Our Step-By-Step Guide to Buying the Right Watch the First Time Around, Tailored to the Needs of the W.O.E. Community
Whether you’re in the military, a veteran, work in national security, or a civilian looking for your first serious watch, the decision can be overwhelming, and marketing only clouds the picture. As new people enter the world of watch collecting, we are commonly asked: “What’s the right watch for me to buy?” As is so often the case in intelligence work, the correct answer is typically: “It depends.”
With that being said, there are certain tips and best practices that can help you make an informed buying decision. Wherever you’re coming from, and no matter where you are in your watch journey, our new video on the W.O.E. YouTube Channel provides a cheat sheet for breaking into the world of watches.
Enjoy episode thirty-six of W.O.E. TV.
Happy Hunting,
-W.O.E.
2 comments
Orient Mako divewatch is perfect. You could allways buy something else later, but the Orient is a watch that keeps time better than Seiko, Citizen etc. and it is not expensive or flashy. A real good beater-watch
What I tell people is to first and foremost look at the caliber. When you see a watch you like, know what is under the hood. Know if it is in-house or is sourced. If it is sourced know how much the bare movement retails or wholesales for in the watch industry. Then you compare that price to the overall cost. All the major, independent, and micro brands are really doing is taking a sourced workhorse or their in-house movement and casing it up with their own design of watch case and strap, and marking it up for profit. This is where people get ripped off. Take Tornek-Rayville TR660 featured on this video which costs about $1k. This model uses a Seiko NH caliber. It’s not a bad caliber, it should be valued for it’s durability, affordability, and entry level accessibility to the automatic world. I love Seiko brand and value the caliber in affordable microbrands. Seiko calibers are so cheap they are disposable. It costs more to service a Seiko NH movement than to replace it with a brand new one. It costs a watchmaker no more than $45 to source and you can buy one on ebay for no cheaper than $60. Once you price the caliber you take a bar napkin or calculator, and in this case subtract $45-$60 from $1k. You will find out that buying a $1k watch with a $45-50 caliber defeats the purpose of Seiko’s spirit. Sangin was mentioned and their automatics are priced about right or could even be considered a bargain, but their quartz “caller” GMT and quartz chronograph are a somebody casing up $17 quartz GMT or a $40 quartz chronograph and charging $700-$800. You also need to do your homework on the features, capabilities, and limitations of the movement. If you don’t know, start off with learning the workhorse calibers. I’d say about 80-90% of all automatic watches use an ETA workhorse, one of their Swiss clone manufacturers through Sellita, SOPROD, STP, Landeron, or Chinese variants through Seegull or HKTP. The most common ETA workhorses are the 2824, 2892, 7750(chronograph), and 2893(Caller GMT). Of the Japanese you have a plethora of microbrands using affordable Seiko NH series and Citizen (Miyota) 8000 and 9000 series. Know what the different beats or vibrations are in mechanical watch movements (18000, 21600, and 28800 vph), their corresponding frequencies (2.5, 3.0, and 4.0hz), their steps per second (5, 6, and 8), and that they are also sometimes also called low, medium and high beat calibers. Know the advantages and limitations of all three. Know what the power reserve rating is. This is the amount of time a watch can run from a full wind to stopping without intervention. High power reserve also equates to more consistent torque curve through the drive train which improves accuracy. Know what different grades of calibers are. Almost all Swiss ETA clones come in four grades: Standard, Élaboré or Spécial, Top, and Chronometer Grades. Standard is just the base caliber without bells and whistles, Elaborated will be finer regulated (a little more accurate) and maybe some light decorations(perlage/Côtes de Genève), Top grade will have upgraded shock system protecting the balance staff, upgraded balance wheel for thermal stability and paramagnetic properties, and upgraded hairspring for paramagnetic properties (much more accurate), and Chronometer grade will have undergone third party 15 day testing in all positions at varying temperatures and met high standards to achieve official certification(the highest accuracy). And God fuckin damn people, know that all GMTs are not equal. 98% of all GMTs are “caller GMTs”. If you want to sit your fatass in an office and call people so you can independently change your GMT hand to their time zone or track another time zone get a “caller” or “Office” GMT. Those are very useful if you don’t travel. However, if you do travel and want to independently change your HOUR HAND to your current time zone while it advancing the date wheel, get a “traveler GMT” or "flyer GMT. Trust me on this, if you buy an office GMT and try to use it tracking your current time zone while traveling it will be a bigger pain the ass than not having a GMT at all. I could get into the case and bracelet features but that is not where people get ripped off. 316L steel, 904L steel, grade 2 and grade 5 titanium are the norm. Bracelets and straps are interchangeable. One final warning. Automatic and mechanical watches are addictive. Horology is a powerful and expensive artisian drug. Be careful of what you are getting into.