Watch £500 Budget

willd58

willd58

willd58

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Joined
25 May 2004
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Bristol England
Hi all, im after a watch for my 21st birthday present, parents have said maximum of £500 budget and whilst im pretty sure this is water tight, I could maybe add another 100 or so if something came up that was really very very special.

I must admit to being a big fan of Omega's but I think im a little out of budget here, other than that im easy, a bit of a brand whore tbh, but open to suggestions. I'm pretty skinny so if you could bare this in mind and it would be a daily wearer rather than only on special occasions.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.
 
Another vote for Fortis, fantastic quality and not that many people know who they are so far more exclusive than a Tag/Omega, etc.
 
R4z0r said:
Another vote for Fortis, fantastic quality and not that many people know who they are so far more exclusive than a Tag/Omega, etc.
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But in my mind that = not as fashionable/desirable?

Rotty said:
£5-600 would be struggle to get a decent one
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Are there any Omega's in my price range? I am particularly drawn to them when I look in the high street jewelers.
 
willd58 said:
But in my mind that = not as fashionable/desirable?


Are there any Omega's in my price range? I am particularly drawn to them when I look in the high street jewelers.
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not new there aren't
 
Best thing might be to have a look at one of the many watch forums out there, e.g

watchuseek
TimeZone
Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum
Poor Man's Watch Forum
The Watch Forum

To name but a few.

They all have very good advice available and you'll be able to see a wide range of watches. All these forums have trading areas where you will find watches for sale and as they're mostly US based, you can get some extremely good deals, even with postage to UK and risk of customs charges. Just remember to do you're homework and seek references for any buyer you're unsure of.

Decent 2nd hand stuff i'd choose in your price range would be

Seiko MarineMaster SBDX001
Fortis B42 Marinemaster
Doxa SUB750T
Oris TT1 Regulateur “Der Meistertaucher”

But obviously depends on what you like in a watch (as you might have guessed, i like divers), have a good look round and don't rush into anything or you may end up with a 21st bd present that you aint wearing 6months down the line :)

Oh, be sure and post pics, whatever you choose.
 
Rotty said:
I would certainly rate Fortis above Tag but would prefer an Omega to either
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How come, I don't seem to have seen Fortis watches on the high street, but tag seem to be in every shop and many of the Tag Heuer watches are spot on in my budget.

What about Rotary/Seiko watches, these seem to be at the cheaper end of the market but some looked quite nice, or are these kind of brands to be avoided?
 
willd58 said:
How come, I don't seem to have seen Fortis watches on the high street, but tag seem to be in every shop and many of the Tag Heuer watches are spot on in my budget.

What about Rotary/Seiko watches, these seem to be at the cheaper end of the market but some looked quite nice, or are these kind of brands to be avoided?
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Tags are seriously overpriced for what they are. They look crap, they aren't built as well as other watches in their price range and they have zero exclusivity.
Fortis watches are better built, better looking (IMO), more exclusive and far better value for money.

Based on what you've posted here, I think you're more interested in a watch that you can show off to other people in which case an Omega or Tag will fit the bill as they are household names.
 
Sorry to hijack here but i have a question.....

The other day my brother came home and said his mate just went out and spent £3000 on a watch. Now, with my brother you can take absolutely everything he says with a handful of salt, nevermind a pinch. I just don't know if this is true, and what sort of watch would you be getting for this type of money? I see a lot of threads on this forum saying so n' so spent £400-750 but I've never seen 3 grand, and i know there are a lot of minted guys on these forums. What do you reckon.
 
Scuzi said:
Tags are seriously overpriced for what they are. They look crap, they aren't built as well as other watches in their price range and they have zero exclusivity.
Fortis watches are better built, better looking (IMO), more exclusive and far better value for money.

Based on what you've posted here, I think you're more interested in a watch that you can show off to other people in which case an Omega or Tag will fit the bill as they are household names.
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Frankly, yea I am, I need it to tell the time and be pleasing to the eye, it seems my budget falls a little short of an Omega, Tag are to be avoided, and anything else I have yet to see. Ill look into Fortis watches a bit more, thanks.
 
You may as well get a Tag replica with a swiss ETA 2824 movement rather than a real one. It's about 99.9% the same.
 
Freeman said:
Sorry to hijack here but i have a question.....

The other day my brother came home and said his mate just went out and spent £3000 on a watch. Now, with my brother you can take absolutely everything he says with a handful of salt, nevermind a pinch. I just don't know if this is true, and what sort of watch would you be getting for this type of money? I see a lot of threads on this forum saying so n' so spent £400-750 but I've never seen 3 grand, and i know there are a lot of minted guys on these forums. What do you reckon.
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There are loads of £3k watches, there are some on the high street in shop windows at this price, all the way up to £7k for some brands iv seen.

- With regard to Fortis watches, are there any high street shops that stock them so I can check them out in real life rather than looking at pictures online.
 
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willd58 said:
There are loads of £3k watches, there are some on the high street in shop windows at this price, all the way up to £7k for some brands iv seen.

- With regard to Fortis watches, are there any high street shops that stock them so I can check them out in real life rather than looking at pictures online.
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Possible then, i just can't get it into my head. How can someone justify spending that much on a watch! Even if a famous celebrity, even if god himself came up to you and said, "that's a great watch!" would it be worth 3 grand to you!? ha :p
 
Freeman said:
Possible then, i just can't get it into my head. How can someone justify spending that much on a watch! Even if a famous celebrity, even if god himself came up to you and said, "that's a great watch!" would it be worth 3 grand to you!? ha :p
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Think of it like a car. Why spend £20k on a new car to get you from A to B when a £1000 used car will do exactly the same thing?

Nobody needs an expensive watch. For those of us who appreicate the detail and workmanship in a fine timepiece, it's a nice thing to have.
 
willd58 said:
How come, I don't seem to have seen Fortis watches on the high street, but tag seem to be in every shop and many of the Tag Heuer watches are spot on in my budget.
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Tag make very few watches ( hardly any ) , they are in fact more of a design and marketing compnay than a watch maker

The parts are bought in and then the assembly sub contracted ( often to Asia ) , they are then packaged in Switzerland to allow them to be called "swiss made"
 
Freeman said:
Sorry to hijack here but i have a question.....

The other day my brother came home and said his mate just went out and spent £3000 on a watch. Now, with my brother you can take absolutely everything he says with a handful of salt, nevermind a pinch. I just don't know if this is true, and what sort of watch would you be getting for this type of money? I see a lot of threads on this forum saying so n' so spent £400-750 but I've never seen 3 grand, and i know there are a lot of minted guys on these forums. What do you reckon.
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3 Grand is easily done, my most expensive has a RRP of £4250
 
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