Should I buy a nice expensive watch ?

[JonathanD]

Go for it. My Rolex Submariner gets worn through dirt, seawater and everything else life throws at it. You won't get a mechanical watch thats as accurate as a quartz, but it will last a lifetime. I've still got my dads military Submariner issued to him in the 1960s and it is still going strong. Although it is worth so much now, I don't wear it.

 

[plastic-ninja]

You should only have those things around you that you either know to be useful or that you believe to be beautiful..........or words to that effect.John Ruskin.
Can't really argue with that sentiment and I'm sure that a quality watch could be very easy to justify.
I have a Tudor (Rolex) Prince Oysterdate Automatic that my brother left me when he died.Nowt flash but keeps good time and means alot.I rarely have to take it off and miss it when I do.
Find one you can fall in love with ; new or second hand and never regret the decision.
Simon

 

[Xunil]

If you want one and can afford one then buy one.

If you don't or can't then don't.

I like a nice watch but I get irritated at a £10 unit keeping better time than most high end watches. It seems somehow so desperately unfair

 

[dave53]

hi ive got a rolex gmt master2 and an omega seamaster gmt both watches lose minutes not seconds my omega has had a new movement put in it thats how bad it was it never kept time from the day i had it regards dave

 

[Squidders]

Money is more useless than a wrist watch, it just sits in your account or wallet doing nothing - spend it, you may be dead tomorrow.

Morbid thought for some, maybe a wake up for others and common sense to others still.

If you have food on your back and clothes on your table spend it how you would like.

 

[Paullyfuzz]

But the thing that gets me is why pay all that money for something that doesn't even keep good time.

 

[TomBartlett]

I have a similar view as nuggets, I tend to trash my watches That said, I think you should get it. People tend to get watches like that for reasons other than how well it keeps the time. Just look at the money we spend on sharps when plenty of cheaper options keep good edges. There's more to it than the pure function of the thing. I hope you have great 40th.

 

[susi]

We're all individuals, so I doubt anyone can give you "the" answer.

But if you're struggling to justify buying yourself a watch, or anything else for that matter, then best to keep your money in your pocket to use on something you don't need to justify to yourself.

Me? I have a watch I enjoy wearing "for best" + a 6£ watch for forest use. I don't care what other people think of them, whether they're impressed or not, I just wear them for me, you know, so I can tell the time

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I only wear a watch when I run (to keep pace), apart from that there seems to be enough clocks, computers and mobiles telling us the time anyway. It is a real luxury when you can be out and not know what the time is and a real precious moment when you don't care (or have to) either!

 

[Graham_S]

I say buy it, but then I'm a watch junkie
A speedmaster is on my personal dream shopping list, and I'l probably have one for my 40th (which is getting disturbingly close)

 

[JonathanD]

But the thing that gets me is why pay all that money for something that doesn't even keep good time.

The same reason people buy Aston Martins that are not fuel efficient.

 

[_mark_]

A good mechanical movement is adjustable and can be tuned to lose +/- a fraction of a second a day. It is such a non issue that I have never noticed it and when I do eventually get round to zeroing my watch it's never more than a few minutes out, were talking months here. Rolex, IWC and Omega have been accompanying adventurers and explorers for decades, to the poles, tropics, deserts, oceans, the moon etc. Saying 'a watch is just a watch' is akin to saying a 'knife is just a knife'.

 

[JonathanD]

A good mechanical movement is adjustable and can be tuned to lose +/- a fraction of a second a day. It is such a non issue that I have never noticed it and when I do eventually get round to zeroing my watch it's never more than a few minutes out, were talking months here. Rolex, IWC and Omega have been accompanying adventurers and explorers for decades, to the poles, tropics, deserts, oceans, the moon etc. Saying 'a watch is just a watch' is akin to saying a 'knife is just a knife'.

Not quite a fraction of a second a day. A chronometer rating is 99.99% accurate for a mechanical watch and it is accurate to +6/-4 seconds a day on a non chronograph movement (Rolex and Patek like to shave another second of this when it comes back after the chronometer testing). That just means it is capable of that accuracy. Due to how a mechanical watch works though, the angle the watch is at, the temperature variations it can see during normal wear and how active the user is, can factor that accuracy by twice that amount or more. Lying a watch face up at night will give you a different accuracy than lying it face down, so don't expect a mechanical watch to lose or gain the same amount every day, it doesn't work like that. It's a weird world, that of the mechanical watch.

 

[_mark_]

'aye

COSC conducts elaborate precision tests on the movements using cameras and computers, which analyze
the data collected. COSC performs seven different tests. Failure to meet the minimum standard in any one
of the tests means that a movement is rejected. The tests are complicated. Here is an attempt at a simple
summary:
Test 1:
Means Daily Rate: After 10 days of tests, the mean daily rate of the movement must be within the range of -
4 to +6 seconds per day. COSC determines the mean daily rate by subtracting the time indicated by the
movement 24 hours earlier from the time indicated on the day of observation.
Test 2:
Mean Variation in Rates: COSC observes the movement's rate in five different positions (two horizontal,
three vertical) each day over 10 days for a total of 50 rates. The mean variation in rates can be no more than
2 seconds.
Test 3:
Greatest Variation in Rates: The greatest of the five variations in rates in the five positions can be no more
than 5 seconds per day. Test 4:
Horizontal and Vertical Difference: COSC subtracts the average of the rates in the vertical position (on the
first and second days) from the average of the rates in the horizontal position (on the ninth and tenth days).
The difference must be no more than –6 to +8 seconds.
Test 5:
Greatest Deviation in Rates: The difference between the greatest daily rate and the mean daily test rate can
be no more than 10 seconds per day.
Test 6:
Rate Variation Due to Temperature: COSC tests the movement's rate at 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees
Fahrenheit) and at 38 degrees C (100 degrees F). It subtracts the cold temperature rate from the hot
temperature rate and divides by 30. The variation must be no more than 0.6 seconds per day.
Test 7:
Resumption of the rate: This is obtained by subtracting the average mean daily rate of the first two days of
testing from the mean daily rate of the last test day. The resumption of rate can be no more than 5 seconds.
Simple, isn't it? If a movement meets the standards, COSC issues a certificate designating as a
“chronometer.

it has been my experience that they are often far more accurate than required.

 

[JonathanD]

The accuracy has never bothered me. You adjust everything on 30 day months anyway. As long as it gets a service every 5 or 6 years it will last a lifetime or two.

 

[fredster]

I had no idea that expensive watches were sometimes not accurate, as some of the above replies suggest. I always assumed the reason you spent all that money was to get a super accurate timepiece. I have a £100 Seiko SQ100 alarm chrono and it keeps astonishingly good time. I set it to the pips on the radio a good few months back (at least half a year) and its lost less than a minute since.

 

[Graham_S]

A mechanical movement will never be as accurate as quartz.
however, accuracy isn't everything, aesthetics count for a lot, and there is something special about a mechanical watch.
The Omega Speedmaster for example (my personal favorite)
A watch that was chosen by NASA for the space program, Jim Lowell used one to time the burns when Apollo 13 was orbiting the earth.
Never underestimate the cool factor.

 

[UKdave]

Having a watch collection that cost the same price as some houses, I say buy it. If I go for an interview for a new job I always buy a new shirt, if I have something to celibrate I always buy a watch, to me its a passage of life and it reflects in my taste at the time, and as somebody said, if you are short for cash you can always sell it.

 

[SMARTY]

I have had very expensive watches in the past, Rolex, Seiko, etc. I am now using a citizen Eco drive. High vis at night and no need to wind it up either. Very robust and good value imho.

 

[BushrangerCZ]

We have to ask your mom. Now seriously... a lot of my friends use Suunto watches, but I personally have no use for barometer, altimeter and this stuff. I am more than happy with cheap, durable and reliable Casio G-Shock.