My dream Retirement watch

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Wallace
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My dream Retirement watch

Post by Wallace »

I turn 65 on March 15 next year. Being self-employed, I know that no-one is going to give me a retirement watch, so I've started looking for one for myself. The one I have on my wrist right now is a Seiko. I paid around $400 for it in the 1980s and I thought that was pretty extravagant at the time. It still keeps great time, sits very comfortably on my wrist, and looks almost as good as the day I bought it, but after 25 years with the watch and 40 years on the job I've decided to go for something different.

My Scottish ancestry would scream at paying five figures for an ornament on my wrist when I could tell the time in retirement simply by stretching my hand out at arms length towards the setting sun and counting the fingers (one per hour) to sunset, but I've convinced them that - counting inflation since the highland clearances - four figures is really quite cheap.:lol:

So I'm looking for a watch under $10,000.

There are lots of websites like this and this and this. I'm already researching and have some idea of the kind of watch I would like, but I've had no experience with this kind of purchase before, particularly through websites, and I wonder if other FWFrs could give me advice. How reliable are the websites? What do I need to look out for? How can I avoid the bad sites?

Aye,
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Post by bailey »

When you're retired you don't need a watch. :)
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Post by arthur »

I was given a very expensive Seiko by My Wife for my 40'th, My Company gave me a $4,000 watch for achievements, both sit in a drawer, one day, they will go to sons, and Oh Yes, i removed the batteries.

I have a $20 Timex around here somewhere, just don't know how to work all the features.

Why not buy a used very rare watch, Patek Phillipe or similar, but not a Rolex.
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Post by uhoh »

i find i never wear a watch anymore - i use my iPhone as my watch.

that said, i'm a watch-aholic and a lecoultre direct descendant so I like these:

http://watchluxus.com/search-watches?se ... acturer=80

One day, I'd love a Reverso, but I'm thinking that will never happen lol.

i have cousins who married in to the Heuer family (generations ago) and in to the Tissot family. Of those two, I prefer a Tissot watch.

I used to collect LeCoultre watches on ebay - i mean, the old, cheap ones - the family company was bought out sez my dad, sometime in the 50s.


edit to add: oh, and one of my cousins (not a swiss one) has a Hublot and I love it.
Last edited by uhoh on 15 Jun 2009 08:07, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by biker »

He who watches the clock will always be one of the hands!
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Post by Nemo2 »

Chauncey Gardiner "I like to watch".
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Post by like_to_retire »

When you're retired you don't need a watch.
Wallace, you ask a simple question and you get answers you weren't expecting...

But, in this case I have to agree.

I was under the time gun every day of my career and of course wore a watch.

About six months into retirement I took it off and haven't put it on since.

You don't need a watch when you're retired - that's kinda the whole point. It's a time to do things when you feel like it......

It would be an interesting poll - how many fully retired members wear a watch.... :)

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Post by Wallace »

bailey wrote:When you're retired you don't need a watch. :)
I don't want to be late for the tee-off

:lol: :lol:
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Post by Wallace »

uhoh wrote:I used to collect LeCoultre watches on ebay.
I'm not averse to pre-owned watches. And I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never bought anything from ebay. How would you ensure that the watch was genuine?
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Post by Wallace »

arthur wrote:both sit in a drawer, one day, they will go to sons, and Oh Yes, i removed the batteries.
<snip>
Why not buy a used very rare watch, Patek Phillipe or similar, but not a Rolex.
Why not give it to sons now, Arthur? Wristwatches may be as obsolete as pocket watches in another 20 years. We might be the last generation to wear them.

My main concern about buying a used watch is ensuring that it is genuine and in top class condition.
Last edited by Wallace on 15 Jun 2009 09:07, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Brix »

Wallace wrote:My Scottish ancestry would scream at paying five figures for an ornament on my wrist when I could tell the time in retirement simply by stretching my hand out at arms length towards the setting sun and counting the fingers
Five figures, man! Whae do you think y'ur, the Queen of Sheba? But there's no need to tell time with your fingers. A handsome, reliable wristwatch can be had in the low three-figures range. :wink:
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Post by Shakespeare »

A couple of months ago I decided to retire my 20-year-old Seiko with the stopwatch and combined analog/digital features because I no longer used the digital part. I replaced it with a simple Timex analog calendar watch with one knob - almost identical to the jeweled watch my parents gave me at 16. Because that was now all I needed.
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Post by scomac »

like_to_retire wrote:It would be an interesting poll - how many fully retired members wear a watch.... :)
I didn't wear a watch when I worked so the transitition has been easy. Learn to tell indian time! :wink:
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

From the Bogleheads: Best watch for around $5,000? :twisted:
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Post by Nemo2 »

I had a fake Timex, but I was afraid of being robbed so I gave it to a fake homeless person.
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Post by AltaRed »

Maybe an expensive watch as a self-retirement gift is as important to Wallace as my luxury performance car was to me as a retirement gift. It's a way (ritual?) to close a chapter in one's life and move on to another, aka graduation gift, back when we finished school. Not that I can provide any sort of a recommendation on watches. I've only had 3 'average' watches in my life and they all still work.

P.S. I still wear a watch most days, even when at home all day.
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Post by izzy »

I have a number of relatively expensive watches which I seldom if ever wear,they sit in a drawer at the bank.Instead I wear a $20 watch from the drug store.It has a quartz movement and is easy to read whereas the expensive watches have fancy numerals and hands and face contrast poorly .I also don't worry about losing or damaging the $20 one as it is easily replaceable and does not need to be insured.If you want a watch that you need to keep in a safety deposit box it's your choice but I think you will find it's like heirloom jewelry brought out only on special occasions which become fewer as you age until finally you can't be bothered :)
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Post by bolt »

Wallace, You might want to look on the seikocitizen trading forums. There are many deals to be had. 0R, try timezone.com.......there are many expensive watches there also. OF all types. Personally, I've a Seiko, primary and backup! less than 300.00 total. I cannot see wearing a glittering target for some thief. 8) Good Luck!
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Post by uhoh »

i understand the desire to buy a fab watch, whether it gets worn daily or not - as for, how to tell it's genuine - i'd have to say that you'd have to rely on feedback and perhaps to negotiate with the buyer that you get it appraised (there's an old-time watchmaker in Burlington that could help)...

another suggestion - i've seen some fab lecoultre watches, for example, when taking caribbean cruises- you could take a celebratory retirement cruise and buy one down there...
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Post by kcowan »

I have had all manner of watches: Timex, Digital (including at least one with a keyboard), Sports (lap timers and splits), Seiko movements in fake Cartiers and Rolexes, fake analog Rolexes, until finally my soulmate bought me a simple engraved Birks watch. It has been the only one I wear now since I got it. And it features a lifetime guarantee at any Birks store.

I wonder if anyone wants to sell their unused expensive collector watches to Wallace?
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Post by Clock Watcher »

uhoh wrote:i find i never wear a watch anymore - i use my iPhone as my watch.
After my watch broke, my first inclination was to buy something around $5K. But most of them are not as accurate as the cheap digital ones, have less features, and have to be send in for maintenance every few years. It is one thing to have status symbols, but quite another to lose functionality.

An iPhone is not cheap (3 year commitment works out to around $3K), but is a better solution for me. It is also nice to carry one device than 4 (watch, phone, PDA, camera). It is also a PDA, and the new model also does video.
Last edited by Clock Watcher on 15 Jun 2009 12:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Wallace »

Nemo2 wrote:I had a fake Timex, but I was afraid of being robbed so I gave it to a fake homeless person.
:lol:

I was at a flea market the other week. There was a sign on one of the items. It said "Genuine Plastic". The vendor was quite serious! :lol:
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Post by Brix »

kcowan wrote:I wonder if anyone wants to sell their unused expensive collector watches to Wallace?
Wouldn't getting a sharp deal on a lavish extravagance be rather like deflowering an experienced virgin? There ain't no such thing as a thrifty splurge.

Surely our brief is to give Wallace all possible assurance of how unspeakably outrageous, how positively sinful, is the indulgence he's contemplating.
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Post by N. Vestor »

I bought a Casio GW M5600 on ebay for about $ 120.00. It is solar powered so it does not need batteries, it gets syncronized daily from the atomic clock in Colorado so it always has the correct time and it is of course shockproof, waterproof to 200 meters and just about indestructable.
Best watch I have ever owned - at any price.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

Clock Watcher wrote:After my watch broke
Why would a Clock Watcher need a watch? :shock: ;)
An iPhone is not cheap (3 year commitment works out to around $3K),
A lot of good a 3-year contract is when Apple comes out with the latest must-have iteration every year?

While a $3k watch will be eternal, possibly a family heirloom, an iPod will be ephemeral. How many people still have and use their original Palm Pilot, let alone Apple Newton?
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