The (Less intimidating) Watch Thread
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Just checked, and the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bronze is $1900 according to Hodinkee. It's probably the cheapest Swiss watch in bronze.
Most Oris pieces can be had for 30% or more off at Jomashop, so I'd expect a similar discount for the bronze one in the not too distant future.
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Is Jomashop a reliable retailer?
From a quick Google, they sound pretty reliable, and the watches are authentic.
However, anything they sell will have a Jomashop, rather than manufacturer's, warranty. There are a few unhappy customers who've had trouble getting things fixed.
Personally, I'd look up prices of my desired watch on Chrono24, Jomashop, Ashford, and Watchmaxx, and use that to negotiate with an authorised dealer.
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Thanks for the tip. I’ve done a web search myself and got the same impression. I asked specifically because I read a while back that the Scandi web retailer of luxury watches urverket.se/no/de has received criticism for some of the same drawbacks you mention. I now understand that these issues seem standard for this kind of «grey market» web retailer.
The prices for the models I’m drawn to are more expensive on Urverket than on the international/US sites but I need to do some math because I’m pretty sure import duty will be a bastard and that may eat up any savings that could be made.
The watches I’m looking at are certainly at the lower end of the market, so the warranty service issue with these sites doesn’t bother me so much.
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Thanks for the tip. I’ve done a web search myself and got the same impression. I asked specifically because I read a while back that the Scandi web retailer of luxury watches urverket.se/no/de has received criticism for some of the same drawbacks you mention. I now understand that these issues seem standard for this kind of «grey market» web retailer.
The prices for the models I’m drawn to are more expensive on Urverket than on the international/US sites but I need to do some math because I’m pretty sure import duty will be a bastard and that may eat up any savings that could be made.
The watches I’m looking at are certainly at the lower end of the market, so the warranty service issue with these sites doesn’t bother me so much.
Ask @hajduk - I am a pro at getting expensive items into Norway duty free
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Ah… options.
@Appfaff I have heard about the legendary ski boot scam! That’s something to think on. The watch price with shipping in the US is 425USD. With shipping, import duty and handling fees it goes up to 580USD. I can buy in Norway for 630USD. Let me have a look at things and I may be in touch.
The British option had not occurred to me, no. I’ll check that out. Although how on earth can you get it back into Norway? It’s not like you can just strap it to your wri.... oh, hang on [emoji848]
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I could ship with a “repair form” and claim repair work was done
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As someone who bought the other Oris bronze watch, I'm not sure it's fair to put those in the same category as a $900 watch (and there are plenty of cheaper bronze watches).
As a side note, Ball also have a cool bronze watch, for $2,200 or so: http://www.gnomonwatches.com/engineer-iii-pilot-bronze-ref-nm2186c-l3j-bk
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There's also a nice bronze pilot's watch at Steinhart, in 44 and 47mm:
https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/nav-b-uhr-44-handaufzug-bronze.html
https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/nav-b-uhr-47-handaufzug-bronze.html
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Riki Watanabe for Alba. I cant believe this watch was under $200.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Slightly obnoxious but accurate and tough as nails. Apparently these GPS Gravitymaster G Shocks were spec’d for the RAF
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"Slightly obnoxious"
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My non-traditional/digital watch submission that I lust over is this mofo here:
The Suunto Traverse Alpha
If all considerations were equal, I would spend the money on this before a mechanical watch, but alas the GPS and Bluetooth functions prevents me from being able to wear it to the office.
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Got into it with one of my buddies recently about digital vs mechanical.
"Your watch is soulless"
"If my digital watch is soulless, your mechanical watch is brainless"
Went over as well as I thought it would.
Digital watches are underrated in today's market. I still love mechanical, but digital's advantages should not be ignored.
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Having learned a modest amount about watches in the past several months, I totally get the engineering that goes in to it all, and it's nothing short of amazing. But, as far as "bang for my buck", usefulness and practicality, digital wins. I set a goal to get a "nice entry level watch" this year, but at this moment I can't see myself dropping dosh on a what would basically be a piece of jewelry.
But, still just say no to smartwatches.
