3K To spend

[reedman]

Ok I have just been paid out 2500 from the Insurance company.

The money has started to burn a hole in my pocket and the money is'nt in the bank.

Corum Adrmirals cup 48 No 1

Cartier Pasha 39mm Steel

Would like a deal also

Any thoughts

Also where to buy Flee bay ?

I like a big watch. (I know small)

[Dominic H]

What about a Pasha Seatimer......?

[cannedheat]

Any other options?

What movement do Cartiers use?

[Flat six]

ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX


Have a look at some here www.watchfinder.co.uk

Not affiliated with them.

Just to get the mind set to buy a good looking, well made, classic, time piece that holds its value too!

Good luck and enjoy whatever you choose.

[markomah]

What about a Breitling Superocean Heritage 46? Certainly big and well within budget.

I'm not normally a Breitling fan but I think this is stunning...


[/quote]

[Fittster]

The only time I've ever bought a nice watch new, the shop was offering me a stupidly large discount on a Corum. My thinking was 'anything they are that desperate to get rid of can't be that good/popular'.

[10JH]

Buy from America, some good online retailers with unbeatable prices, even after factoring in insured delivery, VAT etc.

[tertius]

Do you want a watch to keep or to sell on in a few years?

[reedman]

Never sell any of my watch's.

Still go a Panther that I bought 15yrs ago.

I Will just keep it unless I need some PETROL !!

[tertius]

reedman said:

Never sell any of my watch's.

Still go a Panther that I bought 15yrs ago.

I Will just keep it unless I need some PETROL !!

OK well 3K will get you a very nice watch.

So my stock advice follows: personally I'd be looking for something with an in-house movement, thats a little out of the ordinary, so depending a lot on what you already have I'd consider the following:

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux
Zenith (though probably used as the current range are unremmittingly vile)
Dornblueth
Glashutte Original
Union Glashutte (again used, they have recently changed from in-house to ETA movements)

[Watch-Collector]

Add a bit more and buy the GMT2 Ceramic. A Super watch !!
Watch-Collector

[sparkyhx]

markomah said:

What about a Breitling Superocean Heritage 46? Certainly big and well within budget.

I'm not normally a Breitling fan but I think this is stunning...

Thats rather nice - nicest Breitling I've seen for years

tertius said:

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux
Zenith (though probably used as the current range are unremmittingly vile)
Dornblueth
Glashutte Original
Union Glashutte (again used, they have recently changed from in-house to ETA movements)

good advice there - i'd add Rolex, Blancpain and Breguet in there as well. as well

All the above you may have to look second hand or online

[10JH]

tertius said:

reedman said:

Never sell any of my watch's.

Still go a Panther that I bought 15yrs ago.

I Will just keep it unless I need some PETROL !!

OK well 3K will get you a very nice watch.

So my stock advice follows: personally I'd be looking for something with an in-house movement, thats a little out of the ordinary, so depending a lot on what you already have I'd consider the following:

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux
Zenith (though probably used as the current range are unremmittingly vile)
Dornblueth
Glashutte Original
Union Glashutte (again used, they have recently changed from in-house to ETA movements)

Don't agree with the Zenith comment, they have some shockers (the Defy range imho) but they have some nice dress watches, some of which come under the OPs price range.

[cyberface]

sparkyhx said:

tertius said:

Jaeger-LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux
Zenith (though probably used as the current range are unremmittingly vile)
Dornblueth
Glashutte Original
Union Glashutte (again used, they have recently changed from in-house to ETA movements)

good advice there - i'd add Rolex, Blancpain and Breguet in there as well. as well

All the above you may have to look second hand or online

Definitely good advice - far too many 'brands' are going the ETA + fancy case route... and being replicated absolutely identically by the Chinese super-replica factories. To get something actually worth the additional money paid for the genuine, getting something with an in-house movement, a clever unreplicated complication or, if that's your thing, solid precious metal (which tends not to feature on fake watches, though I have seen some solid gold fakes...) is worth it (to me, anyway).

3K will *nearly* get you a Breguet Type XX - all of these will be second hand if you can find them at the price - and the flyback complication on the Breguet isn't going to be found in fakes (since ETA don't make them)... Breguet also have a history second to none... though the history has been a rocky ride, its place now as the 'top marque' of the Swatch group with its own factory producing movements for Breguet (and I guess selected top pieces in the Swatch group...) only - I can only see the manufacture getting stronger. IMO it really ought to be up there with Patek, Blancpain and Vacheron and prices surely will go up.

Then again, this could be bull from someone who's recently bought a Breguet and loves it to bits. Looking for one of their classic vintage dress watches for the odd occasion I can't get away with steel sports watches, but they're proper money. And then there's the fantasy Richard Mille and the reality of poor financial markets.

There are plenty of highly fashionable brands that are making expensive watches with ETA movements, who seem to also command high second-hand prices at the moment. I'd risk upsetting a few people and put Panerai in there. Where's the history? Panerai, of course, with basic models made of steel and an ETA movement, are readily available as *perfect* fakes (i.e. you can repair the watch with genuine Panerai parts, etc.) I think it's these types of watch which will take a big hit if there's a huge crunch in the markets and bonuses are non existent next year. If you want a Panerai I'd go for the ones with the most modification to the movement - IIRC Panerai are going to make watches with their own movements but at the moment they're mostly ETA.

Older, classic Rolex should be OK (look at Daytona markups for the general sentiment IMO... when things are good, there's a massive markup, when things are going bad, the markup isn't as huge) - avoid 'fashion' Rolex one-offs like the green bezel Sub (lots around) and you should be OK. But Rolex are very popular and very common (not in a pejorative sense, just 'plentiful' - and the most copied watch on the planet).

The main thing I'd consider spending that sort of money now (and I've spent much more than that before as a youth thinking it was so cool... until I realised what was inside the case and how I could have something literally identical for a tenth of the price... shows really how much the materials and craftmanship is really *worth* when it comes to ETA movement watches) is whether you'll still love the watch in a couple of years time. We're not in a boom time when you can buy any big-brand watch and sell it on for minimal loss in 2 years when you're bored of it, and 3K is a lot to have sitting in your watch box, never worn.

Sounds like an odd attitude, but a flip comment from a friend about fake watches got me fascinated, and then I did enough research to find out exactly where the cost comes from... to fake an ETA watch perfectly pretty much requires a modern CAD/CAM setup, a skilled operator, and then you can churn them out. The additional thousands on top? Marketing and 'prestige'. The cost of R&D at ETA has been amortised long ago. I'd always be disappointed owning a £3K+ watch, knowing that the materials to make the case cost about a tenner and when I open it up, inside sits a £50 movement... and the Chinese make the exact watch with the exact same components for a tenth of the price. However having a bespoke movement, not available to other watchmakers (or counterfeiters), or a special complication that requires genuinely talented geniuses to conceive and create, now that's where I'd like to put my money.

Normally this means monstrous sums unfortunately. But there are a few manufactures still going who use their own movements or modify ETAs beyond belief - the entry level Breguet and Blancpain steel sports watches are within a grand of that second hand, JLC make phenomenal movements - not sure about feasibility of pricing there though - I love GO but haven't seen too many watches around 3K, and I thought Girard-Perregaux didn't use their own movements? Zenith have the EP movement which is pretty much their crown jewel... the current range of watches simply aren't selling (according to my friendly watch dealer) so it remains to be seen whether they retain their prestige.

Dornblueth???? Been mentioned a couple of times on this forum, apparently one bloke? Any definitive information on these pieces? Bespoke movements, hand made by one guy, and available around £3K?? Doesn't sound feasible to me but I'm willing to be corrected. Any pics? I'm interested

[tertius]

cyberface said:

Dornblueth???? Been mentioned a couple of times on this forum, apparently one bloke? Any definitive information on these pieces? Bespoke movements, hand made by one guy, and available around £3K?? Doesn't sound feasible to me but I'm willing to be corrected. Any pics? I'm interested

Here you go: http://www.dornblueth.com/

I believe the movements all start from a Unitas 64xx but I'm happy to be corrected. However, they end a long way away - you will see that the number of parts he makes, the re-work he does and the complications he adds means it certainly isn't your run of the mill Unitas. Perhaps not strictly in-house, but certainly very special watches indeed.

If you want more background I'd look at the German Brands forum on timezone and read some of the posts from owners. I'd certainly love to have one.

[Asterix]

Great post CF.

Great info for all of us.

[cyberface]

tertius said:

cyberface said:

Dornblueth???? Been mentioned a couple of times on this forum, apparently one bloke? Any definitive information on these pieces? Bespoke movements, hand made by one guy, and available around £3K?? Doesn't sound feasible to me but I'm willing to be corrected. Any pics? I'm interested

Here you go: http://www.dornblueth.com/

I believe the movements all start from a Unitas 64xx but I'm happy to be corrected. However, they end a long way away - you will see that the number of parts he makes, the re-work he does and the complications he adds means it certainly isn't your run of the mill Unitas. Perhaps not strictly in-house, but certainly very special watches indeed.

If you want more background I'd look at the German Brands forum on timezone and read some of the posts from owners. I'd certainly love to have one.

Aha - those pesky Germans and their umlauts I wonder what happens if you try http://www.dornblüth.com ???

The pictures of their movements are gorgeous. That double sunburst on the crown wheels is astonishing in its own right, when you consider that they claim that none of their movements have been near a CNC machine in their lives... that all parts are made by hand with traditional tools??

Nice story on the 'history' page as well - very touching. And I'm not being sarcastic.

I seriously find it hard to believe that these watches are available for £3k though, not with solid rose gold movements, the sheer quality of finish (and apparently all by hand) of the components, and the claim that only a few pieces per month will be made. Let's say a 'few' means 10, that's 120 watches a year, with the purported £3k price that's £360k turnover before tax... doesn't sound feasible to me in any shape or form, given the quality of the materials used.

Anyone here know the true price of these watches? May be vulgar to ask, sure, but they've got something special in that 'completely handcrafted' approach, which may not last for long - other manufactures have nicely decorated movements as well, but you can do a lot with automated machinery these days...

They look absolutely lovely. Damn shame that they're all 42mm cases because I know that's too big for my wrist and the exact reason I don't own an IWC doppelchronograph.

[reedman]

CF
I was blown away by your post what can I say!

You have all be brillant.

I am now looking up to harrods unless the is a better place to look?

JR

[JOETHETOE]

Selfridges has a better watch section than Arrods

[reedman]

Selfridges it is then.

JR