Recommend a luxury watch

[rigamortiz]

My grandmother recently passed away and my grandfather has given each of us grandchildren £2,000 from the sale of her car. I'd like to spend it on something I could keep for a long time and have settled on a watch. I've never owned a grown up watch before, the closest I've got is a Fitbit I had for a few years. I could go a little higher than the budget for the right piece but don't know where to start. What would you buy with that budget?

Mine is the Tag Aquaracer Diamond

Thanks for so many lovely suggestions- lots to think about. Im quite taken by the Tag Carera and the several of the Longines look lovely.

I like silver/steel with round faces. My only strong reaction to those linked is "not Roman numerals" I don't know what they did to me in a past life but apparently I REALLY don't like them.

Service charges aren't too much of a shock to me. My DH has a few very expensive watches. He's only needed to service one Breitling so far (others are newer) but when it came back it looked brand new, despite being 10 years old, so it was well worth it. I'd ask him for watch advice but he likes big busy watches and I prefer more classic watches.

My favourite: www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/watch-omega-constellation-quartz-28-mm-13110286002001

I would look at a Rolex you would need to add some cash, but you won't lose tong term. an option also would be Tudor which is a cheaper Rolex brand using the same movements as Rolex.

I have a few watches, with the exception of the 2 Rolex's they are all worth a lot less than I paid, the Rolex's are worth almost double what I paid

Okay, steel with indexes instead of roman numerals is a good start.

Do you want something in a divers style, with a rotating bezel and water resistance so you can swim in it, or are you looking for something dressier / less casual.

Do you like "ladies sized" watches below 34mm or would you consider something in say 36-38mm?

Always go for the steel bracelet option as you can always switch to a leather strap, but you can never switch from leather strap to bracelet without spending a lot more than necessary.

Personally, I think that the new Tudor Black Bay 58 or 54 are excellent both in quality and VFM.
Tudor historically used to be the sister company to Rolex and produced "affordable" tool watch versions of Rolex but without the in house movement.
They are still owned by them and were relaunched as a stand alone brand recently, but they are still Rolex.

If you like robust "sports" watches that you can wear anywhere - I would suggest that they cant be beaten at the 3k price point

I know that you have 2k to spend but if you were happy to consider pre-owned mint condition, then that is where I personally would spend the money.
You should be able to get pre-owned mint at 2-2.5k.

https://www.tudorwatch.com/en/search?q=black+bay+58&index=watches

Sorry, Tudor dont use Rolex movements. They used to use ETA but are now producing their own "in house" calibres.
They used to use Rolex cases to make Tudor Submariners which sat alongside Rolex Submariners as an affordable option for merchant navy personnel etc.

I have that very watch and it's fabulous! I bought it for myself a couple of years ago after I had to retire my much older gold Omega, which my late DH bought as my first Christmas present - in 1969!

That watch rarely left my wrist, lasted 50 years.
The new one is very plain and not blingy, which is exactly what I wanted, looks classy and smart.

I’d go for a Cartier Tank if you can push the budget a little bit. Truly stylish, timeless watch.

Cartier, Tag or an Omega for me

No Roman numerals rules out pretty much everything that Cartier make!

@verv, can I ask where you would go for pre-owned mint condition?

I was going to get myself an Omega constellation but when I tried it on, I didn't like it as much as I thought I did, so I got a DeVille instead. The basic Omega Deville would probably come in at just over £2k these days but you can talk shops into discounts.

I've also got a Longines Conquest Classic, I think it's one of their most basic models so would give you a lot of change from your 2k, but I do like it -mine has a blue face, and it's larger than the Omega. Both though sit so beautifully on my wrist, and they feel weighty (ie quality) without feeling heavy.

I'd been meaning to get a Rado that time but once again, although I adore the look of the Rado ceramic watches, it didn't feel right on my wrist! So if you can possibly try on in advance, I'd definitely do so.

And I'd recommend this shop, who carry masses of stock and give some good discounts:

https://www.firstclasswatches.co.uk/

Chrono24 but make sure you filter UK stock only as VAT is at 20% post Brexit which can add a bit of a slice onto purchases.
Good tip for Ch24 is if you find a watch you like then scroll down and find out who the seller is and google them if they're a business. If you contact directly you can usually get a discount, at least the commission fee that Ch24 charges which is 6-10%

Ebay is bizarrely decent now all transactions on luxury watches go through an independent authenticator who makes sure that the watches are genuine and condition is as stated.

There are also watch forums that have sale sections for enthusiasts to sell and trade with one another, generally you need x amount of posts and to have been a member for x months before you can access the sales parts though - this is just to protect the community.

Watchfinder is ok but overpriced, they do negotiate tho.

BQ Watches - avoid them.

subdial.co are good, watchesofwhitby.com are good - and neither are affiliated with me as I dont think I am allowed to shill for biz on mumsnet so I wont!

Usually if you ask the grey dealers to find you something, they can as they have a huge trade network.

Hope that helps!

https://www.oris.ch/ are a great brand with plenty of under budget options as well. They are independent so not part of a luxury conglomerate and have been going for aaaages.

That's hugely helpful, thank you, @verv.

https://www.ebel.com/en/shop-watches/ebel-wave-1216197.html

This is mine. The bracelet is a thing of beauty.

Cartier, reliable, elegant and timeless design.

I have the same , purchased way back in 1983! Best purchase ever.

I love those Ebel wave bracelets!

I love my dog more - do not buy a Tissot 😐 I have a Tissot Bellflower with an extensible Milanese bracelet so no clasp - bracelet has broken 3 times and it’s been in Switzerland longer than on my wrist 😐 Tissot customer service are appalling - it’s just broken again so off on its travels 🙄👍🏿🙏🏽

Can you not put it on another bracelet or strap? That’s ridiculous.

I'm sorry to say that I found Longines customer service awful too - such a shame, as I loved my watch, but gave it up in the end as, despite many attempts at repair, it would randomly lose 10 minutes every so often.

Any manufacturer can produce the odd dud watch, but what was disappointing is that I had to fight to get Longines to believe me and that they were not at all sympathetic or helpful.

I would go for Cartier. Simple, elegant, will last.
It's a lovely thing your grandfather has done on his wife's behalf x

I bought myself a Radio as a retirement present. I live them as they're very slim and there are many styles.
https://www.rado.com/en_gb/women-watches/discover/all-watches.html?page=4

The Omega I like is £22,000!

I love my TAG watch that is diamond encrusted that I have had for years. But my husband got me a Rolex and they retain and can increase in value if you buy right.