I actually like all but one of these watches. I also want the excitement of getting a surprise, so it works out for me. Others, maybe not, and that's OK.
@@DrPronghorn I don't doubt that any ya some of them are nice. I just don't think they are worth 300 each. If you was to look each one up to see what they actually sell for the math won't add up. You can not go by the price onthe watch hang tag either. Look at invicta watches, there pro diver has $700or more on the hang tag when thu actually sell fot $70 to $150.
@@johnleonard3951 I understand your concern, that's why I tried to find recent eBay prices for these watches, and I listed those, too. In the end, there are some that sell for less than $300 on eBay, but some that sell for more, so it works out on average.
I’ve been contemplating joining Watch Gang. Been watching RU-vid reviews and online reviews. I was very jazzed to join but after the research I’ve decided to nix it. I have a nice collection going and each one is special to me. Getting one monthly or quarterly that I have no control over is becoming less and less appealing. Thanks for your honesty and obvious impartiality.
You're welcome. In the end, it's not for everyone, and I hoped by making this video I could help folks figure out whether it was right for them. I understand having each watch be special. For me, several of these WG watches have become special because of the particular things that were happening in my life when they arrived.
@@DrPronghorn Ain’t it the truth! I too have watches that stamp a time in my life. I have a 40 year old Pulsar that has followed me though much of my adult life and other watches that I look at and remember things.
@@casualsuedeit would be nice to get a Rolex at msrp you could instantly flip it for a profit. Omega no but Rolex’s usually command above the msrp on the used market.
There are so many nice watches that are available, I could never let some service pick them for me. The MSRP on a lot of these are jokes, so it wouldn't enter into my personal math. The fact that WG can pick these up from the manufacturer and sell them to their members at $300 and still make a profit suggests to me that these are the ones that the manufacturer are having a tough time moving through their normal business course. Thanks for the video describing your experience. Subscribed to see how you make your straps!
I'm never going to wear $2400 on my wrist at one time, let alone $3600, so this is the right speed for me. Other folks can do what they want, and that's OK, but I'm not willing to risk that much value on my wrist.
I appreciate you making this video. I'm not terribly a big fan of any of those watches. And if I were to join Watch Gang, it would've been the Plat. Tier that I would've chosen. I'm familiar with those watches and their movements and I think for the amount I'd spend in a year -- for me, it may just be better to buy the couple of Seikos I want (mod them) and get the Omega I want. Thanks so much for this video! 👍🏼
Just spun my first watch gang wheel earlier this week! I didn't realize there was any strategy to it. Would definitely be interested in a follow-up video!
I was subscribed to WG about 3-4 years ago or so. I was subbed for around a year, hit the wheel a number of times as well. I still have most of the watches I received. I did give a few away as they just weren't my style. However, as time went on, the appreciation for the watches they were giving out dropped drastically. Seemed like everyone was kinda on the fence and unhappy, myself included. They started banning people on their FB group if you started criticizing the watches they were sending out. Their listed MSRP is such a wild joke. You can find just about any one of their watches listed for much less on ebay.
Nicely detailed video, thank you. You confirmed that I would hate Watch Gang, so you saved me the trouble. The MSRP's used are fantasy-land, so you're usually paying street price for a watch you don't get to select. I imagine they make deals with the various small microbrands to buy out their overstock and unpopular models for a good deal (for them, not so much WG customers).
I think you're right. Since I made this video, I've dropped my subscription, based on the many comments that are similar to yours. It was a fun way to be distracted during the worst of the pandemic, but I've moved on now.
I have had the watch gang subscription for a little over a year now, was fairly happy with the watches I was getting under the black tear, so I bumped it up to the platinum, I have been nothing but disappointed in every single one of those an absolute waste of money at that subscription level.
I didn't even know there was a subscription service for watches. Sounds like a good introduction for new watches, but I'd rather have a few that I really like myself. -Says the guy who has dozens of Casios. I love Casios, regardless of price point.
Casios are great. I personally enjoy the excitement of getting a mystery watch each quarter, but I also understand not wanting to give up control of a purchase like this.
I’m not a watch guy and I never have been, but lately I got the bug. Thank you for sharing your experience. By the way, I like that AV8. Shortly after you opened the box at the beginning, it was the first one that caught my eye, haha. Funny how it is one of the ones you dislike. Very cool collection.
Heard of Watchgang. Was on the fence. Most of these brands I've never heard of, MSRP in watches are almost always highly over inflated except for some Swiss brands. (Invicta being the worse) The only reason I decided not to was that most of these 300 dollar watches all probably have NH35/4R36 movements in them at best, not going to get a Miyota 9015 for $300.00, some of these watches you have might have the very old Miyota 8215 movement. I just didn't want a collection of watches all with the same movement in them (wanted a better variety of movements) Rather spend closer to $1,000 range for a Swiss automatic or higher Japan grade like 6R15 or 9015. And also better bracelet and case quality near $1,000 price point. The NH35/4R36 is a good workhorse movement though, most come out of factory with a good +/- variation, which is good cause Seiko's guaranteed tolerance on the movement is atrocious. Hopefully none of these watches have Chinese automatic movements in them, I have personally never had much luck with Chinese made automatics.
I like what you did with the strap on the yellow one. That and the orange are realistically the only two I’d pick up since they’re so sporty looking. That first one must feel like a dinner plate on your hand
Something about the number of watch brands that have a "website" with high MSRPs but are conveniently "out of stock", doesn't pass the smell test for me. I could have a garbage product, create a website as a front, and then sell all of my products to a third party which appears to sell them at deep discounts, making consumers feel like they've gotten a great deal.
I tried the watchgang subscription but I didn’t continue with it. If they have anything that you want you can buy a wheel spin and a few times I have won a much more expensive watch than what I was buying. You can select 3 choices from the first tier then 2, and then 1 for all the high end. You can win watches like Rolex’s on the spins.
A lot of negativity in the community can understand the fun aspects of this. Wheel of chance. Most are decent. Definitely not worth entirely the money for many but hell it’s fun right ? And during covid seems like the community gained a cool bloke. So positivity all around thanks for sharing :)
This video is SO helping me decide what I want out of WG. But there are certain things I MUST have out of a watch, and somethings I absolutely do not want... Looks like WG won't let me customize my options for those things. (Example: I ONLY want white, black, blue, or gold dials and it MUST have a Date complication bare minimum.)
I just won the Duxot in their summer wheel spin. Mine is black/blue though. It came out to about $310 after tax and shipping. Seems to be about what they’re going for lightly used. Didn’t realize it was so thick when I added it to the wheel. Still a nice looking watch though. Thanks for the video
The Coronagraph is super cool, like a barebones Speedmaster Regarding OOO, i cant speak to their watches, but they've been harassing me with their newsletter since i gave them my email, and no unsubscribe procedure seems to work. You mentioned elsewhere that you are eyeing higher end piece currently, whats on your mind specifically?
Higher end for me... I got the OOO 10th anniversary watch. I asked Ricci very nicely and got #42. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--Xq9tb1JKII.htmlsi=osVRscJot06cHBQP
This is what Platinum will get you? I've spun the "Wheel" twice and have gotten an NTH Barracuda and a Gevril Vaughn both of which I like. The NTH is listed at $700 and the Gevril is listed on the Gevril site for $3,400. I do have a OOO automatic that I didn't get through Watch Gang, that I like as well.
@@lukewarrington756 I've noticed that. I've seen their Wall Street model discounted heavily along with others. Nice watches though, and better than some of the other stuff Watch Gang has.
I am so happy I found your channel and this video. Huge fan of horology, (love the double entendre of the word as well,) and just getting back into collecting after I liquidated my collection after the 2008-2009 meltdown. I've been thinking of doing the wheel, so please make a video. I believe I came up with a winning strategy for the 5th wheel. There are some pleasant surprises in price points and what I found on eBay. I figure I can stack multiples of the same watch/ different styles of which I know I cannot purchase for less. Works in tier 1 and 2. Most likely that is what I would receive, so having 3 of the same watch in tier 1 would guaranty me that watch, in different colors or bands. Let me know if you had similar thoughts or what your strategy is?
You're thinking along the same lines as me. A lot of the strategy for the wheel is waiting to see what shows up there and not being impulsive about making spins.
I sense a pattern here. Lot of watches that are discontinued. I assume WK buy out the remaining stock of discontinued watches for cheap cheap from the manufacturers trying to move the last of their stock and ship them out.
I like the fact you made your watches and straps yourself. For the other watches, you have to wonder should I biy these watches in the forst place? Or do I save up money for a "grail" watch.
The Woolbrook/Douglas is the only watch here that is objectively a good watch. I read in other comments you would never wear a $2,400 watch but you could have some really nice Seikos or in my opinion the best watch you can buy for $300, the Zelos Swordfish. I'd assume some of those watches are sold out because WG bought them all. Also, that Woolbrook shouldn't run out of power half way through the day
It only ran out of power halfway through the day because I wound it the way I wind an automatic to get it going before I wear it, so only about ten turns. Once I knew it had no rotor and started winding it fully, it had the power reserve you would expect from that movement. It's interesting how taste can be so different between people who are still enthusiasts for the same hobby. I don't find the Zelos Swordfish to be as attractive as the Spinnaker Hass or my Out of Order Automatico, but that doesn't mean your love of it is invalid. I'm not a big fan of the date at the 6 o'clock position, and I also like the rotating bezel to have minute marks all the way around the dial. I appreciate your comment, and I appreciate that you took the time to watch my video. Thanks!
I'm still thinking of doing that. I haven't seen just the rotor and screw for sale, though, and it seems a shame to buy a whole movement just for that. Thanks for the compliment and thanks for watching!
I can't spend $300 on a watch and not be sure whether I'm going to like it. There are far too many watches at that price point that I love. Then factor in the pre owned market on eBay and I can often get a gently usedd watch that's hardly been worn and is worth more than $300. Unfortunately, people get themselves into financial situations where they have to part with watches and take a loss. That's the best way to acquire watches as far as I am concerned.
Strategy video of wheel of watches please. I'm not trying to beat the system, I just want to get the ones I like that will have atleast some worth of I need to sell them later on
got just 1 black tier Oceneva watch, used bonus offer to get Spinnaker, and played the wheel once to get James McCabe. Canceled right after that and never regretted :)
the question even if you saved money off of MSRP, would you actually buy the watches they sent you and do you wear the ones you don't really like? that's the real determinant of if it's worth it
I ended up selling most of these watches after making this video. I took a slight loss on most, too, but it was a fun diversion, and I've made enough on this video to make up for my losses....
@@DrPronghorn nice, I think most watch collecters are willing to spend quite a lot to wear a fun piece even though we know it could be better spent on a house, a car etc...
Can someone explain to me how helium release valves work? How does the helium get in there in the first place and why would decompressing blow the crystal off the watch? Wouldn't the valve then backfill with air once you let the helium out?
They use helium instead of nitrogen in the air mixture for extremely deep dives. When the diver is in the decompression chamber, the helium can make it past the otherwise airtight seal, leaving the inside of the watch pressurized with helium when the pressure is equalized around the diver. Without the valve, this can cause the crystal to pop off. So it's really useful only for folks doing specific kinds of extreme deep sea diving; for the rest of us, it's a curiosity.
Save you money and by some quality microbrands you love with better specs. Zelos dorezo phoibos so many great options . Best watch you have in that entire collection is the spinnaker . Pretty sad
I just joined Watch Gang today and I am not sure if I will keep the subscription. I guess I just wanted to try the concept. All of these watches are not worth investing in, to be honest. A good watch should be in the 2k region, Omega maybe... Oris isn't worthy of your money, to be honest. I think it's better to have one nice swiss watch in 2-3k region than a box of bottom crawlers. What do you think?
I can understand that perspective. I've dropped my WG subscription because I feel happy with the watches I have now. I also sold off about half of my watches to pay for Jeep parts, because I found I wasn't wearing them. In the end, I would worry wearing a watch that costs as much as a project car; I would rather have the car than the watch. For now, I'm going to refocus on learning to clean and repair vintage watches. I bought several that looked interesting but didn't run, so I'm going to have a go at making them work again. I find that I enjoy that more than buying them new.
It's the Spinnaker Bradner. I got it on the Wheel of Watches, and it's the only Wheel of Watches purchase that I've ended up keeping and not reselling. You're right, it's a very nice looking watch, and the color combination I have seems to be sold out now. Here's the listing: spinnaker-watches.com/collections/view-all/products/bradner-olive-sp-5062-02
I'm sure there is the element of the box arriving as being an unknown watch that adds some sort of value for the member, with that said it seems with money spent versus knowing companies like zelos, raven, gruppo gamma with some models , and on & on & on where dollar for dollar would easily be purchased with perhaps a higher personal value held then the grouping this membership offered up over that time. But I'm sure for some this is just the bees knees & again perhaps the surprise/ unknowing element is truly valued by their members. Either way enjoy your collection.
Thanks! In the end, the surprise is worth a lot to me, and I think I showed that the watches generally hold their value in the resale market. No one will be making a profit from Watch Gang, but you can be confident that you can resell the watches for around $300. Of course, the price has gone up to $400 now, so it may be a different calculation for new subscribers.
These microbrands are fun, but way overpriced most of the time for the quality you're getting. Most of them have dropped in msrp since this vid. Also fun fact: NH35 movement is originally from Pulsar. It's technically not a Seiko movement.
I would never join the Watch Gang because I love the process of selecting the watch that is right for me. And I allow myself to buy it only if I like the watch at least a few months. Also many of these "microbrands" just don't speak to me (I would rather buy some Seiko or real microbrand like Lorier). BUT I have to say I can imagine myself wearing that Spinnaker, Duxot, Archon and OOO. They are pretty unique. And your straps are really nice. I would be pretty upset about that Wolbrook though. I heard many stories about broken automatic movements that were wound every day. They are just not made for every day winding action, so removing rotor from automatic movement is just a bad idea.
I think I'll end up purchasing a rotor and adding it to the Wolbrook. It's a cute idea, but I would have been happier if they had actually sourced a manual-wind movement for it.
Look into 'white label' brands/factories and the inflated MSRPs central to their MO. I'm afraid that ruse is what WG are mostly about. I'd also wager the vast majority of those eBay like pieces youi saw were also of WG origin.
I agree, I think most of the eBay pieces were originally WG purchases. It's clear that the MSRPs on these watches cannot be trusted, and one should look at prices on eBay and other resellers to get a good idea of the value of the pieces.
I paid $300 with a discount for two watches and got Melbourne Watch Company - Chelsea and Cadola Galathea - Limited Edition . Both watches look good but if you look at them closely you will find some issues with bezel or movement . I thnk it's not worth it . They are big lots version of watches you will do better buying seiko, citizen or orient watches .
I haven't had any problems with my watches, but I appreciate that you have, so thank you for sharing. In my experience, WG has been very responsive to complaints (even when I was wrong!!), so it's worth reaching out to them.
@@troller3155 So far, I’ve liked all but one of these watches, so it’s working out for me. I understand it may not be the same for everyone else, so I made this video to help people make that decision. If it’s not for you, I understand and value your opinion.
I can bet every paycheck I have for the next 10 years that watch is NOWHERE near 500m water resistant. The Rolex Deep Sea is rated for 3900 meters. It’s too expensive for a $300 watch to be tested that deep. No shot in hell. Also, Out Of Order watches are garbage. They should be Out Of Business.
I agree about the 500m water resistance, but we're going to have to agree to disagree about Out of Order watches. I love their style, and I love their attitude as a company! Out of Order is the only watch brand I'm buying now...
Those watches come from solar time limited, all from china, nh35 is a great movent but if they say the value is $650 it should be a much better movement. You can get a real swiss watch for that money with a ETA movement for what the charge for platinum tier. Look at tissot prices, real swiss watch for $300. Watchgang is a ripoff. 8215 movement is what you find in a $40/$50 aliexpress watch, ok for a budget watch but definitely a budget watch movement. 9015 a better movement, but myself its not a $300 watch movement, but at least its a high beat movement.
@@DrPronghorn I you search the trademarks on most of those watches they will come up owned by solar time limited, they are not horrible watches but they are over valued for sure. I did watch gang for 3 months and watched a lot of you tube videos, followed the people I like and learned tons. If your watch budget is $300 a month you could buy some serious quailty watches at that budget, Don't be afraid to try some ali express watches, once you buy a few ali express watches you'll really understand what a ripoff watch gang is. You can get some great seikos watches which won't lose value and some will gain value. Good luck with the hobby dude !
Mugs game you could have a much better collection if you had done it yourself and none of them are morth MRSP thats fixed high just like that Invicta junk and the auto movements from seiko are 60 bucks total CRAP
I agree. I've sold most of these and I'm taking a more measured approach to collecting now. I'm actually more interested in getting non-running vintage watches and restoring them at this point. All of my horology is on hold until I can get a place with a better workshop for it.
The absolute worst way to buy watches for uninspired people who have no idea what they want 😂 If one of my friends would tell me they subscribe to this service, I would instantly lose a bit of respect for them.
@@vik574 Getting the watches from WG has given me a better idea of what I want. I’ve discovered some other brilliant designs by Spinnaker and Out of Order, and the Wolbrook confirmed my love of watches with crunchy, complex bezel markings. I’ll sell the ones I don’t like and if I loose a little bit of money on the deal, I’ll feel OK because of what I learned from both the watches I like and the ones I don’t.
I'm never going to wear $2400 worth of watch on my wrist at one time. $300 is about as much as I'm willing to risk out in the world, so this is just fine for me. I understand if other folks want to save up their money and buy more expensive pieces, but this works for me.
They say on their website Swiss and Japanese watches, I don't see one Swiss watch in your collection nor anyone else's collection while researching this company . I am not trying to be an ass when I say I don't see anything I would value over 100CAD , Only one watch looks half decent but it looks too much like an Omega speed master knock off something no respectable collector would even consider buying. The companies who are setting the MRSP are over valuing these cant see paying more than 25 CAD for any of them used let alone 200 , none of the brands are tried tested and true nothing unique no interesting features at best they are functioning. Once again where are the Swiss watches promised or even a German or Russian made ? Not one brand I recognize ( I know lesser but very valuable brands like Bur, Doxa Valjoux and Zenith ) Seems this club is picking mushroom watch brands who hike the MSRP and try and make you think you're getting a deal , Only someone who is not an experienced collector would fall for this . Thank you for you video you have helped me in my research into this company,
@Drpronghorn : One question and no one has been able to answer this question , How about those Rolex and Omega giveaways WG keeps yacking about not one person doing these videos has claimed to have received that free Grail watch . Only video I have seen of a Giveaway Rolex was produced by WG themselves, and it appeared like they were all paid actors .
I agree, I think there is a lot of MSRP inflation for the WG brands. BTW, the speedmaster knock off is a watch I made myself from spare parts I bought on eBay. I have another video documenting that build. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BfmzmHLPQoM.html
Another good question. I, for one, never had any hint of getting a giveaway. I don't want to suspect bad faith, but it seems strange that the unboxing videos of the Rolex and Omega giveaways are so rare.
They're not garbage, but they are all relatively unknown brands, and that affects their re-sale value, for sure. Except maybe the Out of Order, which has a bit of a following.
