- Posts
- 214
- Likes
- 273
Moadib
·But if any hobby is to continue, it needs an influx of new younger people.
2021... the hobby is dead ?
- Posts
- 5,307
- Likes
- 18,406
pdxleaf
··So on and so on and scoobie doobie doo"Interesting and very complicated topic." Isn't that the truth.
As an old person who inherited stuff from his mother, i can agree that silver dinner ware is a burden, even real silver. While your assessment is accurate, there is some room fro optimism, at least in regards to watches.
There seem to be many young people who are doing blogs and podcasts about watches. These guys are often interested in movements and history and how it fits on the wrist. I find this encouraging.
Tastes change too. I see younger people interested in smaller cars, Subarus, Japanese Domestic Market imports, drifters. Not 50s and 60s customs. We have groups of Vespa and moped riders "terrorizing" our streets. But not many Harleys, and no Harley rider who isn't on Medicare (Group H?)
There was a guy at work who had to look up Sophia Loren when we were discussing a Rolex Fat Lady. He knew she was an actress and supposed to be hot, but didn't know what she looked like. Of course I was appalled. But he explained that his generation had their own beautiful women. He showed me his high school dream girl and I had no idea who she was.
Point is there will always be beautiful girls. They'll just be different.
The complication is the economy. Stagflation is an option. War is an option. There's been a great shift of wealth into fewer hands and a generational shift. Young people are waiting to inherit cash and watches that they will sell for cash so they can afford to buy a house, if they still can. Different economy will drive different collections and purchases.
Last thing, do your kids a favor and either get rid of stuff or leave instructions on how to get rid of it. But pretty sure they'll like the watches more than the silverware.
As an old person who inherited stuff from his mother, i can agree that silver dinner ware is a burden, even real silver. While your assessment is accurate, there is some room fro optimism, at least in regards to watches.
There seem to be many young people who are doing blogs and podcasts about watches. These guys are often interested in movements and history and how it fits on the wrist. I find this encouraging.
Tastes change too. I see younger people interested in smaller cars, Subarus, Japanese Domestic Market imports, drifters. Not 50s and 60s customs. We have groups of Vespa and moped riders "terrorizing" our streets. But not many Harleys, and no Harley rider who isn't on Medicare (Group H?)
There was a guy at work who had to look up Sophia Loren when we were discussing a Rolex Fat Lady. He knew she was an actress and supposed to be hot, but didn't know what she looked like. Of course I was appalled. But he explained that his generation had their own beautiful women. He showed me his high school dream girl and I had no idea who she was.
Point is there will always be beautiful girls. They'll just be different.
The complication is the economy. Stagflation is an option. War is an option. There's been a great shift of wealth into fewer hands and a generational shift. Young people are waiting to inherit cash and watches that they will sell for cash so they can afford to buy a house, if they still can. Different economy will drive different collections and purchases.
Last thing, do your kids a favor and either get rid of stuff or leave instructions on how to get rid of it. But pretty sure they'll like the watches more than the silverware.
- Posts
- 538
- Likes
- 519
Kja
·OP said he wants a late 50's arrowhead..
So to put another angle on it, this is still not a terribly expensive watch.. just get one!!
You say almost four grand, for a great one I presume, but also it was the best watch Omega made, during what most say was the golden age of watchmaking..
Say for instance, ten years ago, a guy wanted one... He still had to go through a LOT!!!
Redials, which about everybody back then paid newbie tax on, because info was much harder to come by.. so money lost there...
Plus, all the countless hours of learning small details about how to spot what it is exactly you want.. over polished, fake stuff, NOS crowns.. hell, even wrong crowns.. or... even, it might be wrong crowns, but cloverleaf crown is ok on certain examples.. is that dial correct for that year?? Etc.. etc... Just tons and tons of digesting info about Connie's.. and lots of money lost on examples you thought were perfect, but wait, that bridge had been replaced, etc.
Tell you finally find the perfect one that you can actually afford.. Just barely if you starve for a month and it's still is not perfect.. but you love it!!! I mean you really love it!!
So now fast forward ten years.. and they are harder to find now.. so how much do you think you should pay?? Are you saying ALL THAT, was only worth a grand or so? All the hours he spent, money he lost, just out of shear love for this watch, now you think you should be able to get one like his for a $500 mark up even though it is easier then ever to find every detail about what to look for because all the folks that came before that put so much into it..
So now you can just read the cliff notes and go pick up the arrowhead connie of your dreams on ebay in a couple weeks for a good price, and you are complaining because that is not reality??
Give me a break... Connie's are still way under valued.. and you can still get a good example for a fair price with a nominal amount of work... You just have to do it..
So to put another angle on it, this is still not a terribly expensive watch.. just get one!!
You say almost four grand, for a great one I presume, but also it was the best watch Omega made, during what most say was the golden age of watchmaking..
Say for instance, ten years ago, a guy wanted one... He still had to go through a LOT!!!
Redials, which about everybody back then paid newbie tax on, because info was much harder to come by.. so money lost there...
Plus, all the countless hours of learning small details about how to spot what it is exactly you want.. over polished, fake stuff, NOS crowns.. hell, even wrong crowns.. or... even, it might be wrong crowns, but cloverleaf crown is ok on certain examples.. is that dial correct for that year?? Etc.. etc... Just tons and tons of digesting info about Connie's.. and lots of money lost on examples you thought were perfect, but wait, that bridge had been replaced, etc.
Tell you finally find the perfect one that you can actually afford.. Just barely if you starve for a month and it's still is not perfect.. but you love it!!! I mean you really love it!!
So now fast forward ten years.. and they are harder to find now.. so how much do you think you should pay?? Are you saying ALL THAT, was only worth a grand or so? All the hours he spent, money he lost, just out of shear love for this watch, now you think you should be able to get one like his for a $500 mark up even though it is easier then ever to find every detail about what to look for because all the folks that came before that put so much into it..
So now you can just read the cliff notes and go pick up the arrowhead connie of your dreams on ebay in a couple weeks for a good price, and you are complaining because that is not reality??
Give me a break... Connie's are still way under valued.. and you can still get a good example for a fair price with a nominal amount of work... You just have to do it..
Edited:
- Posts
- 643
- Likes
- 1,155
TIMElyBehaviour
·Give me a break... Connie's are still way under valued.. and you can still get a good example for a fair price with a nominal amount of work... You just have to do it..
I have to agree to some degree. I purchased this unbranded seamaster for $300 aud on an eBay auction and spent another $200 aud on parts and service. $500 aud for a 1950 seamaster with a 351 bumper is pretty good.
I guess they are there you just need to take your time and research, understand and go the extra mile.
- Posts
- 643
- Likes
- 1,155
TIMElyBehaviour
·I have to agree to some degree. I purchased this unbranded seamaster for $300 aud on an eBay auction and spent another $200 aud on parts and service. $500 aud for a 1950 seamaster with a 351 bumper is pretty good.
I guess they are there you just need to take your time and research, understand and go the extra mile.
- Posts
- 3,979
- Likes
- 8,998
- Posts
- 5,307
- Likes
- 18,406
- Posts
- 643
- Likes
- 1,155
TIMElyBehaviour
·Lol
- Posts
- 3,979
- Likes
- 8,998
cvalue13
·Someone joined yesterday as the 87853rd member
@tyrantlizardrex is the 1643rd member that joined in 2012
Do me now!
- Posts
- 30,837
- Likes
- 36,276
dsio
··Ash @ ΩFSomeone joined yesterday as the 87853rd member
@tyrantlizardrex is the 1643rd member that joined in 2012
So say 10,000 newbies a year nowadays, (as it wasn’t 10,000 a year in the early days) this has had a increase in the competition for watches and definitely a increase of prices for watches.
Pseudo dealers that buy cheap and sell high to fund their nice watches…. These 🤬ers started popping up on mass in 2016-17
Add Instagram and hundreds of YouTube channels from 20 year olds that were in primary school when many of us started.
I watched Mad Men increase members here, I watched La La Land increase new members wanting a Seamaster. The 50th anniversary Speedmaster was a huge bump to the Speedmaster collectors pool.
The Rolexbrought a heap of people here and the Rolex situation ushered the rise of the Nautilus and the Royal Oak.
0-2% interest rates have created the biggest rise in luxury spending in the last 100 years. 10 years from now when interest rates are at 5% watch how many watches are affordable all of a sudden.
As I have said a few times in the last few years. “I’m glad I’m not young heading into the next 10 years
One of the early threads I wrote that brought a pile of people in was 50 Shades of Grey, in the books Christian Grey wears Omegas so I wrote about what model that might be, I had countless people messaging me asking more about it and it even got republished in part by some fashion magazine. For almost two years that was our most viewed thread by far lol.
- Posts
- 16,307
- Likes
- 44,936
JwRosenthal
·One of the early threads I wrote that brought a pile of people in was 50 Shades of Grey, in the books Christian Grey wears Omegas so I wrote about what model that might be, I had countless people messaging me asking more about it and it even got republished in part by some fashion magazine. For almost two years that was our most viewed thread by far lol.
- Posts
- 5,307
- Likes
- 18,406
pdxleaf
··So on and so on and scoobie doobie dooI have a feeling when people googled fifty shades of grey and got this forum, they were a little disappointed😗
I don't know. I feel wierdly curious about Ash in a fashion magazine named 50 shades of Grey 😁
- Posts
- 238
- Likes
- 519
rspace
·
1 - There are a lot of interesting affordable watches still out there. Some of my recent acquisitions below. You just need to cast your net a bit wider.
2 - Most people I know who complain about the hype on a particular watch, don't realize that the reason they want to buy that now is because of it!
- Posts
- 8,890
- Likes
- 28,363
tyrantlizardrex
·Connie's are still way under valued..
Oh give me a break!
“x” is undervalued is language used by dealers, auctioneers and others interested in inflating the market price so that they can sell for more, and has led to the state of affairs we’re in now where everything is massively overpriced.
If “x” isn’t selling for more it’s because no one’s willing to pay more, not because it’s being “valued incorrectly”.
- Posts
- 346
- Likes
- 1,039
whyboddau
·I’ve had watches for years but hadn’t really engaged this as a hobby til recently. I agree with above, there is still plenty to find out there. “The hunt” is certainly alive!
- Posts
- 16,754
- Likes
- 47,415
- Posts
- 643
- Likes
- 1,155
TIMElyBehaviour
·
- Posts
- 21,638
- Likes
- 49,021
Dan S
·OP said he wants a late 50's arrowhead..
Give me a break... Connie's are still way under valued.. and you can still get a good example for a fair price with a nominal amount of work... You just have to do it..
Oh give me a break!
“x” is undervalued is language used by dealers, auctioneers and others interested in inflating the market price so that they can sell for more, and has led to the state of affairs we’re in now where everything is massively overpriced.
If “x” isn’t selling for more it’s because no one’s willing to pay more, not because it’s being “valued incorrectly”.
The "undervalued" phrase always annoys me also. As you mentioned, people use it to hype watches for profit, or just because they think everyone should like the same watches that they do. I'm not sure how this thread became about Constellations (since the OP did not mention them), but there are many watches I'd rather own than a Constellation at that price point, so I don't see them as undervalued based on my own subjective taste.
Perhaps the member @Kja is predicting a rapid rise in Constellation prices in the near future. Of course, people have been saying this for years, but the price increase appears to be slow and gradual. Some people like them and some people don't, but they are never going to have the broad appeal of a Datejust, no matter how hard the Constellation fanboys wish for it.
In any case, I'm so tired of discussing value, perhaps we can just say that certain watches are under-appreciated ... I could get behind that. There are so many interesting vintage watches to discuss and appreciate, it's a shame to focus on the same ones over and over again.
Edited:
- Posts
- 428
- Likes
- 1,446
Helvetia History
·The first watches I collected were Omegas in about 2008. I joined Omega Forum in 2012 (member number 2277).
It wasn't that many years later that they became too expensive for me to collect. Once Seamasters were above £200 and Connies above £500 that was it for me. I know most on here are in a different category than this but that was, and is, reality for me. I'm not that badly off either, I'm Head of IT for a reasonable sized charity, but I think that demonstrates how small, as a percentage of the population, the market for quality vintage watches actually is.
I happened to buy a solid 18K Helvetia for £200 in about 2008 and I decided to start collecting Helvetias when priced out of the Omega market. It really helps having a focus as when I'm tempted by a really nice example of another brand it's easier to convince myself not to buy it.
As I've researched Helvetia and got more interested in the history and technology I tend to buy fewer watches to wear now, especially, as noted above, some people seem to price any vintage watch whatever the brand or condition at at least £200, though unrealistic pricing has always been a feature of the vintage watch market.
If it's something I know is rare, interesting, unusual, or just really nice looking I will buy it and these aren't always the most expensive. Either that or it has to be an absolute bargain now. I've got plenty of middle of the road watches that I rarely wear. One thing that is an issue is that if I discover a Helvetia watch, that I know through research, has an interesting feature or was not made for long it can sometimes artificially raise the 'worth' in my mind and I have to be careful not to pay much more than the market values it at.
For a while if the bidding for a Helvetia was £20 to £30 I just couldn't let it go for that price and would have to bid. Even if I then missed out at £80 at least I knew I hadn't missed a bargain. I have got more disciplined with that now though as I've a few too many 'bargains' awaiting some attention that I'll probably never wear.
There is plenty to interest in the lesser known brands especially if you look beyond the purely aesthetic and appreciate them for the history and technology as well (I still think 50s/60s Seamasters and Connies as a group are the nicest looking watches ever made, though I prefer the looks of some individual Helvetias I have).
It wasn't that many years later that they became too expensive for me to collect. Once Seamasters were above £200 and Connies above £500 that was it for me. I know most on here are in a different category than this but that was, and is, reality for me. I'm not that badly off either, I'm Head of IT for a reasonable sized charity, but I think that demonstrates how small, as a percentage of the population, the market for quality vintage watches actually is.
I happened to buy a solid 18K Helvetia for £200 in about 2008 and I decided to start collecting Helvetias when priced out of the Omega market. It really helps having a focus as when I'm tempted by a really nice example of another brand it's easier to convince myself not to buy it.
As I've researched Helvetia and got more interested in the history and technology I tend to buy fewer watches to wear now, especially, as noted above, some people seem to price any vintage watch whatever the brand or condition at at least £200, though unrealistic pricing has always been a feature of the vintage watch market.
If it's something I know is rare, interesting, unusual, or just really nice looking I will buy it and these aren't always the most expensive. Either that or it has to be an absolute bargain now. I've got plenty of middle of the road watches that I rarely wear. One thing that is an issue is that if I discover a Helvetia watch, that I know through research, has an interesting feature or was not made for long it can sometimes artificially raise the 'worth' in my mind and I have to be careful not to pay much more than the market values it at.
For a while if the bidding for a Helvetia was £20 to £30 I just couldn't let it go for that price and would have to bid. Even if I then missed out at £80 at least I knew I hadn't missed a bargain. I have got more disciplined with that now though as I've a few too many 'bargains' awaiting some attention that I'll probably never wear.
There is plenty to interest in the lesser known brands especially if you look beyond the purely aesthetic and appreciate them for the history and technology as well (I still think 50s/60s Seamasters and Connies as a group are the nicest looking watches ever made, though I prefer the looks of some individual Helvetias I have).
- Posts
- 1,887
- Likes
- 9,183
140dave
·Someone joined yesterday as the 87853rd member
@tyrantlizardrex is the 1643rd member that joined in 2012
Yup, I was "too late" for a 4 digit Sub, and pretty sure I was too late to be a 4 digit member here also. I can probably fix the first at some point but the second...well there are some things money just cant buy.
Similar threads
- Posts
- 24
- Views
- 1K
- Posts
- 47
- Views
- 5K
- Posts
- 136
- Views
- 11K