7 Watches You Should NEVER Buy 

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The best watch to buy, the one you want. Not everyone wants an absurdly expensive piece that is more looks than use.

I think we buy cheaper watches to find out what style we like. Then we splurge for the higher end stuff. It takes time to understand what you like.

I got into vintage watches because of their size. For years it was impossible to find a new watch between 35 and 37mm, larger watches I find too obvious on my 7 inch wrist. Indeed, after many expensive mistakes (the learning curve) I finally know what to look for (and what to avoid) in a vintage watch. Now, all of a sudden, dinner plate watches are going out of style and there is a variety of 36 to 38mm modern watches available. I am having a field day - and an empty bank account :)

I do agree about avoiding limited edition watches, but the Seiko Ginza Alpinist was an absolute must buy on its looks, and it wasn't really that "limited|" I suppose.

Totally disagree with this dude. If I like a watch and can afford it, I buy and enjoy it.

When your grail watch is a Hamilton, I get it. When it’s a Fifty Fathoms, I’m fine scratching that itch with a homage. You can’t stay single just because you really like super models.

A watch is like a car - it’s functional. Gives you the time, gets you where you want to go. Collecting anything can become an addiction. What I like about this video is his fairly nuanced discussion of values - we may want something, but wanting is not needing. If we admit it is something we want, then we can evaluate whether the purchase fits into our values. Or time horizon. Delayed gratification is a skill many people lack. I’ve always thought the IWC Portofino Automatic Moon Phase is gorgeous, but I have not been committed to this potential purchase over other values (other ways to spend money).

My personal tip is to write down all the watches you currently want. Once per year. And see what sticks. By seeing how my list has changed I've managed to keep from buying quite a few watches.

I thoroughly enjoyed the analysis and I think it's a good subject. I just have couple of concerns: 1. Grail watches are generally very expensive, which is rather prohibitive for trial and error but we all know that you don't really know if a watch is right for you until you try it and spend some time with it. Most people don't have the means to try and find out. It will be a decision base on faith or other people's word to large extend. 2. Me for instance, really like Seiko's diver's look and it is probably the only brand that you can acquire and later easily dispose if it doesn't work out. Micro brand is nice and all but resell is probably going to be tough. Mid tier brands such as oris, Tissot, mido, rado... All have the same problem. Cheaper than grail but you can get stuck with it or lose big chunks of money on resell as they are not that easy to sell if it doesn't work out. Seiko for some reason are very easy to sell in secondary market which makes them better choice for trying out your preferences.

I'm really glad youtube recommended me this video. I think I was just about to fall down the rabbit hole of buying too many watches. I've just spent the last 45 minutes just really evaluating the watches I love vs like. Really great video and I am really grateful that you made a video addressing that.

what i got from this video: 1. don’t buy a watch.

I would say you shouldn’t buy someone else’s “Grail”. Just because some people enjoy spending large amounts of money on luxury watches, does not mean that most collectors would be well served with that as a goal in their collecting. Twenty years ago, we bought my wife a Rolex. She asked if I also wanted one. I did not know much about watches at that time, but I knew I did not want to spend that much on a watch for myself. Now that I know more, I really do not want a luxury watch. The “Quality vs Quantity” statement is a false dichotomy. People are not going to buy one Rolex or 1000 Skmei’s . I sure as hell would rather have a dozen of my $500 watches than not enough to buy one Rolex. The so called “quality” improvement from a $500 watch to a $10,000 watch is mostly in people’s minds. I do not regret buying any of my sub-$500 watches.

What these guides seem to miss based on the commonality of the comment sections, and usually admitted to somewhere within the video itself, is Human nature. In other words it's somewhat pointless to say "I started out buying what I liked, until I learned more about X, Y or Z factors" because starting out purchasing what you like is exactly what each of us do, and the experience gained that way is honestly more valuable (and enjoyable) than being told what not to do based on someone else's experience, and we're likely going to do it anyway. Some guides say "Never buy an Homage watch!" and yet folks still buy them, and many of them still love their knock-offs. The point is, we're all going to take our own journeys of discovery on watches, regardless how many times someone says "don't do it this way". Unless the warning is "Never buy brand X, its radioactive!" and even then, someone is going to be cool with the glowing arm. Having said all that, another truth is as 'horologically-addicted' people, we're all still going to sit-down and view these anyway which I guess helps out the content creators, I suppose it'd be nice if a few had the perspective of "Ok, I know your going to do this anyway, but here's a few tips I learned myself, tell me in the comments below if you agree" :)

As a female watch lover, I would have to agree with what everything you said. Although, I do not have really expensive tastes. In saying that, I still only buy watches from WATCH companies and not fashion houses. I know they are not high end, but I do love them. I have a Seiko a Michele, an Invicta Sub Aqua, 2 G-shocks, 2 Bulovas and a Tissot.

First time on the channel. I'll be honest, from the title I was expecting brand bashing and watch snobbery. I was pleasantly surprised by a video with useful and well throughout advice for new collectors. I appreciated the tips to avoid making expensive mistakes. A few hit home. Thanks for the video and I just subscribed to your channel. I'm looking forward to diving into more of your content!

Great list. May I add, buy the watches you like, not what you think everyone else likes. Look for a watch that you can bond with over time, don't rush buying anything.

Great review! I just subbed. I’ve been rebuilding my watch “collection” over the past year after having a small but VERY nice collection I had to liquidate a few years back. While I learned not to buy fashion or fakes, I have been going down the rabbit hole of purchasing multiple $200-500 watches (quality brands you mentioned) after not having any real nice pieces for a few years🙃Being a watch fanatic my whole life I started buying all the Sieko, Orient, Bertucci, etc. that I could again start to afford that reminded me of the Grand Seiko Snowflake, the Rolex OP (which are reasonable with patience), and the Hamilton Khaki🤔THANK YOU for saving me from spending $thousands$ more on watches I only really “like” and don’t love👍

Your advice is spot on, not just for watches, but just about anything. If you are happier “hunting” than “owning” the watch (or anything for that matter). Very well put.

As a collector/watch nutjob I have to add: He forgot to mention a big part. Even the expensive watches don't satisfy. Once you have it, you'll go hunt for the next best thing. By now instead of dozens of cheap watches I own dozens of very expensive watches which I never or barely wear. From Rolex to Omega to Iwc to Breitling to Tudor to Zenith...you name it, I got it. Once you're infected with the watch virus you're basically f***ed. The never ending story. So you might as well keep it at cheaper ones. Also the more expensive ones rarely make a profit when you're selling it. With rarely I mean....never. Only a few brands like Rolex and Patek go up. The rest will leave you with a big loss when selling it. Especially in this 2021 market while the global economy is dropped off a cliff. So think twice when buying an expensive watch. Unless you're not really into watches and just want 1 watch. In that case go for the one you really like.

As a watch collector i agree 100%. Ive gotten to the point where I only wear 30% of my collection regularly. Im probably gonna sell a couple soon.

When I started my collection, I wanted to stick to "affordable" watches, and planned to purchase certain categories: Beater watch, Dress watch, Dive watch, Solar watch, Chronograph, GMT, tool watch. I wanted to have a mix of Quartz and Autimatic watches, and that was easy. Two other categories I wanted were Power reserve watch, and completely manual watch. I finally found a manual wind power reserve watch in the affordable category, but I hesitated for a day to make sure that was the one I wanted. The next morning it was sold out everywhere. So, I signed up for a notice when the watch would be available. A month later, I got an email at 8am saying it was back in stock, and at 9am I tried to buy the watch but it was sold out. This created a pitfall I think is easy to fall into. Panic buying because you think the watch you want will become unavailable. So far, I have been able to resist buying a $600 watch that keeps getting sold out, but I fear the next time it comes available, I may lose my focus and jump. I am not even sure if it is a watch I want or need, but I like the looks, and am tempted. I hope I can learn to resist.

Good advice 👍🏽.. I own 7 fashion watches that I got for around $150 each, and I recently bought a Seiko Presage (which I know is small beans to watch people). However, the quality of the Seiko makes it painfully obvious that I wasted about $1200+ of my money on stuff I’ll never wear now that I have the Seiko. Looking at the total figure, I could’ve bought a beautiful Hamilton or Junghans 😭. I’m crying real tears.

My uncle gave me his seiko chronograph back in 2018. He's been using that for years before he gave it to me. Still looks and works flawless to this day and I only needed to change the battery once!

Just stumbled on this video. Gotta say, I love the honesty. Not everyone has a 6 figure income to be able to buy luxury watches every week. Soo for that you have my respect and will be watching more videos.💪💪

I have a different story about watches. I'm a watches lover, and I dream of other people's dreams as own a nice piece of fine Swiss watches in my life. But in the real world of the man like me a high end watches is always put in the second place behind the purchase of the house, and transport utility. But until I paid off my dream house, I find that the pursue of the high end watches(not super one's) likes Rolex or Omega..didn't make any exist anymore, I still wear a middle range of Japanese watches in 20 years. I know I can get one any time and much more easily than the hard times before, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it " become my motto after these years. 😂

Your story is my story. All of my affordable watches are respected by the community, and liked by me, but I only wear/love 4 of them. I am focusing on grail watches moving forward. I only want to wear things that really impress me. I see watches that are tempting because I like them and buying releases endorphins but I’ve learned to ignore that urge, and focus on what I really want, regardless of cost.

I still think its worth buying cheaper watches (and even knockoffs) to see what design you really love. You have NO IDEA how many of my watch collector friends ended up selling their expensive watches just because it "looked good in a case, but not so much on me"

I guess you're not married. If I spent $15,000 on a watch, my life would become miserable. I would never hear the end of it.

All pretty solid advice in my opinion. I also bought a Seiko 5 thinking it would be enough to keep me happy, and instead ended up buying the Hamilton Khaki Pilot Day Date that I wanted originally. On the other hand I picked up a C65 Trident Auto to "substitute" for a BB58, and now I love the C65 so much I may not bother spending the extra cash for the Tudor.

Great video. I was the same in the beginning buying just one brand Zeppelin. Now into this hobby about 5 years now I’ve concentrated on rare hard to find sport watches I have never liked luxury flashy, fashion watches. I tend to love watches with rare complications such as vintage Timex Time, Tide, Compass, linear chronographs and fly back chronographs. Yes I know Timex, but they actually have great watches. My more expensive that I love is the vintage railroad 60’s mint Bulova watches with tuning forks. And my latest is the Luminox brand. Anyway that’s my type of collecting. I’ve sold many of the Zeppelins and only kept the ones I “love”.

This is by far the most useful video about buying a watch that I've seen so far. Very clear, articulate, comprehensive. Thank you!

I have 30 watches and still look at mid tier.

I sold everything started over and ended up with a Sub, Skx, and a 5610. Couldn’t be happier.

Great video. However, I have to disagree with you about settling on a watch that’s not your first choice. They’re many factors to consider with this decision, such as income, your age, and other items that you need/want to purchase. For me, waiting 3-5 years to buy the watch I really want doesn’t make sense. I just had a similar situation with a cabinet I loved and needed. I looked at its price and how long I’d have to save for it and decided against it. I purchased a much cheaper one that I like and am very happy with the decision. I might always think about the other cabinet it but I’m very happy with the decision I made. The same is true for watches in my case.

You advice is applicable in so many ways not just in regard to watches. Thanks for taking the time to educate and remind us of financial responsibilities

great points! i may add that used watches that are 10 years or older are almost always in need of a service. that’s generally why they are for sale. they may work ok but that service is around the corner and quite expensive. when people say “recently serviced” please ask for proof!

Buying too many affordable watches is a mistake but I think it's a necessary one to be able to evolve as a collector. At least that was the case for me.

3. Is a great piece of advice - don’t buy compromises. Spot on in saying you never forget the watch you really wanted, and the compromise will ultimately cost you more money also owning something you only “like” (in my case, at least). Really like how you followed up with some financial rationale too - saving and investing in something that will hold value in the long term. All-in-all: Only buy a watch you love, make sure you’ve saved and can afford the watch you buy, buy a watch that will have lasting value for some years to come 👌🏼

My Grail piece as of right now would probably be a Rolex Daytona. Pretty much probably always going to be out of my reach though. But I love the chronograph look, and luckily there are lots of variety in that market. So while I may never get a Daytona, I saw a Hamilton Jazzmaster Lord Auto Chrono, and fell in love with it. I'm just looking to get started in this hobby, but as of right now, this will probably be piece number 1

Good stuff man, a very honest video and bravo for not coming off as a watch snob. For me personally I’ve owned many mid tier watches, helped me understand what I really wanted in my now very small collection of 3 watches, 4 if you count the gshock. I did make it a point to buy them on the used market and didn’t lose a penny.

"I'd end up with 40 to 50 watches over time" Wait. That sounds familiar. Oh right, that's Jory Goodman.

Thanks for the tips, I’ve just started collecting retro Casio’s and I love every one of them 😀👍🏻

This video should be renamed "How to kill all the fun out of buying and enjoying a watch".

This was a good video and pretty much followed the beginning of my watch collection. Against *all* advice, my 1st watch was a $40 vintage Ricoh from India! I researched for a week, like I was buying, well something more than $40! And guess what? When it arrived it was beautiful! A magnificent green fumé dial, applied indices in gold tone and matching hands. That applied Ricoh brand at 12, an applied Ricoh maple leaf at 9 and a vertical day/date at 6. I was told everything was original and it certainly looks like it externally. I haven't taken a look at the movement, but it *still* performs reliably to this day. One of my dress watches now 🙂 I moved into an Invicta Pro-Diver next - Coke 'Omega' shaped bezel over a pearlescent white dial. I didn't know that I was buying a Subby Homage at the time, I was just buying a Dive Watch that I liked and could afford. Again - still wear it (on a rally style tropical). Next was a reverse panda Invicta Speedway - silver tone subdial surrounds and a stainless tachemetré bezel. I still wear that too, on a vintage leather strap. Then I got into vintage Vostok, found a seller on eBay with good feedback and bought a Komandirskie in a Ministry case with a maroon 'spider' dial. Paid about $60, and again it arrived in great shape, so I started dealing with him direct and have quite the collection of Vintage Soviet era time pieces. Some of which are very beautiful examples of Amphibia and Komandandkie that you don't see every day and the only 2 I've had trouble with were broken by me and my inexperience with Vintage watches and that quirky Vostok crown. Since then, I've really settled in to a good formula. I don't have alot of money due to being a single dad with a daughter who needs full-time care at home. So I buy watches on the cheaper end. $300USD-ish is the most I've spent on a single piece (Bulova Lunar Pilot & Certina DS Podium) and I've got a number of $100 - $150USD pieces. I'm a collector - I don't flip & I've broken every rule in the book and luckily - it hasn't come back to bite me in the arse!...and I wear every single watch I have. The only watch I regret buying is a Chinese 'Peter Lee' Milgauss homage. I don't regret it 'cause It's a crap watch. I like the watch, & it's got great specs (in fact it's on my wrist now!) but it looks so close to a Milgauss I'm too scared to wear it outside of the house, even after putting it on a green leather rally strap!

Hi Guy, great advice..i’ve experienced most of the pitfalls, but sometimes you just have to make your own errors to appreciate the advice..I went down the Hamilton rabbit hole buying over a dozen before selling most of them to buy a Rolex.. I started to rinse and repeat with G Shocks..before alighting on Tudors and other luxury brands..you live and learn..👍

Always wore gshocks when I was younger and as I got older I moved on to Pro Trek's. Waited a year and finally got the smart watch I've always wanted, Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical. Definitely worth waiting and saving for

The problem, (for me anyway) with saving up to buy a really nice watch is that once I have the money saved I inevitably decide not to buy the watch and instead put more money to retirement, a large business expense, etc. With watches that are in the 1-2 week's disposable income category I just buy it and don't eat out for a couple weeks and have something I really like and use. If I ever did spend a year's worth of disposable income on a watch I know I'd immediately regret the purchase and feel like I'd just wasted a non-trivial amount of money. I wouldn't be able to enjoy having the watch for years, assuming I didn't just immediately try to resell it.

As a collector of Casios, I plead guilty to the first rule 🙂🙂🙂

Best piece of honest advise any watch guy I subscribe too has ever given, great job and thank you....

Extremely helpful video. 🤘 Started my journey with a knock off classic G Gucci watch from a street vendor in PA. Loved that watch when $50 is what I could afford. Now i'm more of a Hamilton Open Heart kinda guy. It's a slow process and there's no need to rush it. 😉 This video will save a lot of people time. Get what you love, couldn't have said it any better. But, really that should apply to everything in life. Do things for yourself without any concern for input from others. 💯 Especially when it comes to what you like to wear.

I clicked this video thinking that you would mention brands to avoid. After finishing the video I got a life lesson out of it. Your advice is very wise and applies on most hobbies that people spend money on.

Spot on advice. In regards to the lots of affordable watches vs. 1 or two grail pieces, I think the most important thing is to have your end goal in mind. If you really have your heart set on a luxury watch, then yeah, save up and go for it and pass on the lesser affordable options. But if you're on a budget and would rather have some more variety, I don't think there's anything wrong with aspiring to a collection of affordable pieces. The other thing is, I think the "affordable phase" is actually a really helpful phase to go through as a watch collector. It might not be the quickest or most efficient route to getting to a luxury timepiece, but I think learning personally from collecting mistakes is a valuable thing that can help you hone in on what sort of luxury watch you really want to invest in.

I still use a watch to tell time so for me I want to watch that is legible at a quick glance. If it's not it doesn't belong in my collection. Also I love the thought of vintage but man is it a minefield. Keep up the good work!

The problem of saving up to a "Grail" piece that you can't normally afford is the cost of ownership. I will always agree with the notion that watch collecting and Luxury watch collecting are two different hobbies, and every enthusiast out there should have that in mind.

I'm glad i saw this video. I know very little/nothing about watches but recently decided i wanted a good watch. I started this video thinking he was going to just call out brands he didn't like but instead he said legitimate, knowledgeable information on things to look out for. Thanks man!

Your field watch example is a good one. I do not think buying the Seiko field watch was a bad idea because 1) you could have been completely satisfied with it, 2) it made you more sure of yourself when you purchased the Hamilton, and 3) you were able to remember how you felt, apply that to other purchases, and hone your evolving tastes. I did the same with flieger-style watches and divers with almost no regret because I ended up in a much better place when moving upmarket than had I saved all that money to make a big purchase earlier. Rolex aside, the bigger the price tag, the bigger the regret should that happen.

Just went through this with both watches and knives, went from 10-12 of each down to 2 or 3 of my favs and I will know wait for pieces that will be lifelong stays in the collection.

You seem to be back to normal now since you've moved the live channel away from this channel, I think it's a huge improvement and I'm glad you're back.

Well...2 years later, your video still is very useful, some predictions were spot on..except for larger watches. They are still around, not just Invicta either. With my 23 cm wrist...I don't wear anything under a 45 mm...and besides my vintage watches...95% of my watches are 47mm+. There are lots of guys & gals who still like the larger watches...and as long as demand is high for them...they will be made.

I always wanted a Grand Seiko, then I bought a SARB033 and that scratched 99% of the itch. That remaining 1% why I would still want a GS is for the unique Spring Drive.

Great advise. It's always good to find your niche early in the hunt. I found that I enjoy Seiko watches. Sure a Rolex or Omega would be great, but for me, I will never let myself buy something that expensive. Like trucks. Sure a truck can cost $70 to 80K but I've always rocked the $5000 oldies with pre-loved marks. Even If I get a new one, it will be the $40k version. Just find what you like and make sure that you will be happy with your purchase from $10 to $10,000.

Honestly. I think buying 'affordable' / 'cheap' watches is a great way to start. I bought a couple of affordable watches, a dress watch, a casio, a diver, a dress/field watch type.. I didn't spend a whole lot of money, but now I do get the experience regarding which watch styles I like. So if I ever have the spare money to buy a luxury watch I know better what type of watch to go for, making a bad decision less likely. Of course you don't want to over do it. 10 is waaay to many, but 2-3-4 affordable watches is a great way to get a better idea of your likings.

I am new to watch collecting and this has been my recurrent story. Searches for great affordable 37-38 mm watches on RU-vid. Finds 2 yr old videos of nice options which are under 300usd. Read comments of folks bragging they bought the watch for under 100usd during black Friday. Searches for watch to buy, nowhere to be found or now it is sold for 500 usd.

Love your advice on saving money before you spend it. It's easy to know if you've saved "enough": if you AND YOUR SPOUSE have any credit cards with an outstanding balance of more than zero within the past six months you have not saved "enough".

I agree with all but your first point...Having a lot of watches early on in the collecting experience can have its benefits. One and allows people to figure out what they really like. The way I look at it it’s better to make several $200 mistakes than one $10,000 mistake! I continue to have a very large collection… Many people say I have too many...My response is: “What do you mean? I am down to 25!” Thanks for the great piece!”

I think HorologyHouse would disagree with part #7.

I know this video's topic is about watches but I just had to go off subject quickly and really compliment your narrative skills! So many youtubers oversaturate their videos with bad music, jump cuts every 3 to 5 seconds, bad lighting or audio, it just becomes waaaay too distracting! Contrast to that, You on the other hand, have amazing communication skills and your set up just comes together! It's almost like your telling a story and the subject surprisingly is watches! I'm sorry for going off topic but I just really had to put that out there! Well done!!

Great video, thanks! It's amazing how these rules can be applied to other collections too. I collect anime figures (which can get pricey REALLY fast), and a lot of rules I have for myself are similar. For example: Does it bring you joy? Do you use/display it? Get it if you're going to regret getting a cheaper one later. If you're not completely satisfied, don't get it. ect.

Insightful video, Guy. I definitely had a couple of "a-ha" moments. Thanks!

I collect them if they look cool. From Tags Omeagas to Invicta, I just like watches. I just recently discovered Liv and ordered the p51 and man it's a little to big...but I love the thing, and at 1300$ to get something on par from Tag or Rolex it would cost you easily 3 times as much, but you're are dead on with Seiko, I have one of their solar chronos and it's the watch I wore when I got married, it's absolutely beautiful and 11 years later it still looks and runs perfect. Now it was a little expensive when you think of a Seiko...you don't think 700$ but like I said, I have it for over a decade and it's an amazing watch.

Look presenter GET TO THE POINT

Good advise. I've been guilty of buying quantity over quality when I was younger and had less money, but now regret buying many of what I have during those days. These days I am very selective.

I agree with you to a degree. As a WIS for the last 15 years, and interested in watches since I was little, I can say that knowing what you like is not always something people just know. Tastes often evolve via experience. I'm an Affordable Watch guy but I have owned higher end watches. Owned a Rolex and sold it for a variety of reasons including the ADs attitude problems and the antics of the company. Own Seikos, and wear them regularly, because they are great watches. After working through a variety of affordable watches, and several higher end like Rolex and Omega, I finally figured out what I wanted and liked and bought a Sinn 757UTC - and lo and behold I was on the Watch wagon for 5+ years as a result. So, I agree about fashion watches, replicas, living within your means and delaying gratification, and trendy watches (50mm is too small??? seriously I saw that comment more than once) but affordable watches from reputable companies can really help you appreciate what it is that you want, what you are willing to pay, and through the process give you a lot of enjoyment. Have great day and stay safe!

Great video! Completely agree with faux vintage and limited edition watches not holding value in the future. I too have purchased way too many $500ish watches. They are easy to pick up instead of the seemingly daunting tasj of saving for a more expensive piece. I’m in the stage now of selling them off to fund larger purchases. Just seems to be a common trend in collecting! Stay healthy buddy!

The take-away here I think is, buy the one you want, the one that makes you look at it more often and, the one you can actually afford. Thanks for laying your thoughts down I appreciate it.

The most I ever spent was for the Hamilton Pilot automatic seen it the Interstellar movie. $650 was a good buy and it is still one of my favorites. I take it out and wear it when I am tempted to spend more than $500 on a new watch I don't need and rightly decide a new watch won't be better than my Hamilton. Good review.

This was such a good topic and really valuable info. I like you made some of the same mistakes but learned a lot through those times to where I am today with just a few pieces that fit into my likes that I wear on in my rotation. I really enjoy watching your channel as well as AB's and your livestreams are awesome. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your videos on this topic in the future. Thanks again Guy, Brian.

Several friends of mine bought DW watches two years ago. None of them wear them now since they are going out of style here, possibly due to "everyone" having one. I however still wear my SKX that i bought at the same time with the same enjoyment as when i first got it.

I am guilty of accumulating inexpensive watches; I have a whole row of them on my dresser. The second one I bought is my favorite, and I wear it all the time. I bought the others for a quick high. I also have a garage full of bicycles. The oldest one is my favorite. My "grail" bicycle hangs on the wall. My philosophy is not to save up for a grail watch or bicycle, but to stop collecting as soon as I find one that satisfies me.

Very good feature, although I probably bought the Seiko 5 that you bought before the Hamilton Khaki. For sheer reliability, the Seiko is probably more than a match for the khaki. Although only a hardlex crystal and non hacking or hand winding movement, they are nonetheless good watches, that you can make money on if bought from the right place and sold on at a profit. I know I made a few bucks/quid on doing just that, if you’re talking a Seiko SNZG15.

My problem is that once i get something i want to hold on to it, even if i dont use it.i guess thats me.

I have a watch collection that I like but I do not describe my enjoyment as "love," I have discovered that objects must not occupy that level of emotion in my life. I am much happier since I reached this understanding as it brought an end to my being an impulsive spender.

I have amassed more than a few watches, the initial ones were workhorses (Seiko, Casio) in my twenties. The Casio's came in handy while in the Navy (as I could leave an RCA on my nuclear-powered boat without losing it due to higher than background radiation levels from a luminescent dial...lost a Seiko diver once for this reason). After business school, and while still single, I bought my first grail watch (investment grade)...a Rolex Submariner 16613, which I enjoy to this day. Another five years down the road...a Glashutte Senator (18kt, 39 jewels) dress watch. Both of these watches are special to me, but I do not wear them daily anymore and tend to save them for special occasions. Given their higher value, I find them impractical while on travel; especially to less secure venues. Bottom line...I value my arm more than any watch. Today, my daily drivers are typically homages (SteelDive, etc) with Seiko NH35A movements OR watches my late father had collected 10-15 years ago. Most of his watches were "Swiss Made" micro brands with VJ7750 or ETA movements; fine pieces acquired before Swatch Group constrained sales of its VJ and ETA movements to non-Swiss brands. My dad had amassed quite a collection of these watches from sub-luxury houses like Invicta, Philip Watch, Chase Durer, Renato, Android (now Aragon)...most with Swiss (automatic or quartz) movements. I tend to wear his collection the most these days. Some of these pieces have maintained or increased in value, given the origin of the respective movements. Others have lost value as the brands themselves have lost appeal. Don't care, they have greater sentimental value to me.

A collection should be what pleases you and within your means. If you're "collecting" because a value you're not really collecting based on you're personal likes but are instead investing in hopes of turning a profit down the road.

I think that is good advice, but it depends on how deep you want to go. You didn't mention self builds, which are one of the most fascinating aspect of this watch thing. For the price of an £80.00 ETA movement, dial and hand set for say 30 and a case for another 45, you have a watch that, if done right, you will cherish forever as it has a bit of you in it. I have built a 14060 and I am just about to start a 1016 build, a watch that I would like that I cannot justifying dropping 20k on. If it breaks, I mend it. If I cannot, in goes another 80 quid movement. I even built a man on the moon with all original and brand new omega parts and had it put together for me by a master watchmaker, saving nearly £1000. It works and looks exactly as the one I bought from the dealer. As long as you are honest if you ever sell them. To me, building is just a stage you go through if you are really hooked, and it is one of the most pleasurable aspects of the watch game.

Great advice on vintage collecting! I made a mistake on a vintage Hamilton, those things can be tricky to repair. Definitely enter with caution.

I understand that I'm late on this video but I do have an opinion in the matter. My personal belief is that if I can find a cheaper watch (Under $100) that I love and know I'll use, I will get use out of it. I've just been using this as my personal watch-buying terms. I enjoy wearing different watches that match the clothing I wear. I also don't have to worry about having a $500+ piece of metal on my wrist at all times.

7. Quality vs Quantity 6. Fashion watches - DW, MK 5. Watch compromises - cheaper watch that you thought could scratch the itch 4. Expensive watches 3. Overhyped watches - oversized watches, limited edition models 2. Vintage watches 1. Fake watches

Hi Fish, great content as always. I need your honest opinion, I'm about to pull the trigger on either an Omega 233.30. 41.21.01. 001 or the 234.10.39. 20.01. 001 Trilogy 1957 for $1000 more. Which should I get??? I like them both

The golden rule... Don't be in debt. If you are... then you have no business even looking at any watch while you still owe money to someone else.

Amazing advises on the right time. I'm currently searching for watches...or one watch. And I actually had in mind to buy one perfect but expensive watch or several low- or mid-range watches *also consider Seiko 5). But as I know myself I could be unlucky for long term und by me an expensive watch anyway. Which would mean paying twice. The same point I agree to the watch sizes. I have a very small wrist. The perfect size would be 38mm. But the smallest giod watch I could found was 40mm and the others are even bigger. Which looks like a tower clock on my wrist. But unfortunately these days the watch sizes became all quite big. The only watches fitting on my wrist are quartz watches. So I will check and overlook my plans. Thanks for your Video.

I have 3 vintage watches, from my Dad, he bought it in 1943, he wanted a decent watch when he was flying his Lancaster Bomber, a pocket watch from my Grandad, also bought during WW2 and my other Grandad, a retirement gift from 1957. I was offered a good price for all 3 when I took them for a repair/service. I still occasionally wear a fake Breitling I bought from a friend who was stationed in HongKong, he needed the money. I took it for a repair/clean up and the watchmaker said it's a good quality fake. My wife has a Cartier that I found on the street in London, got it cleaned up, the glass was cleaned and put a new Cartier strap on it. I don't I ever bought a watch from a shop.

Great recommendations! Concise and wise. Thanks!

I now have the Covid collection. Only the essentials. Social distance myself from the watch stores.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Very difficult to tell whether you were referring to a script craftily hidden off camera.... If you were, very well played. The habit of collecting watches strikes me as such a gentlemanly pursuit, and this video or anything which calls for prudence, restraint and forbearance is very welcome, in these times like never before.

New subscriber and new into watches (besides my many Timex Marathon watches which were the best watches during my 30 years of running). The Hamilton Khaki Auto you mentioned is the first watch I only just recently purchased after weeks of research and agonizing over what would be my first quality piece. I was very pleased that you mentioned it as it confirms, ( along with a few other reviewers) that I made a good choice. I wont be a serious collector but I'd like to get one or two others over the next few years. I work outdoors and do a lot of outdoor activities year round so I'm looking for watches to fit that lifestyle. Thanks!

I agree with many points, I went nuts buying micro brands that only cost less than “1000$” I must have well over a dozen. I enjoyed watching Tubers review them, pulling the trigger, waiting to get them, unboxing them only to store them in my tier 3 watch box. I’ll give them away as presents to friends and family. What a waist of money, for me anyway. Better wait to get top tier watches, which for me spans lowish priced Seiko’s all the way to stuff like H Moser, for me and in my collection.

Great video. I couldn’t agree with you more. I have recently changed my purchasing habits with watches. Fawn are the days of pitching the 75 dollar automatic just because. It will not hold any value and really who would even purchase it even on eBay. I will say that I do have a invicta that I am very fond of . The pro diver with the nice seiko movement. Yes it’s because I like the Rolex submariner. But that is one Grail Watch that I will never be able to purchase. The rest of my watches are from 25 dollar automatic starkings to the Casio 5600 G-shock square. I will say that the G-Shock was not a mistake because that’s a great beater watch . After changing my habits I recently purchased a orient triton and a Phoibos 007 . That’s much better And those are washers that are of quality and they are in my collection to stay. Your video just reaffirmed my thinking. Thank you for another quality video

The most important watch I’ve ever owned was a relic watch. Fossil/ relic (same company) names their watches.. woman’s watches at least. I had the all silver version of the watch “Olivia” it’s an absolutely stunning watch and it was my first “real” watch. Everyone at work always told me not to wear it. I understood because of the type of work I did. However I couldn’t part with it. Felt naked without it. That watch survived warehouse work, swimming, camping, hunting, playing… fall of 2020 the crown/ stem fell out. I actually just shipped it to the company today for repair. I’m having the crystal cover fixed while it’s already there. 4 years of extreme ware and it only has just a couple deep scratches in it. By all rights should be more. To someone else it’s just a $100 watch that’s made to be affordable but to me it was so much more. Whether fashion, expensive, cheap, silver, gold, plastic… if YOU love it then buy it.