Tried on at my local AD in hopes of investing in my first high quality all around daily wear. The polish on the bezel and super shiny crystal screamed “dress watch” not “bad ass high quality no nonsense” that I had hoped for. Am I wrong?

almost considering skipping the Mark xviii all together, buying a Hamilton khaki for my daily and looking at a spitfire chronograph to fill in the bamf piece I want so badly.

tell me why I should reconsider the mark xviii?

 

Not sure I have much to say that will help in any specific way, but in a very general sense, with watches at least I always follow: "Put your money where you know your heart is."

Don't second-guess yourself on what you know deep down will scratch the itch. If you already know precisely what you want, focus on that to the exclusion of all else. So much better to have one thing that is perfect for you than many things that aren't.

 

IMO, Sinn is a good and well-respected alternative to IWC Pilot watches, if you are looking for no-nonsense and quality. I had a 356 as my daily wearer and was very pleased.

Don't get me wrong, they are not in the same brand category. But it sounds like you are not after a shiny brand and Sinn makes excellent pilot watches.

 

Have you thought about a used Mark XV ?

In my mind that was the last proper one in the line.

 

I have a petit prince Mark xviii and it wears extremely casual and simple. While it has some elegance to me it does not, in any way, scream dress watch. None of the pilot series does to me. ( I have the big pilot and the TZM)

The Portuguese and the Portofino are definitely dress watches.

But you are the one wearing it so.... if it does not work for you there’s little more to think about.

 

You could also look into Stowa and their 40mm Flieger. Similar to the Mark XVIII in many ways but perhaps with a little less polished appearence.

I have been so close to buying the hand wound, no date, no logo, 40mm variant on multiple occasions but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

 

Dress watch? No way. It literally *screams* Tool Watch.

 

Have not but maybe I should?

 

That watch yes as it’s older - the new Mark xviii I question. The guy at the AD didn’t help - pitching me on how nice it looks with a suit. A suit? Argh. In that case I’ll just buy a JLC or Cartier no?

 

This maybe the best advice for watch shopping I have heard. For $5-$6k make sure I love it!

 

Thanks. I've learned it (and mostly live by it) through expensive lessons over the years.

The first hurdle is really knowing what you absolutely love. What you can't live without. My Explorer 1 is now 4 years old, and the first time I tried it on (at an AD -- back when you could walk in and find full display cases) it was an instantaneous "OMG... this is it! I've found it!" moment, and there was total clarity in that experience. No internal conflicts. No pro and con list. Just, "This... I must have this".

The second hurdle is to focus and ignore all the shiny things that compete for your attention. Because unless you have loads of financial resources at your disposal, every dalliance is a financial set-back against getting the piece you know is really "the one". We don't need more stuff, you know? The world is an endless conveyor belt selling us "stuff". (Okay, now I really am becoming my dad!)

You shouldn't have availability issues with IWC. With Rolex the third hurdle is deciding retail vs grey market. Both of these Rolexes were bought grey, and I'm 100% fine with it. With the Explorer, it was at a discount from retail (again, those were those days!) but with the Sub, it was at a mark-up. Is what it is. That's the market today. I'm glad to have it, and it's a total beast.

Good luck! Stay focused. Seek treasure, not "stuff". Delayed gratification is where it's at.

 

You want to invest in your first high quality all around daily wear watch. To me the IWC is neither here nor there and it certainly isn't a watch I would buy at retail. if I wanted one, I would be looking to buy this watch wisely on the pre owned market. Same for the Hamilton Khaki, buy it pre owned. But if may ask, why spend $ 6 or 700 hundred on this Hamilton when your goal is to move your collection up market?. Save the money. There are so many high quality swiss made watches on the preowned market at $3500 and lower. Keep looking around for the first high quality watch.

 

Well this Mk XVIII is sporty but can definitely pass as a dressy watch if worn as such.