Is Paying More Than 5k for a Watch a Waste? Thoughts on Vintage Watches? Q&A

18 Replies to “Is Paying More Than 5k for a Watch a Waste? Thoughts on Vintage Watches? Q&A”

1. Spending over 5k on a watch is a bit crazy and I say this as someone who has had some pretty expensive watches like a Nautilus, Daytona and Overeas among a couple of others but 5k is right at the point where you reach diminishing returns. Snagging a new Tudor, Omega or Grand Seiko is where I tell people to start their watch journey. Gets you a lot of good stuff like accuracy/precision, good finishing, cheap service, good quality and brand longevity. Once you hit 10k I cant say that my Rolex GMT is 2x better than the Tudor GMT. Sure, it is finished better on the outside and is certified to keep slightly better time but it isn’t an 11k watch. 7k for sure and 8k starts to enter the realm of really thinking about it.

2. 15:53 you on feel the first scratch 😊

3. Hi Teddy! My uncle wants to sell his Rolex – not because he doesn't like it, but because it costs too much to maintain. He has som kind of Rolex Oyster precision that he bought like 40 years ago. He says the crown needs to be replaced regularly, which means they send it to Switzerland, which is extremely expensive. It would be sooo valuable (literally!) to get a breakdown not only of watches and their purchase prices, but the costs of maintenance. I don't think I've heard the watch community talk about this, but I'm new, so what do I know! All I know is it's immensly important to know before you buy your watch – especially if you spend a lot of money on it! Thank you from a new enthusiast in Sweden!

4. Paying anywhere near $5k for a watch is a waste. After about $500, what you get for the extra money is just a tiny amount of quality, for a huge amount of dollars.

5. Paying more than $100 for a watch is a waste. But paying any sum of money for a piece of art is never a waste.

6. As we now know nearly all watches are made in China Teddy Id put forward that there are now watchmakers as young as 6yrs. LOL it's all over mate. But your videos are still entertaining as nostalgia 🙂

7. Greetings from Japan. Shun Bun is pronounced "Shoon Boon" If you want to impress the GS folks in Japan, shoon boon them! They will appreciate it. Love these Q and A sessions.

8. I have modern watches, but really enjoy and even wearing on occasion my vintage watches, 1935 – 1960s. For example, one is a rectangular yellow gold from 1940 and it’s cool to think that watch was only about year old when Pearl Harbor occurred and still worn in 2025.

9. Teddy, if you haven’t heard, the term that applies to your love of things “wearing in” is wabi-sabi. A Japanese philosophy for the appreciation of transience and imperfection. It’s very much a thing and you’re far from alone!

10. Paying more than any $ for a watch that will lose 50% of its retail value is stupid. Never. Pay. Over. Retail!

11. Teddy, what do you think of all this hullaballoo about most of "Swiss" branded watches being made in China? How much truth is there in all of this?

12. it's only a waste if you need to think about the price when purchasing something

13. I have the same Seiko @3:25, same crack too. Had to check mine to see if you used my image.

14. I purchased two expensive watches, a Rolex Datejust in 1985, and a (coke) Rolex GMT II in 1996. Still have both (actually the GMT was stolen and replaced with insurance dollars so it counts the same) and those watches are worth significantly more than I paid for them and I didn't need to buy any other watches in the last forty years. I believe that they represent an excellent value as a consequence.

15. I love watches but no way am I spending over 5K unless I’m obsessed with that specific piece. I bought a $400 tissot PR100 Chrono in ice blue and all my friends thought it was $2K+. You can have that luxury look without paying luxury prices

16. I'll highlight the "do I service or not" question…. One of my most emotion connected watches is my Omega Planet Ocean 2200.51.00. It's "old", it's only 48 hours of power reserve, it is just an Omega 2500 calibre… it was running with absolute perfection from the day I first bought… but, I felt like I was neglecting my first "big boy" Omega, so I decided to send it in for service… Everyone told me Omega is too expensive for service, but what I got back was pure happiness – the crystal was replaced, things were spiffied up, a bunch of parts came back to showcase what was replace… and what I got back was the watch I saw that very first day, when I fell in love. Falling in love again with a first watch, well, I'd recommend sending in for service for any watch you love…

17. Teddy, I NEED to know where you got your jacket from!

18. I've never spent more than $1,800 on a watch I think I've got a nice collection.

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