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Screwbacks
·never be swayed away from your first dream watch, the speedmaster, with different watch offers, even if cheaper. you have enough cash to achieve that. be patient.
Buying my first serious watch – Advice from the community is needed please.
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Fazer
·You might never be in the position to buy another, so buy what your heart has always wanted.
Good luck & Enjoy what you have always sought.
Jeeper
That was the comment that really hit it home. So, I'd like to say a big thank you to each and every reply I've received on this thread. If I'm being completely honest I had already 80% made up my mind NOT to do it when I asked the question, I just needed a push over the finish line, because I know I would have regretted spending a third of my speedy savings as soon as I handed over the cash and got back home with it.
So, for the next 4 or 5 months I'll just keep my head down while I edge ever closer to the day that I walk out of the shop with my Speedmaster.
Thanks Everybody 😀
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1st speedy
·From what I gather , you're close to getting a watch since you have enough money to buy one but not "THE ONE". Dont rush and dont settle.
Wait for the one you wanted your when life!!
Wait for the one you wanted your when life!!
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1st speedy
·Look for 2nd hand speddies. Good prices and you wont lose much if any when and if you decide to sell.
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VetPsychWars
·I had aspired to a Speedmaster beginning in my 20s when I had a Speedmaster ad taped up at my workbench at work, reminding me what I was aspiring to. In my early 30s, I was finally able to afford one, but I was taking long hard looks at the 2254.50 Seamaster Professional as well. I ended up with the Speedmaster.
Fast-forward to 20 years later of wearing my Speedmaster every day except when it was out for service, and I went looking for a 2254.50 as I had passed up, and bought it.
Turns out that I ended up wearing the Seamaster every day and the Speedmaster once in a while. I traded the Speedmaster to my watchaker in exchange for servicing a half-dozen watches for me. He thought I was nuts.
To this day I wonder what I saw in the Speedmaster that made me want to have it but finally grew apart from it. I surmise it's the lume... no matter what, the Speedmaster is hard to see at night.
I now have a Seamaster 300, the Seamaster Professional, and the 60th limited edition Railmaster. Very happy with all of these watches. The rest of my watches are pretty much ignored nowadays except the Omega trench comes out every so often.
I suppose my advice is to put your hands on the different watches and see what you think of them in person. When I had bought my Speedmaster, I had only ever seen them in ads.
Tom
Fast-forward to 20 years later of wearing my Speedmaster every day except when it was out for service, and I went looking for a 2254.50 as I had passed up, and bought it.
Turns out that I ended up wearing the Seamaster every day and the Speedmaster once in a while. I traded the Speedmaster to my watchaker in exchange for servicing a half-dozen watches for me. He thought I was nuts.
To this day I wonder what I saw in the Speedmaster that made me want to have it but finally grew apart from it. I surmise it's the lume... no matter what, the Speedmaster is hard to see at night.
I now have a Seamaster 300, the Seamaster Professional, and the 60th limited edition Railmaster. Very happy with all of these watches. The rest of my watches are pretty much ignored nowadays except the Omega trench comes out every so often.
I suppose my advice is to put your hands on the different watches and see what you think of them in person. When I had bought my Speedmaster, I had only ever seen them in ads.
Tom
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Pepe Lucas
·Just wait for the watch that you really want. At the end it might save you time and money just to be patient.
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dougwhiz
·F FazerThat was the comment that really hit it home. So, I'd like to say a big thank you to each and every reply I've received on this thread. If I'm being completely honest I had already 80% made up my mind NOT to do it when I asked the question, I just needed a push over the finish line, because I know I would have regretted spending a third of my speedy savings as soon as I handed over the cash and got back home with it.
So, for the next 4 or 5 months I'll just keep my head down while I edge ever closer to the day that I walk out of the shop with my Speedmaster.
Thanks Everybody 😀
I'm glad to hear you agree with the replies so far. Speaking from experience, I've also been distracted when saving for a watch. I'd rationalize another purchase in the interim by telling myself that I can always just flip it. But most times, "flipping" the watch resulted in me re-selling it for a lower price, paying Ebay fees, etc., and I would be that much further from my goal.
I would also be suspicious of anyone that says "all this watch needs is XYZ to make it right again". If it were that easy or inexpensive to do, they would likely have repaired it already. As you've already heard, the bezel insert may not be available separately, and you'd also likely need to add cost of a service on a 20 year old watch.
Good luck with the Speedmaster search.
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NYCwatchgal
·"The most expensive watch you'll ever buy is the one that you bought Instead of the one you really wanted "
LOVE this quote!
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Fazer
·I'm glad to hear you agree with the replies so far. Speaking from experience, I've also been distracted when saving for a watch. I'd rationalize another purchase in the interim by telling myself that I can always just flip it. But most times, "flipping" the watch resulted in me re-selling it for a lower price, paying Ebay fees, etc., and I would be that much further from my goal.
I would also be suspicious of anyone that says "all this watch needs is XYZ to make it right again". If it were that easy or inexpensive to do, they would likely have repaired it already. As you've already heard, the bezel insert may not be available separately, and you'd also likely need to add cost of a service on a 20 year old watch.
Good luck with the Speedmaster search.
I must admit when I first looked at it I was thinking about the cost of the service, plus getting a bezel insert fitted with a possible risk that it's not a genuine insert, then trying to sell it and finding out that I'm stuck with a watch that I didn't want, and can't sell because of a possible non-genuine part. Or the bezel insert is genuine and like you say, just re-selling it for a lower price, paying eBay fees and ending up out of pocket.
I know absolutely nothing about this kind of thing which is why I ended up here, and as I expected the advice given has been unanimous.
However, since asking you guys this question I now now have another question I'm trying to figure out.
Do I really need to spend 4000 GBP on a nice new Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch in nice big black box? Or should I be looking at something in excellent condition with hardly any wrist time, that's 5 or 6 years old in the red box?
If people could give me some advice on that I'd appreciate it. The way I see it is if I get the regular Speedmaster that's a few years old, I don't need to worry about walking out of the shop and instantly being down a few hundred quid because of the retail markup and initial depreciation. Also, if the better way to go is the regular Speedmaster I could almost get one one now. I'm just not sure what I should do now
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amfalconer
·It depends on what you want, I was in the same boat as you last year, I'd been looking since mid-2018, when they could be had for about £3200. I'd originally been looking for a blue 114200 Air King, which I still never found, but the 34mm case looked tiny on me - anyway, I ended up buying mine new last May, just before the price increase.
At the time I didn't know much about the used watch scene, and call me naïve, sending a big chunk of cash to someone online scared the hell out of me.
With a new watch, as well as the big box and all the kit, came the peace of mind with a 5 year warranty, and the option to return if it wasn't up to scratch (I'd already been to numerous ADs to try the watch on and seen it in the flesh, so knew what I was getting).
If this is going to be a forever watch, I wouldn't worry too much about the depreciation, the same thing happens when you drive a car off the forecourt for the first time.
Being a bit wiser now, I'd keep an eye on the 'for sale' threads, for one local to me, but I'd always be checking the ADs out too.
At the time I didn't know much about the used watch scene, and call me naïve, sending a big chunk of cash to someone online scared the hell out of me.
With a new watch, as well as the big box and all the kit, came the peace of mind with a 5 year warranty, and the option to return if it wasn't up to scratch (I'd already been to numerous ADs to try the watch on and seen it in the flesh, so knew what I was getting).
If this is going to be a forever watch, I wouldn't worry too much about the depreciation, the same thing happens when you drive a car off the forecourt for the first time.
Being a bit wiser now, I'd keep an eye on the 'for sale' threads, for one local to me, but I'd always be checking the ADs out too.
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Taddyangle
·My first watch was a speedy. That was eight+ years ago. I really had no idea what I was doing when I bought it, I just really loved the look and back then the speedy was the lowest price point to get a used "luxury watch". When I bought I decided I wanted a sapphire caseback with hesalite front. Those were the only parameters.
I still own it, and can't imagine selling it. By accident I bought the tritium version, as I had no idea they offered luminova or tritium versions. In any case, I bought used because it made the most sense for my situation. Back then, I knew generally speaking a new watch took a pretty good hit (much like a car) once you left the showroom floor. Since you stated you are open to buy used, I think you should take some time to investigate and see if a used speedy makes sense for your situation. I have to believe it's at least a 25% savings.
I still own it, and can't imagine selling it. By accident I bought the tritium version, as I had no idea they offered luminova or tritium versions. In any case, I bought used because it made the most sense for my situation. Back then, I knew generally speaking a new watch took a pretty good hit (much like a car) once you left the showroom floor. Since you stated you are open to buy used, I think you should take some time to investigate and see if a used speedy makes sense for your situation. I have to believe it's at least a 25% savings.
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Fazer
·At the time I didn't know much about the used watch scene, and call me naïve, sending a big chunk of cash to someone online scared the hell out of me.
With a new watch, as well as the big box and all the kit, came the peace of mind with a 5 year warranty, and the option to return if it wasn't up to scratch (I'd already been to numerous ADs to try the watch on and seen it in the flesh, so knew what I was getting).
If this is going to be a forever watch, I wouldn't worry too much about the depreciation, the same thing happens when you drive a car off the forecourt for the first time.
Being a bit wiser now, I'd keep an eye on the 'for sale' threads, for one local to me, but I'd always be checking the ADs out too.
As well as sending loads of cash what also scares the hell out of me with places like eBay is unscrupulous sellers, especially when it comes to fakes or fake parts on a real watch, I know the chance is slim but it could happen and like I say, you could write what I know about high-end watches on the back of a postage stamp.
I'm sure it will be a forever watch so I'm not too worried about the depreciation, and I do kinda like the idea of being the first person to own it and getting to pull this plastic off.
Since you stated you are open to buy used, I think you should take some time to investigate and see if a used speedy makes sense for your situation. I have to believe it's at least a 25% savings.
I'm with you on that one because when I see an unworn year old speedy on eBay for 3K, a thousand pounds in my world is a lot of money, but like I say buying on eBay scares me, a lot!
Yeah, I've started doing that
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Martin_F
·F FazerYeah, I've started doing that
I've been stalking for sale ads on here for month and did my homework on the sellers.
At the end of the day I bought my Speedmaster from a local AD as I didn't feel to comfortable sending the money and the AD gave me 10% off.
But maybe you find one for sale locally, that you could do a face to face transaction on. There are plenty of UK watches for sale on here...
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quattro98
·Wait for the watch you want. If I were wanting a Speedmaster, I'd wait to see if the cal. 3861 goes into a regular production piece.
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Jeeper
·F FazerI must admit when I first looked at it I was thinking about the cost of the service, plus getting a bezel insert fitted with a possible risk that it's not a genuine insert, then trying to sell it and finding out that I'm stuck with a watch that I didn't want, and can't sell because of a possible non-genuine part. Or the bezel insert is genuine and like you say, just re-selling it for a lower price, paying eBay fees and ending up out of pocket.
I know absolutely nothing about this kind of thing which is why I ended up here, and as I expected the advice given has been unanimous.
However, since asking you guys this question I now now have another question I'm trying to figure out.
Do I really need to spend 4000 GBP on a nice new Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch in nice big black box? Or should I be looking at something in excellent condition with hardly any wrist time, that's 5 or 6 years old in the red box?
If people could give me some advice on that I'd appreciate it. The way I see it is if I get the regular Speedmaster that's a few years old, I don't need to worry about walking out of the shop and instantly being down a few hundred quid because of the retail markup and initial depreciation. Also, if the better way to go is the regular Speedmaster I could almost get one one now. I'm just not sure what I should do now
trust me saving a few hundred ££s against something which stretches you, which you may have for the rest of your life & having an AD to go to when something goes wrong might end up feeling like a false economy.
I think you will love it more if you strive to own it & it has always been yours.
All INMHO
Jeeper
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AllHerMovements
·I have a version of that same Seamaster chronograph only I have the titanium and gold version but the dial looks exactly the same. For me, it is no substitute for the Speedy and if I didn’t have the Moonwatch, it wouldn’t be able to fill that void. For starters, the Seamaster is WAY thicker than the Moonwatch. It is top heavy to me where the Moonwatch is thinner because of the manual movement. And the Seamaster is an automatic which just gives the whole thing another vibe. It feels retro but not necessarily classic like the Moonwatch. I fell out of love with the Seamaster Chrono very quickly and ended up giving it to my spouse (actually I sold it and then bought it back for the spouse). We swap watches all the time but I don’t reach for that one. So again, if the Moonwatch has your heart, this one will probably leave you yearning, as others have said. Good luck on your journey!
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mjb
·Grey market is also a good option if you insist on buying new.
Depending on which model you choose (sorry if that escaped me) sometimes the delta between a reputable grey market seller (make sure it's still got the warranty!) and new at an AD is small enough to just go ahead and get it from the official dealer. Sometimes not. It's worth dong a little shopping.
Also, maybe, with the stock markets going into the toilet and presumably the world moving into a recession, used market prices may come down a bit. So take your time.
Depending on which model you choose (sorry if that escaped me) sometimes the delta between a reputable grey market seller (make sure it's still got the warranty!) and new at an AD is small enough to just go ahead and get it from the official dealer. Sometimes not. It's worth dong a little shopping.
Also, maybe, with the stock markets going into the toilet and presumably the world moving into a recession, used market prices may come down a bit. So take your time.
