As watch aficionados, we spend a LOT of time thinking and rethinking which particular watch to buy. I have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours of my life asking myself the same question: "which watch shall I choose?"
During the last years of avid reading in watch forums, I became certain that we all go through the same process, but I have never seen a sound formula to take the wright decision.

Since I have to work hard for my money, I can not afford the mistake of spending a solid amount of money in a watch that will not fully satisfy me. So I have been working out, throughout the years, on a formula to unmistakenly choose THE wright watch. The more superficial the reason for our decisions, the shorter the satisfaction we probably get, and the better we understand WHY we do what we do, the longer and deeper the satisfaction will most likely be.

My intention is to help other fellow watch aficionados to take the best possible decision AND to ensure the maximum joy with the timepiece of your choice.

Since the life of every individual is a little different, and the phases we go through our life keep changing, it becomes primary to formulate the criteria of WHY we want a watch and secondly, to evaluate this criteria according to their importance.

As an example, I will show and explain you my personal list.

Since absolute punctuality is a must in my job, and I happen to love mechanical watches so much, then reliable accuracy has prio 1.
Also job related is the date function, so date has prio 2.
I shower and swim with my watch and don't want to worry about possible water damage, so a reliable water proofness is prio 3.
Also job related, I must be able to look at the watch and "understand" what time it is at first glance, no time and nerves to decipher a busy dial, so a clear legibility is prio 4.
My life experience has tought me, that the more colorfull the watch is, the sooner I will get tired of it, so monochrome is prio 5.
My wrist is 7" and I am not Hercules, but have done active sports most of my life, so the actual weight is not so important, so comfort is, of course also important, but only prio 6.
Beauty is very personal and subjective, and I buy the watch only for myself, so the beauty of the watch in other people's eyes has prio 0 and for me prio 7.
Resell value is not important for myself, because I have never sold a watch, I have given most of them away to family members and to my wife, but I must consider the situation when I pass away and maybe one day my wife is old and hungry or needs urgent medicine, having only the widow pension, then she should sell the watch for survival. Therefore resell value also exists, but prio 8.

This is my list of priorities today. It can be corrected anytime, but these are the basics. Beeing clear about this, choosing the wright watch in a multitude is so easy and a real pleasure. And it ensures long time happiness.

I encourage any fellow members to take the time to find out WHAT and WHY they want before pulling any trigger.
Make your own list of priorities!!!
This is rewarding brain activity.

I sincerely hope to help other people beeing as happy as one can be with their timepieces, for as long as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my written thoughts and enjoy your watches!!!!!!!!

Regards from Marcelo

 

This is a nice formula I think! A nice set of questions to add to the long process (for me, too!) of deciding what I want in a watch. I'll give this a try!

 

Thank you very much for your reply!
What is your set of priorities? If you find out, please post them here. I am sure, this can help others too.
By the way, I am sure this kind of brain work will help taking ANY decision in life, not just watches.

Greeting from sunny Switzerland.

 

Great post Explorador. My priorities are below;

1) Looks/aesthetics - No matter how good all the other priorities I won’t wear a watch I don’t like the look of.

2) Back story - Almost all of my watches have backstories to them and I particularly love a watch associated with Space. I have an Apollo-Soyuz meteorite, Apollo 11 50th anniversary, Apollo 13 45th anniversary snoopy. All fantastic stories behind the watches.

3) Upfront cost - The most I’ve ever spent on a watch is £8,500 and that’s a lot of money. I’m not sure I could justify much more than that on a watch.

4) Resale value - I don’t sell my watches so it’s low down on the priority list. Having said that, resale value is important as ultimately I’m spending my kids inheritance.

I’ve got a strange set of priorities now I think about it, as timekeeping ability of the watch doesn’t even factor into my decision. All of my watches are Omega so I guess reliable timekeeping comes as standard...

I think it would be good if we all posted pics of our watches too...

 

Hello Japanred,

You should have seen my wife's broad smile as I just translated your post to her (we speak German), and you describe the aesthetics. She shouted: "YESSSS, that's exactly it!!! This is exactly how I think!!"

Thank you for answering this thread.

I see, you have a clear idea of what you want and why. Your prios are clear and easy to understand, and they reflect in the choice of your collection. Reading your prio list and looking at your timepieces makes perfect sense. Nice collection, by the way!!!!
I am not very well versed in speedies, but the third one, with the golden markers, is astonishing. An absolute beauty!!!

Thank you also for the suggestion to post the watches also. I like that.
This is my humble collection, starting with my wife's and mine:

 

Here’s how I usually decide:
Priority 1: size. Doesn’t matter how cool it is , if it doesn’t fit right, everything else is moo point.
Priority 1: cost. If it costs way too much to replace, I’d be scared to wear it. Therefore the watch is wearing me instead of me wearing it.
Priority 3: cool factor/x factor. This is the irrational one. How much I enjoy wearing it. Sometimes it over rides priority 1 and 2, aka impulse buy.

 

Hi IIvhhui,

Sounds like you also know well what you want. Your priority 3 is something I forgot to consider: the impulse moment. Very true.
Would you have a pic or two of your beauties?

Best regards.

 

Oh my. That took the pleasure right out of the topic for me. Eeek.

I had this vision of my wife in 30 years, the poor, sickly starving woman at the counter at the druggist, and she asks, "can I trade you this lovely Seamaster for my medication?"

The man replies, "No, you don't have the original box and papers. It's worthless. Be gone, old sickly woman!"

I jest. But I will remind my wife where I store the boxes for the watches. Just in case.

 

Holy smoke, you are wright, I had fully forgotten to give box and papers any priority.

Now seriously, I think collecting watches has made me look closer not only at the watches, but also at how time passes.

 

Great thread! My priorities are similar but a bit different.
1) Cool factor. If I don’t think the watch looks great or cool, I won’t wear it so I won’t buy it. That bing said, I won’t buy an impractical watch or pay for a precious metal watch as I’m too hard on things.
2) Visibility. The watch has to be easy to read in all lighting conditions. Lume is very important to me. I wear my watches to bed and I look at them often through the night. (Note to self: learn to sleep better)
3) Bracelet. I like a watch on a bracelet. I have tried NATO’s and straps etc but they just aren’t the same. Any watch that can be worn swimming should have a bracelet.
4) Accuracy. These watch’s are relatively expensive. They should keep good time.
5) Cost. I feel I have to be getting good value for the price I’m paying. Again, I won’t likely ever have a precious metal watch as I’m hard on them and I can’t see me ever being comfortable wearing something all the time that was tens of thousands of dollars.
That’s about it really. I need a date as well but I don’t feel like re-numbering the post so it will have to be last.

 

Hello OmegaRookie,

Nice, very well explained!! If I didn't know better, I would say you definitely NEED a PO. No wonder to me you have one already.
Could not agree more with what you say, it all makes perfect sense. Somehow I see myself in your watch description, just the order of prios is a little different.

Thank you for the nice writing.

 

A recent impulse buy. Now I'm having a little bit of seller's remorse.

 

Wow, such a gorgeous piece!!! I can fully understand the impulse to buy such a beauty, but why did you sell it? To finance another incoming?

 

You and your wife have great taste in watches Explorador!!! Wear in good health

 

Funny how you find a watch that you just like and it’s nothing like you have. Then it suits your outdoors nature.

TCM orienteering with solar compass in titanium. The weekend watch I wear most weekends


https://omegaforums.net/threads/new-watch-new-brand.37211/

 

I love that caseback

To this thread I’d add: are there available funds. It can be too tempting to go into debt to buy eye candy, so for me, planning to buy a watch should be in alignment with the funds to back it up. Or, keep saving ‘til I get there. That’s the theory anyway

 

@STANDY

Oh my goodness!!! This watch addresses my inner "outdoor spirit", that we all carry somehow inside.
Many years ago, while doing my homework on the EX II, I learned how to use the fourth hand as a compass. This information had nothing to do with the normal functions of a watch, yet enchanted me at once.

But yours tops this by miles. Just read your thread and find it fascinating as an outdoor companion. I see, you have yours now since 2016. Do you still use it? And is the compass really as reliable as it sounds?

My present life does not include much time in the wild like obviously yours, but IF, then all functions your watch offers would be prio 1 on my list. I grew up in a country with an overdimensional coast, and as a child, the only activity that my dad ever did with me was going out fishing. Your thread got me nostalgic and emotional now....


Thank you for the post and congratulations for the perfect outdoor timepiece.

Regards, Marcelo

 

Very good point you got there!!! Of course, available funds should be on top of the list. You are completely wright. Way back in time, when I wanted my first Rolex, I was soooo crazy about it, that even went to Bucherer (thats Rolex AD here in Switzerland) and asked if they would sell to me the watch I wanted in credit, they looked down on me as if I was a beggar, and I felt so embarrasing, that decided to never ever take a credit to buy anything again in my life. Go figure.

Yes, availability of funds should be definitely on the prio list!

 

Use it all the time and love it. Spot on with a compass always. Perfect fishing watch as light as a feather and 100m water proof. Easy to read dial. The case is a beauty as well.
There are several other models nowadays as this is the core piece made by TCM
https://www.horbiter.com/en/terracielomare-orienteering-el-alamein/

 

Even the name is cool (for me), my name is Marcelo (mar y cielo, only terra is missing).