How scalpers and Rolex store employees are making it nearly impossible to buy a Rolex at retail price

[anon52120741]

@knoxblox

Now I’m starting to wonder how some of those vintage Timex pieces are holding up these days

I assume that, if they have only taken minor surface moisture damage, they are still ticking

[armozel]

It’s why I actually prefer watches in the hundreds or less (less is better imo). Timex isn’t as horrible as they use to be. Many use decent quartz movements and the mechanical watches are all Japanese movements IIRC. And they’re not too pricy either. The reason why I prefer the cheaper but decently made watches comes down to their specific style and less about looking rich. It’s kind of like paying for shoes that fit well. The price sucks but you know you’re getting something that won’t batter your feet badly while you work.

[armozel]

@Carbonman

I quit wearing a watch about a decade ago. They always required new batteries, the crystals got scratched and were just a weight on my wrist. My phone is handy for those times I need to know the exact time plus has a calendar and alarm clock. Most of the time I don’t give a crap what time it is anymore.

Yep, watches are better as a fashion statement these days. Phones >>> watches, just sayin’.

[anon61221983]

[fuzzyfungus]

@armozel

Some folks are still around that own their first diving watch they got from the store like one US army veteran did which he paid only three months worth of pay to get his.

3 months pay for an Army E1 is ~$5,700 according to their current figures, which looks like it would still get you something in the lower edge of their offerings; though absolutely not one of the ones that has gone all collectable or the explicitly upmarket side of the product line. I’m not sure where in the then-current product stack the guy from the Antiques Roadshow instance fell at the time of his purchase.

[robertmckenna]

@anon73430903

My entourage will all be trained referees and wear two watches.

You’ll corner the market in collectors’ whistles and really start coining it then.

[gracchus]

Here’s one example from the show.

Best Moment: Rolex Oyster Cosmograph & Documentation, ca. 1971 | ANTIQUES ROADSHOW | PBS

[anon73430903]

They will use a 1oz platinum Brittania for the coin toss at the start of the match.

[joey_bladb]

OH NO!!! My life is so impacted by this.

[Fefelo]

@bashful

fine vintage watches made in the USA.

The USA used to make such amazing watches. They were not fancy luxury items but very well made and with their own aesthetic.

And the USA does make watches once more! Weiss Watch Company makes its movements and watches in the USA, they are really beautiful (in my opinion) and they are affordable, at least relative to Rolex. They go for about $2,000 which is very reasonable for a luxury mechanical watch. They have a titanium 42mm watch for $2500, which I think is really great.

[GilbertWham]

I’ve got an Apha watches submariner clone that is a Rolex Submariner ‘homage’. It cost just over a hundred quid, and keeps excellent time. Like, gains a minute a month at the most. I’d post a pic but apparently the BBS and my phone don’t get along.