Help me decide my next watch purchase
So, I’ve got some money saved up for my long term goal, which is the Cartier Santos mix-size on a bracelet. That’s already set in stone in my mind. My mid-term goal is between two watches and they couldn’t be more different. I’m going between the Squale 1521 with the blue dial/bezel, or a Formex Essence 39 in either the green or white dial. Both are different, and I love them both for different reasons. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with either watches, good or bad! Thanks in advance.
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Matt
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
San Francisco, CA
Member since
Last active: 8 months ago
Formex Essence
Hmmm... if your long-term goal is the Cartier Santos, why don't you forgo the purchase and save the money toward that?
Or, has the watch bug really bitten you bad?
I have both a Santos medium and the beautiful red Formex and let me say it at the cost of upsetting my fellow Cartier fans...The Formex wears better. There I said it. Now, your mileage may vary based on your wrist. The Santos bracelet looks great and is super easy to adjust, but it is fairly sharp and if you like to wear your bracelet tight, you feel it at the end of the day. I love the Santos, but between the bracelet and scratch-friendly bezel, I find the Essence 39 that much easier to wear. No, it is not a Cartier, as the Santos is just class, but it is a very well-made watch in it's own right.
All that said, go try on some Cartier's. You may love them, you may feel underwhelmed, it is hard to know, but for the price, you should make sure it is the watch you want. I also agree with Brian, if you really want the Santos (and you have tried them on), save for that one.
Save for the watch you really want.
Save for the watch you really want.
I save $100 a week for my long term goal, and that’s non-negotiable. I will buy my long term goal at the end of the year like I always do. This mid-term goal is expendable money, and I don’t want to buy my long term goal early. I like saving up for the entire year, that way I know I’m going to love the watch. If I save for an entire year, and my long term goal doesn’t change, then I know it will be a purchase with no buyers remorse. I just got a huge raise, and I want a midterm goal watch to commemorate this step in my career. So the Cartier is not in question here. That’s happening in December regardless. My question is just between the Formex and the Squale.
Hmmm... if your long-term goal is the Cartier Santos, why don't you forgo the purchase and save the money toward that?
Or, has the watch bug really bitten you bad?
I could buy the Cartier if I wanted to right now. But that’s not what I want to do. I want to save $100/week like I always do, and go buy the Cartier in December. That plan is non-negotiable. This mid-term watch is to celebrate a decent raise I just got, so I’m just trying to decide between these two watches.
Formex Essence
The one thing keeping me from the Formex is that it feels like an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra replacement. I don’t even know why I relate the two watches but I do. I know I’ll get an Aqua Terra in the next few years, so my worry is that I but the Formex and love it for two years, and then I buy the Omega and never wear the Formex again. That Essence 39 is too nice of a watch to sit in my watch box year round.
That Squale 1521 on the other hand, I have no replacement for that watch. Super unique diver, and I don’t even know what I would want that would take its place.
All that said, my heart still likes the Formex a tad bit better. So I’m still stuck on which one to get.