WIS’ers In Blighty….UK

26143 Views 720 Replies 52 Participants Last post by sticky, 4 h ago

bigclive2011

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

Morning all..

Was just thinking…I do it occasionally, it hurts but I keep trying.

Our Down under brothers have their own general thread, in which they discuss watch stuff in their part of the WUS World, which seems to be well used And updated.

How about we Brits, also a minority group on here, have our own one as well?

What do you think? All stuff UK related…..

I’ll start….

Recently bought a 30th Anniversary Frogman, which I am loving

Reflex camera Camera lens Digital camera Camera accessory Cameras & optics

Anyone else get one? I know @Simon was looking, @sticky was committed elsewhere (Lightweight that he is)

Also our esteemed @Bradjhomes popped up on a YouTube Q&A with Mike France about the new Fears jump hour watch…was kinda weird to hear someone I know, albeit virtually, on the big tube…

Over to you fellow Brits..is this a bad idea or a good one, I will leave it for you to mull over.

All the best

Clive.

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PeteJ

· #33 · 4 mo ago

Last couple of years have been unusual for me in that I’ve actually bought watches. When k bought a 116610 in 2012, that was it for buying anything ‘proper’ fir nine years. Then in May21 I traded that for a 124060 and then in Jun22 I bought a Breitling Blackbird. For me, this has become highly unusual. I don’t know what to do this year…. I do fancy some other watches and am always on the lookout for what Omega releases/an excuse to sell the Rolex.

If we were to have a gathering, I’m in the East Mids and go to London semi regularly. I’d be up for it.

PeteJ

· #40 · 4 mo ago

attilab said:
Count me in, although I'm more of a regular reader than anything else.
Based in Essex just outside the M25.

Here's my last purchase from December last year. It was a bit of a planned stretch for me, so this year I'm definitely meant to cut down on acquisitions. Which leads me to having a casual chat thread is better than anything.

View attachment 17200545

Lovely pic of it. It’s caught the light just right there.

Reactions: 1

PeteJ

· #41 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
Not heard of that one…I’m currently working my way through some Old Pulteney and some Balvenie 🤗

I’ve recently discovered whiskies. After years of watching others… I’ve started trying a few and really been taken by the odd old fashioned after work.

To embrace a stereotype about people in my line of work (day job), I was a champagne man for many, many years.

Reactions: 2

PeteJ

· #49 · 4 mo ago

Bradjhomes said:
In the last a few of us have arranged London GTGs - and I’ve been thinking about it again recently.

I know that’s not too close for some of you, although faiz - you’ve made it down to a couple I think?

Any interest, given enough notice?
Usually involves an upstairs room in a pub on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon

Given enough notice, yes.

PeteJ

· #50 · 4 mo ago

Lottib said:
Sure be good to get a UK perspective on the current market, AD high’s and lows and see pics/read stories behind our watches… here’s mine (well ones the wife’s).

View attachment 17200678

Tasty Breitling… the offerings of that era were their strongest imho.

Reactions: 3

PeteJ

· #62 · 4 mo ago

faiz said:
Surely with the amount of Midlanders we could get a Redbar Birmingham set up or something?

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

I’ll bite… what is Redbar?

PeteJ

· #75 · 4 mo ago

Bradjhomes said:
Enthusiast group with meet ups and events.

Collectors' Perspective

Official blog of RedBar, the world's largest watch enthusiast and collector community.

www.redbargroup.com

Several ‘chapters’ in the UK

‘Chapters’ makes it sound like a hell’s angels gang right? That’s not just me….

I sent them an email all the same.

PeteJ

· #76 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
Eddies online game of thrones style ordering system 😂

Tips for those interested….

1) Log on and get on the mailing list to receive a heads up for the exact time and date of the next sale.
2) Log on at least half an hour before the opening time and put the watch you want in your sights.
3) Count down finger on button till the exact time and hit it straight away….top gun reactions required here guys.
4) See the success of your planning 👍🏻

I’ve read about this… there’s just no way. That’s worse than the effing waiting list!

PeteJ

· #103 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
I think Eddie is going at waiting lists from the other end….instead of just adding everyone willy nilly and keeping them on the list for years, he just makes it all but impossible to get into his “Shop” in the first place, so instead of waiting on a list inside the shop, you wait outside to get into the shop 😂

The hunger games of watches?

I love to read complaints about the Timefactors customer service, they read like a Fawltyesque catalogue of calamity… gives me a good chuckle, though it massively puts me off wanting to buy anything.

Reactions: 1

PeteJ

· #104 · 4 mo ago

Seikonut1967 said:
Count me in. I'm Mark from sunny Barnsley (South Yorkshire). Love a bit of Seiko, Doxa and Sinn. Currently in the market for a Rolex Sub. Trouble is getting on a waiting list, and buying pre owned is a bit of minefield for me (Rolex not my speciality). So will possibly need to pick the brains of a few of you. 😁

Hey Mark, I had a crap time trying to get one from an AD. I went grey in the end. The best price I could find combined with the best references was Subdial.co

I sold my old Sub, put the proceeds toward theirs, they even negotiated on price (not much but enough that I felt like a winner) and the watch was with me the next day. I could t complain.

Watchfinder seem like you’d get good service but that you’d get the worst price. Everything they sell seems well above market rate.

While there are options, I’d leave Watchfinder as a last resort.

Reactions: 2

PeteJ

· #149 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
Ok, I’m up and had coffee number one.

So I was thinking last night about watch GTG, and what watch(es) do you take along?

I would always choose carefully when I went to Salon QP, which always was my annual watch nerd get together, and sadly is no more.

At that event a Rolex of any sort wouldn’t have got a sideways glance, so I usually wore my Schofield, completely left of field and fringe enough to have written on it “Watch nerd alert”

What watch(es) do you take to a nerd GTG?

I have really boring tastes… so my Submariner or SMP are out. The most interesting watch I own that’s a bit nerdy is a Breitling Blackbird. It’s safe to say my tastes are not at all adventurous!

PeteJ

· #178 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
Buy and wear what you like mate, and normally I wear just that without a thought about what others are thinking.

Lets face it on 99.99% of occasions that really is the case…….however….. a watch GTG or watch show is that 0.1% I reckon, because if we all turned up it wouldn’t be my charming handsome character that everyone would be looking at (Might have made that bit up actually)
but my watch, and in my mind at least, assessing me on my choice of wristwear 😳

Oh the pressure…it would be like my wife trying on dresses in a big dress shop….stressful in the extreme 😂

Ps I always take a good novel with me….those hours outside the changing rooms really do drag.

I must be a modern man, I take an iPad!

Reactions: 1

PeteJ

· #186 · 4 mo ago

catsteeth said:
You don't have to accept returns on ebay. You can have it stated it in your listing. (If it's broken - always the risk of course - you would have to refund or compensate).
But, with the Authentication Guarantee you have outside conformation the watch was fine and working when they received it. Its why I love it.
It makes selling pricier watches much less stressful. You still get battered by the 13% fees though.

I was coincidentally talking to a watchmaker today about a watch that needs attention. While chatting he mentioned that he knew the guy in charge of the Authentication Guarantee process, and that its all fairly centralised.
It's common on here for "experts" to claim that the AG is practically worthless. I'm sure there are some that slip through. But if it was as bad as people say, you would be hearing a lot more about it.

As a much younger man, I used to buy and sell on eBay all the time. I was constantly turning watches over. Identifying auctions for watches I know well at poor prices, doing any restoration needed and then taking good, clear photos that made the watch pop, describing the watch fully and clearly and usually turning over a good 20-40% depending on the details. A tiny tidy up and some much, much better marketing usually worked wonders.

The fees now have absolutely slaughtered the viability of that, so has the proliferation of information about watches. People see what Watchfinder sells for and the benchmark is set. Sellers all think their watch is one coincidence away from being the star of the antiques roadshow and buyers all want to pay fifty quid for a two grand watch.

Shame, used to make a tidy few quid doing that back in the day.

Has anyone had any joy on Chrono24 selling? What are their fees like?

PeteJ

· #189 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
Yep The eBay fees have gone crazy, which is a shame as I have always sold everything I listed.

I bought on Chrono 24 once, and I remember the seller saying 8%?

Ouch. That’s still quite painful.

PeteJ

· #192 · 4 mo ago

catsteeth said:
*Controversial opinions. So if you can't take a giggle, stop tickling.

I'm going to pick fights and upset everyone by saying that, though impressive, I don't get the Bel Canto.
I get the nature of a halo project, and that skeletonised diver with the SH21 and orange lumps on the dial was great. But a sports watch brand making a high end dress complication with a SW200 🤔
It's like, I don't care what the rest of the watch is like. I just want to pay a relative pittance for a complication that normally starts at multiple 5 figures. Is that fair?

I've loved CW since I bought my first C60 Trident Mk2 in 2016, and have owned several including the Jump Hour Mk2.
But now I'm finding that the Aquataine, Dune, and the latest C60 with massively over proportioned hands and indices leave me stone cold. Though I can see they're well designed and popular.
It's nothing to do with the swish and rebranding, I can see that's clever.

Am I the only one who thinks this? Am I now not welcome on BigClives new thread and have become the equivalent of a social leper?

My view might be even more controversial. CW does nothing for me. There isn’t a single model in the catalogue I like the look of (and I’ve had a good surf). Most of their designs look like a take on something else and they aren’t so interesting or different to my eye to get me excited. I understand the prices are keen and can be made even more keen with a bit of negotiation, but at that end of the market, there are so many other brands I think knock their socks off that I’m amazed at their proliferation.

That said, I’ve literally never seen one in the wild. Perhaps they’re amazing in the hand, but there hasn’t been one I’ve seen and thought ‘phwoooaaaar’.

What am I missing?

Reactions: 3

PeteJ

· #202 · 4 mo ago

catsteeth said:
I wouldn't disagree with any of that. Especially the swingeing fees.

I will just say, that its still possible if you spend enough time on there that you can get some astonishing deals.
Also, I take advantage of the regular 80% off seller fee deals.

I've not tried Chrono 24. But I do know that I've never seen as good a deal on there as I see on ebay. Then again its often just a case of communicating with the seller and getting a deal.

People also badly photograph and badly "sell" their watches. Its amazing how many people that puts off.

In my own humble view, if I’m asking someone for a couple of grand for a watch, a dark and blurry photo with two lines of description just isn’t getting the job done. I’m amazed how earth shatteringly lazy some of them are. I’m more than happy to take the profit they should have got had they done a proper job.

Reactions: 1

PeteJ

· #203 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
If we ever meet at a GTG I will bring my CW Trident MK3 for you to have a play with, then you will know just what you are missing 😂

Genuinely, I’d appreciate that… I’d love to be wrong, especially as they’re not silly money like the usual fayre.

PeteJ

· #204 · 4 mo ago

catsteeth said:
That's totally reasonable. We all like, what we like. Taste is relative, (except mine which is fact).....

I'll just defend them a little first. You're correct, the quality has been very good. The finish particularly, is very good for the price. Though anybody who follows the CW forum and FB groups will know QC has been a real issue lately.

However, I have two big problems with them lately.
First - What happened to all those fantastic dressier style watches? So attractive, and gobsmackingly good value.
Secondly - Though I preferred the knife, fork, and spoon hands. As @bigclive2011 said, the C60 Mk3 is very good. But that's last thing they released that I liked and impressed me. They've changed their house style, or to put it another way, their language of design. It's all just gobbledygook now.

As for them looking like other watches. We've all seen the Aquataine advert on the telly. (It runs constantly on Sky News). When I first saw it, all I could think off was how blatantly they were chasing the Rolex GMT style.

That may be it…. The last time I watched live tv was before my kids were born (except for the odd bit of BBC news24 if I’m overseas). Did they do an integrated bracelet watch recently? I have in the back of my mind Adrian Barker quite liking it….

PeteJ

· #243 · 4 mo ago

catsteeth said:
I've wasted so much of my life on ebay. I think it's possible to get used to the patterns and styles.

It's like a dictionary or Wikipedia, you start by looking at a specific word. Then two hours later you know about the physics of fluid dynamics, how to weave Azerbaijani carpets and why they're different from Khazakstani ones, and finally why flower arranging reached it's popular zenith in 1958.
But imagine that with watches. There are hundreds of thousands of them, on both the "sale" and "sold" listings. From 1915 to 1923 models.

Anywho. I agree, unbelievably you can find people putting watches on sale that are worth several hundreds to several thousand with three blurry pictures and two lines of text.
The watches often just look dodgy, so everyone just ignores them.
But if you do the due diligence, you can buy watches still in their stickers, for almost pennies on the pound.

I pretty much only watch 24 hour news, (not the new ranty ones, the traditional ones), and often just put it on for company more than anything else. So I know they've been cycling the Aquataine advert heavily on Sky.
But yes I believe they did release an integrated bracelet watch.

I never got to the bottom of it. But I think when that sister brand Tribus got set up, there was a big shake up in who was running the company, and what the design style/emphasis should be.
I think we're now finally seeing the fruits of that work through into the catalogue.

I was thinking of the Bremont Supernova. Which is really effing expensive…. Eight grand. For a three hander. With a power reserve indicator… that’s automatic.

PeteJ

· #246 · 4 mo ago

bigclive2011 said:
New bezel, fortunately it was a 2000 year model Ali bezel, and in them days watchmakers weren’t trying hard for new Bentleys every year.

The best era for the SMP… that was a 2531?

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