[omar77w]

Personally I would see this as two options:

• You bought it right after your son was born. I would keep it for that reason. Makes a better story when you eventually give him the watch. There will always be something new, shiny and arguably better. Upgrading and changing the watch over the years just loses its original intent and meaning.
• Let go of the idea of passing on an old watch and just buy whatever you like for yourself. Simply buy your son a new watch when he is 18. Educate him about watches, get some input on what he likes. I know watch enthusiast love the idea of heirlooms and passing things on. But 100% of the kids in my family would greatly prefer this option. It is what my dad did and I'd argue I was more happy with the watch because of it and it does not make it any less meaningful.

Agreed with the second option. I technically inherited my father’s Datejust, but I value the two Swatches that he bought me when I was a teenager way more. Because he made me pick those watches myself. They were a happy gift from him, not just something he used to own.

 

[nighthawk77]

You obviously value the sentiment of the birth year watch so I’d say keep the hesalite one you have now to pass down to your son. Wear it for a few years whilst saving for the sapphire and add that to your collection, retiring the hesalite ready to pass down to your son


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[brianinCA]

Sounds to me like you want the new one, so get the new one. I don't know how old you are, but since you recently had a child, hopefully you have a good 40-50 years left to enjoy the speedmaster, unless you plan on giving it to him sometime before you pass. Either way, I think birth year watches are gimmicky (admittedly, I wanted one for a while, but realized it was just an excuse for me to buy another watch), and if you end up getting the new one and passing it down to him he will probably like it just as much as the birth year. So long story short, get the one you want, and it sounds like you want the new one.

 

[fezz]

Figured I'd share my first world problem / dilemma and try to keep it short. I recently bought the last version of the hesalite 1861 Speedmaster right after my son was born. I figured it would be neat to pass this down to him one day as a "birth year" watch. However, I have owned a speedmaster 4 different times (1971 straight-writing, a 2016 big-box set, a 2005 1861, and recently the 2020 big box set). I have sold the previous 3 for various reasons, but I clearly keep coming back to the speedmaster.

I think the new sapphire release for 2021 ticks all the boxes for me on what I was ultimately looking for, including applied logo, step dial (I loved that detail on my '71), view of the movement, and tapered bracelet. I am not much of a space nerd; I actually gravitate to auto racing history. As such, "moonwatch" lineage is less important to me than to others.

In summary, my dilemma is as follows:
1. Keep the last version of the 1861 hesalite / birth year watch for my son...(who knows if he will like watches though)
2. Sell the hesalite and buy the Sapphire because it has more of what I am looking for in a watch

One thing to note is I also have an Explorer 1 114270 given to me from my dad to pass down to my son one day. Here is a theoretical scenario (that did not happen, but provides mental context). If I look back and theoretically imagine my dad having a dilemma in 1988 to buy the last version of the Explorer 1 1016 to pass down to me or to get the latest and greatest Explorer 14270 with some significant and attractive updates, I think I would have been much happier today with the 1016.

What would you do in this situation? Is anyone else having a similar dilemma to buy the new version vs keeping the old version of the speedmaster?


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If I were to receive a watch passed down from my father, the important part would be that he had chosen it and worn it. That would have more significance than any particular model, and that's from the perspective of a watch guy. If your son never really gets into the watch hobby, he'll still enjoy it just because it was yours.

So my advice would be to buy what you like, wear it, and pass it down.

 

[sryan79]

As a fellow dad I would stay with the birth year watch. I am a sentimental parent though likely very biased in my response

 

[NMGE17]

I don’t think it is the year of manufacture that will appeal to your son in many years to come (is it even really that precise?), but more that he can wear the watch he saw you wearing as he grew up that links to shared memories.

Nigel