My name is Mark Longley, and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. I have been a wrist watch enthusiast for over 10 years. My journey has taken me down many of the common paths that watch enthusiasts tend to go down. The Random Watch Dude channel is here for reviews, opinions, and discussion about my watch collecting journey, sharing some of my past, present and future experiences along the way.
I don’t do wait lists…. That’s what really made me an Omega guy, I can walk into an AD and buy what I want. There’s nothing “luxurious” about being frustrated waiting for a call. That’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard in over my 20 years of collecting.
So true,l! This is exactly what I’ve been in the process of doing over the past few months. With that said, I’m still on the fence whether I should get a black dialed Explorer 2, an all black GMT Master II, or a Sub. Your video pulled me towards the Sub, but I have a sibling who lives abroad hence the GMT options. Choices choices… haha.
IMO: one quartz beater, one automatic diver, one handwound dresswatch is the perfect collection, suitable for every situation. For example, f91w, omega smp 300, old omega/longines 34 mm handwound in gold
This is very sound advice. If you buy a diver as your one and only watch, my choice would be the longines Legend diver 39mm, on the rice bead bracelet in black.Ticks every box, with 300m of water resistance , iso rated diver, and COSC certified, while looking very dressy to work with any outfit. My ten watch collection will be reduced to around three watches, by the time i retire.
The escape route I took to exit the rabbit hole: 1) Kept the gold Longines dress watch that my father gave me as a present when I enter the university. 2) Kept the Submariner I bought in the late 1990s. 3) Buying from time to time a couple of inexpensive watches I like that sometime later I give them away.
You are absolutely right!!!! Coming from a collection of 13 watches, I would give all of them away for having 1 nice piece, if it could be the Hesalite Omega Speedmaster (moonwatch) even better. Great video!
I managed to realise the trap early. I had bought a Tissot but then, by chance, managed to get a new Explorer from a local AD. The realisation that watches are a bit of a black hole came when I tried to sell the Tissot. It was basically impossible! Unless it's a proper luxury watch you lose rediculous money, so I figured I'd just go directly for the entry level luxury instead and stop there. I now just have the Explorer and a Hamilton I swapped the Tissot for, which I'll sell in a few weeks.
Great video. There’s no way I could get a Sub but thank fully my favourite watch is a black bay 58 which I now have. I’ve had countless Seiko’s and micro brands. Now they’re all gone.
I have a very physical job and lifestyle to say the least … wearing a $5,000+ watch ain’t happening. It’s G-Shock for me. Now I wouldn’t mind a Submariner that I break out for special occasions but it’d sit secured in a case 99.9 of the time.
OMG!!! I’m not even in this hobby for one year, and I am NOSE DIVING down the rabbit hole!!! Started with a Citizen Pro Diver (love the li-el SCUBA tank it is packaged in). Then I bought a Seiko Prospex Alpinist (Mystic Forest dial😊), then a Hamilton Khaki Field Watch. I am currently planning to purchase the Omega (the correct pronunciation is how Meg Ryan says her name!😂) SMP 300 with a white dial. After that, I plan to save for a Grand Seiko Spring Drive, then “The Bloody Grail”; Submariner!!! The watch worn by the first, and BEST Bond; Sir Sean Connery in “Dr. No”! You have outlined my past, present, and future!!! I must confess, I am having WAY too much fun to take your “short cut”! GREAT VIDEO!!!😉
@cliffhiggins730 Haha well you know the great thing is that at least you know you are not sharing the agony of past, present and future alone. We are here with you to support you!!
Um you nailed my journey on the head....i've had GShocks my whole life and then decided on the Seiko 5 automatic, then a Sub Seiko Mod, then Oris, then Tudor. I just got my first Rolex, Explorer ii black dial, after watching countless youtube reviews for over 4 years. Then i went through the pain of considering grey market prices or just "settle" on an Omega while waiting for over a year on the waitlist. I'm glad that I finally got the call and got the watch I've always wanted. I did have the sub on my wish list too but I felt the Explorer ii was a bit more interesting with the steel bezel and orange accents. All that being said to basically agree with you 100%. Save your money and holdout for the watch you want. Oh and by the way i do have a Timex on the way to the house....😂 You are a wise wise man.
Just found your channel and subbed. Some great truthfull content here. Maybe just the use of the word GUYS,way too many times is a little bit annoying. 🙈
What a absolute joke it is to be a watch from Rolex these days. In 2013 I walk into a store for the first time and walked out 30 minutes later with a gmt master 2. Stupidly sold it less than a year later for a 25% loss 😂 but planned on getting a submariner as wasn’t kean on the polished center links, but when I was in the position to buy again the market was crazy, I anticipate a few more years it will be a lot easier to get them 🤞
So many times I wish I discovered Rolex just 1 or 2 years earlier in my watch journey, but sadly I didnt quite have the financial ability to afford one when, until it waa too late and they were no longer easy to get. I would have bought the whole case of watches!!
Hello Random watch dude, I am very surprised that as an Omega fan boy that you have not bothered to make peace with some of the newer models from the Seamaster line and collect them; This 36mm Quartz, there is a 40 or 41mm transition model, the black one will be perfect in your collection as well as the current black model; anyways, I know what it is like to be an individual and have your own quirks, however, they are on my list because they will be great pieces of history later on and they are actually good looking watches at great prices from a brand that is at the very top.
@RantAboutTimeChannel I have the 2254.50 black wave dialled automatic which features in this video, plus the 36mm Quartz whose referenceni can't recall right now
7 lucky number 😁easy for me no social media at all in the first place, but i will stick with me Omega Seamaster 300m white dial until i pass on to the timeless dimension 🙏. I liked the piece.
Brilliant honesty to yourself, I really needed this video, I am coming from fountain pen collecting and recently started the watch collecting , since experienced I totally agree with all your statements, it is difficult to do though... Hoping all will be over in a short time after receiving my Datejust :)
@anilgokce1054 I had a friend who used to collect fountain pens! I thought he was so weird and what a strange hobby to be obsessed with... and now I am the same person but with Watches!!
Wish I had picked up one of the two SD4k that were sitting in the window of my AD for months and months years ago. I even got offered a discount on it, how times have changed.
I didn't buy a black dail diver, but at the surface a simpel semi vintage Vacheron Constantin Phidias 48020 two tone gold. When I wear it I understand what real class is. And it was surprisingly cheap .
great video Mark... is this tongue in cheek? Or are you planning to eat your own cooking and do exactly as you prescribe? I hope not, as I would miss your videos! My solution is simple... bought a watch winder with 4 slots and told the wife I'd be done when they are full😆i purchased rolex early, to avoid spending too much on the 'creep up the ladder' phenomenon. have one slot left & looking to close out the collection with the new black & grey GMT, which is very sub like!
It's tongue-in-cheek in that I am passing on the advice from a victim of this cruel hobby, hoping to help save some people from falling into the same pattern that most of us do! But honestly, if that 124060 Sub comes my way I will definitely be at a crossroads. Your 4 slot winder, plus get the Rolex early strategy is simply genius!
@@TheRandomWatchDude Mark, my 1st Rolex purchase was the 124060 Sub. It really is a great watch and one of the 3 Rolex i own. I got a call for a sub date only a few weeks after AD visit (like 2020) but waited 9 more months for no-date. I doubt I will sell it, more likely pass on to son or loved one. I live in Midwest USA, subs are not common around here, have seen a few date subs when travelling but have never seen a no-date in the wild. my advice, if you can afford to, is pick up the 124060 (fantastic piece) before unloading your other watches, then slowly begin to sell off what you don't wear and enjoy the minimalism!
I’ve been collecting watches for 8 years and everything you’ve said is so true 100%, I’ve just picked up a submariner 124060 2 weeks ago, I’m seriously thinking about selling all my other watches and just wearing the sub, I wish someone would have told me this in the first place ! It would have saved me a whole load of money, 😂 This is great advice for any watch collector or anyone just getting into watches 👍
@@TheRandomWatchDude The glide lock system and oyster bracelet are next level, it’s a solid watch defiantly the best dive watch I’ve owned ! I just need to get a few scratches on it now to make it my own 😉 hope you get yours soon !
@@leeevans8407 still just as stoked as you mate. This hobby is all about what puts a smile on your face, and I bet you still have that silly grin 😀 I have your comment saved, so when you scratch it, no blubbing 😂😂
This video really resonated with me - Great storytelling. I've been collecting for over 10 years and recently I really have been burned out by the entire process. I've collected everything from Sinn, TAG Heuer to IWC, Rolex, Jaeger to Vacheron, Moser. I'm at a point in life where other things take priority over my own selfish watch collecting hobby. I'm thinking of selling everything and just keep perhaps a couple of them. I pray I have the strengh and wisdom to do it. Thank you.
@alectang1614 watch burnout is real isn't it. I'm there in that space, and the only way to overcome it is to leave all the triggers behind, which in this case is social media and too many watches you don't need! Alternatives o am considering also are finding an even bigger distraction like a different hobby first!
WOW. I found this video while in the “buying cheaper alternatives phase”, and while considering whether I really want to be a watch collector… and you just changed my life Mark. I am returning my CW and the Steinhart, waiting for the Sub (I’m already on the list at an AD), and I’m just going to SKIP the entire painful journey and go directly to the end state and love that watch for the rest of my life. LIFE HACKED!!! Thank you!!!
@johnhaller1 Wow you've made the big call, to skip the BS 'cheaper alternative' phase which is never satisfying. It's like eating a biscuit when you really want a full meal. You just keep eating more biscuits and then feel sick. Congratulations, and let us know of any developments!
This is the way! I have ruminated on how to exit the game for a while now and came to the same conclusion as you. I’m in the process of selling 7 watches and keeping one, my 2254. I would add also, stop visiting AD’s or any watch shops. Now I need to get off all social media, thanks for the excellent, well thought out video. I’ll miss you 😂
Very fine video , and a Great watch, the only wrong sentence is the one about the hi beat frequency, the seiko 5626 movement is a 28800 bph, an 8hz movement, not a 10 beats a seconds as you declared. thanks soft sharing this beauty.
Thank you, and yes I realized after I said it that this is not a HiBeat but couldn't be bothered to edit it out! Life is too short for editing! It's remarkable how well these movements stand up to time. They are solid!
I have a Sub Date and love it, but it's probably not a good exit watch. They are just way too common. I went to two separate shopping malls this weekend and I saw a guy wearing a Sub Date both times. The Sub Date is a fairly boring watch to begin with, and if you see it constantly on other people's wrists, you are probably going to want another watch and then start the cycle all over again. If you must go black diver, get something like a Fifty Fathoms or SeaQ, I never see those in the wild. Or just stay with Rolex, but pick literally any other sports model. Sure I see Daytonas, GMTs, and even Exp IIs in the wild these days, but nowhere near as many as Subs. Although I still think going outside Rolex might be a better bet. A Speedy Pro is a safe choice and although it is crazy popular with watch enthusiasts, I don't see them often in the wild, certainly not as much as a Sub. Plus they are strap monsters in a way the Sub can never be, so you can easily put a unique spin on them.
I hear you, and so many people say that Subs are everywhere. Here in NZ I just do not see them, so have always struggled with that statement that 'subs are everywhere'. I think it's obviously a geographical and demographical occurrence?
Great video. I believe you are speaking to the hearts of a specific kind of watch guy. The guy who finds appreciation in the simple things; for example the guy who dreams of wearing a Explorer as a his one and only watch. I’ve been wearing my sinn 556A for 5 years and I’m now in my late 20s. I don’t fall for the hype. I find great appreciation in seeing this watch in different occasions and on different straps and can see myself wearing it for the rest of my life. I agree that for this specific kind of watch enthusiast they understand that a black dial dive watch is all he needs because that’s all Bond needs, that’s all a soldier far from home needs, that’s all you really need as a man trying to create a life for himself in this harsh but beautiful world.
Great watching this. I'm in the process of selling my collection to fund my one watch. In my case it's an Explorer 40 which I recently collected from my AD. Journey completed.
Congratulations on setting up the channel. I just watched your video about the 224270 on the car dashboard. Very nice analogy with the ski-hut, and log fire!
@@TheRandomWatchDude i think you are actually right about Rolex submariner. I got a 14060m in 2009. I think owning that kind of keeps my cool (i.e. not rushing to buy just another watch)…
@RantAboutTimeChannel people can say what they like about the Submariner. That it's common, everyone has one, there are much better watches etc. But the reality is that anyone who wears a Submariner will tell you, there is no other watch that makes you feel like that watch does.
Yes it is! I'm wearing it right now as it happens. The Submariner is an example I used in this video, mainly because it prevents me from selling all my other watches, because I don't have one yet!
As an alternative why not embark in a journey of discovery on making your own watch, using you love, passion and watches as inspiration, I believe this journey would be more fulfilling than a sell and be forgotten approach.
