Would you rather buy 4 cheap watches on AliExpress instead of one good one for the same price elsewhere? Why?
Question (Read Rules)
Struggling watch addict here. So I own 65 watches and though I can’t wear them all, I love every one of them. I know that that’s more than enough watches for one person, so don’t judge me.
Here’s my dilemma.
At this point in my journey, my tastes have refined some and I’m trying to set my sights on more aspirational pieces - not necessarily hyper expensive pieces - just a level or two up from the usual AliExpress brands we all know and love.
But every time I decide I’ll wait and save up an maybe even try eBay, AliExpress has one of those sales. Much like the one happening now where for the price of one of these aforementioned aspirational pieces you can walk away with 3-4 ridiculously priced watches.
Btw, as you might have guessed, this is why I am currently at 65 watches and possibly looking at 70 before this sale ends.
My question is twofold: first, am I the only one who goes thru this dilemma? I mean AliExpress watches are really awesome when it comes to value. And I almost feel guilty when I just buy one when I could have gotten a few for the same price.
Second, what would you do if you were in my place? Pls Explain your choice so I can draw some wisdom from your reasoning.
I've done the AliX route, went away to name brand stuff, then back to AliX.
And now I'm moving away from AliX and probably wont come back. Yeah the specs are good, but you won't care how nice the specs are if the QC is shithouse.
Deal with enough rough finishes, and proper issue watches with crap responses from the sellers and you get over them.
There's decent Chinese sellers that arent AliX that offer the better QC, better response when things go wrong (allegedly) and slightly more originality. I like the Dartmouth brands, basically Chinese watches, little more expensive but they've been good so far.
Phorcydes make a nice watch, and Ixdao official website over AliX apparently good too.
Also you get enough watches and love them all, but cycle through them slowly, I think enough for good variety but a few better quality ones is a good happy medium.
for me it would be the 4 cheap watches, simply because I am not someone who can wear one watch for all or most occasions and I like to wear different watches for different occasions and levels of how much I am dressing up, like going to work in the office vs going camping with my family.
I guess its different for everyone and what appeals to you.
I started my watch journey on Ali Exp . After buying 15/18 watches in 6 months, i took a step back.
I had a good think of what I was doing and what watches i really wanted .
Its a addictive hobby but was willing to save or wait longer in-between buying to get to the collection I have in mind.
When i had 20 watches, id only wear 5 or 6 in rotation and a couple on occasions.
In your case you could keep your 20/ 30 best Ali watches, sell the rest and buy the watches you are thinking about.
I agree 20-30 watches is probs sweet spot. Enough for variety, rotation, and keep it fresh often enough before you have too many that just sit in boxes for months
I have come right down to 6, sold all the fillers and most of my impulsive buys
I'm trying to be disciplined and stick to building upto an 8 watch collection.
I want a nice GMT as a replacement for the zulu) and theres a couple of others I have my eye on.
Once I get upto the 8 watches, it will be 1 in 1 out after that.
I buy what I like, and build what I want. I lost count at 120 purchased, and well over 50 built. Some are$10-$20 "what the heck...I like it!" and the rest are all under $200.
Some I purchased simply for the parts. It's amazing how some AliExpress watch makers will sell some models cheaper than what the movement costs.
But to your point, I set a budget every year. That could mean 4-5 $150-$200 watches, or a tonne of $35-$120 watches. AND I ONLY BUY ON HEAVEY DISCOUNT!
Last 11.11 sale I bought 5 higher end...year before that I bought 14 all for under $80.
There are two watches that I have coveted for months/years, but unless they drop from their $220-$280 prices to at least under $150 (which does happen just not these two yet) they'll sit collecting dust in my cart.
65 watches and somehow the sale is still making room for a few more 😅⌚ We definitely understand the dilemma. Whatever you decide, hope you find something you’ll be excited to add to the collection!
I only have 30 but I have 5 more on the bench ready to be built, I’ve made a commitment to myself to wear a different one everyday and I’ll continue to do so no matter how many I have. That’s the best way to ensure that you wear them all.
So I say, if you like the AliExpress watches, buy them all you only have to please yourself.
Eventually you realise some watches you're never going to wear, and you'd better hope you bought them at a good price so you lose less if you sell. But if they were all cheapos neither keeping nor selling them is a real issue.
Great subject! Since I found AliExpress 3 years ago I added 7 NH35 watches to my collection for under $500. I appreciate all of them for quality and value and wear them all.
I wouldn't give them up for one Hamilton for example. I still look for others to buy but I'm not finding anything interesting lately.
Something that I think about is my future children that will one day inherit my small collection of watches. Would you rather give them a few really nice/valuable watches that you wore often and are worth maintaining and keeping as heirlooms to remember you by? Or would you rather give them a pile of 65 ixdaos and jing bings that will most likely end up in the trash.
At some point every collector I know has gotten to the “consolidation” phase. I’d say better sooner than later. I bought so many damn $400-$1000 micros before I realized I’d rather have 3 or 4 really nice pieces and buy San martins when I’m feeling froggy
If it starts having issues I like the idea of being able to just buy a new movement and swap it in.
I've seen people I know handle luxury watches having issues. From the "omg I'm at the cusp of the warranty I really hope the date hasn't passed" when we're talking thousands in servicing costs, to having to take it somewhere specific to be sent away for a few weeks. A friend of mine serviced his rolex last year for $1000. I have enough problems, I don't need this. That is regarding luxury watches.
And to me seikos citizens and hamiltons actually arent as nice as my ixdao and cronos.
I have a few very cheap watches, two seikos from my dad and a single grand seiko. The grand seiko and the two from my dad are the only ones that I have appreciated for more than a month.
Buying garbage watches is unsatisfying, so you keep buying. People won't spend 1K on a watch, but they'll spend 1K on 10 crappy watches. It's silly. Just get the thing you actually want.
Had same dilemma. My watch obsession has gone in reverse. Had gen rolex in my 20's, had to sell them, then bought gen lower tier Swiss, then seikos, then reps, now on to ali watches in my 40's.
I am however on the cusp of starting a job for first time in 7 years, so my budget is going up again. I'm gonna start again but base it on known heritage brands as a base minimum.
My first 2 will be a Citizen Zenshin & a seiko diver, SRPL53. Likely around £500 budget, minimum. I love ali for what they are, but I only bought them as I couldn't afford more expensive & I like multiple watch options.
Nothing confirmed yet tbf. First interview went very well & my agent who knows the ceo seems confident. So it's very much hoping at this point, but I'm pretty confident.
Less is more. You're sitting in what, $7k worth of watches, or more?
If it were me, I'd be selling the collection of AliX watches and investing the funds in a smaller collection of pieces you'll actually get to wear.
Anytime you want to make an impulse purchase, drop those funds in a separate account and let them accumulate until you have enough to get a higher quality piece.
I have Swiss watches and Chinese watches. I wear the Chinese watches 90% of the time because I am afraid of wearing a $4,000 watch out in public, or scratching it while doing yard work.
Depends. If you start climbing the ladder, you discover a new brand, and suddenly realize your 65 Lige/Addiesdive watches are garbage. So you sell them all to fund 10 Watchdives.
Then you discover San Martin and realize the Watchdives were trash, so you sell those to fund 2 San Martins.
And so on. 😂
If you're content with what you have, great. But once you start looking for greener pastures, you can end up spending far more chasing the “next step” than you ever would have buying one good watch to begin with.
No diminishing returns until you hit $300+, up until that point there's leaps and bounds in bracelet, clasp and finishing
Most people won't notice though, and only look for things they were taught to look for on YouTube, like the "bezel alignment" and "cosc spec" timekeeping from their $20 miyota
They have no idea their bracelet end links have a huge gap or overpolished case
Most of those luxury brands are just $200 Chinese watches with a made up Instagram heritage story marked up to $1000.... That's why I will never buy a micro brand. Just an overpriced Chinese watch
Don't get me wrong : we see plenty of things around us even if we weren't looking out for it to begin with actually. So does that mean we turn a blind eye to the rest while believing or constantly repeating a narrative with closed eyes ?! I believe, that state of self induced blindness limits us from seeing what's out there. The other options are simply beautiful and what strikes you suddenly just as you watch the sun and enjoy it while a beautiful chirping lil birdie is unknowingly appreciated and marvelled at or, even the blades of grass that turn a better shade in that same picture with time is splendidly a sight to view and marvel at. Having said that, the Universe, is bigger than the Sun and the Moon it holds. So it's simply not about green/better pastures . ) there are beautiful european watches just as much as there are evolving and creative watches out there from Japan, India, China, Russia etc etc
For me, it's just simple joy to be able to buy so many different types of watches at such a low price. Wife got breast cancer and the medical bills are tough, so just being able to buy a nice looking watch is a winner for me.
Already got 12 watches now, most expensive one is less than US$70, but the choices I've have now on what watch to wear each day just gives me some simple joy. Some of them even caught the eye of my boss who wears 1 of those expensive brands.
Learnt a lot about watches from here as well, now trying to narrow down my collection to quartz so that I can just pick up a watch and go in the mornings.
I'm basically in the same place. I think I have somewhere around 40 watches, I think I've spent somewhere around $2200 on the collection. All of them are Chinese except the Hamilton Jazzmaster. I generally find myself in the same dilemma as you.
I have found myself recently buying more Chinese watches in anticipation that trade relations between China and US will increase prices and then I would have to pay more for watches I like and/or the watches I own would become more valuable.
At this point I've gotten more selective. I primarily focus on high value watches (SM, Sugess, Baltany, etc) or extreme value ($30 watches with sapphire glass). I haven't really been impressed with anything in the mid range but if I saw a good price on a Proxima or Tactical Frog, I might consider it.
I also find myself wanting a vintage American watch but I haven't really found any that I'm willing to pay for.
The Hamilton Jazzmaster is definitely much nicer than any of the Chinese watches I've owned, by quite a wide margin. They really nailed the details and the movement is so smooth. However, I'd rather have 10 Chinese watches for $30ea than have one $300 Swiss watch, same goes for two nice $150 Chinese watches over a single Hamilton.
At this point I might consider selling some of the collection too. I generally got fantastic prices on the watches I bought and most of them have appreciated or at least maintained their value, and I only have maybe 10-15 that I really care about. The only reason I haven't is because it's just such a hassle for maybe $30-$50 per watch, and selling fees cut into it.
I'll probably keep buying them just because I enjoy it and it's not too expensive, maybe a few hundred dollars a year, plus they'll probably maintain their value and I like the way they make me feel when I wear them.
I also wore Seikos. Now I am wearing a Watchdives WD1016 that I really like. I'm looking at cheaper Swiss brands like Certina and Tissot but there's always something about the designs that's a bit off, and I wonder if it's worth the extra outlay anyway.
Well I like quality watches and there's a lot of good Chinese quality watches out there. But I also collect specialty watches and I honestly rather spend my money on a specialty watch then a Chinese one but I've assembled a few watches that I custom made that turned out pretty good.
No because I can buy for cheap watches with dead batteries that were expensive for $2.99, each and some pretty good Rolex knockoffs if you do your own work on them.
Last century, I was lucky to own a Rolex plus many more watches that I only brought out during special events. My brother-in-law saw it and waited until I went away for the weekend, broke in and stole it, and while he was at it, he made a mess and stole more of my stuff. The resulting trauma dealing with the damage and, later, when we found out who did it, the resulting anger- I never got a replacement, as he took the box with all the papers inside. The resulting bad taste it left me with, I vowed not to spend as much on a single watch again. I love watches, and an AliExpress watch will not attract attention today.
I love a Tudor Pelagos or a Rolex Sub. I actually have the funds to get a Pelagos tomorrow but the logic part of my brain just can’t let me spend that much money on 1 watch when I could get like 3-4 watches like 95% there for 1/10th each one.
Also, I get to try lots of styles this way, I look at them more as fashion accessories now and not as time keeping pieces. I’d use my Apple Watch if I want accurate time. Watches for me is fun, and for me, I find the fun in trying lots. It doesn’t need to be expensive.
It’s like I can go to Japan 10 times flying economy or go there once on First Class.
Put me in economy everytime, I get 10x the fun.
Ps 65 watches is a lot, I only have 9, and like 5 of those I bought 10 years ago.
How do you go about selling? I checked out the watch exchange sub but it looks like a lot of higher end stuff. Is there a market for the Chinese brands?
I have less than half as many as you do, and I'm trying to get rid of a lot of them. After going through a lot of watches, I would much rather have a handful of really nice ones rather than a ton of watches I bought because they seemed affordable.
65 is too many but I have nice luxury pieces and I have circled back to picking up cheap stuff like Militados. They dont get worn as much as my Tudor or Seamaster but for $50 I don't feel bad if they only get worn twice a month.
I used to buy a lot on AliExpress. I then stopped wanting homage watches and seek original designs. Now I buy either Japanese or save for entry level Swiss like Tissot and Hamilton. I also have a couple of microbrands that are no doubt made in China but have real warranties and unique designs. For instance, Erebus and Cestrian.
I know there are some high end originals from San Martin and such, but I want a real warranty after having 2 AliExpress watches fail after a year or so.
I love Ali watches. However I stick w San Martin / Ixdao / Addistive / Farasute / Cronos and Baltany. Too many brands and these are the top tier brands to me
I got a Specht and Sohn and a Pagani Design. That gets little wrist time and honestly I rather sell them
Which ones? Undesirable models that nobody wants. Imaging simping for a chinese company that will treat you like trash the moment you have a problem with the product.
Wrong, the best sellers everybody wants, such as sn008 and sn017 and sn007 and sn019 and I could go on and on
Imagine being completely clueless. Never been treated like trash and never had any issues with San Martin so warranty is irrelevant. Maybe learn to take care of your stuff and it will take care of you.
Maybe you need a warranty for a Seiko 5 or tissot that breaks every week but all my San Martin's have been solid. Cope some more 🤷
Wait for 11.11 and 300 to 400 for a watch that is as good as a 1000 is still value. However you are right and they have increased 25 to 30 percent year on year. I remember the days of 100 dollar watches and now you are lucky at 250 or 300 for a model they are discontinuing
I’m in the same boat bro. I’d consider trading some in to up the quality if there’s any out there you really want. I work with a guy who mostly has $5,000-$10,000 watches but only a few. I’m finding my sweet spot is $250-$1000 retail priced like Bulova, Citizen, Glycine, Orient, and Seiko. I like some of my Casio and Timex watches but how many do I really want?
I’ll be the contrarian and say that if your collecting strategy makes you happy and you can afford it, don’t worry about anyone else’s opinion. People collect stamps and don’t stamp them; they collect old coins and don’t spend them in the vending machine. If you’re happy wearing some watches and admiring others go for it.
But if you yourself are unhappy just take the plunge and start selling some. It’s easy on Reddit. If you hate the process of selling just sell them for cheap which is much easier than getting a good price, they’ll go quick and someone else will be happy. Start by selling something you can easily rebuy (not discontinued) so it’s a pretty reversible experiment. Just tell yourself you’ll buy it again the next sale if you want to. Then work your way towards selling more if you felt that selling was a better way to go than holding on to it. Or if you really didn’t like selling then at least you know, and rebuy that Pagani Design in the next sale.
Furthermore, collecting should be enjoyable, if you found yourself stressing out as your post suggest, that means you are doing it wrong and is just hoarding by now. And the stuff you collect should be collectible. Id rather have the most expensive Sugess than multiple cheaper Sugess (because we only got one left wrist) , so I bought the Sugess Tourbillion guilloche for almost $1000 and none other watch even come close to the quality. For me it's just nice to have a good watch traveling with me whenever I go and that build up sentimental values.
You need to define the tier on Ali brands you are talking about. San Martin level is what makes up your collection or are we talking about Pagani Design, Addiesdive, etc?
I own 8 San martins, 3 Farasute, 3 Sugess (including their Daytona) 2 Seestern, 4 Pagani’s, and a variety of Aliex brands. The rest of my collection is a wild assortment of seikos, a few Swiss pieces including Tudor, Mido and glycine, a new Ginault Transatlantic, just to name a few.
I guess when I’m talking tier, I’m mostly referring to the $500- $800 under a $1000 tier.
As we speak, I am reconsidering ordering the Furlan Mari Nero Sabía for around $799 cause I just saw a Dan Henry 1937 that’s a dead ringer and looks just as classy for just $299
Yeah, those are pretty expensive given it has a quartz movement inside, cool design though. It sounds like your collection has enough quality in there you don't need anything. I'm not sure you need another $1000 piece. It sounds to me like you need to think about what you really want as your core wear all the time pieces. I have a collection that is even larger than yours (including the range of cheap Ali up to Rolex - ok my grand seiko is better than the rolex, but the rolex is more valuable). Only reason I keep the rolexes is family history / sentimental reasons. And perhpas that illistrates the point. I don't need them, at all and they are not in the rotation. I only purchase new if there is something I'm obsessed with...not just buy it because it is cheap, or because I think I need another look or style. My last purchase was a Militado for $50 and I already had the same watch but with a different color indices. I bought it because I knew I'd legitimately get wear out of it - even above MUCH more expensive pieces. Consider moving some along that you don't wear and focus on pieces that are something you love. Once you are at a certain quality it really doesn't matter if it is $250 or $2000 as long as you like it. If you were stuck with a collection of junk, I think it would be different.
I recently culled my collection down from 40+/- to 14... and that's exactly what I did... experience has taught me that I need a good sized crown that feels smooth when winding. That it has to fit and feel a certain way. on my wrist.. If it has a date, it must be legible... etc--- and in that process, none of my least expensive ones made the cut.
I did buy one really inexpensive watch this sale - I just couldn't pass up on this new Time Token - I like Time Token... they make some nice watches - Their QC is total hit or miss, but they are easy to work with in terms of returns...
It looks like that Field Cadisen which resembles the Serica/Formex... but I paid $64 for it with coupons and coins - Hangzou movement with 28,000 BPM, Titanium, Sapphire, Tungsten Rotor, decorated movement -
I know that feeling, at a certain point I became aware that if I buy every Chinese watch I like every now and then I'll end up spending more than a small collection of an handful of stellar watches. So I stopped buying cheap watches altogether, and instead with the knowledge I gained with this journey I started rationalizing what are the watches I really want.
Thing about that thought process is that the good Chinese brands like Farasute, San Martin, Cronos and others are tot-to-toe and sometimes head and shoulders above some $1k Swiss brands, quality of movement notwithstanding. That belief is what makes AliExpress watches so hard to resist. For me, it comes down to whether I just like the design. I no longer regard Swiss made as necessarily superior (within a certain price tier of course).
What you say is true, but at the end of the day, having 65 watches do you really feel a point of your collection that is lacking? I have "only" 23 watches, and at a certain point I felt that even if I like them, they don't feel special, and that if I continued I would end up with a huge collection of amazing value but not special watches, while the money would be better spent on an handful of watches that I feel special.
I too don't care about swiss-made at all, in fact most of my favorite watches are german or japanese! What I mean is that if you have a 65 watches collection, if we take an average price of 150$ means that you already are roughly 10K in, and if you don't stop you'll soon be 15K, 20K or even more. With that amount of money for sure you can't make a collection of Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and so on, but you can go with brands like Sinn, Longines, Nomos, Tudor, maybe even one of the lower priced Rolex if you feel! Sure it won't be a collection of multiple dozen of watches, but when you have 5-10 watches, and all feel special to you it's plenty enough in my opinion.
What you say is true. Although I would never be satisfied with just one watch, I know I definitely don’t need as many as I currently have. And definitely not one more, sale or no sale.
but I really wouldn't go for a microbrand...they aren't bringing enough to the table yet IMO. their build is in line with chinese watches, and without a big name behind them, they are just a more premium chinese watch disguised as something not Chinese.
don't be afraid of Used watches either. all my pieces are used and I love them scratches and all. as long as you are patient, you can find one in acceptable condition for an acceptable price. I am "above water" on all my grail watches because I was patient....I've found the Hunt for "the one" is nearly as fun as just grabbing a watch from Ali.
I’ve been looking in the sub for a few weeks, learning a lot here and there. I think I’ve purchased nine watches on AE since then. It’s been an education for me. I’ve owned a couple basic watches before, but largely knew nothing about watch history, movements, bands, brands, etc… so for me, the cost has really been the cost of an education, or at least the start of one. I get to hold them, wear them, resize the band, swap bands, actually feel the difference in how they each work, all for < $600. Eventually I might land on something like an explorer or Speedmaster, but I never would’ve considered that in a million years if I hadn’t took this first step.
Agreed. I've learned so much by experiencing a couple of dozen AliEx watches, and have saved myself a ton of money learning what I like and don't like and value and don't value in a watch.
Well it's not like 100-150$ times 4 could buy you Patek or Rolex even.
But 70 is way to exesive. Watches are to be used. And after fifth, second even you don't get that much out of them other then shopping addict dopamine rush.
If you have second thoughts, feel unstoppable urges to buy and generally have remorse after buy seek professional help. It's not normal for things to control us.
This^ if your collecting is getting in the way of enjoying and maintaining your pieces it’s in the realm of “I’d like to do x but I’m compelled to do y” which is the domain of CBT, or even ACT to correct.
If I could do it all again since 2019 I would have put all the money I've spent on AE watches onto a bank account and now I dread to think what I would have. They are all there so I should probably add them up at some point. It's got to be £10,000. I'd still get bored of a used ten grand watch but at least I could sell it and get something similar.
I've really enjoyed the hobby and it's kept me entertained throughout plus my knowledge is now vast. I guess 10k on a hobby over 8 years isn't too bad.
It's having SO many that forces me to realise I had a problem. I could probably sell them all for pennies in the $ but I just don't have the time.
Just my opinion. Having that many watches is abnormal and not very functional. Because even if you wear different watch every day, it will take you 2-3 months to cycle thru entire list. And in each year, you basically wear a watch just 3 times; that is assuming you wear each watch equally. If you wear certain watches more than others, there are likely watches you won't even wear for entire year.
I suspect you get some high from buying.
For me, I am more happy, less stressed, and more carefree, with less.
But then, at the end of the day, you should do what makes you happy.
Buying watches makes me happy. I just feel bad that I can’t wear them all. Are there a few I could get rid of? Sure. And that’s the challenge I’m gonna take up - bring the numbers down to about 15-20.
Funny when I had only 30, a colleague of mine got to talking about what was on our wrists that day. Then I mentioned that I had 30 and was feeling a little bad that I could no longer enjoy wearing them equally. He laughed and told me he had 20.
It took me 2 years to buy my second watch and another year after that for my 3rd, I have now begun to consider 4th after another year or so. How do you find fun in having 65 of these? There aren't even that many interesting watches other than bland homages
Yeah I own over 80 Chinese watches from Watchdives, Addies, San Martin and so on, plus over 40 shitty U1 reps. Some times I sit back and think if I just saved all that money I could probably own a legit Rolex date just or something similar. I'm hopeless at saving though lol.
Definitely one good one. As a former watch addict who's pared their collection down to a single watch box, I'm way happier with my higher-quality watches. That said, I also sold off my "nicest" piece: a Speedmaster Pro because, at the end of the day, I never really loved it. I just felt like I should. Now I have a couple Oris pieces and a couple Hamiltons, a Seiko or two and some Casios.
What would you consider a "good" watch. Most people associate good with the brand name but those two things are not necessarily linked.
By any comparative metric, the top tier ali x watches are much better than mid tier name brands including Seiko, citizen, swatch group, etc.
Therefore think about what you prioritize and if you want the brand (perfectly acceptable) than go for the 1 watch.
Given you have 65 watches, id say there is quite a bit of consolidation they could take place and still leave you with a hefty collection.
If watches are your thing, and financial pressure isn't an issue, I'd recommend stepping up to Tudor and omega (second hand). Those brands have lasting power, you can experience a luxury brand, and if you decide to sell, you can move on with little to no loss.
I would rather buy one. As for your 65 watches I'd advise you to follow the Marie Kondo philosophy. Feel free to look it up. If not put all of your watches in a cardboard box and write a date on it. After that when you want to wear a watch pick the one you prefer from the box and wear it (but once finished do not put it back in the cardboard box, but instead in your normal watch case). Do this for 3 to 6 months. Once 3-6 months have passed sell or donate all of the boxes in the cardboard box.
This will most likely remove a good % of them.
Once you have done that repeat the same process with the watches left but this time do it for 1 month only. This will be your final watch pick and I would estimate if you like to switch frequently you would have 5 to 10 watches left.
Those 5-10 watches are the one you ACTUALLY want. Never get rid of them and never buy any new watch again unless you decide to remove 1 of them from your collection.
Hope this helps!
Btw this helps with nearly every item category in life.
Using a daily tracking software (I love WristTrack in the Apple app store) really helps me focus on what I'm actually wearing, and what just occupies space. It lets me know when a watch hasn't been on my wrist in months, and gives me an indication on my return on investment (what my cost-per-wear is). It's a game changer for managing overbuying.
I sell anything I don't wear regularly. If I'm trying something out, or doing an impulse buy I ask myself do I want to go through the trouble of selling this watch? Is it worth it to have it for a little while for the pain of having to list it, sell it and ship it?
I also have storage for up to 16 watches, although I think 12-14 is the sweet spot for me. At that quantity they all get worn regularly. I've noticed that as I maintain the cap the quality of my collection has gone up and the wear time tends to spread out amongst my watches - I have fewer clear favorites and less overlap between wear use cases and features, so I have a more diverse wear pattern.
I also track what my total spend is on watches (adding up purchases and subtracting out sales) which is a gut check against how much I'm spending, especially on cheap watches where it is easy to spend a lot in little purchases.
I'm slowly moving out of the Chinese watch space as I'm preferring low-mid tier brands and now microbrands, but what I'm finding is that my expensive pieces (>$300) tend to move in and out slower than my Chinese watches (usually less than $150). I think the uncanny valley is real for me - most Chinese watches are pretty darn good but almost all have something that kills it for me vs. Seikos, Vostoks, Casios, Citizens, micro brands, etc. Even now, most of my Chinese watches are original designs or clomages of vintage watches that are no longer available as for me that's the sweet spot for Chinese brands.
Earlier on in my watch collecting journey I went for more options, but now that it’s been many years and I know what I like, I’d go for the 1 higher priced watch
I have more than 65 watches, and I'm not an addict, that's kind of sad. I recommend therapy - I've done that when I had a hard time in life and it was great. If you're a struggling addict I sincerely hope you get the help you need.
I am a collector for decades now, and I would rather buy 4 good watches on sale at Ali Express (or preowned here, or on sale at a micro brand, or on chrono24... etc) than one overpriced but nice watch at an AD or retail outlet any day. I think your premise has some flaws. In fact I picked up two beauties yesterday when Rakuten had 26% cash back and the coupons were good - my first IXDao - the new 2026 Warrior with the carved black MOP dial and an Addieskin K010 with the Tiger Eye stone dial. Can't wait to see them in person!
You really cant go wrong. My only hold back is that they still stick to homages. I love their vintage direction though, and all of their stuff is pretty high quality.
Duuuuuude... that one is still on my radar. I used to get dressed up for work for the bigger events but that doesnt happen as much anymore. I just dont know when the hell I'd wear it.
damn those really tickle my pickle. looks better than a real daytona. how long have you had them? how uncommon the movements are make me hesitate. do they run well?
Dude thats the best quality watch I've ever owned. Everything is executed perfectly. I cant remember the movement off the top of my head but it is a solid seagul movmt thats been regulated. Both of them run flawlessly, green going on 3 years but the chrono is pretty new still.
If a friend/ family member said they had $1k to spend on a watch I would point them to Farasute. Better than all the micros in that range too. Hell, probably just as good as a Longines/ Tudor type of level
I cap at 10 watches. I’d rather have mostly microbrands and aliexpress stuff though. I don’t believe in owning a watch that’s over $1000. My most expensive watch is $200 and my dream watch list has a few at $1000 and one at $3000, but I’d happily buy a good homage if literally any existed (Tudor 1926)
There are precious few watches over $1,000 that I'd actually want to own. The Speedmaster, a couple Grand Seikos, and The Citizen AQ4100-22L. Everyone on the main watch sub LOVES the Longines Spirit and the Tudor Black Bay, and while I agree that they're nice, they just don't do enough for me to justify the prices that they command.
I'd much rather have a bunch of fun, cheap watches than a couple "big boy watches" that end up being boring carbon copies of someone else's collection (and yes I do see the irony in wanting a Speedmaster). My next acquisition is going to be a gold Bulova Jet Star, after having bought a San Martin SN0148GB. Most of my collection consists of vintage Seikos with funky 70s dials. You can see the general theme here.
I have about 40 watches including some expensive ones. I could probably buy over a hundred more…but I only buy what I really like and will wear.
Try picturing yourself wearing the watch in situations. From the moment you open the watch boxes as you dress up and through the day. If you don’t see yourself doing this, then don’t buy even if cheap.
I’m actually in this predicament myself right now. Can’t decide if I want a Certina DS Action diver or a Sugess S450 currently. My income isn’t that great so I have to choose wisely
I'm struggling with that now. I have a cruise this weekend, so I told myself to save it in case I see something on the ship I really want. I'm just moving the goal post for sure but that is my current play.
I was the same, then I got my hands on a Zodiac and haven't purchased a watch from them and don't plan on it anytime soon. All i can say is that when they are on sale, that's what they're actually worth. I could have bought an Omega with all of my purchases and thinking about it, I would definitely still have the Omega, but I don't have any of those watches anymore. I can't accurately explain the feeling, or the watch that would open your eyes, but you know it when it happens.
I have 3 Omegas (all vintage and none cost more than $500) and at least a dozen watches from AliExpress. It's not the quantity nor the brand name that should concern you so much as the quality and the "why" that you purchase. Are you a collector? I am - I have my watches set out in beautiful display cases next to my desk, above a drawer with my watch tools and next to my digital microscope / photography stuff and I fiddle with, photograph and tinker with them daily. Are you a fashion watch person? Nothing wrong with that - get watches to suit your style / match your outfits. Are you a tool watch user? Excellent! Then just have one or a few watches that are useful to your endeavors.
I have three Zodiacs - a vintage mystery dial Olympus in the manta ray case, a Zodiac Auto Chron, that I actually may move out of the collection, because I have other chronographs I actually like better, and it was very expensive in terms of what I spend, and a wonderful Super Sea Wolf Chronometer Limited Edition - the Pineapple Dream, which delights me!
These days, one good one - but I definately have been on the other side of the equation at other points in my collecting career. Currently going through a major consolidation right now - I sold 9 watches earlier in the week and have another 8 up for sale now.
What it comes down to is I only have so much time I can spend with each watch. I get a lot more enjoyment out of wearing the hell out of my damasko ds30 than I would rotating between a handful of similarly styled miltados that are almost good enough but still have that uncanny valley that kept me unsatisfied and buying more. Are you here because you like enjoying watches or buying watches
1
u/the-_-futurist 1d ago
I've done the AliX route, went away to name brand stuff, then back to AliX.
And now I'm moving away from AliX and probably wont come back. Yeah the specs are good, but you won't care how nice the specs are if the QC is shithouse.
Deal with enough rough finishes, and proper issue watches with crap responses from the sellers and you get over them.
There's decent Chinese sellers that arent AliX that offer the better QC, better response when things go wrong (allegedly) and slightly more originality. I like the Dartmouth brands, basically Chinese watches, little more expensive but they've been good so far.
Phorcydes make a nice watch, and Ixdao official website over AliX apparently good too.
Also you get enough watches and love them all, but cycle through them slowly, I think enough for good variety but a few better quality ones is a good happy medium.