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Comment by NoSalt | Hacker News Reader

I have LOVED the beauty of mechanical watches my entire life. About 15 years ago, I started a little savings account to purchase an Omega Speedmaster. I have long since past the amount needed to purchase that beautiful timepiece, but I now have a wife, child, and house. The money is still there, but I cannot seem to pull the trigger. My wife says she is entirely Ok with me doing this as we are comfortable money-wise, but the "dad" in me keeps saying "You might need that money for a rainy day."

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It might be worth purchasing one second hand, then most of the depreciation is already gone. If you need the money, you're likely to recoup most of it by re-selling.

Or buy a nice Swiss automatic in the 1-2000 range.

Or a $300 Seagull 1963 (the Chinese bought the rights, the design, and the machines.)

Those look really nice (love the moon phase indicator that some of them have too!), but the "red star" motif on the watch face does put me off.

Do you have any good recommendations for me?

Good starting points for first Swiss mechanical are Tissot, Hamilton, Mido, or Certina. They all belong to the same conglomerate (the Swatch Group).

The "gateway drug" these days seems to be Tissot PRX. Their quartz models are about half the price of their mechanical ones.

I just grabbed a Tissot Gentleman 38mm as my first Swiss machine. Same movement but a little smaller, and in my opinion a more handsome case

The Gentleman is a great starter watch, enjoy!

Go for the second hand speedmaster from a reputable seller. This is the one you want and will eventually buy. If you really want to know more than you should about the watch, get the moonwatch only book. This is the bible that will help you to check everything from every version ever of the myth. Even if you don’t buy at the end, if you’re a geek I can assure you you’ll dig the content. The movements in those Tissot watches are crap, you’d be better get a serviced vintage in the 500-700 euros range than those glorified fashion watches in my opinion.

> The movements in those Tissot watches are crap

Interestingly, if you'd like to see a really cool site that showcases how these crap Tissot movements work, just click the link at the top of this page.

(The Powermatic 80 movement in the entry-level Tissot models is a modified version of ETA 2824 which Ciechanowski is showing on his site.)

Well, crap was maybe too strong of a word but they're nothing to write home about and not very precise (–4 to +10 seconds). OP seems attached to historical value, and if you ask me there's more interesting vintage watches to buy for that money, and some watches that will hold their value and aesthetics way more than PRX, which is all the rage now and will probably get old pretty fast.

> nothing to write home about and not very precise

A work-horse is neither a show-horse nor a race-horse.

Is it reliable enough to be a work-horse ? Not sure it's even serviceable.

Reliable pretty much yes; serviceable -- depends on your definition of that. For about USD 200, Tissot will take care of your watch and send it back to you in a working condition. Note that they will probably replace the whole movement. FWIW, Seiko will probably do the same "service" on their 4R/6R movements which are their "workhorses."

Rolex just launched a integrated bracelet model and Royal Oaks have been popular with celebrities for decades, that style is probably here to stay.

Huge fan of anything with the Powermatic 80. Mine gains about 3 seconds per day. I wear a Rado but I believe both Tissot and Hamilton also offer this movement.

I have thought of this, but I would forever live in fear that I had been ripped off by a fake.

I'm in a similar boat as you - from what I can tell, best bet is to buy from Chrono24, used, from a dealer with good reviews, and pay ~250 additional for chrono24's certification service in which they guarantee its authenticity.

I've been waiting for years to pull the trigger on the Speedmaster, and recently decided on the white dial one. I say decided, but mean that's the one I want but can't bring myself to click purchase :]

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