Opinions on birth-year watches?

You know how a drunk will drink to anything? Some people with acquisition disorders will use any flimsy excuse to justify pointless purchases. The birth year excuse is so extraneous that it was only invented in early August, 2020. Carrying around a coin of one's birth year is an ancient and respected tradition in comparison. At least the coin has the year stamped on it.

The fact that people admit to doing so with no shame should tell one all they need to know.

I would approach buying any vintage watch with caution. Setting an arbitrary condition could lead to an unsound purchase just to fulfill the condition of a specific year. Dealing in the luxury market only increases the risk. I’d look for an old Seiko or Timex as a fun, inexpensive birth year novelty, and carefully consider luxury purchases unconditionally.

I've always fancied a 50s/60s Omega Seamaster dress watch. There's something understated and classy about it. The trouble is there are so many references, so I've decided I'll pick a birthyear just to narrow the field a bit. I'm still indecisive and which, so haven't bought one yet. But then I accidentally searched my year and missed out 'Omega' and found a really nice Seiko for a fraction of the price.

I'll probably end up buying both😐

I think @gbelleh and @OscarKlosoffWatch explained it well. There are many other brands from 2001 that are great and they don't necessarily have to be luxury brands. Personally, I would welcome a watch from my year of birth, but someone would have to give it to me in order for it to make sense, ideally for my birthday. The problem is that there are very few watches from my year (76) that I would like, and I highly doubt that the donor would be the right choice. Well, if I were to look for a sentimental reason to buy a luxury watch, as I know myself, I would rather focus on reasons other than sentimental. For example, what value do they offer or do they have a real story, apart from the fact that they traveled from Switzerland to AD, but also for the collector value itself.

Nothing wrong with celebrating a milestone in life ,I bought my first luxury piece to celebrate my 40th now I have just bought another from the same year ,must be stuck in the past

No opinion on birth year watches, but nice to see another 00s baby on the crunch, bit of an old man's club otherwise 😂😉

In the words of Goldberger:

1. Buy what you like

2. Buy the best quality of pieces you like

3. Buy the seller

4. Take in as much information as you can

In relation to birth year watches, I've gone down this path and there was nothing from my year that was truly compelling to me, hence violation of the 1st guideline. In my opinion, manufacturing sentimental value to justify a purchase, seems a stretch and potentially leads to more hassle (eg listing a watch for sale, shipping the watch etc) than it's worth. A watch will acquire sentimental value over time, through the memories/moments you have with it. I think you'll have more regrets/remorse buying a 'so-so' piece attached to a flimsy backstory, versus something that you truly love.

I’m not sure if 1988 was a good year for luxury watches. Was that the end or beginning of an era for certain watchmakers? I know the Citizen “Fugu” was first offered in 1989, but that doesn’t fall in the same category nor is that the same year as 1988. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Comments like that will get you banned for sure over on SoupCrunch, whippersnapper.

I'll be brutally honest here: If you want to buy a watch then do it without looking for excuses or justifications.

Personally I don't give a flying duck about this stuff since I could just as well carry with me my birth certificate.

Sinn as a company was formed in 1961 my birth year, that played some influence when I first purchased my 104 ST . Not made in my birth year , but the very company itself!

I wouldn’t buy one from my year. Cos the years of stories behind the watch are not my stories. As a dad, I could be interested in buying a watch in the year of their birth. And then gift that watch to them when they are older.

I like the idea of birth year watches but it doesn’t work for me personally. It’s hard enough finding a watch that ticks all my boxes without adding my birth year to the list too. I once looked at Speedmaster Professionals from my birth year, more out of interest, but quickly moved to newer models.

If it works for you, great but for me there are more important aspects of a watch than the year it was built.

My favorite way to handle the birth year concept is when I am giving one of the watches from my collection to a colleague that is retiring.

It feels kinda cool to hand someone a watch from their birth year at the completion of their career.

I was just able to do that when I was recently in Geneva. I gave my colleague a Swiss made 1950s Orfina chronograph in gold from my collection. It was perfect for him as he has a smaller wrist (less than 7 inches) and the 37mm diameter looks perfect on his wrist. Very thin and elegant. Plus finishing his career in Geneva with a gold Swiss watch just seemed about perfect - that and a fabulous steak dinner together.

There is actually a company called birth year watches who specifically cater to people in your position, and I believe they have a variety of expensive and inexpensive options for each year.

My opinion is that I don't really see the point in it, like others have said, there should be more to a watch that makes you like it than just the birth year. An Explorer from 01 probably looks exactly the same or is barely indistinguishable from a 98 or a 05.

I'm 33 btw, so I resent this being called an old man's club! 😂

Born of Sinn , also of German Heritage into Australia around 1840 from Flensburg so some semblances of Loyalty to Sin errr I mean Sinn 😂

I would rather buy a new watch to celebrate a special day in my life. Your birth was not an achievement that you did (but your mom's). But when you graduate, get your first job that pays for expensive watches or your child is born - that is an occasion to buy a watch from this year exactly. It will make you much more happy later in life when you wear that watch.

Valid reasons for buying a watch, ranked:

1. Marriage

2. Birth of a child

3. Retirement

4. Promotion/new job

5. Extra money just sitting in a bank account

6. Received inheritance

7. Passed go, collected $200

8. Like the watch

9. Credit card still has enough room

10. Drunk scrolling through eBay at 2:00 in the morning

11. Hit the scratch off/third race

12. FOMO

13. Random year that you were born and had no control over and can't remember anyway because you were a baby.

I didn't read the other replies yet, but for what it's worth not all birth year watches need to be luxury watches. I bought a birth year Timex Marlin from 1964 and believe it or not it was serviced and runs great. I only wear it once a year, to remind myself I'm getting old and/or should be grateful to be alive.

Oh great, now I'm going to start collecting coins with 1964 on them. You have to be careful what you put in the heads of us obsessive collectors. lol

While I think the idea of a birth year watch is definitely a cool idea, I don’t think it’s an excuse exactly.

The thing is with watches in that category, if you like it and you intend to use it/keep it for a while, you will build sentimentality over time. The memories and scratches will mean more over the years than the fact that it was built in your birth year (at least to me). The fact it was built in 2000-2002 will be like a little Easter egg or cherry on top I feel like.

It’s an interesting question.

Personally I wouldn’t. It will be old, using out dated technology and more liable to giving headaches.

There is such a huge selection of amazing watches out there at every price range.

Take your time, enjoy exploring, and try not to be impulsive.

LOL! Especially number 10, I’m glad I’m not the only one doing shit like that!

I think the watch/reference should come first; if you really want a 114270 (and let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you?) and can find one in good condition in your price range AND is from your birth year, then I think it’s a great buy. But if you prefer the 14270 or 124270, then the fact that the 11 was produced in 2001 wouldn’t matter to me. Buy what you really love.

This is a great point. I really like Seiko for this reason, since you can pinpoint the month of production as well (if you really care about those details).

I like the idea of birth year watches. I’d love my first Rolex to be an Explorer from 2003. With that being said it’s also hard to justify the price increments for a 2003 explorer compared to a lot of times a newer one. Shopping birth year watches is also very tricky since these watching are going to be 20+ years old and servicing history could be unknown and it could be running super slow or fast. Getting it serviced would also cost a pretty penny. The idea is cool but it does come down to how much you want to spend considering if you need to service it or polish it.

Being born in the 70s and disliking 70s-era design is my natural defense against wanting a birth year watch.

You know, you can make up any excuse to get the watch you want. I do it all the time! I might use this “birth year watch” as an excuse in the future to get my Rolex Explorer 2 ref 16570. Just kidding 😂

In any case, buy what you like and don’t worry about explaining on why you bought it! 👍

If you‘re in the market for a Rolex at that age, you don’t want the watch to be from a specific year, you want it to be easily convertible into cash if you need it. So I‘d take a closer look at condition, service history and box/papers. (I‘m born In ‘99 so I‘m quite in the same situation)

The 114270 is a great watch and if you really want it, go for it. But first, do your due diligence on the reference. Become an expert and skip the lazy birthyear excuse, that‘s not intelligent 😉

I don't see a point unless it was an heirloom.