Reality check on watch interest, GQ pimping

So I got very interested in learning about watches recently, and have posted about several really cool, beautiful mechanical watches in previous few posts. But the reality is that even some of the less-expensive Swiss mechanical watches (such as the Omega Speedmaster), at $3500-$4000, are way out of my budget any time soon. And my personal favorite, the Speedmaster Broad Arrow GMT (link here), would be downright nutty to buy at > $6000.

A much more realistic choice would be something like this Seiko quartz watch below in stainless steel with a perpetual calendar (date shows correct # of days each month including Februarys, leap years, etc. without manual correction) for about $250. Even $250 is more than I would spend right now.


In one of the original articles / primers I read about buying nice watches (link here for the online GQ magazine article), they recommend against buying battery powered quartz watches because they're not a collectible item, etc. However, most sane adults realize that you must weigh this article's opinion against realities of a single-income middle-class family. After all, GQ's raison d'etre is to show men wearing really good looking--and very expensive--clothes and to try to get people to buy them. GQ is an influential advertising vehicle for the luxury goods business. You'll often see a man--thinner and much better-looking than me, of course--wearing a great suit, with labels showing you what he's wearing. For example ... Suit, Tom Ford, $4500. Shirt, Polo by Ralph Lauren, $290. Alligator shoes, Gucci, $900. Just because that magazine says you MUST buy something that expensive to look nice doesn't make it so!

While browsing other Seiko watches I ran across some other really nice-looking models (link here and image below, or here) that were more expensive (maybe $750-$850), but my personal feeling is that if I'm going to spend more than $200-300 I'd rather just wait and get something like the Omega Speedmaster I'd really want, instead of getting something "intermediate" that's still quite expensive yet not really what I want.

More on Mechanical Watches, Omega

Good-quality Swiss or German made mechanical watches are not really about telling the most accurate time possible. In fact, most digital watches or battery-operated quartz watches are long-term more accurate than even the finest mechanical watches. The reason people like and spend lots of money to collect the much more expensive mechanically-driven watches is because of the jewelry / craftsmanship aspects of it. You certainly don't need to spend thousands to get something to tell time, but about $2500-$3500 is about the minimum to get something mechanical / collectable like the Omega Speedmaster Professional above, about $4000 (image on right is rear view of watch).

As you add more functions (called "complications" in mechanical watch lingo), this tends to increase the price because you have more moving parts / gears to add the additional functions. For example, this Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow GMT below adds a second time zone and date and costs about $6600.


Adding more complications like a "rattrapante", or split-seconds, chronograph function, increases craftsmanship required and cost. Again, it's not about just having a watch that can do stopwatch split times -- heck, a digital Timex can do that for < $50. It's about having these functions executed with mechanical means that makes it desireable to watch collectors. The Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Rattrapante below costs closer to $10,000.

Watch me now, hey!

I've never owned a watch, but have been getting interested in owning one lately. Of course, my desires greatly outmatch my budget. Pretty cool article / slide show on the subject in GQ magazine online here. Go through the slide show to see lots of cool watches they like. My favorites in the < $5000 range are the Omega Speedmaster and the Tag Heuer Link Automatic, photos below:

Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow GMT

Tag Heuer Link Automatic Chronograph

These types of watches are probably the most I could ever see spending on anything like this -- and it's not even remotely within reason today. Heck, right now I can't even afford to buy a $200 watch, much less one for $3000-$5000! Anyway, the above models are about the entry-level price ranges for real Swiss-made watches with real craftsmanship. Rolex is more expensive, with their least-expensive stainless steel models starting above $5000.

In even far less reasonable price range is this IWC Schaffhausen Portugese below, about $20,000...


Or this beautiful A. Lange & Soehne perpetual calendar in platinum:


However, the ultimate choice would be this Patek Philipe Sky Moon Tourbillon 5002S, the most complicated wristwatch in the world. I could not find any retailer listing a price, but I did find one selling on ebay for "only" 1.65 MILLION USD!! Can you imagine spending that much for a watch? Even for a billionaire this collector timepiece would represent 1/500 of your entire net worth. Another question is, would you trust buying something costing that much on ebay?