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Watches have always appealed to me also and no, I'm not a watch investor. More a hoarder of time keepers.

The advent of the digital aka battery watch was seen as the death knell for mechanical watches. Astute watch wearers soon realised that any good automatic watch was just as good and in an artistic and probably investment sense, far superior. Although my 1980's Swatch is fetching up to ten times the $20 I paid brand new.

Back in the 80's when living in Sydney, my old man visited and together we purused a pawn shop in Rockdale. He laid eyes upon the watches for sale, he haggled then bought two gold plated Omega watches costing $100 and $50. The cheaper watch he gifted to me and was my first automatic watch and first Omega.
As the watch was losing time and the glass was badly cracked and scratched, it was clearly in need of a service. Off to the authorised service repairer in the city it went. From memory service cost was $80.

At that time for insurance purposes, replacement was valued at $550! Clearly the old man knew a bargain when he saw one.

I recently had it serviced again, this time that pleasure was nearly a $$$ grand. My 1970's wind up Tissot (a rare red dial Navigator) was a hundred bucks cheaper to service.

The dollar value on the secondary market would recoup those costs and perhaps a little more but the thing is, as Dad is no longer with us the Omega has sentimental value and is now a treasured family heirloom. It is being left to my son (or his eldest son) on my passing.
No way am I letting that gorgeous Tissot go.

As mentioned, watches are not only functional but are wearable pieces of jewellery and some a just sheer works of art.
For example, some of the mind boggling prices from, among others, Patek Phillippe especially the tourbillons are eye-watering. For the uber wealthy, just another piece of wearable fashion and work-of-art jewellery.

Anyway, watches, like anything we collect, buy and sell (rarity notwithstanding) prices vary on the demand and/or fad at any one time.

I do know one thing though. I'd rather have a mechanical watch on hand should the world go pear shaped. Having more than one is simply extra insurance.

Back in the day, that LCD was too dull to see in daylight and my fingers are still too big.
I saw better value in a full sized calculator. I bought my first digital calculator in the mid 70's through my tech college. At 60 bucks, that was two weeks of my apprentice wages but at least it was easy to use and the big red display readable on the job site.

<blockquote data-quote="Craton" data-source="post: 1312781" data-attributes="member: 51945">Watches have always appealed to me also and no, I&#039;m not a watch investor. More a hoarder of time keepers.The advent of the digital aka battery watch was seen as the death knell for mechanical watches. Astute watch wearers soon realised that any good automatic watch was just as good and in an artistic and probably investment sense, far superior. Although my 1980&#039;s Swatch is fetching up to ten times the $20 I paid brand new.Back in the 80&#039;s when living in Sydney, my old man visited and together we purused a pawn shop in Rockdale. He laid eyes upon the watches for sale, he haggled then bought two gold plated Omega watches costing $100 and $50. The cheaper watch he gifted to me and was my first automatic watch and first Omega.As the watch was losing time and the glass was badly cracked and scratched, it was clearly in need of a service. Off to the authorised service repairer in the city it went. From memory service cost was $80.At that time for insurance purposes, replacement was valued at $550! Clearly the old man knew a bargain when he saw one.I recently had it serviced again, this time that pleasure was nearly a $$$ grand. My 1970&#039;s wind up Tissot (a rare red dial Navigator) was a hundred bucks cheaper to service.The dollar value on the secondary market would recoup those costs and perhaps a little more but the thing is, as Dad is no longer with us the Omega has sentimental value and is now a treasured family heirloom. It is being left to my son (or his eldest son) on my passing. No way am I letting that gorgeous Tissot go.As mentioned, watches are not only functional but are wearable pieces of jewellery and some a just sheer works of art.For example, some of the mind boggling prices from, among others, Patek Phillippe especially the tourbillons are eye-watering. For the uber wealthy, just another piece of wearable fashion and work-of-art jewellery.Anyway, watches, like anything we collect, buy and sell (rarity notwithstanding) prices vary on the demand and/or fad at any one time.I do know one thing though. I&#039;d rather have a mechanical watch on hand should the world go pear shaped. Having more than one is simply extra insurance. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />Back in the day, that LCD was too dull to see in daylight and my fingers are still too big.I saw better value in a full sized calculator. I bought my first digital calculator in the mid 70&#039;s through my tech college. At 60 bucks, that was two weeks of my apprentice wages but at least it was easy to use and the big red display readable on the job site.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Craton, post: 1312781, member: 51945"] Watches have always appealed to me also and no, I'm not a watch investor. More a hoarder of time keepers. The advent of the digital aka battery watch was seen as the death knell for mechanical watches. Astute watch wearers soon realised that any good automatic watch was just as good and in an artistic and probably investment sense, far superior. Although my 1980's Swatch is fetching up to ten times the $20 I paid brand new. Back in the 80's when living in Sydney, my old man visited and together we purused a pawn shop in Rockdale. He laid eyes upon the watches for sale, he haggled then bought two gold plated Omega watches costing $100 and $50. The cheaper watch he gifted to me and was my first automatic watch and first Omega. As the watch was losing time and the glass was badly cracked and scratched, it was clearly in need of a service. Off to the authorised service repairer in the city it went. From memory service cost was $80. At that time for insurance purposes, replacement was valued at $550! Clearly the old man knew a bargain when he saw one. I recently had it serviced again, this time that pleasure was nearly a $$$ grand. My 1970's wind up Tissot (a rare red dial Navigator) was a hundred bucks cheaper to service. The dollar value on the secondary market would recoup those costs and perhaps a little more but the thing is, as Dad is no longer with us the Omega has sentimental value and is now a treasured family heirloom. It is being left to my son (or his eldest son) on my passing. No way am I letting that gorgeous Tissot go. As mentioned, watches are not only functional but are wearable pieces of jewellery and some a just sheer works of art. For example, some of the mind boggling prices from, among others, Patek Phillippe especially the tourbillons are eye-watering. For the uber wealthy, just another piece of wearable fashion and work-of-art jewellery. Anyway, watches, like anything we collect, buy and sell (rarity notwithstanding) prices vary on the demand and/or fad at any one time. I do know one thing though. I'd rather have a mechanical watch on hand should the world go pear shaped. Having more than one is simply extra insurance. ;) Back in the day, that LCD was too dull to see in daylight and my fingers are still too big. I saw better value in a full sized calculator. I bought my first digital calculator in the mid 70's through my tech college. At 60 bucks, that was two weeks of my apprentice wages but at least it was easy to use and the big red display readable on the job site. [/QUOTE]

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