Watches

[neonplanet40]

Hi Folks,

I am currently in the market for a new watch and have about £350 to spend.

I don't know much about watches. But I know you get what you pay for (most of the time) and therefore, that my budget is at the very low end. However, what is good at this price point?

I have been looking at the Tissot Chrono XL as I really like the style. https://www.ernestjones.co.uk/tissot...ch/p/V-8648016

But I don't know if this is a good watch for the money or is overpriced etc.

Any help is appreciated

Thank you.

[Saracen999]

Not an expert here, but I've long liked Seiko.

I think these days, anything from about £5 up can do a decent job of telling the time, so what you're really paying for is, t some extent featues, but to a large extent, appearance and style. I like the lightweight feel of titanium so that wold be on my list. I also like the 'self-winding' nature of several brands, including Seiko.

But, like just about anything where style comes over substance, I like what I like but there's no reason you should. Personally, I prefer a much simpler face than chronograph, and would go for blue or grey rather than green BUT .... again, personal choice.

I've been aware of Tissot for a very long time and have always thought of them as in that class, i.e. good quality mainstream, but not necessarily up with Breitling, Omega etc, let alone the very high end Swiss brands (the one I fancied but, short of a lottery win wouldn't buy, was about £16k).

My only hesitation is that just because a company USED to be pretty good doesn't necessarily mean they still are. I don't know, eiter way.

Is it overpriced? From looking at the watch, and that brand, the price doesn't strike me as out of order PROVIDED your motivation is not just something to tell the time, but almost a fashion statement, a piece of jewelry. I'm sure lots of people would mock that, but I get it. I'd pay that for watch in that type of class that had the style and features I wanted so to me, no, not overpriced.

I think what I'm saying is as a time-keeping device no watch at anything near that price is good value. But it's about more than telling time. So .... if it were a straight piece of jewelry, is it work £100, £500? £1000? To you, it is if you're willing to pay it. It's not my style of watch but if it were and I was lookng for a watch, I wouldn't balk at that price or consider myself ripped off.

Oh, as a fashion statement, it might be worth it but I doubt any modern watch like that is an investment. Some watches are, but Tissot, Seiko etc? I very much doubt it. That wouldn't be why I'd buy one, though.

[kalniel]

Completely agree with all the above.

As Saracen says, watches are all about style/fashion/status over substance, so there isn't really any correlation between good and value. Do you want a watch which you think looks good? Then you can assess the value accordingly. Do you want a watch which brand snobs will recognise and think you're successful/wasting money? Just use the price as a guide. For £350 you won't be impressing the snobs, so ignore everything about that and just get what you like.

And you shouldn't care about my opinion certainly: I like the colour a lot (my watch is also green), however it's a) 45mm which is enormous, and would be comic on my wrists and b) battery powered, which is fine, but I'd prefer to either spend less on quartz or more on mechanical.

[DanceswithUnix]

I'm a big fan of watches, but really they are an accessory. If I want to know the time, I tend to look at my phone. I can't remember hearing anyone complain about unreliable watches, I think in reality they are all pretty good.

If you like it and can afford it, then go for it. I think a watch often helps with the "always slightly over dress for the occasion" rule, and that Tissot is twice the price of my everyday Emporio Armani watch so I wouldn't call it that low end.

[Iota]

I am currently in the market for a new watch and have about £350 to spend.

Watches are really subjective to the person, depending on style, preference to what features you want, strap style etc etc. I'd simply say if you like something enough, and can afford it and it meets your needs, then purchase it.

Watches are kind of an old fashioned thing, I personally have this - https://rotarywatches.com/products/r...atch-gs0294006. I got mine 3+ years ago, purely because I've always liked skeleton watches and have wanted one for ages. It's also not something so overpriced you'll have some jackass try to chop your hand off to steal....

[Saracen999]

I personally have this - https://rotarywatches.com/products/r...atch-gs0294006. I got mine 3+ years ago, purely because I've always liked skeleton watches and have wanted one for ages. It's also not something so overpriced you'll have some jackass try to chop your hand off to steal....

I find watch movements utterly fascinating. The sheer skill in making things that small, that accurate that still work like .... um, 'clockwork'?

I could watch that watch for hours, fascinated.

But it's not my style to wear. I prefer very simple, clean, 'elegant' styles. I could put up with a day/date window .... just about. Oh, and I like very slimline watches too. The slimmer the better. And light too. I don't want a biceps workout just to check the time (not that that watch is), I just mean the really chunky, 'butch' watches that try to pretend they're ex-military or something, don't float my boat.

Some watches are extrovert. They're out to get noticed. Chronometers (though functional too) look like that to me, as do skeletons. I prefer the rogue skulking in the shadows type of watch - nothing to see here, nothing special, I'm not even really here .... that style of watch.

There's no right or wrong. Just what I prefer and what I don't.

I think we all agree, Neon. Assuming you can afford it, if you like it, get it. We all do it. My watch phase was some years ago, and I never took it to extremes. I have a couple of watches in that price range, but certainly never got around to the Patek Philippe I had my eye on.

I'm also a believer in indulging ourselves ..... up to a point. I don't mean spending what I can't afford but, providing it's not impacting kids or I'd be spending next week's grocery money or next month's mortgage/rent, etc, I do believe in living a little. My parents scrimped and saved for years, firstly to bring up the kids but then, for comfort in retirement. We were never wealthy, but as kids, we certainlt never went short of anything we needed. And M&D managed to put away a nice little pot for their retirement. Oh, they had holidays and a few nice things, but mostly they saved. Come their golden age, they retired, bought the nice little (actually, fairy large) house in a nice village and settled in to enjoy the fruits of their labours. Within a couple of years, they BOTH died of cancer.

The moral of that tale, or at least what I took from it, is that yes, providing for your future is the bright thing to do. I certainly don't want to be strugling to both heat and eat in my dotage. BUT .... live a little in the process because if you save TOO hard for tomorrow, you might find you don't make it that far.

That's what I meant by "if you can afford it". I've known people that would indulge themselves and gratify their immediate desire with zero concern for next week, never mind the future. And I've known people so focussed on the long term they lived almost like a monk in the present.

I decided some years back to have a "fun fund". After all the necessaries are taken care of, after provision for a comfortable future is handled, I put a contribution into the fun fund. And if I want something enough, and sufficient money is in the fun fund, then I do it. It's not a bottomless pit of funds, and buying A means I can't spend that money on B. There still has to be some self-control.

I'm still not spoiling myself though. I certainly don't buy stuff just because I can. I test myself - do I REALLY want to buy 'that'. Do I actually want it, or is it a silly whim? Currently, I'm trying to settle on a new PC (and have been for a 'little' while) and on whether i want a 3D printer badly enough to buy one. I can afford, from the fun fund, to do either or both .... and still get that Patek Philippe. So I can "afford" the PP in the sense that the money is there. I just don't want it badly enough to be willing to spend that much. So in that sense, I can't afford it. If I won a lottery jackpot (not likely, as I don't do the lottery), I'd have that PP in a heartbeat.

I'm not sure I'm making much sense but I'm trying to explain what I mean by "if you can afford it". It's not quite as simple as it might sound.

[neonplanet40]

Thanks Folks.

I have decided to save a bit more because I want the Hamilton Pilot watch. I am due to graduate again next summer. So I think I will get it then as gift to myself to mark the occasion

Thank you for all the comments and info!

[Saracen999]

That seems a good idea indeed, neon. A watch like that should last a lifetime (and be a nice thing for one of the kids, assuming there are some, to inherit) AND it will always have the extra meaning for you of commemorating that achievement.

Having a little "fun fund" isn't a bad idea, eh? Just be sure not to indulge in other whims in the meantime, just because you could. That, IMHO, is the fun-fund trick to master.

[neonplanet40]

So, I just bought a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Day Date Auto. Looking forward to getting it

I'm a fan of the INterstellar movie to be honest, so had to have it !

[Jonj1611]

Looks a nice watch

[DanceswithUnix]

Good choice.

I didn't know until recently, you can get watch winding boxes for auto watches. If you aren't going to wear it for a couple of days or more, plonk it in the box and it quietly swishes it about occasionally to keep it going

[neonplanet40]

I did not know this....