Anyone bought a watch from Stowa?

[Rob_R]

Basically, I'm willing and able to buy an Airman and I am aware that they would prefer payment via PayPal.

Is it just simply a case of buying through e-mail, giving them your address, then badda-bing the watch arrives?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Spice_Weasel]

I'm sure Tertius will be along shortly to answer this...

[RodentRacing]

Almost. Order on the website. Send the money via Paypal. Wait for what seems like forever for delivery. I'm currently waiting for an Airman ordered on June 23rd. Expected delivery is mid-late July. It's frustrating but I'm sure the wait will be worth it.

[petecoll]

I ordered an Antea from them. Arrived in 3 days - no problems.

Pete

[tertius]

Spice_Weasel said:

I'm sure Tertius will be along shortly to answer this...

I haven't actually bought directly from Stowa ... ... mine was a private sale. However, I would expect to to have an email exchange first, agree the likely delivery and then buy.

I've heard nothing but good things about their customer service.

Cheers.

[Stuart]

I bought mine direct from Stowa. It was exactly as Tertius described; emailed to place the order, I paid an initial deposit of Eur50, and then they emailed to let me know a delivery date nearer the time. When the watch was ready to go I got a TNT tracking order number so that I could see it every step of the way before it got here.

I can recommend them wholeheartedly. The definition of personal service...

[Rob_R]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll drop them a mail.

[kazste]

sorry to hijack a little but are they any good? i have all the usuals, tag, omega,oris,breitling, and am looking for something others dont have, is a stowa anywhere near the same league just worried about the low prices and would prefer not to get one no matter how cheap if not good quality.

thanks for helping

[TheStoat]

I'm also interested in the Stowa watches and have been looking here and tz-uk.com for feedback. It seems they are well respected and a very good watch for the money. As for delivery they have a forum on their website with a permanent page showing likely delivery timescales...

[Stuart]

kazste said:

sorry to hijack a little but are they any good? i have all the usuals, tag, omega,oris,breitling, and am looking for something others dont have, is a stowa anywhere near the same league just worried about the low prices and would prefer not to get one no matter how cheap if not good quality.

thanks for helping

The quality is, I think, staggering for the money. I don't think that drawing comparison with Omega or Breitling is really a good comparison, since these watches are turned out by far bigger concerns than Stowa. The watch uses a Unitas movement, something behind plenty of similar small brands (and some big ones) but Stowa modify it. It really is quite beautifully finished. You won't get a watch in a super fancy wooden box, but then the price is reflective of this. Stowa also only sell direct, so the prices are lower partly because they don't pay a dealer out of the RRP.

I only have the Marine Original but it is an elegant, well made and beautifully finished watch. That few people wear them (I've never seen another in the flesh) only adds to the appeal for me, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. Currently mulling over a Flieger in fact.

[carter711]

I love the Seatime, it will probably be my next watch.

[Rob_R]

I've been quoted September for mine. Can't wait!

[alexe]

Have those of you that have bought/are buying Stowa watches gone for the COSC upgrade?
i'm not thinking about buying at the moment, just interested in peoples thoughts & priorities.
Alex

[carter711]

alexe said:

Have those of you that have bought/are buying Stowa watches gone for the COSC upgrade?
i'm not thinking about buying at the moment, just interested in peoples thoughts & priorities.
Alex

Is this the movement upgrade? From what i can make out it isn't that much of an upgrade, just a certificate to prove that the movement in your watch is accurate?

[x200sxy]

Forgive me if you know all this but the COSC is to certify it as a "certified chronometer" and the movement undergoes further testing.

It depends if you're that bothered about accuracy. It may bother you if it drifts out of COSC limits (+4/-6 secs/day???) and a non-certified watch may well be as accurate as that or close to it anyway.

[RodentRacing]

I had an Airman auto delivered last week. Wait was almost exactly a month. Quality seems very good although I cant really compare it to any big name brands because I've only ever handled fakes I didn't go for the COSC movement but the accuracy is good. It lost about 15 seconds over 3 days. Overall I'm very pleased with the purchase. A Marine Original is very high on the list of prospective purchases.

[TheStoat]

Some info from people more knowledgeable than me on this thread if it helps? Clicky-clicky

[tertius]

In case it helps some pics of my Stowa MO are here.

It obviously depends if the date and auto winding are important to you, but for me the non-date handwind MO with the Unitas movement is the easy winner - the marine chronometer style (of which the MO is an example) just shouldn't have a date; the Unitas movement is beautifully decorated and glorious to admire in those tedious meetings we all have to sit through and finally hand winding is a super feature ... I actually find myself going out of my way to find hand wound watches ...

Edited because I can't spell "of" ... oh, the shame ...

Edited by tertius on Monday 28th July 20:36