Recommendations for good watch e-tailers

Folks, I've recently started looking for a new watch. I don't know what I want yet. I am under the suspicion that when I find something I like I'll be able to purchase it much more cheaply on line compared to walking into a jeweler at my local mall, although this thread may enlighten me in that regards as well.

I've searched the haberdashery for watch e-tailers and have a few good leads but was thinking it might be nice to have a nice consolidated list or thread dedicated to this.

I would love to hear your recommendations. If you nominate someone I would also be interested in why (i.e. best prices found for a particular brand, best service, best selection, etc.)

Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Dave, it depends on what type of watch, how much you want to spend and whether you're looking for an authorized dealer or grey market watch.

Ah, yes, I guess the world of watches is vast. I think I just asked the "I like jazz, can you recommend a good album to me?" question. I was sort of hoping to get recommendations for e-tailers selling a wide variety of manufacturers watches at that had good pricing then I would browse from there to see what I liked. The internet is clogged with people selling watches and I was getting a bit lost.

So some more info:

* I think I am OK with grey market. I'm not sure if it impacts my ability to get a watch serviced. I'll take my chance on a watch's quality based on the manufacturer's reputation of quality if I can have a fairly significant savings. I have never had a watch fail on me and to date I've only owned fairly entry level timepieces. I haven't thought much about the ethics of grey market however.

* The watch I lost that I wore almost all the time except when I wanted to be really dressy (and even then I usually wore this one) was a titanium citizen's eco drive diver's watch. It looked beefy but was fairly light. The titanium was very durable, the watch and band barely looked worn after ten years of near daily use including all kinds of home improvement projects, landscaping, etc. And I beat the hell out of watches. The crystal on the other hand - very scratched.

So I think I'm looking for titanium again but that is not a knockout. I love the look of leather straps but I wear them out so again, some kind of metal.

* I want a very high quality scratch resistant crystal so I'm thinking about saphire.

* I am not wedded to a particular brand. I have owned Citizen's, Seiko, Wenger Swiss Army and a big-ss Suunto with a barometer/altimeter I take with me when I'm in the woods or canoe camping.

* I really liked the maintenance free aspect of the eco drive so I am thinking self winding automatic or another solar based solution - no batteries.

My budget will likely be around $500. If I found something I really, really liked perhaps I could go higher but definitely not more than $1000. That would require spousal negotiations of the highest care and sensitivity.

* I loved the simplicity of my diver's watch but this time around I'm thinking about getting a chronograph. Now that I'm regularly wearing my spare watch with a chrono I find myself using it a lot to time things.

It sounds like you may want another citizens or a seiko. I like this site.

http://www.longislandwatch.com/Seiko/Seiko_Watches_1.htm

Also check out the Junkers Titanium Chrono in your price range.

http://www.longislandwatch.com/by_category/Titanium.htm

Dave,

I have had many different brands and types of watches. My past collection has included Swiss, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and German watches. My favorites are the Germans. In my opinion they are the best value, great quality at reasonable prices. I would strongly recommend Stowa, Sinn, Archimede, or Laco. All these companies have a long history, Stowa and Laco date back to the 1920's, and are within your budget. You can get Stowa or Archimede watches directly from the manufacturer and the service from either one has always been exceptional. Laco can be bought at several U.S. on line retailers (Timequestwatches or Watchmann). Sinn watches are the most expensive on this list and I would recommend a used one one Ebay or watch forums (watchuseek.com). If you want a new one Watchbuys is the only authorized dealer in the U.S. Good Luck.

I second the suggestion for German watches like Archimede or Sinn. Well crafted and great looking tool watches.

http://www.archimede-uhren.de/US/Collection.htm
http://www.watchbuys.com/store/pc/home.asp

I recently bought a Seiko from http://www.creationwatches.com/. Looks like they have a nice collection of Citizen watches. Good prices, great service, and free FedEx Int'l priority shipping.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I've been busy clicking away checking out your recommendations.

Check out the Graf Zeppelin line here:

http://watchmann.com/

check out these huge-mongus things.... reactor watches I have seen these in person, they can be massive, but dang new undestructible...

I recently shopped for a Titanium watch.

With what you want, I'd go with a Citizen Eco-Drive. They have really nice stuff. Swiss army Alliance models have sapphire glass, but are not auto.

If you want to try grey market, try jomashop or 4-watches.

I bought an Orient watch from Discountwatchstore.com and I have nothing but good things to say. They have a really good selection of brands, good prices, often have sales and deals on, fast shipping etc.

I'd definitely reccomend them to anybody.

Austin said:

Check out the Graf Zeppelin line here:

http://watchmann.com/

Click to expand...

Thanks Austin. I was checking out the Junkers models from one of the links you posted (probably these guys).

There is also a Traser that is meeting my specs (titanium, chrono, saphire) with a style I like from these folks.

Much of my watch talk may soon be moot as the Mrs and I are talking about dumping window A/C units and getting a central air $y$tem in$talled. That will put an immediate moratorium on non essential $pending. $igh.

Citizen Nighthawk...google those two beautiful and manly words

I would definitely recommend browsing http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/Watch%20Sales Table.htm .

It may seem a little clunky to navigate but there is some great stuff at great prices and integrity is top notch. That page shows newer items and at the bottom is a listing of all brands. They do a good job of explaining and showing each watch.

The store is connected to the Poor Man's Watch Forum--if you want help getting addicted to watches as much as shave stuff. The forum ( http://www.pmwf.com/Phorum/list.php?4 ) is great. Though the e-store is based out of the US, it's reputation is first class and it is not a rip off, nor have I heard of any import problems.

i just bought i invicta blue face sub mariner rolex looking watch i love it around $100.00 then 2 weeks later i read somewhere the 10 best watches under 100.00 and sure enough it was listed this is the second invicta ive owned and very pleased i do a lot of swimming boating jet skiing and there water tight also very pleased

I have 3 Russian watches in my collection. They are generally well made, as in tougn, and they vary from deadly accurate (Denissov) to fairly accurate (Vostok Europe). Try Craig at Russia2all.com. He is very knowledgable, and i have had nothing but positive dealings with him.

On a side note, I am interested in a Citizen Skyhawk. Any opinions on this watch, such as which model to choose, and a good place to get one?

You might check out Princeton Watches, excellent service and good prices. They have a divison for their discontinued watches, www.valuezone.com that has some really good prices on Victorinox Swiss Army, one of my favorite brands, plus they're an authorized dealer for the brands they sell. A watch I bought from them recently proved to be defective and they exchanged it without a problem.