

 

[Ranjeev]

Not as nice as some of the beauties covered recently but picked up the new Sub (black) on the weekend. Next up is the Daytona, which has been on my list for ages. I was told Q2 but lets see. Both are for personal use-no flipping.

I can't find it but someone posted a pic of a blue Portugieser Automatic 40 awhile ago. Would you mind posting it again? Cheers.

 

[Texasmade]

I’ve been reading up about history of the Cartier Tank and can’t figure out which is “the one” to get. Tank Louis seem the most classic though Americaine are appealing too. How large is too large? Most the automatic movement models are in XL size.

I'm not a fan of the Tank Solo. The XL or L size which ever it is, is way too big for a tank while the M was too small for me. Tank MC is nice but isn't a classical Tank. My personal preference is the Tank Americaine.

 

[Dino944]

Agree for some folks. But then Obama immediately went for a white gold Rolex Cellini as soon as he was out of office.

Michelle Obama was well known for wearing a Cartier Tank Francaise, which I believe she was wearing while her husband was still in office.

Good to be back here. Good to see a lot of old faces (mimo, Dino, Journeyman et al). No new watches for me--yet--but hopefully this year.

Welcome back ! Wishing you luck with whatever you may be looking to purchase this year.

I’ve been reading up about history of the Cartier Tank and can’t figure out which is “the one” to get. Tank Louis seem the most classic though Americaine are appealing too. How large is too large? Most the automatic movement models are in XL size.

I think you need to figure out what model fits your lifestyle and which one makes you smile the most. Are you looking for something dressy, something sporty, something in between.

The Tank Louis Cartier is probably the watch most people think of first when they hear the name Cartier. The design has been around for over 100 years. Most are manual wind models, although automatics have been offered (there was an automatic version in the 70s known as the Jumbo). There are also less expensive models like the Solo, and its case has a different profile. Many see it as a dress watch, but I find it very versatile and I wear it with casual wear also.



The Santos has been around in some form or other for over 100 years. It was the first men's watch and it was devised as a purpose built sports watch for aviator, Alberto Santo-Dumont, who wanted to be able to check the time while having his hands free to work the controls of early air ships and airplanes. The current Santos is antimagnetic, water resistant too 100m and it comes with a strap and a bracelet allowing one to switch between the two of them quite easily. There is a large and an medium size (which lacks a date).

Santos Dumont


Santos de Cartier large blue dial


The Tank Americaine has been around quite a while, but its rather large for some people. It's never really been my taste. Also many of them used rather simple ETA movements. Nothing wrong with that as they are good basic work horses, but I'd rather have a Tank Louis Cartier or Cintree or Santos...but that's just me.

There is also a new revised Pasha sports watch. Which much like the Santos allows one to switch between a strap and a bracelet easily. I have one of the previous versions from 2005.

Wishing you luck with whichever watches you are considering.

 

[9thsymph]

On the topic of the new Zenith being too close to a Daytona knock-off...I'm not sure if the 1-10th second chrono feature in relation to the sub dials and outer markers was already discussed, so here is a look at the "lightning" chrono hand et al:

 

[Neville Southall]

Weih Koh is such a ******* chochbag.

 

[9thsymph]

Weih Koh is such a ******* chochbag.

haha...easy killer, just showing the difference in chrono function (which, again - if already discussed - escaped me....). Also, I'm not meaning to suggest I'm in the any camp when it comes the Zenith being a poor man's daytona or whatever. I did find the video informative...