cwal1

Mossman,

The Superocean is a great watch but something to bear in mind is that it has a mineral glass rather than the synthetic sapphire of watches such as the Omega, Zenith, Eterna, Tag or Rolex. The sapphire crystal is MUCH more resistant to scratching than mineral glass.

ChrisW.

LanCat

Omega, I wouldn't have anything else.

Mine's been faultless and even tho' I dont take particular care of it ( quite the opposite if I was honest ) it still looks good as new after nearly 10 years.

Bajie

Tag 600 SEL bought in Japan 1996. Absolutely faultless and joined me at 30metres while scuba diving on several occassions until I bought my Citizen Pro diving watch.
I have just bought a TAG Chronograph 1/10 [red gold bezel] as opposed to a 1-2 year wait for a Rolex Yachtmaster.
I have Seiko Perpetual Titanium for everyday use which is also superb.
Generally speaking, I think any model of watch will be ok. Just make sure you get one you like the look of.
The Tag Chronograph watches cost more to service than those without.

Moss

Casio, £5.99 at Argos. Good down to 100m and when the battery runs out you throw it away and get another!

Mossman

Hello everyone,

Hope this finds you well and not blown away or under water!

I am currently in the market for a nice watch and I was hoping a few people could let me know your experiences with the following brands, i.e. service, reliability, after sales and were/are you happy with the watch

Brands are - Rolex, Breitling, Tag, Sector and Omega.

All comments welcome! I think I have made up my mind but would like to know any problems peple have had as it is a major purchase!

Cheers and thanks,

Jon.

Bajie

Tag.
But I've always liked them.
Recently in the market for a Rolex YachtMaster. Long waiting list and very pricey ...

AWD

Breitling - I have had the Aerospace since 1998 and have had no problems with it at all. My brother in law bought it for me from an official Breitling dealer in Singapore (for approx £580). The cost in the UK is £1270. They come with an international warranty so there is no problem with where you get them from.

I have had no problems with the watch at all and like it very much. I like titanium and am not a great fan of gold. Light, functional, good time keeping, looks very nice IMHO.

Have you considered IWC? Two friends of mine have IWCs and they are very nice watches.

cwal1

Mossman,

IMO Rolex are overpriced and a bit naff, same with TAG's the bulky Breitling's and everyone will assume them to be fakes.

If you're spending that kind of money have a looklook at a Titanium IWC Aquanaut at £2350( or any of the other IWC watches).

Omega are very good (Speedmaster tested alongside Rolex by NASA for space flight - Omega passed and used, Rolex broke and failed). Some Sector watches are good and the manual chronograph actually use Omega movements.

Other brands to check out of a similar kind to the ones you mention are are Eterna Kontiki, Porsche design by Eterna, and Zenith.

If you want more info or help, email me.

ChrisW.


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AWD

Friend of mine just got back (Sunday) from a diving trip to the Truk Lagoon. His 2000m IWC Diver's watch (which was serviced a month before he left) popped its seal (at 68m) and stopped working. He is not pleased.

Prior to this he had been on many diving trips over the 3 years he's owned it and has had no problems with it. Likes it a lot. His brother has a slimmer (non-diving) IWC and that is very nice also - although I am not sure if the strap is worth £800! Ouch.

The bulky Breitlings are a bit too large IMO. ChrisW - the Aerospace is not bulky.

Chris L

I've always been a Tag fan. I have got two at the moment (current favourite is my S/EL Chronograph). Both been reliable (both automatics, so no batteries). The Chrono was serviced about 6 months ago, think it cost about £130 and took about 4 weeks.

Having said all that, I do like Rolex and the GMT-Master II is looking very tempting... Details at

Mossman

A Breitling Superocean Pro is looking the fave at the mo! I cannot afford an IWC unfortunately! Do they have a website!?

Thanks for the replies so far!

Jon

Mossman

Your a class act!

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Gotta agree with Moss, but a more "upmarket" ( ) model.

Bought a G-Shock in Jan 1991. Worn every day (in fact I very very rarely take it off at all!), been through 2 straps & 1 outer casing. Reliable, accurate & still on the original battery

AWD

I've heard that the depth stated on Casios is known to be often innacurate. They take all their measurements in static depths - so this is not comparable to real life diving.

Yex

Heuer 1000 Quartz 200 Metres Professional, proper name before TAG became associated with the make, never missed a beat since being a present for my 21st birthday 15 years ago. Some of the gold plate is coming off the strap now but very nice to wear and reliable. Costs are reasonable too, battery change c£60 and full service including all seals and pressure test etc c£120.

My only gripe is the cost of these things in the UK. I bought my wife a TAG Heuer as a wedding present whilst on honeymoon in the Bahamas, nearly fell off the chair in the shop. UK retail price was £2100 when it was to become available a month or two later, I paid just under £1200 when the debit came through on my Mastercard, bloody rip-off UK again.

Yex

AWD

Websites:

IWC -

AWD

TAG -

Diablo

Hmm...

Got a Rolex Oyster Cosmograph in s/s which I wouldn't part with for anything. Was bought second hand as a 21st present years ago and is now worth anything from 6 to 10 times purchase price but who's complaining
Only downside is it needs serviced every couple of years at £200 a pop.

Got a Submariner on order but its a long way away. (Just as well cos I'll need to pay for the bloody thing when it arrives

Sorry, but IMHO you cannot beat the quality feel.

Also have a Casio G shock for mad days (brilliant) and a couple of Swatches 'cos I liked the look of them (also brilliant).

My opinion? Buy what you like the look and feel of - thats what matters.

andrew6321

Depends how far you're willing to travel, and the costs of getting there.

Bought a Omega Speedmaster day/date in Tenerife in March and saved between £600/£700 of the UK retail. You could add the holiday costs to the price and it would still work out a few hundred quid cheaper, but hell, I was going there anyway....

Forgot to mention the main reason I was replying(!). When I got the watch back home I found the chronograph wouldn't function properly. My local Omega dealer happily took the watch in and sent it off to the UK repair centre and it came back with the chrono working perfectly. But no matter how much it was wound, the watch would then stop if left unworn for more than an hour.

Anyway, after a couple of emails to Omega in Switzerland and a return to the repair centre, it came back with a completely new movement - all fitted under warranty.

"I should bloody well think so" I hear you say - and I agree. But I still think the watch is fab (always wanted one) and it proves that good customer service is what counts. Watch is now running like 'clockwork'. I'd buy another (if I had to).

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AWD

Buy yourself a great watch and it'll last you a lifetime.

I'd definitely consider getting it abroad though as you will save a fortune on any of the makes mentioned in this thread. If you look around in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong or places like that you can often find watches at 50-60% of the UK price of all high quality watches.

AWD

I forgot to say that all big watch manufacturers offer international warranties as they know that lots of people buy their products duty free. So no matter where you buy the watch it will be repaired/serviced etc. within the warranty period free in the UK.

Chris L

Never knew we had so many watch fans on the board! I was just doing some hunting around for prices and I came across this site

Moss

AWD

Chris

We are definitely being ripped off in the UK - no need to check on that front.

Dave T-S

Omega Speedmaster - looked for one discounted all over Europe for about a year and blow me Mappin and Webb in Fenchurch Street - about 300m from my office - put one in their sale by accident last year at £1000 instead of £1500 - you should see how quickly I snatched their arm off!!

S600BYY

[www.wristwatch.com]it's where i got my citizen promaster from and it and they have been brilliant

S600BYY

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CharlesW

As the user of a TAG and a Baume & Mercier, I am pleased to see that you lot are so discerning. On a more serious note I hope HM Customs and Excise do not read this BBS.

sunilp

Omega Seamaster James Bond Prof Midsize

Rolex SS GMTII

Rolex SS Submariner date with SELs

I only wear the Submariner now

Dave T-S

Sunlip
Fancy testing it to its maximum depth for us.....?

BTW where have you been you Muppet - it's been lonely!!

Chris L

AWD - yes I know we're probably being ripped off, but at least you can get some idea (and they've got some very nice watches on their site aswell!).

Sunil - nice collection of watches

Dave I was waiting for your comments...

Diablo - I'm impressed never met (sort of, well you know what I mean) anyone who actually owns a Cosmograph. I'll bet there are loads of people reading this thread who are thinking what the hell are we talking about!!

Cheers

Chris


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