E-mail From Reader : Ready For More Varieties

Today's choice of watch was partly made in view of a reader i.e. Steve's e-mail that I received while I was still holidaying earlier the week. 

I remembered him for he was apprehensive about getting a brand new, stickered, and unnamed 116710BLNR from me for only RM40k, as the market was doing at circa RM43k-RM45k in Q1 2018. He was new to the game and had not dealt with me previously; and while I could have flipped off the Batman to another party so much more easily and at higher price too, I decided to teach him my tuppence about identifying real and replica pieces, until he was assured of the piece.

Fast forward a few months later, and it would seemed that he was ready to extend his collection. And he was ready for more varieties, so let's take 5 mins to consider 5 other brands that he could pursue. While the following were just some of my personal opinion, you were free to sample and digest upon them, Steve.

1) Omega : I have added various pieces of Seamaster 300 and Planet Ocean into my collection over the years; but have since realised that they tend not to hold their resale value too well. So if you were a big fan of their diver looks, then by all means get them. But if you intend to recoup your purchase monies and was a frequent flipper like me, then you could do better with Rolex Submariner. Omega pieces that tend to hold its value well, and fetch quite a premium even, tend to be the Speedmaster Limited Edition. Pieces that I have in my collection included the CK2998 and Ultraman- both of which the prices as seen on Chrono24 had far out-reached their initial purchase value and still climbing steadily forward. I personally find these to be good pieces for both self-appreciation and value-appreciation.

2) Tudor : Again, I started off with Black Bay of various guises and Pelagos; and over the years, the only piece that seemed to be really holding its value and fetching a premium in the secondary market was the Pepsi GMT. Well, it's nicely-designed and armed with an in-house GMT mechanism; and Tudor really could price it at a higher price and it would still sell pretty well at ADs. The fact that it was sold-out almost all the time, would reflect on its attractiveness. You won't go wrong much holding this esteemed piece.

3) Seiko : Well, to be fair, Steve asked for a recommendation for Grand Seiko and I really can't comment much as I have not had a GS in my collection (gasp!). I have played with many a piece of the Seiko though, from the classic SKX007J1, SKX009J1, Monster G1/2/3, Tuna, Turtle, etc and I have not found a piece that really made me feel like having it perpetually in my collection (well, that could be just me as a frequent flipper wanting to try lots of new models and writing about them). Until the MM300 G3 in the form of SLA021J1 / SBDX023J1, that was. With an undecorated GS movement that could keep up with ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200-2 and now modernised with the sapphire crystal and lumed bezel, this was the Seiko that scratched that itch, that the previous itineration of SBDX001J1 and SBDX017J1 were unable too.

4) Bell & Ross was pretty cool too, although I would stick to its iconic square case. I liked this brand as its owners had quite a camaraderie- a younger or young-at-heart crowd that was attracted to the military and aviation sphere, and friendlier than the typical Rolex crowd. Buy for the like, and don't hold your thoughts that it would keep its value high. Buying pre-owned might safe-guard your monetary interest better.

5) Panerai had lots of great choices too, and playing with its straps changeability was pretty much a sport in itself. I had a couple of pieces from the Base, Marina, and Submersible models; but again learned over time that you would buy for the like, and don't hold your thoughts that it would keep its value high. Agin, buying pre-owned could be an avenue to consider.

So there you have it, Steve. 2019 could a year whereby you could play around with more watches; or you could be a serial flipper like me- in this case, you could sample lots of watches over a duration of time, although you might have to pay some "tuition fees" over time.

After all, variety is the spice of life.