is it a real watch?

is it a real watch?

Author
Discussion

verminator

Original Poster:

723 posts

239 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
i know nothing about watches but will be purchasing a good watch next year for a max of £2000. Pre- owned seems to be the way to go as you get more watch for your money. please explain if all rolex's are auto as opposed to battery, and if they are does that mean that they have a "real" movement in them. and are all battery watches looked down on as not being "proper" watches. also could some kind soul tell me what they think of cartier watches, as i quite like the look of those. sorry to sound stupid but if i dont start asking questions now i wont know what is or is'nt a good watch. i dont want to end up with a brand watch which is a load of c**p under the label. many thanks.

dawson2k5

244 posts

209 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
all rolex's are automatic and have a "real" movement.
stay clear of quartz watches over £500, not worth the money.
cartier in my opinion is all name and no quality.
stick with Breitling, IWC, Rolex, Panerai, Omega and Tag heuer good brands with good movemets and a wide range of styles.
One thing i must stress is, buy what you like and do not ask people's advice on the LOOK of the watch.
your the one spending £2000 on something you will wear everyday, make sure you love it.

BermyAndy

2,050 posts

225 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
The bar maids in eastenders where cartier...

anonymous-user

61 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
BermyAndy said:
The bar maids in eastenders where cartier...
Yet whatshisname Mitchell wears a Rolex Submariner.

Haven't Cartier been making watches since 1847?

Buy what you like, £2000 will get you many fine watches.

The brands mentioned are all good ones just make sure you see the watch in real life before buying as the sizes vary hugely and not all watches will suit everyone.

Have a look at some of the watch sites mentioned on here to get some ideas if you ask 100 people they all will give different answers.

Edited by stovey on Wednesday 20th June 17:19

TheKeyboardDemon

713 posts

214 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
Also look out for reputable dealers when it comes to buying a good watch. There are some very authentic looking replicas around these days and often it takes a good trained eye to spot these from the real ones. A reputable dealer might charge a little more however you know you are far less likely to be stung.

tertius

6,914 posts

237 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
dawson2k5 said:
all rolex's are automatic and have a "real" movement.
stay clear of quartz watches over £500, not worth the money.
cartier in my opinion is all name and no quality.
stick with Breitling, IWC, Rolex, Panerai, Omega and Tag heuer good brands with good movemets and a wide range of styles.
One thing i must stress is, buy what you like and do not ask people's advice on the LOOK of the watch.
your the one spending £2000 on something you will wear everyday, make sure you love it.
Some good advice there especially to buy the watch that you want and like, and not the one that someone else says is good.

Though I have to say if I were spending up to £2K on a used watch, not all of those makes mentioned would make my list.

£2K on a used watch will get you a fantastic watch from one of the great manufactures, who design and make their own movements, and indeed pretty much everything else.

I would be looking at Jaeger-LeCoultre, Zenith, Girard-Perregaux, Union Glashutte and perhaps Nomos in this category. In fact you can sometimes get new watches from some of these manufactures for that money.

If you like the style Rolex would definitely make the list and IWC. Omega should be well within your budget used.

Slightly less likely but you might also find a Blancpain or Chopard (love the Mille Miglia XL) in budget.

dawson2k5

244 posts

209 months

Wednesday 20th June 2007
quotequote all
Great advice also.
especialy the jaeger and the zenith.
if going for a zenith try to get an el primero movement (top class movement) and try to go second hand, you get much more for your money and are less likeley to get a shock when selling/ part ex-ing later.
www.watches.co.uk are fantastic ask for Tim, John or Dee and they will help you beyond belief.
They supplied my Breitling and i could not recommend them enough.

smilerbaker

4,071 posts

222 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
dawson2k5 said:
all rolex's are automatic and have a "real" movement.
stay clear of quartz watches over £500, not worth the money.
cartier in my opinion is all name and no quality.
stick with Breitling, IWC, Rolex, Panerai, Omega and Tag heuer good brands with good movemets and a wide range of styles.
One thing i must stress is, buy what you like and do not ask people's advice on the LOOK of the watch.
your the one spending £2000 on something you will wear everyday, make sure you love it.
Rolex do make some quartz watches.

Vesuvius 996

35,829 posts

278 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
dawson2k5 said:
Great advice also.
especialy the jaeger and the zenith.
if going for a zenith try to get an el primero movement (top class movement) and try to go second hand, you get much more for your money and are less likeley to get a shock when selling/ part ex-ing later.
www.watches.co.uk are fantastic ask for Tim, John or Dee and they will help you beyond belief.
They supplied my Breitling and i could not recommend them enough.
1000% agreed. They are the bobbins.


smilerbaker

4,071 posts

222 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
If you want it to be worth anything then stay clear of Tag quartz watches, they are worth bugger all 2nd hand.

Still didn't stop me buying a new tag f1 last month though smile

sparkyhx

4,193 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
Vesuvius 996 said:
dawson2k5 said:
Great advice also.
especialy the jaeger and the zenith.
if going for a zenith try to get an el primero movement (top class movement) and try to go second hand, you get much more for your money and are less likeley to get a shock when selling/ part ex-ing later.
www.watches.co.uk are fantastic ask for Tim, John or Dee and they will help you beyond belief.
They supplied my Breitling and i could not recommend them enough.
1000% agreed. They are the bobbins.
I had to second read that - 'bobbins' is bad where I come from.

dawson2k5

244 posts

209 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
Never seen a genuine quartz rolex in my life, not a mens one anyway, which rolex model are you talking about?
Would be interesting if there was.

Edited by dawson2k5 on Thursday 21st June 13:18

smilerbaker

4,071 posts

222 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
dawson2k5 said:
Never seen a genuine quartz rolex in my life, not a mens one anyway, which rolex model are you talking about?
Would be interesting if there was.

Edited by dawson2k5 on Thursday 21st June 13:18
http://www.rolex.com/en/collection/rolex-gallery/quartz/index.jsp

eta bobbins is bad down south too

Edited by smilerbaker on Thursday 21st June 13:35

dawson2k5

244 posts

209 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
You learn something new every day.
Nice looking watch but quartz just does not appeal to me especially if the watch is over £500.

verminator

Original Poster:

723 posts

239 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
thanks for the advice guys, will heed it.

Jase k

109 posts

219 months

Thursday 21st June 2007
quotequote all
The chopard mentioned earlier is worth a look, many models (158992-3001 is beautiful) with lots of different prices but all nice pieces!!