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

[-Skyfall-]

I'm slowly lowering my sleeve to cover up my Royal Oak... in my defense though I bought my Royal Oak right before they become really popular and was able to get a 22% discount on mine.

Lol lucky. I’d love to have a royal oak.

 

[ronscuba]

Well, it has to be said, any watch that is handy for 1200m+ dives is not an everydayer, particularly if you are in a custom shirt cuff. I know my dress shirts could not contain more than a 11-12mm high wristwatch.

1200 meter dives ? Forget 1200 meters, do people actually dive 10-30m wearing their Rolex ?

 

[ronscuba]

Lol lucky. I’d love to have a royal oak.

Supposedly the model I am interested in is forecasted to come in March and I am at the top of the list. I have a feeling that is what they tell everyone.

 

[mak1277]

Their collections generally are not interesting because they are composed of the "greatest hits." "Here's my Royal Oak, my Nautilus, and my vintage Rolex Daytona."

I agree, but the question becomes, what would you want to see instead? Personally, I have almost no interest in seeing a TW full of watches I could buy myself. I want to see unique, high end stuff, not pedestrian watches that "anyone" could buy. Nor do I want to see a bunch of vintage junk. That stuff just doesn't interest me.

 

[Viral]

Pras has a dope collection...........loved his TW episodes

 

[Dino944]

I was thinking the same thing. Don‘t get me wrong - I love the SD and have an older one myself, but it seems that most people go for a Sub / GMT / Daytona first.

Even historically when the SD was 40mm. its additional thickness and cost over a Sub Date always resulted in a stronger demand for Subs (or GMTs), and that was when the price difference in the 90's was only $300 more. Demand for Subs has continued to be stronger than for modern SDs particularly as diameter and price increased significantly. The SD is a great watch, but not everyone can wear a 43mm watch and not everyone wants to spend what it costs for additional water resistance, since it probably won't see anything deeper than a swimming pool.

 

[Dino944]

So what do you wanna see? They're classics for a reason, and it's not just about the watches. Most of the time, there's a story attached that make it more interesting than just a greatest hit.

I agree, I really like to hear the background stories about the watches. I've seen classics, and I've grand complications and watches from independents in person. Seeing them in a video certainly isn't going to be better than having seen them in person - so it's really only interesting to me if the owner shares an interesting story as to why he bought it, what it means to him, or if he has an amusing story about how he acquired it if it is difficult to get.

I'm slowly lowering my sleeve to cover up my Royal Oak... in my defense though I bought my Royal Oak right before they become really popular and was able to get a 22% discount on mine.

Love mine, don't care if they are popular or not. Bought my Jumbo with a 15% discount. Then again, when I went to Vegas a year or two later, and one could also still walk into any of the Patek ADs there and walk out with any model of Nautilus.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Can anyone explain the appeal of Hodinkee outside of being just another forum/article site(now grey dealer)? They seem to have or drive hype like its Supreme for adults. I know older forums like TZ are probably dead or are not what they once were, but I honestly don't get Hodinkee outside of they capitalized on social media early on and seemingly garnered a large audience. Genuinely curious as I don't venture out into watch forums much anymore unless a collector friend sends me an article or something.

I think the trick with HODINKEE is to view them first and foremost as an e-commerce site. An e-commerce site that occasionally posts an interesting article.

To the extent that there is a “community” there doesn’t seem to be much diversity of opinion so really no reason to engage.

So if I’m looking for a useless $4000 Leica that will double as an invitation to get mugged and beaten, I know where to go.

 

[pmeis]

I agree, but the question becomes, what would you want to see instead? Personally, I have almost no interest in seeing a TW full of watches I could buy myself. I want to see unique, high end stuff, not pedestrian watches that "anyone" could buy. Nor do I want to see a bunch of vintage junk. That stuff just doesn't interest me.

I'm more interested in people's thought patterns on things. If I want to see pics of pretty independent brand watches, there are plenty of sources online for that. I'm most interested in people who collect with intention, who can explain with reason why they've gone after something (assuming its something other than just because they knew it was a cool piece to have), even if it's some more pedestrian pieces.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

I'm more interested in people's thought patterns on things. If I want to see pics of pretty independent brand watches, there are plenty of sources online for that. I'm most interested in people who collect with intention, who can explain with reason why they've gone after something (assuming its something other than just because they knew it was a cool piece to have), even if it's some more pedestrian pieces.

This is my view exactly. One of my favorite TW episodes features now-retired baseball player Howie Kendrick, whose collection is composed of modern and vintage, heavy hitters and more pedestrian watches, all of which support his interest in tool watches.

 

[dan'l]

Even historically when the SD was 40mm. its additional thickness and cost over a Sub Date always resulted in a stronger demand for Subs (or GMTs), and that was when the price difference in the 90's was only $300 more. Demand for Subs has continued to be stronger than for modern SDs particularly as diameter and price increased significantly. The SD is a great watch, but not everyone can wear a 43mm watch and not everyone wants to spend what it costs for additional water resistance, since it probably won't see anything deeper than a swimming pool.

Yeah, agreed. I also like the fact that the SD (as well as the ND Sub) comes only one way. With the Sub Date, it comes in SS, two-tone & full gold, along with dial variations. The SD seems „purer,“ though I am sure many will disagree with me on that. With that said, I‘d totally rock a YG Sub if I could afford one!

I wish I had picked up a SD4000. It is a „transitional“ piece, I believe, since it had the 40mm maxi-case, ceramic bezel (with full minute markers) + matte dial. It was a handsome watch and they discontinued it after just a couple of years and then the current 43mm one came out.

 

[dan'l]

One thing I can say about Hodinkee is that they take great photos and you can really zoom in on then with minimal loss in resolution. So far I haven‘t come across photos on other sites with that level of zoom-ability (if that‘s even a word).

 

[Mghart]

I'm more interested in people's thought patterns on things. If I want to see pics of pretty independent brand watches, there are plenty of sources online for that. I'm most interested in people who collect with intention, who can explain with reason why they've gone after something (assuming its something other than just because they knew it was a cool piece to have), even if it's some more pedestrian pieces.

I find this much more interesting as well. I like the idea of a collection being more than just an accumulation of nice pieces. The thought process, wether it’s a certain watches provenance, history, elements of design or particular movements makes for better discussion. Wealthy celebs/athletes buying high dollar pieces based on hype, or worse, for show couldn’t be more boring.

 

[pmeis]

I find this much more interesting as well. I like the idea of a collection being more than just an accumulation of nice pieces. The thought process, wether it’s a certain watches provenance, history, elements of design or particular movements makes for better discussion. Wealthy celebs/athletes buying high dollar pieces based on hype, or worse, for show couldn’t be more boring.

It's certainly something I'm trying to do for myself now. After years of chasing after a lot of stuff, seemingly at random, I started seeing patterns in what I was drawn to. So as of last fall I committed myself to a direction and towards living with my decision for at least a full year before I will consider if this was the correct way to go.

 

[ronscuba]

I am new to watch buying/collecting.

I was perusing youtube researching sizes, models, etc.. Came across a guy who was talking about hot in demand watches. He had a guest on who was a watch broker. Watch guy brought up watch design, details and how it can affect demand. Broker guy says I don't know about that stuff nor do I care. All I care about is it can make me money trading. Such a turn off. Guy sounded like he was dealing drugs.