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In a bit of good news: the watch collecting hobby may not be so dead after all…

alam
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RCINPHILL RCINPHILL
... finally pulled the trigger on a Seamaster on the forum here and upon showing it to my son he said immediately, "why didn't you get a Rolex?". He is 22 and pretty hip to the fashion trends as he has more than one $200 Supreme t-shirt among others.

I do not believe he knows anything about mechanical versus quartz but he definitely has never heard of Omega and definitely knows the name Rolex. I personally could afford a Rolex but there is a stigma to wearing a Rolex that a poor kid that grew up in a trailer park in Michigan has no interest in perpetuating. Definitely not judging anyone that wears them just a personal thing to me. I love my Omega because it is not a Rolex.

nowm-111219.jpg

Precisely my point 😉 and btw, a very nice SM you got there! 👍
 
STANDY
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A few years back a 25yo at work wanted a railmaster and I could not believe the effort he put into getting it for not one penny more than he had to.
In the end I put him onto a Aussie dealer that used to be on here a bit and saved him a couple of hundred $$s he couldn’t squeeze out himself.

They know watches a bit, but they know what price they should be getting them for when they know what they want. This kid was not going to pay anything over the going rate and picked out the too good to be true himself.
 
Caliber561
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In my opinion, one of the better entry points into watches for younger people would be the vintage category. Solid vintage Omegas from the 50s-70s can still be had for $1k or less, which isn't crazy for a hobby. I know people who have spent more on video games. For younger people with more time than money, IMO the largest barrier to them getting started is the lack of information one can use to educate themselves. Reference sites exist for the Speedmaster, the Seamaster, and other highly collectible vintage sports models. However, we don't see this sort of information available for entry-level vintage watches like standard Seamasters or De Villes.
 
Widows Son
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I'm an old codger, 63 YOA but I am around people of all ages through work, sports, etc. Rarely do I see anyone under 30 who's into mechanical watches at all. Most wear smart watches or Casios.
 
TheGreekPhysique
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Widows Son Widows Son
I'm an old codger, 63 YOA but I am around people of all ages through work, sports, etc. Rarely do I see anyone under 30 who's into mechanical watches at all. Most wear smart watches or Casios.

95% of the guys I know under 30 wear an apple watch. For the life of me I cannot understand being tied to your phone more than we already are as a society.
 
Archer
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alam alam
Having dealt with many 20-25 year olds from different generations and all walks of life I will refrain from making the conjecture

Good advice if you stop right there...
 
cvalue13
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
95% of the guys I know under 30 wear an apple watch. For the life of me I cannot understand being tied to your phone more than we already are as a society.

yeah, but same is true for 95% of guys over 30
 
gostang9
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
95% of the guys I know under 30 wear an apple watch. For the life of me I cannot understand being tied to your phone more than we already are as a society.
Isn't one of the key benefits of wearing a smart watch that it gives improved health data and reduces the need to physically hold your phone...?
 
TheGreekPhysique
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gostang9 gostang9
Isn't one of the key benefits of wearing a smart watch that it gives improved health data and reduces the need to physically hold your phone...?


For a specific, small subset of the population who would benefit from ongoing monitoring sure. But there is also something to be said for mental health and having your mind constantly occupied from non-urgent notifications to me negates many of the purported benefits. Also, from observation it seems that those that have an apple watch interact with there phone more not less.
 
gostang9
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
... from observation it seems that those that have an apple watch interact with there phone more not less.
Those with strongest desire to stay 'in-touch' have greatest motivation to get smart watch... so that would make sense.

Very small sample size in people I know with a 'smart watch / fitness tracker' primarily wear them to track health and fitness. My circle may well not represent the general population.
 
SpeedyPhill
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40 years SWATCH ... looks like it's important to keep the boxes ... as with all "toys" 👍
.
 
Watch my Whisky
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It’s because they can’t afford a house that they want Subs.

Thanks, boomers.
 
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