Buy yourself a simple Seiko (or other inexpensive, respected brand) automatic while you research buying a fancy/expensive one. Your tastes may change a bit after a couple of weeks on Watchuseek, so I wouldn't jump right in by buying anything that costs more than a couple hundred dollars. What style of watch are you interested in? Dress/dive/etc.?

(My Seiko 007 still gets more day to day wear than any of my fancier watches.)

 
Best Response
holla_back:

Buy yourself a simple Seiko automatic while you research buying a fancy/expensive one. Your tastes may change a bit after a couple of weeks on Watchuseek, so I wouldn't jump right in by buying anything that costs more than a couple hundred dollars. What style are you interested in?

(My Seiko 007 still gets more day to day wear than any of my fancier watches.)

This. Seiko has respectable automatics for $200-500+. Check out: http://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko

No invictas - junk.

If you don't mind waiting (delivery, available online), there's a German watch brand that makes automatics/manual watches at decent prices (as in $700-1000+). Check out Stowa: https://www.stowa.de/

OP - what's your budget? When you get into the thousands, there are many tiers of the kinds of watches you can get and it's difficult to give advice on watches unless you have a price range in mind...

If you do plan on getting a nicer watch, there are a lot of things to consider. But one general rule is try and avoid quartz and go for the mechanical (as in automatics, or those requiring winding but no battery). One for the resale value (quartz drops by a lot the second you buy it) and two for the complication of the watch (if you're going to buy a very nice watch, you want the craftsmanship to factor in for the price you pay, not something that just runs on a battery and is not to different from a watch you can get for $100).

 
Kanon:
holla_back:

Buy yourself a simple Seiko automatic while you research buying a fancy/expensive one. Your tastes may change a bit after a couple of weeks on Watchuseek, so I wouldn't jump right in by buying anything that costs more than a couple hundred dollars. What style are you interested in?

(My Seiko 007 still gets more day to day wear than any of my fancier watches.)

This. Seiko has respectable automatics for $200-500+. Check out: http://www.seiyajapan.com/collections/seiko

I'm not a watch guy, but the Seiko Cocktail actually looks quite elegant, and affordable. Doubt you can get that in a NY store though...

 

There is many models of the IWC Portuguese. It is a family of watches. I would get the Portuguese Chronograph most likely which is significantly less. The automatic one is even cheaper. Yeah, if you get a perpetual calendar it's $38k...

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

x

"Yes. Money has been a little bit tight lately, but at the end of my life, when I'm sitting on my yacht, am I gonna be thinking about how much money I have? No. I'm gonna be thinking about how many friends I have and my children and my comedy albums."
 

I alternate between a JLC Reverso (simple steel model, wish I could afford the duo face) and a Swatch New Gent.

Have a look at some dedicated watch forums like watchuseek to get a quick overview of nice watches. I wouldn't classify Invicta as junk, but I do think that money spent for a non-traditional watch between a Seiko Automatic and an Omega is somewhat wasted. Quality-wise you don't really get 'more' compared to the Seiko but pay quite a premium for some fugazi marketing watch stories.

Some watch snobs even set the bar higher than Omega (at speaking for the ones with no in-house movement), but I think that's really a bit too far away from reality.

 

Omega Speedmaster 3570.50.00

Incredible lineage and great talking piece with co-workers and clients, as well as just looking awesome. I also like the manual winding, something about the ritual in the morning of winding my watch appeals to me.

 
junkbondswap:

Looks like a Mickey Mouse watch. Stowa would be a better cheap alternative.

+1 for Stowa.

Another German brand a bit cheaper than Stowa to check out is Archimede (http://www.archimede-watches.com/) they have some nice looking pilot watches.

A bit higher up price wise to Stowa is Nomos. Or there's Sinn.

And Frederique Constant - which, for their higher tiered models, uses in-house movement and are really good value for the quality you're getting. I think you can get a FC for the low/mid $1000, but something like mid $2K-$3K can get you this: http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2012/6/5/hands-on-with-the-excellent-frede…

For the same kind of thing with a more established brand you're probably going to need to pay 2-3x at least.

 
DickFuld:

Has anyone ever bought a vintage watch? What are some key things to look out for if doing so?

Would love to buy a vintage watch someday. But have yet to do so because I don't think I have enough experience to know whether I'm getting a good deal or not (and also just personal worries about getting a "frankenwatch" - a watch that doesn't have all its original intended parts).

But WatchSnob has a pretty good how to buy vintage guide: http://ca.askmen.com/fashion/trends_200/202_fashion_men.html

 

As usual - you always buy the seller. Talk a lot about the watch with him. If something sounds fishy, stay away. If the price seems to be to good to be true, stay away. Ask when the last service was performed, and ask for the receipt. (Get to) Know a good and affordable watch maker nearby. Always let him inspect the watch after you bought it. If possible, arrange the hand over locally in the workshop.

 

Just wear what you like to be honest. The watch brand/quality topic gets discussed ad nausem on WUS and TZ but the answer is generally the same. If you like Invicta, wear Invicta(I pesonally wouldn't wear it but whatever) since the reality is most people have absolutely no freaking clue about watches and think buying a big name brand means quality when in reality they are buying some repackaged ETA movement you can find in a $500 Hamilton(Hamilton are fine watches btw). E.g. people have been suggesting Archimede but left out the best part about them: They make their own casing in house and as such, tend to hold value more on the secondary market.

But to answer the OP's original question I have 5 I rotate.

Tourby Guilloché Archimede Klassik Chrono Maurice Lacroix Pantos Chrono Louis Erard Orient Star

 

If it's a steel one then it's probably low key enough to wear. I doubt anyone will really call you on it unless it really stands out like a sub or daytona, but honestly, would you really want to wear it and possibly bang it up on a desk or whatever?

I don't think there's any upside to wearing a rolex during the internship, and again I doubt anyone will care, but if you happen to get some finicky guys in your team who are just looking for reasons to hate on people, then you could be 'that intern with better watches than some of his seniors'

 

For my everyday watch, I have a steel band Breitling Navitimer that goes well with just about anything, jeans or a suit. Wifey got me a Royal Oak as an engagement gift but I've found that to be pretty excessive and only wear it on special occasions now.

Another of my favorites is an IWC, totally underrated line of watches, and I think relatively affordable for how nice they are. I think Omegas are really tacky - there's nothing cheesier than that 007 second hand on the Speedmaster, I think they take that affiliation way too far and it just becomes a deterrent. Also check out Glashutte or Breguet.

I think for a younger guy just graduating or something I'd probably go with a Tag or the aforementioned IWC... something respectable but affordable and a good stepping stone to the higher-end watches... at least you'll figure out if you actually like having and taking care of a "nice watch" before you go out and spend a fortune on something you hate.

I hate victims who respect their executioners
 
BlackHat:

Another of my favorites is an IWC, totally underrated line of watches, and I think relatively affordable for how nice they are. I think Omegas are really tacky - there's nothing cheesier than that 007 second hand on the Speedmaster, I think they take that affiliation way too far and it just becomes a deterrent. Also check out Glashutte or Breguet.

Seconded on IWC. But I think Omegas - the ones not having 007 or olympics references - like your standard Speedmaster can be nice. Or something vintage like this: http://www.fototime.com/F155BD999D6197A/orig.jpg

Also love Glashutte Original. If I decide to splurge on another nice watch, it will probably be GO or a JLC.

What kind of Royal Oak do you have?

 
Kanon:
BlackHat:

Another of my favorites is an IWC, totally underrated line of watches, and I think relatively affordable for how nice they are. I think Omegas are really tacky - there's nothing cheesier than that 007 second hand on the Speedmaster, I think they take that affiliation way too far and it just becomes a deterrent. Also check out Glashutte or Breguet.

Seconded on IWC. But I think Omegas - the ones not having 007 or olympics references - like your standard Speedmaster can be nice. Or something vintage like this: http://www.fototime.com/F155BD999D6197A/orig.jpg

Also love Glashutte Original. If I decide to splurge on another nice watch, it will probably be GO or a JLC.

What kind of Royal Oak do you have?

I have a 15202, it's the one that's basically a modern version of the oldschool Jumbo. It's a really nice piece and all, and it's not a very gaudy watch so it doesn't really have that "I'm a dick for wearing this watch" feeling attached to it, but watch people will still be able to appreciate it. It's not to different than my Breitling really, and goes with jeans just as well as it goes with a suit. That's all I really need in a watch, would definitely not have spent my own money on this thing given the price tag, but I do love it.

I hate victims who respect their executioners
 

I guess it just depends. I love my watches, I'm a purist, and have slightly different things I look for because it's also a hobby for me and I do a fair amount of trading on the secondary watch market. This being said if you want something you're not going to see many people with(if any) have check out:

http://www.tourbywatches.com/shop/article_72/Marine-Silver-B3c---Decora…

Sure they are a little pricier than a Steinhart but they are awesome and it's the style you want not to mention you can pretty much customize the watch.

 

Thanks...how would you compare say the Tourby Marine to the Stowa Marine or some of the others mentioned (Baume & Mercier, Frederique Constant)? Or something even further down the price spectrum like Tissot Le Locle? Sorry I don't know much about watches...to me these all look like they fall into the same "genre", that being of an elegant dressy watch with leather strap, but maybe that's not the right way to look at it?

 

For every day wear I have a blue - faced Tag Aquaracer and... a Casio G - Shock.

I have a Baume and Mercier leather band watch that I really like. Pretty simple and understated. Been looking at a few IWC watches, but haven't pulled the trigger.

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 
DickFuld:

Where else but WSO is an IWC watch considered entry level? What's the cheapest IWC available? $5,000?

I love this site.

Well, entry level might have been used in a different context. But the 'entry level' IWC that I saw when I was looking at the brand a few yrs ago, I think the cheapest was like $3000-ish. It was in HK, and it was a very simple Portofino (not the chrono version, something that looked like this but maybe not quite it: http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://styleforum-testing.s3.amazona…)

...But I think in the last few yrs IWC refreshed its Portofino line, so things are more expensive. So my guess is the cheapest IWC anything (new) is in the $4000 range.

 

got a rolie that dont tic tock

Disclaimer for the Kids: Any forward-looking statements are solely for informational purposes and cannot be taken as investment advice. Consult your moms before deciding where to invest.
 

Glashutte PanoMaticLunar, Blancpain Bathyscape or JLC Reverso Duo. Amazing watches that offer great value, particularly the GO and JLC

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver. Niccolo Machiavelli
 

Ah, finally, someone with some nice taste in watches (to everyone else - I'm kidding, there are definitely some nice watches mentioned on this thread). Love the Glashutte and surprised more people don't know about them. Big fan of Blancpain, but more expensive than the GO. JLC I like their master ultra thing moon (master line in general).

As for mswoonc: I agree with you that Invicta's are junk, but to be honest, for most watch enthusiasts so are Hublots.

 

@theATL What's your take on the JLC Reverso Duo? I think it's a pretty cool watch.

Also, keep an eye for Zenith's with El Primero movement, particularly the 36,000 VPH and the Captain Winsor. Some great value here as well.

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver. Niccolo Machiavelli
 

I have a Seiko that retails at about $200. I feel it's fitting for an intern. Are there any better watches around the same price, that you would recommend I add to my collection to mix it up? I'm new to the watch game and hope to someday afford the nice watches many of you have mentioned.

 

For actual serious diving get a dive computer. There are a number of cheap ones in your price range. Not a huge dive watch (sub-ish) guy but I would look at Orient at that price.

 

Most days I wear a Fossil. The one that I have is stylish, but not as flashy as a lot of their models are. In my opinion, Fossil is a cut above Timex or Casio, while still being affordable (less than $100 if you're doing it right). However, if you can afford to wear a higher-end watch than this, then go for it. An Omega seems like it would practical.

 

$1xx Fossil watch I got for my 20th birthday. Anything more expensive would probably look douchey since I'm going to be interning

Make Idaho a Semi-Target Again 2016 Not an alumnus of Idaho
 

Nomos Club

http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series/Club/?smxCountry=ca&…

Fantastic starting watch for the starting analyst. Stainless steel hand wound with a power reserve of roughly 40 hours. Its a beautiful everyday watch that goes well due to its brown cordovan leather strap. Highly recommend it if you want to spend under 2k on a mechanical watch with an in house movement from up and coming brand from Glashutte, Germany

 

Nomos Club

http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series/Club/?smxCountry=ca&…

Fantastic starting watch for the starting analyst. Stainless steel hand wound with a power reserve of roughly 40 hours. Its a beautiful everyday watch that goes well due to its brown cordovan leather strap. Highly recommend it if you want to spend under 2k on a mechanical watch with an in house movement from up and coming brand from Glashutte, Germany

 
Unforseen:

Nomos Club

http://www.nomos-store.com/en/Watches/Model-series...

Fantastic starting watch for the starting analyst. Stainless steel hand wound with a power reserve of roughly 40 hours. Its a beautiful everyday watch that goes well due to its brown cordovan leather strap. Highly recommend it if you want to spend under 2k on a mechanical watch with an in house movement from up and coming brand from Glashutte, Germany

+1, excellent choice!
 

I have watches in different ranges:

$1000-$1500: TAG Heuer (WAI111C.BA0869) and Rado Integral Black Ceramic and PVD Bracelet (R20851162)

$500-$1000: Burberry Chronograph Gunmetal BU9381

$300: Porsamo Bleu Grand Prix G 082AGPS

$100: Guess

$50: Unlisted (the brand, from Walmart lol)

$2: no name. Acquired from pirate's markets outside of the country while on a fun vacation

 

Just picked up a Movado Museum (black face, black leather band) on sale at Amazon. Came in today, very sleek, goes great with just about anything. Looking to add a few more to my collection, great thread

 

Tag Heuer Carrera is my main one, nothing flashy. I also have a nice looking Burberry watch I enjoy, but it is very, very simple, no gaudy ass logo strap. I typically don't wear any other watches to work. I keep some pieces like a solo Cartier tank away from the office. Speaks too loudly for consulting, especially with clients.

I found being subtle with simple watch designs that are clean and conservative are best.

 

A fairly basic Timex with a brown leather band. It looks nice and was inexpensive. Plus, it still works after briefly being dunked with me into a river while fly fishing.

 

Fantastic starting watch for the starting analyst. Stainless steel hand wound with a power reserve of roughly 40 hours. Its a beautiful everyday watch that goes well due to its brown cordovan leather strap.

 

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