What time is it? Watches and horology

What's worse, Seiko or Oris? Saw this on someone's wrist in Monmouth and loved it.

Date hand is awesome.

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It was sort of like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17J-VINTAGE-SEIKO5-AUTOMATIC-GREEN-COLOR-DIAL-ANALOG-WATCH-WORKING-PERFECTLY-/152613347279?epid=1854052428&hash=item238876dfcf:g:8JQAAOSwBt5ZGCJ1

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-5-Automatic-Mens-Watch-Green-Dial-Skeleton-Back-SNK801K1-UK-Seller-/262979736181?epid=726408962&hash=item3d3ad05275:g:m50AAOSw9OFZFFHF

?

If watches were cars Seiko would be the Toyota to the exotic supercars of the Swiss watch world. Sure they are going to be reliable, some have clever tech, and some of them don't look all that bad, and some are expensive (analogous to a Lexus?)

But I don't understand why anyone gets excited about any of them.

Ha, is that an MR2?

exactly

Close, but no cigar.

Hahaha

It was like this, but the body was silver, face was green.

This is the exact watch! If anyone ever finds one for sale, I will be eternally grateful

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Another pic. Seems to be designated 'S Wave Automatic'

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You need to find the exact model number(s) something like -SKX223K- and start automatic searches eBay sites over the world. They are getting rare on the enthusiast forums.

The great news is that the movement is robust and very common and cheap !

Sounds like an alpinist. There's been a few versions of them but they all have green sunburst dials.

SARB017 is the current version.

As a tangent to this point, with supercars, I can understand where their high price tags come from. I understand why people are willing to shell out so much more money than your average car to own one.

I don't understand the same feeling with regards to watches though. How do the manufacturers justify the cost and what is it that makes the consumer willing to spend so much? (Let's pick an arbitrary amount of £5k for example)

Is it that it's more an item of jewellery than a time-keeping instrument?

This is just a general question to anyone who fancies chipping in with some info, but I'd be interested to hear people's opinions.

P.S. I can't remember the last time I saw a watch that wasn't a Seiko/Citizen that I'd like to own. I am a heathen.

Do you wear any designer brand clothing, or perfume?

Research and development cost money. Quality workmanship comes at a price. Those men and women in their white lab coats and magnifying headgear are experts in their field

I can't remember the last time I saw a watch that wasn't a Seiko/Citizen that I'd like to own.

Im sure you said once that you liked a Breitling that was posted here.

While the price hike is clearly not relative, there is no doubt the craftsmanship and metallurgy in a marque time piece is above and beyond cheap manufacturing techniques.

You like F1.

It will still get you to the shops.

Similar non?

I've got a few Scuderia Ferrari t-shirts as I follow the team. Own a few pairs of Pumas because the fit is good for me and consistent across the range.

I don't buy that the R&D costs are the reason.

I've got a solar powered, radio controlled watch with a 10 month power reserve that retails for around £350 or so.

I likely have remarked positively on the Navitimers (I do like a slide-rule bezel), but in all honesty, I wouldn't swap it for my Citizen.

I can understand the craftsmanship element. But if you put a pair of similar models from Rolex and Steinhart, I'd be hard pressed to tell them apart on quality. Certainly not to the extent that one would likely cost 10x the other. Obviously the advertising costs are a factor for one and not the other, and there's a supply and demand element also.

F1 is at the cutting edge of many different aspects of engineering research. I don't believe watch manufacturing is on a similar level. I'm sure watch manufacturing makes use of advances in precision engineering, but I doubt that it's driving it.

On the car note, I do in general feel the same about expensive cars, but I can see where the increased value & cost comes from. But then again, the sum cost of my 2 of my 3 dream cars is about £25k (granted the other costs around £40k). I may well just be erring to far on the side of frugality on both the car and watch front.

As someone who has just spent £5,500 on a seiko, albeit a limited edition Grand Seiko, I'll give answering your question a shot...

I own a few 'expensive' watches and a plenty of cheap ones too.

For me, I see value in the engineering, finishing and attention to detail as well as the historical or 'heritage' elements too. More importantly for me though is probably the memories associated with each watch...

My Rolex Explorer was bought to wear on my wedding day. An Omega Seamaster gold cap I have was purchased with a small amount of money left to me by my grandmother. My Nomos Metro was bought to celebrate a promotion at work, etc etc.

Going back to engineering, I own normal seiko watches which cost me between £50 and £150 and the difference in quality between that and the Grand Seiko or Rolex is vast. Is it worth a 10x, 20x or even 50x price difference? I guess that's up to the individual. Personally, I've never felt disappointed with any watch I've bought in those sorts of price range.

Is anyone here good with Rolex values?

I've got a 1999 Oyster that I haven't worn in a while and it seems silly to have it in the drawer. It has everything it came with when new - box, papers, extra links etc. I'm just wondering what I can expect to get for it if I decide to sell it. Thanks!

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I do understand the historical & sentimental reasons for increased value, as well as getting something to mark an occasion.

And of course I can imagine your Grand Seiko vs my SNA411 is a world of difference in terms of build quality!

Looks like a ref. 116233:

http://www.chrono24.com/rolex/ref-116233.htm