[humanalien]

Do you think there is a "age-suited" watches or brands?

For example, if you see a 15 year old middle school kid wearing a Rolex, would you feel "Hey nice watch!" or be more like "My god. Can't believe this is happening... He's like a baby but already a watch snob (SMH)" ? Cuz if it was me I would be more like the latter.

From where I'm from, Tissot and Hamilton, along with Citizen and Seiko, are the most popular brand that the public generally accepts as "suited for teenagers" brand. Starting from high school few starts to wear a TAG. From mid-twenties and up, people start wearing Omega. I think this concept is only in my home country, but there is something called the "marriage watch". When a couple gets married, they collect money from bride's side and husband's side, and they buy a watch to "celebrate" their marriage. More than 50% of people tend to go Omega Seamaster, closely followed by some Rolex Submariner and TAG Aquaracer. And usually, this is the only "expensive watch" they buy in their whole life.

Anyways, getting back to the topic, I'm just a young student in his early 20s and I'm having hard time choosing my first "real" watch, since I returned my last one within a week after purchase. I have about $2,000 budget, or up to $4,000 if I use all of my savings, and within my search for new & pre-owned, there were brands like TAG, Longines, Frederique Constant, Maurice Lacroix, Carl. F. Bucherer, IWC, Omega, Zenith, Eterna, Ebel, Raymond Weil, Perrelet, etc etc.

But since I hate "popular" brands, I shortened the list to Carl. F. Bucherer, Zenith, Ebel, Eterna, Perrelet, and Raymond Weil; somehow I became a huge fan of RW but looking at how the brand was kinda degraded here in WUS, and from this particular member called Watchbreath who seemd to be pretty knowledgeable about their watches, it influenced me in this psychological way that I started to think that I shouldn't get them. Well, the reason why I liked RW was

1. Huge discounts from even an AD
2. Relatively speaking, not that well-known to public, which is a huge plus for me. This is especially true in my country (although I see that in U.S. RW is a bit more publicized)
3. There are lots of people saying that the brand level is low, but in general most of them tend to agree that in terms of built quality they are pretty descent, and the one I'm looking at has a movement based from ETA 2892-A2, which seems pretty reliable.
4. They are family-owned and is independent company, which kinda feels special.

But during my search, I found out that Carl. F. Bucherer fits most of the criteria above as well. I was kind of ready to settle down on RW, but considering that, I'm starting to get more interested in CFB. And I keep on having this tendency to look after Omega, TAG, and IWC as well, thinking that "people will look down on me if I buy something from a brand that is not respected..." which is NOT RIGHT, I know, usually people I meet in real life won't even notice, but you have to admit that somewhere deep in a young student's mind it is only natural for him to have this kind of thoughts.

Buying lower end model from higher end company, for the purpose of "brand name - show off" + resale value, or buying higher end model from lower end company that I like.... Huge dilemma here. Of course, under the premise that I like the designs of both brands, so I'm not asking for the typical "buy the watch that speaks to you!" because their "speaking to me" level is pretty much similar.

And this is where the original question came up in my mind. Am I over thinking this too much? A young student with no income, from a family who's not THAT rich, spending more than $1000 for a watch? Some of my friends think I'm crazy for buying a watch over $200. My family was shocked as well, and they were like "when I was your age.. I bought a $20 watch and used it for 10 years". I just regret I was introduced to the world of watches. A month ago I didn't know what quartz or automatics were, and now I spent last 2 weeks LITERALLY waking up, turning on pc, search about watches, eat lunch, search more, eat dinner, search more, and the clock already says 4 am. I got addicted in a really bad way; can't focus on my studies, or my LIFE.

Seems like WUS members are usually much older than me, so let me ask this. When you were my age (college student), how much would you have spent max for a watch? Is buying an expensive watch an unneeded luxury for my age? Can you understand what I'm going through? What do you suggest I do?

Thank you so much for reading, and love.

 

[little big feather]

I bought my Rolex GMT at 20.....I follow the beat of my own drum and let others follow me....b-)

 

[T1meout]

It's just a watch.
Do not waste you savings on some mediocre brand you'll most likely regret later down the line.
Get a nice G-Shock.
Put your saving into your education.
Turn off your PC. There is a world out there to be discovered.
Once you have chosen a career and are successful at what you do, you'll have plenty of money to buy the watch you want.
A watch does not define who you are. Your accomplishments do!

I was 40 before I started wearing a watch.

 

[Bronte]

I think you're getting a bit too caught up in psychology and perceptions. It's easy to become obsessive about watches, as you've described. It's a consumer good that you wear on your person more or less all the time, and there's a huge body of information, opinions, and models to become fixated on. It's easy to get watches tied up with thoughts about craftsmanship, quality, success, and personality traits.

But they're just things, and more or less unimportant things at that. Best to consider it just a hobby, not a metaphysical pursuit. And maybe try to budget time spent on the hobby, as you would time spent watching movies or, maybe more aptly, drinking scotch.

Anyway, no, there isn't really an age appropriateness to watch brands, at least once you're an adult. Can't really comment on what kids should or shouldn't be wearing, but generally I would think it's their parents' job to sort that out--probably erring on the side of not buying them a Rolex.

As to what watch you should get, sounds like it should be an entry level watch well within budget. Won't give you financial advice, but there's plenty of good options around $500. Raymond Weil will be just fine, but if you're worried about what posters may have said about the brand, look at Hamilton, Tissot, Seiko, Citizen, Stowa, and others at this price point.

 

[Seaswirl]

You're wasting your time and your money. You are all over the place! Find out what you really like and then go from there. I wore a Tag in high school and college and got my first Rolex at 24. When I look back at those fun times, which is now many moons ago, the watches I wore are the last thing that come to mind.

 

[Boone]

Try not to overthink it. Watches should be enjoyable. Most people aren't going to notice your watch anyway.

I had a Fossil all through high school and college. Didn't buy a nice watch until my 30s. Most importantly don't wipe out your savings for a watch.

 

[Likestheshiny]

If you're this concerned, wait until you've learned more.

 

[Gymno-pediste]

It's just a watch.
Do not waste you savings on some mediocre brand you'll most likely regret later down the line.
Get a nice G-Shock.
Put your saving into your education.
Turn off your PC. There is a world out there to be discovered.
Once you have chosen a career and are successful at what you do, you'll have plenty of money to buy the watch you want.
A watch does not define who you are. Your accomplishments do!

I was 40 before I started wearing a watch.

Humanalien you should follow this advice.
Buying a several thousands dollar watch in your early twenties bears a huge cost of opportunity. Unless you are very wealthy but that's another matter.

I think in general, you have a lot of much more interesting things to invest the little money you have now. When a student, money is hard to come by, you have little time to work and little skill to make the most of. You surely get some money at your birthday and on christmas from your family but it's not really realiable. So using every hard earned dollar on a fashion item seems like a huge waste to me.
Especially knowing that in a few years (4-5 tops) you'll start getting paycheck while not yet having kids/family to support which means a lot of free cash to spend on our extensive hobby.

As I said, cost of opportunity. You could use these 4k to get a Zenith or an IWC on your wirst, but what are the advantages of getting it now vs in 5 years? None of the people you go to college to will notice it. Some adults might but they are a small minority and some of them might think less of you (spoiled kid etc.). You'll probably be very happy to have it but you also won't have much occasion to wear it. Let's just say that college campus and parties aren't exactly Haute-Horlogerie-friendly.
Meanwhile, the cost of using that money for the watch now instead of later is very big. Dates, booze, road trips with friends, rent or even crazier things like a trip to Europe/US, your first parachute jump or learning how to dive in the caribeans etc.

You now have a lot of time but little money, so you'd better not waste this little money and use it to make the most of the time. It'll be time to buy expensive watches when you'll be older, when you'll have a lot of money but little time to use it (and a need to measure it precisely!).

I understand watches are fascinating and reading here about people getting a new ALS or PAtek every two weeks really tickles and might get you to want to jump in both feet. But be patient, you have a whole life ahead of you for collecting bits and pieces that will be collecting dust

 

[mpalmer]

Stick around for another year and you will learn a lot more about watches and allow your personal tastes to develop. When you first start learning about watches your tastes will change fast and you may later regret rushing in too early...

 

[Gymno-pediste]

Stick around for another year and you will learn a lot more about watches and allow your personal tastes to develop. When you first start learning about watches your tastes will change fast and you may later regret rushing in too early...

also this is waaaaay too true.

Try to think about the music/clothes you liked when you were 12-13 and only starded to make your own tastes...

 

[justbecauseIcan]

No problems wearing an 'expensive' watch - as far as the perception of commoners goes - in your early 20s. Many, many, many do it.

I think it is a far better strategy to buy the watch you really want and wear it from as early as possible, so you can enjoy it for longer. Why would you want to be artificially held back by such worries? I assume that we are about the same age, so I would feel silly saying that you will 'regret it later when you mature a little', but if there's one thing I would have done differently in the last few years of liking and buying/selling watches, it's taking my time to understand what I really want in the long-term and then just forking out to get it straight away. Not climbing up the usual watch tier ladder and losing money in the process.

 

[manofrolex]

You have 4Gs to your name, which is about what I had in college after working like a dog and it was hard to pile up that dough. I sure as hell was not going to blow it on a wrist instrument but I was not into watches at the time. Early on I had the desire to save money and be financially responsible, my folks helped for college but it felt wrong spending what I earned on really anything so I did not. Since you seem to be into watches then do yourself a favor get a Seiko auto (anywhere between 50 and 250 bucks), and get back to studying. It is not fun but then it pays off, your fancy watch will not.

 

[tsbphd]

Do not spend all your savings on a watch, especially since you have relatively recently entered the very steep learning curve of this niche. Read, learn, take your time and display both discipline and patience. The watches will still be there when you are better prepared.

 

[justbecauseIcan]

let me amend my post.... I did not read that $4k are all of your savings, in this case, I would not buy a watch for that amount either.

 

[Gazza74]

I'm going to try and put this nicely but doing so is not my strong point, so forgive the harsh tone if it comes out that way.

Firstly, looking at watches all day long is obsessive behavior and is not healthy. If I was a psychologist I would suspect that there's something else going on in your life, and this is a way to fill a void or a way to make you feel "happy". Needing help "desparately" is another sign of this. There is nothing desparate about buying a watch, so again, I suggest you re-examine what is really going on.

Secondly, at 20-something and still in school, unless your family IS wealthy, and you have access to that wealth, you should not be looking at buying an expensive watch. When you graduate you will likely need living expenses until you find a job, you will need new work-appropriate clothing, and possibly need to relocate to a new city. Even if you go home after graduation, that will also take money.

Thirdly, as this proposed purchase will be a significant expenditure for you, the college environment is hardly the best place to ensure the longevity of your watch. I'm not sure if you live on campus or with roommates, but theft could always be an issue, as can breaking or losing it on any myriad of activities or partying that goes on.

Quite honestly I don't even remember what or how many watches I had during my undergrad and grad studies. I'm certain they were the cheap $20 variety, and once I received my first paycheck, I took a small amount and went and bought my first nice watch - a Seiko. It wasn't until I was several years into my career and felt that my family's needs are taken care of with savings in a good place that I felt that I had the disposable income to buy multiple and nicer watches. I guess what I'm saying is that your priorities are not where they need to be right now.....you should be concerned with your studies and learning more about life/people right now. If you do your best there, then later you can have it all........if in contrast you spend your time now looking at watches online, and worrying about what expensive watch you need to buy, this could affect the rest of your life - either by not getting as good a job as you could have by not doing as well as you can on your studies, and possibly moving on to the next obsession later on. If you are really interested in watches and horology, you could always learn more about them. This doesn't mean you have to buy though.

Anyway, just my 2 cents......I'm sure there will be some who disagree and say do what you want, but quite honestly if you have considered wiping out your savings to buy a watch (or anything really), you do need to step back and evaluate what is going on.

 

[Gymno-pediste]

A lot of good advice in this thread.

LAst piece from me. If you really want to satisfy your inner geek and WIS, you should look at vintage watches.
they are much more affordable than their new counterpart and don't lose value as much. I got my first Jaeger LeCoultre at 25 but it was under 500usd. Still own it to the day, it's a lovely piece.
You can get lesser known brands for as low as 60 buck, which is a marvel for a mechanic movement still functionning after 40 years and a nice wabi.

On top of it, it requires learning A LOT in order to make a good purchase, and the hunt for a piece in a good shape and without defects at a good price can take you several month and a lot of excitement.

Here a few pics of some of my vintages:
Jaeger LeCoultre E159 (early 50's).

Seiko Lord Marvel 36000(1972), comes with one of the first Hi-beat Caliber


And a very inexpensive Lip Incabloc from the 1960's


There are some gorgeous vintage divers with amazing patina for the price of a Sumo or a TAG. Look at Certina, Yema, Enicar, Universal Genêve etc.

But in the end the basic advice still stands, get something inexpensive that still makes you happy for these upcoming year, maybe something that ca be dressed up and down in case you have job interviews (but nowaday pretty much anything goes with a suit) and you'll have plenty of time to spend several month of salary on trinkets when you have a Significant Other to yell at you for being irresponsible.

 

[watchmego3000]

When you were my age (college student), how much would you have spent max for a watch? Is buying an expensive watch an unneeded luxury for my age? Can you understand what I'm going through? What do you suggest I do?

$300.
Yes.
Yes.
Get a G Shock, then go to a great party come back in 10 years.

 

[bar2020]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread.

If you really want to scratch the itch, I would suggest you find a preowned automatic from a quality brand like Hamilton. You can reward yourself with a nice mechanical watch for an affordable price. Save the rest of that money while you continue to learn about the details....case size, styles, functions, thickness, etc. I would hate to see you spend all of your savings on the first watch, because a year from now your taste will probably change. Patience is something that I consider priceless in the watch hobby. When you have the chance, stop by your local watch stores and check things out. Learn what really sings to you.

 

[PROFINITY]

I was 19 in college and bought my first a Rolex. I already started a business and had my father operating it whilst I attended school. Concentrate upon what you want. Screw everyone else. Be humble, ethical and fair. Sleep well at night.

Next

 

[DaveTOG]

I started reading your post....Oh look a squirrel.