Best Bang For The Buck in High-End Watches???

Megalobyte

Megalobyte

Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
2,761
Hi all. I was a pretty serious collector of high-end watches, no, not the TRUE high end, which often cost literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for a SINGLE WATCH! Rather the relatively affordable watches in the $1000-$3000 range, sort of entry level high-end, and certainly much more expensive than what 99% of people wear or even know of.

I always looked for the best bang for the buck, not so much in resale value, but simply the most quality and style you could get for your money. I owned watches by Sinn, Rolex, Breitling, Heuer, Rado, Omega to name the first few off the top of my head.

But, one brand has always really stood out to me as offering exceptional quality and style for a relatively low price, and that is Baume and Mercier, especially their Capeland Series.

The Capeland is a beautiful watch, beautifully made with outstanding materials and an attention to detail at least as good as the more expensive Rolex. In fact, i think the Capeland is a much nicer looking watch than any Rolex, and i have nothing against Rolex, but of course its a matter of taste, but nobody can, or at least should deny that the Capeland series has a very classic, very classy style and is beautifully made. The fit and finish are truly remarkable, especially in this price range, you really have to see and HOLD one in person to appreciate how fine these watches are. The great thing is, if you shop around, you can get the original Capeland for about $1200, which is about half of its list price, and the newer Capeland "S" series, a more rugged version, sort of a diver's version, can be had for about $1600. I believe that at these realtively low prices, you simply cant buy a better, more attractive watch.

So, i do think they represent one of the best bargains in high-end watches and I urge you to look into them when considering a new, upscale auto watch. Below are pictures of both the Capeland and the "S" model with the diver's bezel.

Let me know what you think! (And yes, i sold my watches to afford to collect custom knives, but i kept 2 of them, care to guess which 2? :)

moa-08112.gif


6858.jpg
8111.jpg
 
After being fed up with quartz watches, I decided to get a mechanical watch. I went with a .Fortis Spacematic Chronograph . I ended up selling that and getting a Fortis B-42 Pilot Professional Chronograph . I then found chronographs too busy so now I've decided to sell my Fortis in order to get another Fortis. This time, the Fortis Flieger Automatic. I found out that it can be special-ordered with a sapphire crystal. If only the case were made of titanium, it would be my dream watch.
 
i have a pan GMT i bought a few yrs back, nice watch, but BIG, not many folks have heard of them i dont think, not like rolex/omega/etc anyway......

greg
 
IWC has cornered the market in the "Best Bang for the Buck" category in fine wristwatches.
I bought my Auto Fliegerchrono from someone who tired of it when it was like 3 months old. Paid all of $2200 for it.
Thought I died and went to heaven.
The Auto Flieger is, IMHO the best watch at any price for my lifestyle.
Absolutely killer looks, super refined movement (Valjoux 7750 worked on by IWC), the most comfy and stylish SS sport bracelet in the world, and on and on.
Yeah, I love it.
As a matter of fact, I truly believe it's the last watch I'll ever wear. The only time I take it off my wrist is for those times that I'd really rather not take a chance on damaging it(mountain biking, changing the oil in my car, chopping wood, gardening, painting etc) Then I wear my $135 Costco Special Seiko 200m Diver (which is totally awesome at its price point)
Check out the entire IWC line. That company offers a tremendous value for every watch in their line, even their dress line (Portugesiers, Portofinos, etc) Defilitely look for pre-owned.
Lenny
 
I also used the be a VERY serious collector of high-end watches. Then I discovered knives and...........!!!:D

I still own a few EDC's like Breguet, Patek, IWC, etc. - but I think the best VALUE for the money is an Omega.

(Baume et Mercier have come up with some great designs lately for "sport" watches. But B&M has the worst "resale" value of any watch I have ever owned, especially if it's a gold watch with an integral bracelet. IMHO.)
 
Holger, a question about your comment about B&M watches having poor resale value. Well, first, you may recall that i qualified my statement about seeking bang for the buck saying that i was interested simply in style and quality and not resale value, however, i still would respectfully question your statement about B&M having poor resale value.

Take the Capeland Chrono. While it is certainly true that if you were to walk into a high-end jewelery store like Mayors, and buy the Capeland, you would pay retail, which is, i believe, about $2400, and yes, if you did pay $2400, you would indeed take a beating when you sell it. However, if you shop around, you can find the watch for about $1200 brand new in the box. The last time i checked Ebay, new in box Capeland Chrono's were getting about $900-$1,000 or so, so, youd only be losing $200-$300, which isnt that bad. I cant comment on B&M gold band watches, but i do know that almost all watches that have a gold bracelet sell at a big discount off retail, for example, many dealers will give you very little of a price break on a Rolex Sub with the SS bracelet, and will give you a BIG discount off retail if it has the gold bracelet. For whatever reason, it appears the gold watches are much harder to sell, or their retail prices dont accurately reflect their worth, thus the discounts.

Im certainly not trying to start an argument, i have no doubt you took a beating on the sale of a B&M watch, but again, if you buy a Capeland for $1200 and then later sell it for $1000, is that poor resale value? And, in any case, like i said, when i say bang for the buck, i honestly was basing this ONLY on the actual quality of the watch, not its resale value, if its resale value you want, then a Rolex SS Sub is a great watch to get, but honestly, i would rather have 3 different B&M watches than one Sub. The B&M Capeland is comparable in quality to the Rolex, for literally under a third the price, and to me, thats bang for the buck. That being said, i would very much one day like to own a Sub, but theyre already selling for $3850 plus tax, and i dont think i was ever in a position to drop 4k on a single watch, hence my search for the best quality, at the lowest price, and i found it in B&M. This is, of course, just one person's opinion, worth what you paid for it.:)
 
I think he meant that resale value would suffer greatly if you wore the watch and then tried to sell it.

If you kept it NIB you would only lose a few hundred. Why don't you buy it on ebay?

I considered the Capeland a while back. I found the watch to be a bit bulky and heavy. I have heavy steel watches already and am looking for something lighter and more comfortable.

Right now, I am considering a Sinn EZM1 and EZM2.
 
Sorry, Meg, I should have been more specific. (But I DID say "....of any watches _I_ have owned!;) )

One of the first "good" dress watches I bought when I started to consider myself a "collector" was a solid gold Baume & Mercier watch. A gorgeous watch - square case with integral bracelet, "bark" finish on case, dial, and bracelet. The retail on it at the time was $15,000. The shop manager was a friend of mine and she gave it to me for $8,000. I wore it about six times over a few years and then my wrists got a bit larger and I could no longer close the buckle. So I decided to sell it. To make a long story short, I tried to sell it over the next year and I could not even get $4,000. for it. (I finally got rid of it in a multi-watch trade with another collector.) Everyone I offered the watch to - collector or dealer - had the same comments: "Baume Mercier? No thanks.", "Gold integral bracelet? No thanks." And every newer BM (gold or stainless) that my local dealers have on hand for resale has been HUGELY discounted. Maybe it's just a "local" thing, but the collectors and dealers around here don't have much respect for BM (or Piaget, for that matter.)

Nevertheless, as I said, I WOULD buy one of the current stainless models from Baume & Mercier (like the ones you posted) - they are VERY attractive. But only at a HUGE discount.

All that matters in the end is that the buyer/owner is happy with the watch - whether he/she ever resells it or not.

I still have a few nice EDC's lying around: Patek, Breguet, Cartier, IWC, Panerai. But you know what my FAVORITE watch is? A sterling silver "house brand" tank watch that I bought used for about $300. As I tell people, "I am a watch collector, not a watch snob. There's a difference."

Meg, if you're serious about that BM, send me a private message and I will give you the name of my favorite dealer who might be able to do something for you.
 
I shopped a lot before I bought and came to the conclusion that Omega was the best value(imo),,as long as it's bought at less than retail.:D


Phillip

Picture410b.jpg
 
Yep, gotta agree (again): best bang for the buck is an Omega. (Nice watch, Phillip - is that one you bought?)
 
Best bang for the buck?

An OMEGA watch carried on the moon on the first walk.

How do you put a price tag on a dream?

/Colinz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top