Topic
Buying
Almost every expensive mistake in watch buying is made before any money changes hands, in the questions nobody thought to ask. These pages cover how to work out what you actually need, how to read a specification honestly, how the new, gray and pre-owned channels differ in the protection they give you, how counterfeits are detected, and what a watch really costs over the years you own it.
103 pages on this subject.
Answers
- Are Invicta watches any good?
- Are Japanese movements as good as Swiss movements?
- Are luxury watches worth it?
- Are Tudor watches worth the money?
- Can you negotiate the price of a watch?
- Do I need a chronometer?
- Do watches hold their value?
- How can I tell if a watch is fake?
- How do I find out what my watch is worth?
- How do I measure my wrist for a watch?
- How do I spot a redialed vintage watch?
- How much should I spend on a watch?
- Is a 40mm watch too small?
- Is a gray market watch safe to buy?
- Is a Rolex a good investment?
- Is Citizen better than Seiko?
- Is Grand Seiko worth the money?
- Is Hamilton a good watch brand?
- Is it safe to buy a watch on eBay?
- Is Seiko a good watch brand?
- Is Tissot a good watch brand?
- Should I buy a watch from an online dealer?
- Should I buy new or pre-owned?
- Should I insure my watch?
- What does a watch warranty actually cover?
- What does Swiss made actually mean?
- What is a microbrand watch?
- What is an automatic watch?
- What is an in-house movement?
- What is lug-to-lug distance and why does it matter?
- What is the best affordable watch brand?
- What is the best dive watch under $1,000?
- What is the best everyday watch?
- What is the best watch for a small wrist?
- What is the difference between Rolex and Tudor?
- What should my first automatic watch have?
- What size watch fits my wrist?
- Why are Rolex watches so hard to buy?
- Why are Swiss watches so expensive?
Guides
Building a collection that makes sense
Most people do not need more than one watch. If you want several, here is how to organize a collection around coverage or a theme, and insure it properly.
Buying a pre-owned watch safely
Pre-owned is often the rational purchase, if you know the channel risks. How to inspect a watch, read its papers, pay with recourse and check it on arrival.
Buying a vintage watch without regretting it
Vintage watches are bought on originality, not condition. How to read a dial, spot a redial, judge a polished case and budget for what comes afterwards.
Buying your first mechanical watch
A first mechanical watch is a decision, not a shopping list. How to set a budget, choose a movement, judge fit and pick a buying channel, in that order.
How to read a watch specification sheet
A line-by-line decode of a watch spec sheet: what each figure means, what a good value looks like, where it misleads, and what an omission tells you.
How to spot a fake watch
Modern counterfeits are too good for one external tell to settle it. The reliable checks are the movement, the numbers, the paperwork chain and the seller.
Microbrands and independents: what you are really buying
What a microbrand actually is, how it differs from an independent watchmaker, why the specification looks so good for the money, and where the real risks sit.
Selling a watch: how to get it right
The three routes to selling a watch, how to price it from completed sales, what to prepare, how to ship and take payment safely, and the scams to recognize.
Smartwatches and mechanical watches: a fair comparison
Capability, accuracy, lifespan, repairability, privacy and ten-year cost, compared without tribalism. What each object is for, and who each one suits.
Swiss made, and what origin marks really mean
What the Swiss made ordinance actually demands since 2017, how Swiss movement and Swiss parts differ, and which certifications genuinely test a watch.
Watch marketing claims, decoded
In-house, Swiss made, chronometer, anti-magnetic, surgical grade steel. What each claim is allowed to mean, which are regulated, and what to ask next.
Watch value and depreciation, honestly
Most watches are a depreciating consumer good. Here is where the money actually goes, what supports resale value, and the ownership costs nobody adds up.
Watch warranties and your rights as a buyer
A manufacturer warranty and your legal rights are two different things. What the warranty covers, what the law adds on top of it, and how to make a claim that works.
Brands
Cartier
Cartier is a Richemont jeweler that builds watches. Who owns it, which calibers it makes, why so much of the line is quartz, and the honest resale picture.
Christopher Ward
A Swiss-made brand that sells without retailers. What the SH21, the Sellita shift and the 60/60 guarantee are worth, and the resale problem nobody advertises.
Invicta
What Invicta watches actually are: bought-in Japanese and Swiss movements, why the stated list price misleads, the design criticism, and who they suit.
Models
Rolex Oyster Perpetual
Caliber 3230, -2/+2 seconds a day, 100 meters and no date. What the 2020 colored dials did to demand, and what you will really pay and wait at retail.
Seiko SKX007: what it was, and what it costs now
The SKX007 is out of production and secondhand prices sit above old retail. What it really was, the 7S26's limits, the DIVER'S marking, and what to buy now.
Compare
316L vs 904L stainless steel
904L carries more chromium, nickel and molybdenum than 316L, so it resists corrosion better and costs far more to machine. On a wrist, the gap is small.
38mm vs 40mm vs 42mm: which watch size
Diameter is the least useful of the three size numbers. How lug-to-lug and thickness actually decide fit, with wrist sizes in millimeters and inches.
Automatic vs manual winding
A rotor buys convenience and costs thickness, weight and parts. A manual movement is thinner and more involving. How the two really differ in use.
COSC vs METAS vs in-house accuracy standards
COSC tests the bare movement to minus 4 and plus 6 seconds a day. METAS tests the finished watch to 0 to plus 5. Brands test their own. What each is worth.
Dive vs field vs dress watch
Three watch types built around three constraints. What each is engineered for, how each one wears, and which belongs in a small collection.
Field watch vs pilot watch
Two categories people mix up. What each was procured for, how the dials and sizes differ, why pilot watches are weak on water, and which one to wear daily.
GMT vs world timer watches
A GMT tracks two or three zones with a 24-hour hand. A world timer shows all 24 at once. Which suits your travel, and why caller and traveler GMTs differ.
In-house vs third party movements
What in-house actually means, why third party movements exist, and which one costs you less to own over twenty years.
Microbrand vs established brand
What direct selling actually buys you in specification, and what it costs in warranty backing, parts over ten years and resale. The trade, priced honestly.
Quartz vs automatic watches
Quartz wins on accuracy and running cost. Automatics win on repairability and the object itself. Here is the size of each gap, in seconds and dollars.
Rolex vs Omega
Rolex publishes a tighter daily rate. Omega sends the finished watch to a federal lab and publishes a magnetism figure. What each choice buys you.
Rolex vs Tudor
One owner, two factories. How Rolex and Tudor differ on movements, certification, steel and finishing, availability, service cost and what resale returns.
Sapphire vs mineral vs acrylic crystal
Sapphire resists scratches, acrylic resists shattering, mineral glass sits between and costs least. Which failure mode you would rather live with.
Seiko vs Citizen
Japan's two vertically integrated giants. Seiko owns the mechanical argument, Citizen owns the accuracy and no-maintenance argument. Where each one wins.
Smartwatch vs mechanical watch
Capability, accuracy, repair cost, privacy and ten-year ownership compared. One object is consumed on a schedule, the other is maintained indefinitely.
Titanium vs stainless steel watch cases
Titanium is roughly 40 percent lighter, warmer on skin and better in salt water. Steel is harder, cheaper to refinish and easier to sell. How to choose.
Prices
Grand Seiko price, new and used
What a Grand Seiko costs in US dollars new and used, why it loses about a third secondhand, what Spring Drive servicing adds, and how to check the current figure.
Omega Speedmaster price, new and pre-owned
What a Speedmaster Moonwatch costs in US dollars new and pre-owned, why it trades below list, what a chronograph service adds, and how to check the current figure.
Rolex Submariner price, at list and secondhand
What a Submariner costs in US dollars at list and on the secondary market, why the premium exists, what servicing adds, and how to check the number yourself.
The cost of owning a mechanical watch
The full ten-year arithmetic in US dollars: purchase, servicing, insurance and straps, minus realistic resale, worked through on three watches at different prices.
Tudor Black Bay price, new and pre-owned
What a Tudor Black Bay costs in US dollars new and pre-owned, why it trades below list, what servicing adds over a decade, and how to check the current number.
Watch depreciation by brand
How much value watches lose, brand group by brand group, in indicative resale ranges rather than point figures, and why the exceptions are a handful of references.
Watch service costs
What a full watch service costs in US dollars by movement type, why the bill is labor rather than parts, and the honest test for when a service is not worth doing.
Watches under $500, honestly
What $500 actually buys in a watch: the five categories available at that money, named examples with what each one compromises, and what to avoid.
What a first mechanical watch costs
What a first mechanical watch costs in 2026, band by band from $100 to $2,000, and exactly what each band buys in movement, crystal, sealing and bracelet.
Tools
Cost of ownership calculator
Work out what a watch really costs per year once servicing and realistic resale are counted, not just the sticker price.
Watch size calculator
Enter your wrist size in inches and get the case diameter, lug to lug limit, thickness and strap width that will actually fit.