Watches - another OCD problem
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Love the Bulgari. Cool that you can advance the hour for travel purposes, if disappointing (and understandable on a chronograph, and the right decision) that there's no date. I think it's probably better off as a pure chronograph, perhaps with a quick-set hour capability at the crown. I might worry about accidentally depressing the button advancing the hour as it's configured.
I had hoped Seiko would take advantage of Rolex's Baselworld flop with a splash of their own, but IMO this ain't it. I didn't like the "thin" ones they already introduced, though I do like seeing that Spring Drive that lacks the PR on the dial. I like the thinner ceramic bezel on the GMT chronograph, but it is entirely too busy and fussy. I don't think the crowded, gaudy design will stand the test of time and is not a timeless design that could become iconic. The Prospex dive watches are alright, but you can basically get a turtle that is nigh indistinguishable from the cushion case for 10% of the price. I hear that even upper-echelon Prospex mechanicals are often compromised in their performance by being drenched in lube, and I saw a chapter ring misalignment in one of their own marketing photos, so these are not in a position to command the asking price from my perspective. Seiko's ambitions to move upmarket are clear, but I don't think they're going about it the right way, and based on their depreciation on the secondary market, I think I'm not the only one.
A disappointing Baselworld almost all the way around for me.
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faux patina is getting out of control!To revisit the topic of Grand Seiko and dial back or at least frame some of my negativity, I do like the sunray steel handwound GS with no PR indicator on the dial. I also like some of the unobtanium that they dropped. I am just disappointed in GS's sport watch game, particularly in the segment where they could battle Rolex.
What I'd love to see from Grand Seiko would be around 40mm 200M dive watches in svelte, zaratsu-polished steel cases, 14.5mm or less thickness, with mechanical and/or Spring Drive movements. It seems that the direction is towards dress watches, and to push Prospex dive watches, which means a lower level of finishing and that terrible Prospex logo that looks cheap (I say this as one who wears a Prospex diver most days). They could build on the GS brand equity instead of trying to elevate Prospex, which will be an uphill battle.
It might also be interesting in their high-end quartz to see if they could replace the battery with solar or kinetic power.
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Me too, the monochrome GMT is especially cool. But for $2k less you can get a Grand Seiko spring drive diver on the secondary market.
Question to the forum: anyone have experience of Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms Automatique in steel? I've long admired it from afar but have not had the chance to experience in person. It is on my short list. Any reasons it should or shouldn't be?
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Are you OK with the size? I like the watch very much but have held off because of the 45mm size…I draw the line at 44mm.
The calibre seems solid.
So many awesome divers...so few wrists:)
Me too, the monochrome GMT is especially cool. But for $2k less you can get a Grand Seiko spring drive diver on the secondary market.
Question to the forum: anyone have experience of Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms Automatique in steel? I've long admired it from afar but have not had the chance to experience in person. It is on my short list. Any reasons it should or shouldn't be?
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That's why I want to try one on. I don't have large wrists but I usually wear a gigantic Seiko diver, so I think the downturned lugs and the size across the wrist of the BP might work, as it's surprisingly reasonable in that dimension and the strap goes straight down from the lugs. I wish there were a boutique near, I may try to hit a jeweler in Dallas Monday to try one on while I'm there. I had hoped there would be one while I'm fishing in Cabo next month but it looks like Cabo and Mexico City are the only places in MX.
I don't care for the Bathyscaphe so it's either this or back to other options on my list.
Thanks gents.
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@mclaincausey the Fifty Fathoms is a good watch, and I think that the finish is a step up from something like a Rolex. I really like the sapphire bezel and case shape.
They come in various sizes. The Mil-Spec has a 40 mm case. I think that there's a 36 mm that was done as a limited edition.
The Swatch Group is unveiling their 2019 products at an event in mid-May. If you're not in a hurry, it might be worth waiting for that.
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@mclaincausey the Fifty Fathoms is a good watch, and I think that the finish is a step up from something like a Rolex. I really like the sapphire bezel and case shape.
They come in various sizes. The Mil-Spec has a 40 mm case. I think that there's a 36 mm that was done as a limited edition.
The Swatch Group is unveiling their 2019 products at an event in mid-May. If you're not in a hurry, it might be worth waiting for that.
Thanks, @Graeme , great points. I'm not in a hurry, but I am also not buying new! Though, perhaps something new could produce some good deals on the secondary market (I have already found some right now, but I need to try one on first). I definitely think it's a better value than a Sub, particularly if you can find a gently used example and let someone else take that initial depreciation.
I like the Mil-Spec, but I LOVE that 5015 (and the 5050, large date at 6, with my presbyopia), just the simple black one with the radial center, no guilloche… I think strikes the perfect balance between sport, elegance, and timelessness. It looks like one of the two boutiques in Dallas listed as a retailer is still open, so I'll try one on Monday and make a decision soon.
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@mclaincausey I saw the 5050 for $14K on Chrono24 versus $17,500 new. But I'd be inclined to negotiate with a boutique on the grounds that you'll get a better warranty.
I'm a fan of big date complications, and was keeping an eye out for the IWC Big Pilot Big Date at the local dealer, but it never showed up. (I'm just starting to feel presbyopia creep in myself, so I can understand why you like it!)
The NY Times has a piece on watch collecting. I suspect that all this is another bubble that'll cost people in the long run.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/style/collectible-watches.html
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I've been wondering for awhile if the bubble was going to burst on vintage watches. I feel like quite a bit of the vintage scene is being pushed by the hipster crowd.
Perhaps the bubble will burst when their watches begin to die an awful death and they have to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a service.
I still think that the sub $700 market is the market that has the most potential to increase in value beyond hype. JDM Seikos that are discontinued continue to raise in value, where most watches other than Rolex have trouble holding their value altogether. The Seiko Alpinist was up in value not long ago, and Hodinkee's release of their limited blue model sold nearly instantaneously. -
I think that I've posted this article before on watch flipping.
The vintage watch bubble is probably another manifestation of the everything bubble. Interest rates have been at zero for most of the past decade, along with Quantitative Easing, and that's driven the prices of pretty much any asset into the stratosphere.
I don't know how long it'll last. Property prices are starting to trend downwards in several property markets (London, Sydney, possibly LA and SF), so it might be sooner rather than later.
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If we see a global economic downturn, perhaps things will change, but at least on the Rolex front, unless they address their supply and distribution channel issues, I don't see why it would. There are so many people and not enough watches.
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The problem with this article is that it positions watch collecting as an investment. This is a horrible way to look at what is a perfectly fine, if expensive, hobby.
Agreed. When people start looking at watches as "assets", bad things happen.
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… another manifestation of the everything bubble. Interest rates have been at zero for most of the past decade, along with Quantitative Easing, and that's driven the prices of pretty much any asset into the stratosphere.
So much to unpack in this statement, with which I agree 100%.
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Definitely wise to try it on before purchase. I found that the lugs on this beast hung over my wrist.
That's why I want to try one on. I don't have large wrists but I usually wear a gigantic Seiko diver, so I think the downturned lugs and the size across the wrist of the BP might work, as it's surprisingly reasonable in that dimension and the strap goes straight down from the lugs. I wish there were a boutique near, I may try to hit a jeweler in Dallas Monday to try one on while I'm there. I had hoped there would be one while I'm fishing in Cabo next month but it looks like Cabo and Mexico City are the only places in MX.
I don't care for the Bathyscaphe so it's either this or back to other options on my list.
Thanks gents.
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I took a look in an Omega boutique today, and found the new Seamaster Diver 300M in black ceramic on display.
It's quite a big watch, at 44 mm, but the ceramic case makes it pretty light, and it's relatively slim. There's also no date window to sully the dial, or strain @mclaincausey's presbyopia.
The local price is $10,875 (Australian), which seems a bit rich compared to the standard, steel model at $6,375. I'd like to compare it side-by-side to a Rolex Submariner. (Down Under a no date Submariner is $9,900, whilst the date model is $11,300 or $12,000 for the Hulk.) I always think that the Seamaster makes a lot of sense versus a Tudor Black Bay ($3,910 for a Fifty Eight), but don't know how it compares to its big brother.
@louisbosco would say Submariner, of course.
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believe it or not, I like the date complication, unlike so many. In fact, I think most people do like it, just not among the watch nerd community. But yes, particularly the ones Omega does at 6 o'clock, seem small. I'm getting to where I hate the cyclops less.
I really love that watch. Not crazy about the dial, and you know how I feel about the He valve, but it is still beautiful and a technological marvel. I think it looks best on that rubber versus a NATO strap.
I'd still lean towards a gently used BP FF as the better dive watch value. Great movement with 5 day PR, anti-magnetic, timeless beauty that can dress up or down, lumed bezel, about the same or less money than a used Sub, much fewer of them produced and thus much more unusual, arguable superior pedigree of the brand and model, and each is made by a single watchmaker.
