Spending dosh on a unnessary item

clarky_cat

Its up to you of course. Personally I could never justify spending that amount on a watch just for the brand.

My boss has a watch that cost a few grand, to me it looked no different to one that cost a couple of hundred quid other than the name associated to it.

Minrich

clarky_cat wrote: »

Its up to you of course. Personally I could never justify spending that amount on a watch just for the brand.

My boss has a watch that cost a few grand, to me it looked no different to one that cost a couple of hundred quid other than the name associated to it.

Watches are not about the brand unlike many other things , a £200 watch compared to a £2000 watch cannot be compared . Have a good look at one when you get the opportunity . My Omega i bought in Feb 2007 , i could put it back in its box and if i told you it was new you would believe me . It has no signs of any wear at all and i have worn it everyday since purchase . No £200 watch would show ZERO signs of wear .

The look of something can be quite deceiving too , a fake Gainsborough painting looks exactly the same as the original . A new car looks the same as an old car of the same make and model . Its when you look closely that the difference is seen .

bowlhead99

Many people would spend £30k on a car. It's not the MSE thing to do but a new sporty Golf or even a broadly upmarket family saloon can cost that much these days. You might enjoy it and have fun from A to B but you can't need to spend that much. OP is looking to spend less than a tenth of that and it's only a month's savings. Go ahead, I say, and if you don't enjoy it and it loses half its value, you learned a lesson and there's nothing wrong with learning from mistakes.

I don't do a lot of miles so have kept the same car for a decade and it wasn't new when I got it, costing a fraction of that. I might still spend £30k on the next one in a couple of years anyway (not a new one, just new to me) as I don't think one needs to hoard all their riches for a rainy day. Give back to the economy once in a while You can justify anything if you think about what it is you're truly working for, beyond the essentials. Though many people prefer the freedom of nothing on their wrist and a smartphone in their pocket. £0 on watch, £300-600 on phone. Or just learn to live without knowing the exact time at all times - plenty of people do that.


Personally I have the watch in the review linked below, on my "watch-list". I'll quite possibly spend the requisite £6k on it as a reward at some point. Only 20% of what some would spend on a car ; a masterpiece of art and engineering ; barely anyone has one; serviced every few years will last several generations.

[url]Http://forums.watchuseek.com/f67/review-glashutte-original-panomaticlunar-945042.html[/url]

Each to their own of course.

Mistermeaner

I too have a weakness for watches, but like finding oddballs in the 100-400 range, rather than buying the obvious brands.

Main stream I like citizen, real quality for the price. There core range is nice but some rare ones out there is you shop around.

Personally I couldn't spend 3k or anything close to that on a watch as at some point the quality of the product and its practical usefulness does not FOR ME justify the price but that is just how my value radar is programmed. Same goes with cars; I do quite a few miles and need a corporate ish image plus space so have a 3yr old vw passat nowt special but does me fine.

Beauty and value are very much in the eye of the beholder and I think providing you want (not need that is different) and can afford something, without sacrificing your 'priorities' then go for it.

What would be daft is to buy it on a credit card and spend the next 3 years paying it off at 34% just cos you want it.

Minrich

I would buy another watch to replace my Omega if i could find one i like . Would spend anything up to £6k but it would have to be an investment with some chance of appreciating in value . I want to spend it on shares but i hate the up/down in their value , with a watch it would just be a watch to wear and retain or appreciate . Any suggestions ?

Joe_Horner

One other thing to throw into the mix:

As of Dec 2015 Swatch Group (who own Omega) will be withdrawing all spare parts support to all repairers outside their network. This means that you'll have no option but to have any repairs done at their prices and their timescales.

A broken crown or glass will mean no choice but to pay for a full "factory" overhaul - a bit like if Ford told you that you need a new engine because you got a puncture! Possibly more importantly, it also means that any second, third, or 20th owners will be in the same situation.

Now, you may not mind paying £400+ every 5 or 6 years for servicing, and paying the same again when you crack the glass, but future owners will - not many people buying 10 or 15 year old watches are happy to be tied to dealers - and that's likely to severely dent residuals on all the Swatch brands, Omega included.

Minrich

But you pay for servicing on your car and other items of less value , like boilers lawnmowers etc ? If you see what they do on a full mechanical service (also guaranteed for 2 years) you would be surprised , i had a new crown and they also replaced all sorts of other stuff to guarantee their guarantee so to speak . They send you all the old bits back too . My Omega was £250 at Goldsmiths and you can pay in Tesco clubcard vouchers , so costs only £85 in vouchers as you can triple them at Goldsmiths

Joe_Horner

Minrich wrote: »

But you pay for servicing on your car and other items of less value , like boilers lawnmowers etc ? If you see what they do on a full mechanical service (also guaranteed for 2 years) you would be surprised , i had a new crown and they also replaced all sorts of other stuff to guarantee their guarantee so to speak . They send you all the old bits back too . My Omega was £250 at Goldsmiths and you can pay in Tesco clubcard vouchers , so costs only £85 in vouchers as you can triple them at Goldsmiths

No, I wouldn't be surprised what they do because it's what I've done for a living for the past 20 years. What does surprise me is how they manage to charge what they do.

Won't ask what they charged for your new crown, but (currently) I can buy most genuine Omega crowns for around £15 each. The stem that they fit to varies (again, genuine parts) from about £2.50 to £7 each depending on the movement. A full set of seals is under £3. Bear in mind, those parts prices are to me, after Omega and my supply chain have taken their profit - to Omega they'll be less than half that.

They take roughly 10 minutes to fit, and half an hour for a water resistance test afterwards. So, for whatever they charged, you got maybe a tenner in parts and 3/4 hour labour.

Once they squeeze the independents out of the market, their prices WILL rise because it'll be a choice of pay what they say or not have your watch fixed.

It actually doesn't bother me that much because most of my business is in the vintage stuff that other people don't want to touch, but it's something that potential buyers should be aware of before desiding to drop several £K on a watch that there'll be reduced second hand demand for because of repair costs



eta: As for servicing on other things - would you buy (say) a Ford if you knew that it could never be repaired by anyone except a Ford main dealer? Don't you thinnk that might affect resale a little?

Minrich

But taking it to Goldsmiths and getting Omega to repair it gives reassurance , same as taking an Aston Martin to an AM dealer etc . You may well be able to repair them cheaper , but cheaper is not in the make up of someone who pays thousands for a watch , is it ? It reassures me that Omega repaired it , if it was something less personal then anyone can repair it .

Joe_Horner

Minrich wrote: »

But taking it to Goldsmiths and getting Omega to repair it gives reassurance , same as taking an Aston Martin to an AM dealer etc . You may well be able to repair them cheaper , but cheaper is not in the make up of someone who pays thousands for a watch , is it ? It reassures me that Omega repaired it , if it was something less personal then anyone can repair it .

Which is well and good and your choice.

But being forced to use Omega (or Tissot, or Breitling, or any of their other names) for repair needs to be figured in to any buying decision because it will affect resale value.

I won't take offence at your comment about "giving reassurance" btw, seeing as several of my regular customers came to me after having unhappy experiences with dealer service networks, and have found that I offer better, faster and cheaper. I don't try to take business from the "dealer only" owners because there are plenty of people out there who aren't quite so blinded by the marketing

Presumably you don't intend to ever sell your Omega, but if you ever do then you will find second hand values dropping considerably when this starts to bite because few second- or thrid- owners want to be tied to inflated service charges, so they either won't buy or will insist on a considerable discount if they do. Big repair costs means big depreciation!

For the OP, who's just considering buying into the brand, that's something he should be aware of.