The Watch Thread - Part 12

[cyrenic]

Here's some pictures I found on net:

While it's not the usual image that you'd link to 1963, it is supposedly truer to the original. The indices/numerals are also a lot more substantial/stand out more. And of course less obviously Chinese.

 

[wristceptor]

eh... why their super early bird $370 > early bird $259?

kickstarter projects tend to be long drawn, tedious affairs that the impatient has little stomach for. yeah, i should know. spread out few posts of watch unboxing to tease nia, some of you already kpkb. how to tahan kickstarter with elastic timelines after committing your cold hard cash online? roflmao.

kickstarter projects also tend to be here today, gone tomorrow. to use a very harsh term, some are even fly-by-night. deliver liao, close shop. very few stick around or remain viable after product delivery. so how can they even assure warranty & service down the road?

maybe i'm a noob, but as a value-for-money, value-retention watch owner, what will most kickstarter watches be even worth in the future?

i'll stick to established brands with proven service support. anyone seduced by cheap & affordable @ kickstarter? seikos/citizen/orients are aplenty. why pay extra for "unique" design & unproven QC?

I had another look. The early bird is not $259, is 'from' $259. Eg. if you choose Day Date Chrono is now $390 instead of $370 for Super Early Bird. But not sure why there is Late Bird option (already closed) also when Early Bird still open...quite confusing Their Early Bird also a bit bedek ppl, keep opening slots one

your points are valid. Crowdfunding projects, watch or non-watch,are always risky.

And the waiting time between putting money down and getting the product is a real psychological factor, definitely.The watches are not exactly super 'cheap' either, could be SGD$500+ (not a small amt to lose if starters run road).

I only consider backing if the company has some past successful projects and good feedback from other users. And of course, if the watch concept & design itself is interesting to me. You also get a sense of 'participation' and support for a relatively unestablished microbrand and hope they can grow in the future.

There are good and bad sides to it lah.

So far, I only ever backed 1 kickstarter watch, by Mercer.

 

[indigo22]

what you guys think?

Spoiler

i like it this way

 

[TeenTitan01]

Why not?

There are kickstarter brands that have grown to be very successful. Elshan's Zelos and Ventus are an example. Pebble used to be very successful at one point.

You could also say the same for any company. These days, companies can disappear overnight. Who's to say that Seiko, Citizen, Orient, or even Rolex will be here in 20 years' time?

beggin to differ, bro cyrenic, cos one swallow does not make a summer. in fact, your acknowledgement about pebble watch lack of longevity is itself a cautionary tale.

the probability of seiko, citizen, orient, rolex and other major brands disappearing is, for sure, far, FAR lower than any kickstarter brand. their inventory also ensures that sufficient spare parts are available for servicing into the foreseeable future. and this is important to our enjoyment of watches.

hey, those who want to splash their cash on a "unique" kickstarter watch, be my guest. just be aware that you may be reduced to cannibalizing existing available watches for parts like specially fabricated cases cos spares are no longer available, especially when they tout "limited edition".

of course they're those who will flip them later cos they don't plan to keep them for long or feel it's cheap enough to be a throwaway toy.

just my honest, humble opinion. no offense intended.

 

[Emospence]

what you guys think?

Thumbs up

 

[gaoxing84]

^ bulang and sons strap not cheap leh.
Maybe look for alternative. Let me look longer at that pic to self poison.
Was thinking of a thicker strap for the bb. See how first.

@tt01. Ap not say buy Jiu buy one. Lol not cheap.
But go liat towers try is free one lol

 

[TeenTitan01]

I had another look. The early bird is not $259, is 'from' $259. Eg. if you choose Day Date Chrono is now $390 instead of $370 for Super Early Bird. But not sure why there is Late Bird option (already closed) also when Early Bird still open...quite confusing Their Early Bird also a bit bedek ppl, keep opening slots one

your points are valid. Crowdfunding projects, watch or non-watch,are always risky.

And the waiting time between putting money down and getting the product is a real psychological factor, definitely.The watches are not exactly super 'cheap' either, could be SGD$500+ (not a small amt to lose if starters run road).

I only consider backing if the company has some past successful projects and good feedback from other users. And of course, if the watch concept & design itself is interesting to me. You also get a sense of 'participation' and support for a relatively unestablished microbrand and hope they can grow in the future.

There are good and bad sides to it lah.

So far, I only ever backed 1 kickstarter watch, by Mercer.

excellent post, bro wristceptor!

share some wrist shots, please?

 

[DXMachina]

Thinking of re-instating the Speedy back to nato strap duty

 

[DiCaprio]

Here's some pictures I found on net:

While it's not the usual image that you'd link to 1963, it is supposedly truer to the original. The indices/numerals are also a lot more substantial/stand out more. And of course less obviously Chinese.

Yeah bro I got mine from Ed while I was in HK. Very nice and down to earth guy, I'd recommend one to get from him. I preferred the square indices too but strangely I would have liked having Chinese characters on the dial! Panda versions are quite interesting as well. Arc let me know if you need pictures of the dial variants Ed has

Sent from Huawei Nexus 6P using GAGT

 

[indigo22]

^ bulang and sons strap not cheap leh.
Maybe look for alternative. Let me look longer at that pic to self poison.
Was thinking of a thicker strap for the bb. See how first.

@tt01. Ap not say buy Jiu buy one. Lol not cheap.
But go liat towers try is free one lol

ap water bottle also free...tiagong use bottle to chope seats at kopitiam, no one dare to touch..

 

[TeenTitan01]

^ bulang and sons strap not cheap leh.
Maybe look for alternative. Let me look longer at that pic to self poison.
Was thinking of a thicker strap for the bb. See how first.

@tt01. Ap not say buy Jiu buy one. Lol not cheap.
But go liat towers try is free one lol

bro gaoxing84, i'm sure you'll make enough from your businesses and hobbies to score your AP RO 15400. maybe consolidate and flip some from your existing collection bah.

seriously, AP can only get more expensive. just compare their prices when they first come out in 2012. if buy later when economy recovers, hosei liao. prices jack up gao gao.

question for you is whether to go grey and pocket the savings or not...

ps. you're fortunate you're not poisoned by the 39mm "jumbo" ultra thin 15202 AP RO.

pps. vintage-inspired watches like your bb and actual vintage watches like your 1680 look best in aged leather straps cos it enhances their character & charisma.

 

[TeenTitan01]

ap water bottle also free...tiagong use bottle to chope seats at kopitiam, no one dare to touch..

got picture boh?

 

[gaoxing84]

bro gaoxing84, i'm sure you'll make enough from your businesses and hobbies to score your AP RO 15400. maybe consolidate and flip some from your existing collection bah.

seriously, AP can only get more expensive. just compare their prices when they first come out in 2012. if buy later when economy recovers, hosei liao. prices jack up gao gao.

question for you is whether to go grey and pocket the savings or not...

ps. you're fortunate you're not poisoned by the 39mm "jumbo" ultra thin 15202 AP RO.

pps. vintage-inspired watches like your bb and actual vintage watches like your 1680 look best in aged leather straps cos it enhances their character & charisma.

Best case scenario, don't consolidate. Because I love them all.
Sure have seller remorse. And finding it at the price I got it for its gonna take a long time. Best is can afford, straightaway hoot.
That's how a collection shld go forward.

Jumbo too ex. I am happy with a 15400. Need to take a look at the black and grey dial.

 

[TeenTitan01]

Best case scenario, don't consolidate. Because I love them all.
Sure have seller remorse. And finding it at the price I got it for its gonna take a long time. Best is can afford, straightaway hoot.
That's how a collection shld go forward.

Jumbo too ex. I am happy with a 15400. Need to take a look at the black and grey dial.

eh... but you got lelong your 2254.50 leh...

one thing we can learn from you is to get watches for the cheapest price.

 

[cyrenic]

beggin to differ, bro cyrenic, cos one swallow does not make a summer. in fact, your acknowledgement about pebble watch lack of longevity is itself a cautionary tale.

the probability of seiko, citizen, orient, rolex and other major brands disappearing is, for sure, far, FAR lower than any kickstarter brand. their inventory also ensures that sufficient spare parts are available for servicing into the foreseeable future. and this is important to our enjoyment of watches.

hey, those who want to splash their cash on a "unique" kickstarter watch, be my guest. just be aware that you may be reduced to cannibalizing existing available watches for parts like specially fabricated cases cos spares are no longer available, especially when they tout "limited edition".

of course they're those who will flip them later cos they don't plan to keep them for long or feel it's cheap enough to be a throwaway toy.

just my honest, humble opinion. no offense intended.

That's what everyone thought about Nokia, Compaq and other big companies that have since crumbled into obscurity.

Small companies can become big. Big companies can die. I won't be so quick as to say that a KS company will be gone while a big company will be here tomorrow.

Most of the time people are more worried that they don't get the watch.

If the model is OOS, also not a given that you can find the parts.

 

[wristceptor]

excellent post, bro wristceptor!

share some wrist shots, please?

this is their brigadier chronograph

 

[snowver]

Maybe darker will work better.

what you guys think?

 

[TeenTitan01]

That's what everyone thought about Nokia, Compaq and other big companies that have since crumbled into obscurity.

Small companies can become big. Big companies can die. I won't be so quick as to say that a KS company will be gone while a big company will be here tomorrow.

Most of the time people are more worried that they don't get the watch.

If the model is OOS, also not a given that you can find the parts.

companies go bust because management was incompetent despite products that sell. plain & simple.

but unlike IT/smartwatches, mechanical watches suffer less from technological obsolescence as they are already mature.

kickstarter watches use bespoke cases/parts to make themselves stand out. but this makes supply of spare parts down the road difficult, if not impossible, unlike established brands with their large inventories.

but if those are non-issues for you and those who're happy to support and buy kickstarter watches, by all means buy what makes you happy.

as for OOS situation, a good eg is the omega seamaster 300 of the 1960s. watchco of australia who produced cases for omega managed to hang on to its stockpile and acquire original movements to produce a quasi NOS watchco seamaster 300. whether it's appropriate or not, we can leave if to another discussion (the parts were all genuine omega stock.)

my smp 2254.50 and great white 2538.20 are also oos and i'm perfectly happy with that situation cos given their cult status, this means their value will climb steadily in the future, especially the full sets with b+p. more importantly, omega will definitely be around for as long as i live, and parts and servicing is definitely no issue.

 

[TeenTitan01]

anyone already priming their watch fund war chest and aiming the 2017 heuer autavia in their gunsights?

what's the expected mrsp and other confirmed juicy details (like movement, etc)?

 

[gaoxing84]

eh... but you got lelong your 2254.50 leh...

one thing we can learn from you is to get watches for the cheapest price.

I didn't lelong. Lol my asking is 2400 hor lol