Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

unkel · 12-02-2022 10:48pm

Coaching packages? WTF? Sounds to me as a similar deal to what old lazy rich geezers do to summit Everest: pay some underpaid mules to carry you and your stuff up there.

Fitz II · 13-02-2022 9:13am

I see this a lot in the "fitness" space. Personal Trainers achieve a small bit of success (ie...they are no longer broke) and decide they should do lifstyle coaching now as well. Its an addiction to having people listen to you and a need for approval. Anthony was also a personal trainer for a while. Unfortunatly Anthony and Marco are not the sharpest out there, and they say and do stupid things...not just things that are incorrect, but things that are damaging for their business and the general watch business

Wibbs · 13-02-2022 10:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118622247#Comment_118622247

What I know of this guy could be written on a grain of rice, with a crayon, but from what I saw of the video and other similar ones by others out there is that maybe they're trying out monetising the soap opera discovery channel Pawn Stars semi scripted vibe on the cheap for youtube? Those type of shows are very popular, especially in the States where they revere the salesman anyway. A Glengarry Glen Ross for the bro generation. The watches being secondary.

Now maybe it's just me as I've some form of dyscalculia, IE I run out of maths ability when I run out of fingers and for hard sums the shoes and socks come off, but the numbers he was throwing around didn't add up. He was just throwing big numbers around for effect.

893bet · 16-02-2022 7:49pm

https://www.lainewatches.com/

mmmmmmmmmm that’s some finishing on the dials and movement. Not in-house but not expected at that price point (10k ish) for a small independent.

I read they are booked out for this year already on the Rolex forum.

Everyone is searching for another FPJ it seems.

Wibbs · 16-02-2022 9:44pm

I'm seeing the next trend very much going towards dress watches and (slightly)smaller sizes.

scwazrh · 16-02-2022 10:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643271#Comment_118643271

Dress watches yes but not sure about smaller.Recent trend of watches going larger and it seems too soon for the trend to change back .I think the vintage watch market is going to really explode over the next few years .All the entrants over the last 3 years into the watch hobby will be continuing along the watch collecting journey , It seems to be all Rolex for now so next step is the vintage .

unkel · 16-02-2022 10:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643271#Comment_118643271

The wish is the father of the thought there, Wibbs 😂

banie01 · 16-02-2022 10:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118642682#Comment_118642682

The Geliudus 3 is very, very tasty IMO.

Roycropper63 · 16-02-2022 10:35pm

took delivery of a hamilton khaki auto today. came on a leather strap. any one know of where i could buy s bracelet for same>

thanks Roy

Roycropper63 · 16-02-2022 10:35pm

Ryath · 16-02-2022 10:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643601#Comment_118643601

https://www.mastersintime.com/us/en/watch-bands/hamilton/

and pics here!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058125042/post-pics-of-your-watches-part-ii-please-no-quoting-photos

Fitz II · 16-02-2022 10:51pm

Anyone that gets into vintage is going to get their asses handed to them....it's bandit territory, where you can actually make a real watch fake unless you really know what you are doing. Even the uber collectors have vintage expert dealers they use and pay vast premiums for the watches, to know things are authentic and even then they fall foul....sure John Mayer got stung for millions on vintage watches. The modern classics stuff maybe? Another issue is that to collect vintage Rolex or patek or whatever levels you up the watch hobby you need to be massivly wealthy. Those things are mega expensive.

Don't know about the dress watch thing, not like they have not had their chance before. THe world is becoming more informal and unless there is a sudden turn around in that sports is where it at.....after all isn't every analogue watch a dress watch really??? Isnt a datejust a dress watch?

Those Laines look nice. Very like a Dornbluth at twice the price. Have to say the finishing is impressive looking but not the most technically difficult, mostly machine finished, and hand turned guilloche just means a person turns the wheel on the machine. I am unsure....although the designs are pretty damn nice.

893bet · 16-02-2022 11:32pm

Not convinced there is a market driven increased interested in dress watches.

Rather there is increased interest in independent watch makers (driven by people trying to inflate watch prices and that’s easier done at independents where volume is controlled) which typically focus on fine finishing, which works better on a more classic “dress watch” than a classic “sports” watch.

scwazrh · 17-02-2022 12:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643971#Comment_118643971

Translated to

”I really hope my Ming goes up in price “

893bet · 17-02-2022 7:45am

Unlikely to stay long enough to realise a profit. Looked at it last night actually and the mental chopping block had it on it.

Ming is already hyped to hell. I paid above retail. First time ever. Profit not really a driver as a purchase for me. Though it retaining close to the purchased value is.

unkel · 17-02-2022 8:46am

Always great to try on a new watch and worst case scenario it turns out it didn't cost you too much if you end up selling it quickly again.

Wibbs · 17-02-2022 11:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643417#Comment_118643417

IMHO - and unlike the current Rolex/AP mania, I'd have more of a stake in this game - vintage has long peaked. Currently the market is stagnant, even with the dealers and outlets like hodinkee hoping/trying to say it's not. Even hodinkee's vintage sales are sluggish. A few years ago one of their vintage watches would have a sold label on it within minutes of going live. Not today. When even a vintage Rolex GMT is up on their site for over a week... Looking around the various vintage forums or subforums they're either much quieter, or discussing the very cheap stuff that wasn't coolhunted. Chrono24's vintage sales are damned near static and their claims of rising values and the fancy graphs to show this are pretty much bogus and can safely be ignored. Examples of even sought after pieces are not selling at the inflated prices, or selling way below claimed values. Ebay is the same. As is watchfinder. Some of their 'sought after' vintage examples are up on sale for over a year. Supply is constrained, because vintage is an actually finite market by definition, what's up for sale is priced above actual values to collectors and little is selling at those prices.

I can't see the 3 year Rolex newbies jumping to the market either. Many of them got caught up in the Rolex mania and FOMO and the 'luxury' and 'flex' thing and are used to new and bigger watches. Plus the new Rolex/AP thing is easier to follow for them and easier for dealers and pundits to wax lyrical about. The list of "must haves" is very narrow. I can't see them pivoting to vintage any time soon. As Fitz noted above it's not a market for newbs, or flash harry dealers either. Bandit territory isn't far wrong unless you actually know what the hell you're doing, not Nico types shouting about reference numbers for his reddit fans. John Mayer got stiffed because he's a collector that relied on his dealer to do the thinking and research for him. Not a good idea with vintage. When big name auction houses and 'respected dealers' have pushed frankens, redials and outright fakes, on six figure value watches with it, and do so on the regular the risks are huge for the unwary. The sunk cost of actual nerdy research is too much for most people to bother with and even nerds can get stung.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643578#Comment_118643578

I don't see how Unk. If I'd said they're trying to push issued military watches or early quartz you'd be more right. I've only one classical dress watch. They hold little to no interest for me tbh.

Wibbs · 17-02-2022 5:37pm

Was on a job earlier and was thinking more about the new entrants into the watch world going towards vintage and how so much more of a minefield that is. I happened to be wearing this today so thought it a good example.

Say someone on saw that on social media and said yep I'd like one of them. Found out it was issued to the German military and decided to dig deeper. There were well over a dozen companies who made them, so more narrowing down required and lots of nerd diving. Only a handful had steel cases, the rest were plated brass that nearly always look fecked, so steel it is. So Zenith(some), Longines, Doxa and Mimo. Just with the Doxa variant alone there are two case styles, two caseback styles, two types of hands, three dials. So they go onto chrono24 and figure a dealer will know what's what and find this example. All three hands are wrong, the crown is a replacement, the dial isn't up to much, it's in dire need of a service or is already worn out(check out the regulator jammed as slow as it'll go) and it's at least 600 quid too expensive.

In a moment of madness they buy it anyway and it arrives and they realise it's 34mm so unless they're around 1.2 MickJaggers in build like me they'll be sorely disappointed and will be worried aboy getting it wet. Chances are they won't buy vintage again. And that's a relatively cheap way in. The same issues can be found with vintage iron costing five, even six figures.

By contrast; walk into an AD after reading and watching lots of stuff about Ref: 1234ABC, plunk down the cash, get the watch. OK not so much with steel Rolex, but you get the gist. Much simpler and hassle free. On top of that it'll get more reinforcing likes on social media and among peers.

I reckon that's what happened to a load of buyers when vintage was on the up and peaking, and why it went down since.

banie01 · 17-02-2022 6:45pm

I have a couple of watches that would fall into the "dress" category by dint of sizesize and much as I love them both. 1 an accutron and the other our own TF's creation.

It's always a moment of thinking before I put one of them on. My hand and eye are invariably drawn towards 39mm and above sizing and even then? Some 39mm watches strike me as wearing small, Daytona for one 🤷‍♂️

Now on the topic of prices? I had thought price madness was plateauing to some degree? But it does seem to more a race towards the "next" now.

Some fantastic and individual pieces can be had custom made for less than a grey Rolex/AP the demand is shifting and whilst those stainless sports and others of the VC/PP/Rolex cohort are still making crazy money (at least on asking prices) the rest of the market seems to be spreading through the market.

An example of this? I give you the asking price that P&P have gone with on my Sinn 😮! I don't know how it was arrived at and whilst it's a lovely watch? Is it honestly that lovely? Esp compared to what I floated it at on the sales thread 🤔

I mean I'll be happy whatever the outcome 😁 but fúck me it's an interesting price strategy.

https://prideandpinion.com/products/sinn-military-type-iv-limited-edition?_pos=4&_sid=de15d4743&_ss=r

Wibbs · 17-02-2022 7:23pm

Interesting price strategy indeed. I've seen them go for around the 4k mark, but nearly 5k? Don't get me wrong B, I hope you get it. 👍️

I do get the general impression of more and more hail mary prices from dealers across the board in recent months. I don't understand it when you see so many of their watches aren't selling for months and months and often longer than that. I've even seen one dealer example where they slightly increased the price on a watch that's around for nearly a year. Maybe they figure the Rolex mania is spreading, or that if the collector guys are more willing to pay eleventy thousand quid for the grey market AP/PP/Rolex, which initially spread from Rolex that this will spread further? Or maybe because they're making hay on the grey market AP/PP/Rolex they figure they can afford to wait for the asking prices on other watches?

unkel · 17-02-2022 9:35pm

In fairness P&P managed to sell his ladies VC for rather insane money 😂

But seriously, who are we to say these prices are mad if shops like that can sell the watches?

@banie01 - what sort of consignment structure did you agree this time (please ignore if you don't really want to share this)

Wibbs · 17-02-2022 10:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649219#Comment_118649219

But seriously, who are we to say these prices are mad if shops like that can sell the watches?

Oh I agree 100% Unk. If they can sell at those prices. Like I said about vintage earlier when it was more to the fore as a trend dealers were selling at rapidly increasing prices and fair play. But then there seemed to be a thresehold where sales suddenly slowed and then really slowed. Today in that segment prices are high(though not like peak), but sales are very sluggish.

banie01 · 17-02-2022 10:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649219#Comment_118649219

Switch the currency to Euro...

It's even crazier then, the deal my way is similar enough to last time round.

I think the lads above saw "military" and are running with it 🤷‍♂️

banie01 · 18-02-2022 5:59pm

Lads a question re: Seamaster and the "new" style 6 way adjustable clasp?

Is it a worthwhile upgrade over the older style non adjustable clasp?

Would you buy just the clasp? (Seems to be available in and around €200) or would you buy a whole new bracelet?

And if you were to buy the bracelet would you stay with the classic Seamaster 5 link or go for a PO style bracelet?

Or?

Should I just buy a PO and swap the bracelets between that an my Seamaster 🤔

micks_address · 18-02-2022 9:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118654695#Comment_118654695

What's the motivation? Are you finding it tricky to get the right fit with the existing bracelet? The new one is nice to be above to adjust that little bit on the fly. It feels heavier than the older style but I don't feel it's uncomfortable