Watches You Must Have In Your Collection - Budget Edition

I sit down to write this article minutes from reading another article published by a renowned watch blog. The article on that blog gave a list of luxury pieces - which I agree with, however only appeals to the higher end watch snobs; a lot of us simply cannot afford it. Now, most of us has all been in that situation. Be it in highschool starting out your first collection or just having other bills to pay. Don't worry. I understand and I have you covered on a budget list of watches you must have in your collection.

1. Seiko SARB033

This is one handsome watch. Coming in just north of $300 Seiko has really hit a home run on this piece. Rocking a 38mm case it will fit on alot of people's wrists and can be worn as a dress watch or as an everyday watch. Not only that, it has a sapphire crystal and the automatic movement is can also be handwound and hacked. This watch will eventually make it's way into my collection and can make a great one watch collection under $500 for anyone.

2. Seiko SKX007

Another great watch out of the Seiko camp. The SKX007 which comes in a few different flavours - jubilee bracelet, rubber bracelet, pepsi bezel or the black bezel you see here. This watch is iconic and there is a cult following for it online with people modding them into completely different watches. This watch is 200m water resistance - you can take it scuba diving without worries and has a day and date function making it great for an everyday watch.

3. Seiko Monster

A budget watch list has to include the Seiko Monster. The monster has been around many years and has gained quite a cult following. There are many different variations, dial colours and even a few variants with the Tuna style shroud. The watch looks absolutely bad-ass with its brushed finish and boxed edges. This watch will make both an everyday watch or a watch you whip out just to go diving. 

You Can Afford a Rolex, But Can You Keep It?

Every beginning watch collector aspires to own a luxury piece. All the power to you. However, can you afford to own it? While you can find Submariners as cheap as $4500 on the pre-owned market, can you afford to keep it running and keep up with the maintenance schedules?

Sending your watch to an authorized dealer for maintenance might sound like the best option, but can you afford to pay for it? A Rolex Submariner full service at a dealer may cost upwards of $1500 and that is suggested to be done every 4-6 years. If you aren't willing to pay that just to keep your watch healthy, maybe you should consider a more budget piece without an in house movement.

My Breitling B-1 was quoted around $1000 for a full service along with a battery change. That is for a quartz watch with an ETA movement. While most people view quartz watches as being more budget friendly to maintain than their mechanical counter parts, this is not always the case. A Jaeger Le Coultre quartz may cost more than a Tudor running an ETA2824 movement to maintain!

The point of this article is to inform my readers of the costs of owning a luxury watch. Saving up to buy a luxury piece is just half the battle. There are expensive maintenance cycles and touch ups that have to be done every few years. And if (god forbid) something goes on your piece, you will be surprised to see how owning a luxury watch can actually be!

My suggestion would be to research the maintenance prices at the authorized dealer before going on to buy the watch. Or, if you are fortunate enough to know watchmakers skilled and experienced enough to work on these pieces, maintenance prices can be slashed significantly.

Invicta - Love/Hate Relationship

Many people hate on Invicta. A person wearing an Invicta piece is quickly registered as uneducated. Why all the hate for Invicta? For one, they make derivative designs of popular watch companies. These are also called Homages. Many people have different opinions on homages, however that is a debate for another post. Invictas also have ostentatious, over the top designs. Think crown chains and huge 50mm+ cases of rose gold. They also have a very high retail price which is often slashed by 80-90% when actually being sold. Any season watch collector will know that any Invicta watches are a big red flag. I however, disagree.

There are numerous reasons to hate on Invicta, however there are also numerous reasons as to why people shouldn't hate on them as much. One reason is buying an Invicta watch or being gifted one creates a watch collector. I was guilty of buying an Invicta early in my watch collecting career. My first serious watch was an AVI-8 flieger, my second was an Invicta JT Edition. It had a 50mm+ case, chronograph, Ronda Quartz movement and was rose gold with black accents. I thought it looked good, my girlfriend thought it looked good. What sold me was the price. On the website beneath the retail was $160 and a huge 90% OFF from the original price of $1600. That sold me. 90% discount for a $1600 watch WITH a swiss movement? Take my money! That was my first big regret in my watch collecting career. However, I don't regret it.

The experience of buying the watch pictured above made me interested in watch collecting. I dove deep into the forums, found out about iconic pieces such as the Omega Speedmaster and budget ones such as the Seiko Monster. I quickly realized that the Invicta I had purchased was out of bad taste and went on to buy from more respectable brands such as Seiko, Tag Heuer and Breitling. An Invicta brought me into watch collecting. It will bring many people into the hobby with their outrageous designs and marketing. I applaud them for this.