Dabbling in high horology

Hey everyone,

Do you guys dabble in the tier above omega/rolex? In 2022 I dipped my toes in and over 2 years acquired 3 Patek. Interesting space and I really do enjoy what’s on offer, but at the same time I feel omega/rolex is my comfort zone. I’m simply more comfortable wearing a speedy than a delicate, virtually no WR watch which costs minimum 5 times as much. At the same time I absolutely love the calendar complications and I don’t know how, the sizes of the watches are way more reasonable (for equivalent complications) than the omega and Rolex offerings. The 5212 in particular I find to be an awesome daily and vs Rolex it attracts way way less attention. People around me literally don’t know what it is which is great.

Also just from a dress watch perspective they simply go better as this is their bread and butter.

For the people who are dabbling around in this space, what is your experience, do you get sucked into this world or did you come back down to Omega/Rolex afterwards?

Some friends around me are telling me to go aquanaut/nautilus but I’m just not a fan. I like round watches. Not sure where I’m heading from here.

Here are my three:

That 5212 on the right is one of my favorites in the current PP lineup. That stainless steel case is robust and can be worn daily.

If you want a complicated, waterproof watch, check out the JLC Polaris Perpetual. 100m water resistance.

I love the Polaris but it’s just a tad too large for me and it just doesn’t sit well on my wrist… fantastic watch though.

Nice trio. I gotten dragged into higher horology not long ago. To be honest, it’s rather underwhelming. The whole ultra luxury experience went to hell when you have several hundred wealthy guys duel for one hot watch.

I have to beg my wife to spend 50 grands, then beg SA to take my money. My knees are sore. I’m switching gear to vintage.

My Trinity of choice.

I would love the opportunity to head into the PP space, but it’s not going to happen this year! YandB those are 3 beautiful references and trying on an Aquanaut, I was a bit underwhelmed. I love that JLC Polaris and it would definitely be on my list. I’ve looked elsewhere recently and found neo-Vintage GP and the quality is incredible, a step above the usual.
I guess each person has their own idea of perfection (and budget)

Beautiful watches! For me, that amount for a watch is well beyond my comfort zone or need. I have a few vintage Omegas and a few other vintage watches to go with them. I’m spending 50k usd on a 1945 house with 1900 square feet of living space to remodel and sell. Obviously more work but a much higher return on my investment. I’m hoping my wife doesn’t balk at a lower end vintage speedie when the house is flipped. 😀👍

5164 would be my GMT of choice. If you acquired your trio from a dealer, then 5164 would be a fair ask. If not, I’d go gray for it. It’s worth the premium not having to deal with SA.

Yeah from an AD. Yeah I think I can get a sports patek at this point but I don’t really like the aquanaut or nautilus. If I got one I’d only be getting because that’s what people would expect at this point.

I would love a decent water resistant patek though…

I had a VC Traditionelle small seconds for a while. Stunning time-only dress watch, perfect size, just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. Once you’ve lived with a true hand-finished movement like that, and spent hours noticing its minutiae, you gain a deep appreciation for high horology. I love my Omegas (indeed one of the reasons I sold the VC was to fund a new Omega that I’d been hunting for for years), but there’s no comparing them, really. Just so many little refinements and details, and even under intense magnification you won’t find a flaw.

I suspect my journey may culminate with a Patek 5396g or 5205g, but that’ll be years down the road. And I can’t imagine not still having an Omega tool watch as a “beater,” when that time comes.

I don’t hate the Aquanaut—it’s sort of neat—but I don’t totally get the appeal of a haute horlogerie stainless sports watch. Isn’t it sort of like getting a Lamborghini SUV or a Rolls Royce minivan? I’m being cheeky, but I kinda mean it: I think of PP, VC, and Lange as the “holy trinity,”‘and they shine brightest imo with their high complication dress watches. (AP used to occupy that space, but I see them now as focusing on the RO—they strike me as more akin these days to something like Hublot—catering to hip-hop and rock stars and athletes.) JLC has to be the weirdest one to me: they’re making some of the best watches in the world with phenomenal movements, yet they just don’t seem to have captured the imagination the way other brands have.

Larry, 3940 has your name written all over it.

I’m not welcome there. If I’m spending that money it’s on a clapped-out old “junker” no one but me cares about.

This is absolutely wonderful! This has to be one of my grail watches.

I would also consider the 5140 although I prefer the dimensions of the 3940.

is that leap-year indicator (inside month) at 3 and 24hr register (inside day) at 9? Amazing.

When I think of Patek, I think of high complications, highly finished, precious metal, all in a very compact form. 3940 is peak Patek minus the hype.

36mm case. 8.8mm thick.
Later 3940 has an exhibition caseback.
Current market price is more than fair.