Hypothetical Poll: Upgrade vs. Luxury Watch

[ksinger]

Girls watches? OK, but in general too frou frou. I want a boy's watch!! Boys have all the good stuff.

RGM hands down. Mechanical, big but not too big, gorgeous machine turned guilloche, AMERICAN made and classic. AND I'd have enough for a good sized rock afterward. Win win!!

http://www.rgmwatches.com/collections/Classic/151EBD.php

Fond of JS Watches too, and they have 32mm women's watches that are pretty nifty. Another one that would leave me loads left over for a rock...

http://www.jswatch.com/collection/101-32-mm

ETA - I suppose that neither of these are "luxury" watches, but they ARE watch geek watches, and even if the girls didn't notice them, I can say with great assurance that many of the boys WOULD.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, my new watch fits your description, but it is in the luxury category (Ebel) rather than high-end luxury. I'll post a couple of pictures. These retail for something like $5600, I think. So my answer is the diamond ring. I couldn't imagine spending $20,000 on a watch, but it would be easy to do on a ring!

 

[junebug17]

I went with the upgrade, since I'm suffering from a terrible bout of DSS Also, I don't wear a watch very often. I can see where it's a tough decision if you're into both diamonds and watches!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I would get an upgrade but I am not a huge watch girl.

Historically, I haven't been either - guess part of me thinks/thought it was time to switch things up!

For what it's worth I have NEVER scratched my DD with my e-ring.

 

[mamong]

Tough choice.. for a person who like both diamond and watches...

For a squarish watch I would consider Patek Philippe Aquanaut, in white. It looks sooo elegant...

And for right hand rings a couple of these nudo rings on page 18 of the catalogue: http://www.pomellato.com/#/en/catalogue

 

[Circe]

Woah, so many good responses, so much food for thought! I will go through and answer individually more later ... but methinks y'all have swayed me towards the upgrade idea (although some of those watches are purty - I am going to be keeping those in mind for the future!).

The other thing that swayed me, is, er ... I was browsing the 'net, and ... I sort of stumbled across the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen.

Two problems: the stone's uncerted, and the seller doesn't do refunds.

But that SETTING! Okay, some deets: the center stone is a 4.20 OEC, P-Q, SI2, according to the seller. And the price? As far as I can tell from an evening's trolling, the 30K the seller is asking is fair ... if the specs are correct.

The seller's located in a nice part of the country - I'm actually tempted to fly down for the holiday weekend and assess it in person (and, you know, squeeze in some beach time). Am I being a nut-job? Or is it JUST THAT PRETTY?

P.S. - If you recognize the ring, do me a favor and don't link it or name the seller? I've seen one too many pieces snapped up by a cagey lurker to want to post any more in the way of identifying info than I already have ....

 

[slg47]

what is your current ring like? could you get your dream ring for your budget?

I would probably spend part of the budget on the watch and continue saving for the upgrade. but that's just me.

 

[Dancing Fire]

or this one for $11K.. ..IMO...with watches,the less bling the better.

http://www.timeimports.com/designer-watches/pc/Patek-Philippe-Ladies-Lady-s-Calatrava-with-Moon-Phase-and-Diamond-Dial-4857-G-419p2636.htm

Sorry for the threadjack, but DF that is THE watch I just swooned over. Someone had it on timezone and posted a pic. It's the perfect size too. I found all the elements (diamond markers, moonphase, sweeping seconds) in the Zenith I ended up choosing - plus it's an automatic, but there is just no contest in terms of elegance.

yeah,plus you save $10k compared to # 4958 with diamond bezel.

 

[diva rose]

I voted luxury watch. Because, in my experience, most women wear very little bling on their hands -- practical settings or not -- when their children are young. And luxury watches -- true luxury watches, which means mechanical, with parts made in Switzerland, not Japan, and crafted in Switzerland, not Japan -- are increasing in value almost as rapidly as diamonds. But, be forewarned, 20 grand in the luxury watch market gets you a watch that is more "stealth wealth" (i.e., subtle) than blingy. However, that amount of money should buy you something that you'd be proud to hand down to your children. I don't have time right now to make some suggestions, but I expect DF will be around shortly...

I voted diamond upgrade - but Lula has some very good points here.

It's difficult to have a big bling on your finger with children - but it really depends on the lifestyle you live.

If you are planning on getting a watch around 20k in price, these watches hold good value in the future. Like Lula mentioned - sure DF can give more info on that. I doubt a Cartier Tank will though - it's more mainstream.

Aren't most of the Cartier Tanks under 5k? unless you add the diamonds etc. So you can get a watch and something diamond related. Like diamond earrings or even more blingy eternity band/5stone band.

Or how about a watch like this:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/michael-kors-runway-ceramic-watch/3101419?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=1200

Yes it's just a fashion house watch but I think it's good value for money especially on sale. I got it for my mom as a mothers day gift and she loves it. It's very blingy but pretty/classy at the same time.

I wear a cartier watch, but I would love a watch like the one above. Watches do get scratched - so they need to be looked after also.

ADDED ~
So...with 20K I would get all three of the following:

- the watch above or something similar in price and style
- blingy 5 stone band e.g. http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5394
- diamond studs

All things I know I will use everyday with or without baby.

 

[Imdanny]

Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!

A luxury watch needs EXPENSIVE and ROUTINE (every 4-5 years) servicing AND the brands are NOTORIOUS for damaging watches they service, dents (happened to me with a JLC warranty repair) on the face, missing original dials when it comes back from servicing, doesn't work right when it comes back from services... just endless.

Jewels need some maintenance but they're much easier to take care of then watches because watches have so many moving parts and the oil in them is always breaking down.

 

[Imdanny]

Diamond.


Your cellphone has the time.

Yep.

Your cellphone sets the time according to a signal, so it's always accurate.

In comparison, quartz watches would be next in accuracy.

Mechanical watches are dogs for accuracy. Even if you get a good one, and I had one, JLC's manual wind movement, 21,600 bph derived from their famous 18,000 bph (traditional speed) movement they made for 50 years, your watch's accuracy will be in a constant state of degrading as the oils break down.

Seriously, if you want to rely on a luxury watch for the knowing the time, you're barking up the wrong tree (ok, sorry for the two dog puns in a row, groan).

I don't know. I have a Rolex. I love it. It's about plus/ minus 20 MINUTES a day at present. I loved, loved, loved, my JLC MUT (Master Ultra Thin ORIGINAL size) and I regret selling it sometimes. The JLC was just very, very, very beautiful.

You have to do what makes you happy.

Like I said, I'd spend the money on diamonds. Luxury watches are really high maintenance.

 

[Dancing Fire]

|1309291929|2957251


Like I said, I'd spend the money on diamonds. Luxury watches are really high maintenance.

yup!,just like some of the PS ladies ..

 

[kenny]

$20K watch for ladies?? a no brainer..in YG or WG. i'll shoot you if you buy an expensive quartz watch..

http://www.timeimports.com/designer-watches/pc/Patek-Philippe-Ladies-Lady-s-Calatrava-with-Moon-Phase-and-Sub-Second-4958-J-918p2648.htm

DF, is that a good place to buy a new Swiss watch?
Are they an authorized by the makers to sell all those brands?
Do you get a factory warranty?

 

[monarch64]

Go for the upgraded diamond, period. You will be much happier in the long run spending 20K towards a diamond!

The watch...you already have a very nice Tag...functional, nice, longstanding, etc. Fugettabouttit.

I kind of love you Circe, but would never admit that to anyone.

 

[Phoenix]

An upgrade, DEF an upgrade.

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a watch girl, though I've gone back and forth over the years abt which decent watch to get and actually *whether* to get one at all. I know there are lots of beautiful watches around and I enjoy them on other people, but just not on myself. I just gave my 15-yr-old Rolex watch to my niece as a b'day present and am currently wearing a $1k Gucci watch. I've had this "acquaintance" (the one I mentioned from time to time, the one with 6ctw studs and an 8ct RB and another RB of 5ct, amongst many other pieces of diamonds, watches and jewellery - and yes, she has abt 15-20 luxury mostly diamond encrusted watches) mention to me that I should be careful that other people might think my diamonds are fake, since I don't wear a luxury watch to go with the ensemble. Like I care what she thinks or says!!

Anyway, a $20k spent on a diamond upgrade is a better use of the money, me thinks!

 

[Aerix]

Woah, so many good responses, so much food for thought! I will go through and answer individually more later ... but methinks y'all have swayed me towards the upgrade idea (although some of those watches are purty - I am going to be keeping those in mind for the future!).

The other thing that swayed me, is, er ... I was browsing the 'net, and ... I sort of stumbled across the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen.

Two problems: the stone's uncerted, and the seller doesn't do refunds.

But that SETTING! Okay, some deets: the center stone is a 4.20 OEC, P-Q, SI2, according to the seller. And the price? As far as I can tell from an evening's trolling, the 30K the seller is asking is fair ... if the specs are correct.

The seller's located in a nice part of the country - I'm actually tempted to fly down for the holiday weekend and assess it in person (and, you know, squeeze in some beach time). Am I being a nut-job? Or is it JUST THAT PRETTY?

P.S. - If you recognize the ring, do me a favor and don't link it or name the seller? I've seen one too many pieces snapped up by a cagey lurker to want to post any more in the way of identifying info than I already have ....

Ooh! I've seen the same ring before. It's gorgeous isn't it? One thing I will mention though is that the diamond looks a little shallow in this one photo.



When old cut diamonds are cut too shallow they can look a little dead and lifeless from a certain angle. I just learned about this recently and found out that the term is called a "fish eye." Here's a link to an earlier thread for an example:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/good-vs-bad-old-cut-diamonds.67016/

Another thing to keep in mind is that I've seen the same seller have up to 15-20% off sales occasionally. So you could probably haggle with them a bit if you decide to see the diamond in person and save a couple grand.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Regarding the ring, unless the stone has a GIA report, you can bet the clarity (and possibly color) is lower than it says. There is no way on earth that I'd buy a $30k ring without an independent appraisal. I've learned my lesson the hard way, but thankfully on diamond earrings under $3k. I wouldn't trust dealing with any vendor who wouldn't provide me the opportunity of an appraisal and return period.

 

[Dancing Fire]

$20K watch for ladies?? a no brainer..in YG or WG. i'll shoot you if you buy an expensive quartz watch..

http://www.timeimports.com/designer-watches/pc/Patek-Philippe-Ladies-Lady-s-Calatrava-with-Moon-Phase-and-Sub-Second-4958-J-918p2648.htm

DF, is that a good place to buy a new Swiss watch?
Are they an authorized by the makers to sell all those brands?
Do you get a factory warranty?

Kenny
i don't know i have never bought from them. i just use their link for pics.

ain't no way they are AD for all these high end watches. they are what watch collectors refer to as a "gray market" dealer.

you will get the factory warranty as long as the warranty card/paper are stamped by an AD.

 

[zoebartlett]

Well, my new watch fits your description, but it is in the luxury category (Ebel) rather than high-end luxury. I'll post a couple of pictures. These retail for something like $5600, I think. So my answer is the diamond ring. I couldn't imagine spending $20,000 on a watch, but it would be easy to do on a ring!

I love your new watch, DS!

 

[Dancing Fire]

An upgrade, DEF an upgrade.

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a watch girl, though I've gone back and forth over the years abt which decent watch to get and actually *whether* to get one at all. I know there are lots of beautiful watches around and I enjoy them on other people, but just not on myself. I just gave my 15-yr-old Rolex watch to my niece as a b'day present and am currently wearing a $1k Gucci watch. I've had this "acquaintance" (the one I mentioned from time to time, the one with 6ctw studs and an 8ct RB and another RB of 5ct, amongst many other pieces of diamonds, watches and jewellery - and yes, she has abt 15-20 luxury mostly diamond encrusted watches) mention to me that I should be careful that other people might think my diamonds are fake, since I don't wear a luxury watch to go with the ensemble. Like I care what she thinks or says!!

Anyway, a $20k spent on a diamond upgrade is a better use of the money, me thinks!

don't say that on a watch forum...

 

[kenny]

$20K watch for ladies?? a no brainer..in YG or WG. i'll shoot you if you buy an expensive quartz watch..

http://www.timeimports.com/designer-watches/pc/Patek-Philippe-Ladies-Lady-s-Calatrava-with-Moon-Phase-and-Sub-Second-4958-J-918p2648.htm

DF, is that a good place to buy a new Swiss watch?
Are they an authorized by the makers to sell all those brands?
Do you get a factory warranty?

Kenny
i don't know i have never bought from them. i just use their link for pics.

ain't no way they are AD for all these high end watches. they are what watch collectors refer to as a "gray market" dealer.

you will get the factory warranty as long as the warranty card/paper are stamped by an AD.

Thanks.
Do ADs sell at list price?

 

[TravelingGal]

Kenny
i don't know i have never bought from them. i just use their link for pics.

ain't no way they are AD for all these high end watches. they are what watch collectors refer to as a "gray market" dealer.

you will get the factory warranty as long as the warranty card/paper are stamped by an AD.

Thanks.
Do ADs sell at list price?[/quote]

Kenny, I think it depends on the watch. I did not pay list for my Zenith at an AD.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="kenny|1309374845|[/quote]

Thanks.
Do ADs sell at list price?[/quote]

on most brands i'd expect 20-30% off the retail price,except Rolex..on good days you might get 10% off.

you can expect more discount for a quartz watch than a mechanical watch. i once bought a Patek Philippe quartz watch at 45% off of list price from a grey market dealer.think i paid like $8K then sold it for $8,500 a week later.

 

[karpouzi]

I'd be curious to know, from those people that have both luxury watches and TDF diamonds, which gets more compliments. I had a beautiful but under-the-radar steel watch (subluxury I guess) for a while but I ended up selling it. In years of wearing it I never got a single comment on it. I voted upgrade.

 

[lyra]

I think if you've found something (like the ring you pictured) that really makes your heart sing, you owe it to yourself to go check it out. You might learn a lot of things about what you really want, and what direction is best. I would definitely travel to look at a $20K+ piece, no question!

 

[Lula]

I think if you've found something (like the ring you pictured) that really makes your heart sing, you owe it to yourself to go check it out. You might learn a lot of things about what you really want, and what direction is best. I would definitely travel to look at a $20K+ piece, no question!

+1

 

[Lula]

I'd be curious to know, from those people that have both luxury watches and TDF diamonds, which gets more compliments. I had a beautiful but under-the-radar steel watch (subluxury I guess) for a while but I ended up selling it. In years of wearing it I never got a single comment on it. I voted upgrade.

I have several rare-ish vintage watches, which no one ever notices in real life -- oh, I take that back, I changed my watchband on one watch to a bright purple and people noticed that, but not the watch LOL. I also wear a fancy colored stone halo ring, with purple sapphires and an unusual, neon green center stone, and people notice that a lot -- but they always think the halo is amethysts, not sapphires, and the center stone a peridot, not a chrysoberyl. In the "real world" outside of PS, most people don't know a whole lot about jewelry or watches. I also think that many people think well-cut, large diamonds are CZ's because CZ's tend to be better cut than most diamonds sold in the average jewelry store (and many jewelry stores have their display settings set with CZ's now).

 

[Circe]

In the cold light of day, rationality prevails - while I LOVE that setting, an uncerted SI2 from a dealer who has a rep for charging a little on the high side seems like too much of a gamble to me. (melsantiquestoo on eBay, is anybody is, a) curious, and, b) braver than I am!) That said, in her description she's very careful to say that it's antique-style ... which makes me think she must have a hell of a bench! I haven't seen anybody contemporary doing work like that, anywhere.

And additionally ... while I know this will sound crazy, the damn thing is too big! 4.20 plus a halo measures 11/16ths of an inch, according to the listing - that's 100% finger coverage for me! Between that and the probable fragility of that gorgeous mosaic halo ... it just wouldn't be an everyday ring.

This thread IS turning out to be incredibly helpful to me, though: I read through it last night, and thought about That Ring, and came to a couple of conclusions.

1) I think I want the ring. The watch was my practical side's attempt to rear its head, arguing, "Oh, you have a perfectly good ring," and "You'll wear a watch every day!" and, as almost always happens to my practical side, it has been thoroughly quashed. Poor practical side.

2) I definitely want a ring I can wear all the time - which means not TOO big, and built like a Sherman tank. Nothing that needs to be babied.

3) I am definitely leaning towards getting a marquise and a custom setting. Methinks I want something that will be like a more Deco-influenced version of MAChick's beautiful setting, crossed with that Mark Patterson-esque under-halo (like so: http://www.michaelcfina.com/engagement-wedding-rings/designers/mark-patterson.html) ... only with french cuts. Oh, it will be delicious.

4) I need to start keeping an eye out for good marquise, yo.

5) Y'all are awesome. In, you know, my measured opinion.

 

[iheartscience]

Circe-have you seen Jazmine's E/W marquise? It's crazy gorgeous. It sounds like you want something similar but minus the halo? https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-ring-will-soon-be-on-its-way.37170/

 

[Circe]

I luuuuuuuuuuuurve her center-stone. Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurve.

Stylistically, though, the clean lines of the Etienne Perret you posted on the first page is probably closer to what I want, only with open sides and v-tips ... and the "crescent" below acting as an understated halo, almost (no idea who to contact for this - my gut says either Greenlake for, a) the clean lines and, b) the amazing job they did for MAChick (https://www.pricescope.com/communit...greenlake-jewelry-works-custom-setting.45411/), or Victor Canera for the astonishingly beautiful work I've seen him do with french cuts). Plenty of time to work out the kinks - my anniversary isn't until Halloween! Now I just get to hunt and hunt and hunt for the perfect marquise ....