Biggest watchbuy letdowns
We've all been there.
You've been eyeing and researching a watch,and finally you've found a good deal.
You've saved enough money and decided to take the money from under the matress and decide to pull the trigger.
You wait for a few days and your new friend finally arrives.
Only to find out you've expected more.
Either the bling effect was greater on the pics on the Internet, or the watch is too big/small.
Or simply the watch starta to be '' meh'' after a few weeks (my Seiko turtle for exaple)
When I saw it in the store I tought it was stunning and just HAD to have it.
But after a few weeks, it just became boring. Sure it' s preety but it doesn't stur any feeling in me😅 if you know what I mean.
So your toughts?
What were your watch letdowns?
Just a watch lover from Croatia. Jack of all trades, master of none :D
Probably sacriledge to admit but mine was a 1861 Speedy Pro.
Probably sacriledge to admit but mine was a 1861 Speedy Pro.
... Did not expect that🙄😅
Happens every now and then.
I have a seiko cocktail time that I was fascinated with when I got it, then the honeymoon phase died out.
One day, I was wearing it and it just looked off on my wrist, too big at 40.5? too thick? I ended up putting it aside for a while.
Come last year, I needed a dress watch for an event, changed the strap on it and BOOM, the magic came back. Haven't put it on for a few months now, but it comes and goes.
I haven't had that experience yet with all the watches that I have bought over the years. Oh wait there was. It was a gshock. Got it and hated the negative display on it. Wish I didn't purchased it lol. Got off cheap I guess lol.
Cheers!
Boldr venture.... it was just so meh. My SPB143 looks awesome, but it has never run right. I bought it used so I dont think I can do anything warranty related. I am going to swap an 6r15 into it.
Happens every now and then.
I have a seiko cocktail time that I was fascinated with when I got it, then the honeymoon phase died out.
One day, I was wearing it and it just looked off on my wrist, too big at 40.5? too thick? I ended up putting it aside for a while.
Come last year, I needed a dress watch for an event, changed the strap on it and BOOM, the magic came back. Haven't put it on for a few months now, but it comes and goes.
I've had this exact problem with the seiko cocktail! Loved it at first, thought it provided such a unique look and feel that was hard to come by at its price range. After the honeymoon phase, I start to get the sense that it's quite large especially for appealing as a very DRESSY watch. The hardlex crystal also domed out too much which doesn't help with overall size. My conclusion on the cocktail lines are - is it unique and cool? Sure. But it sort of fails to do the only thing it's trying to do which is to be a dress watch. It really is a PURE PURE dress watch that should be worn in a formal attire but sort of looks cheap in the sense. Sorry for the hate 😬
Happens every now and then.
I have a seiko cocktail time that I was fascinated with when I got it, then the honeymoon phase died out.
One day, I was wearing it and it just looked off on my wrist, too big at 40.5? too thick? I ended up putting it aside for a while.
Come last year, I needed a dress watch for an event, changed the strap on it and BOOM, the magic came back. Haven't put it on for a few months now, but it comes and goes.
Yeah... That happened to me just once.
I have a Citizen Navihawk and I wore it over 10 Years.
Last i wore it was on a black leather strap 5 Years ago...even the battery died 2 Years ago and it just stayed like that.
I got a few new straps deliverd, and I was testing them out and BOOM.
In love all over again😍
I haven't had that experience yet with all the watches that I have bought over the years. Oh wait there was. It was a gshock. Got it and hated the negative display on it. Wish I didn't purchased it lol. Got off cheap I guess lol.
Cheers!
You're lucky 🙄🤣
You're lucky 🙄🤣
It has to meet a criteria min 40mm case and then all the usual specs. If it has a bracelet or strap option always a bracelet. Straps are easier to add. Always give it 2-3 weeks before buying it. Cool down period. Love all colors except pink.
Kinda works for me. Except that damn gshock. Learned from that one. Digital display, didn't think about negative display lol.
Funny, same situation for me & my SRPH57.
Loved this watch to pieces (at first) but something never felt right. Sold it shortly after.
2 toned Rolex DJ. Don't get me wrong, it was a watch I wanted and great watch to wear at work and to impress the friends especially back in the 90s but wearing it didn't get me excited. It was a prestige watch that showed I had made it to some extent but not a watch I enjoyed as a watch (different things).
I realized this after I had my kids and started wearing a beater Casio or Citizen Ani Digi anytime I wasn't at work that I really loved. When the plastic or resin strap broke on that watch, it sadly got tossed (I wasn't such a strap fiend then so I didn't know I probably could have replaced the strap). After that, I didn't wear any watch except for at work (more as part of my office attire). On the weekends, I just relied on my new Palm Pilot(s) and then Treo(s) and then iPhone(s) to tell the time.
The 1861 Speedy got me falling in love with watches and started me down the collecting path. It got me so into watches that I love my old DJ now too (as a watch and not as a Yuppie status symbol).
Seiko Spirit SBTR013 - it's this cool-looking, Daytona-esque, meca-quartz, JDM watch. Multiple sites said it was 42.2mm. Perfect for me - my cut off is generally 41mm, or 40mm at a pinch. I even bought a leather strap for it while it was still travelling to me from Japan, because this would be a keeper.
In hand, it was under 40mm; I'd say 40mm including the crown. And wore small, too.
I was gutted. Sold it.
Some might call me insane, but same thing happened to me with the Seiko Presage SARX055. I was obsessed with this watch, the textured dial, started watching reviews etc etc. When I arrived I loved it but it took all of about one month for me to kinda get tired of it. People kept saying that its an amazing everyday watch and super versatile but I found myself not being able to wear it so much with casual clothes. Now I just find its a bit big, or just appears that way. Lug-to-lug is compact but the case is 40.8mm and has A LOT of dial. I want to love it as much as everyone else does but I can't seem to do it. I might keep it and put it on a black leather strap and use it more as a dress watch but I've fallen out of love with it a little too quickly for my liking. Not to mention the typical Seiko QC issues of misaligned indices to chapter ring, you basically have to be using a magnifying glass to see but it's the type of thing that really bugs you just because you know it's there. Unacceptable for a watch at about $1000...I contacted Seiko but still no news 😕
Did that a couple of times. Once with a micro brand hated the dial color luckily I could swap it out. Other time a Kickstarter, real color was so different than online images, real was dull in comparison. Luckily that one I sold in a day for same price. Now I try and do more research in advance and verify return policy before I pull the trigger.
Reading this with a slight sense of horror: my grail is a 1861 Speedy Pro and my next watch is likely a Cocktail Time (but one of the newer 38mm styles).
My biggest letdown was the Swatch Moonswatch - I really disliked it for the first few months (hesalite, readability) but I've since grown to love it (hesalite looks great and it's easy to buff scratches out) and now it's a firm favourite.
First - integrated bracelets in general and PRX in particular. I'm a huge sucker for everything old and warm and analog, but i have a 16.2cm wrist and due to watch construction, lugs are way 2 big for my wrist. And the whole oversized watches trend is pissing me off and i hope that it will fade away. I know there is a 35mil PRX, but it lacks the details of an automatic version, like a steel frame of a date window. I really hope that Tissot would shrink the automatic PRX a bit, even tho it's most likely would never happen.
Second - an impulse bought watch. It could be any watch really, it just happened to be my MoonSwatch. I've bought it too fast and without any reasonable cause and i'm really not that way. For me a watch is something bigger than a plain fashion accessory or a straight up tool. It's more of a material companion, a storytelling device. I know it's silly, but it was this way since i was a kid, doing watch shopping with my father for our b-days. I need to bond with a previous watch before i can buy a new watch and i've bought a moonswatch too fast. I'm glad it was just a MoonSwatch, i didn't paid premium for it (a bit of import tax, but its not something you can avoid), got it on a retail and the price of a mistake wasn't significant. It was a first watch i've bought impulsively and it is probably gonna be the last watch i've bought impulsively.
After reading through these comments I’m happy to say that all my watches have been good to me with no regrets. I kind of knew watch my ideal watch collection looked like even though I didn’t have specific models in mind. Also I’m very patient so no online purchases or impulse buys which allows me time to make a sensible decision (as sensible as spending £thousands on watches is!)
First one for me was an IWC Portuguese Chronograph. I bought it at their boutique before catching a flight, back when you saved 20% on duty-free.
I'd literally just left the airport heading to my hotel and the crown and stem fell off! I'm sure it was due to being overly manhandled by would-be customers at the airport, and did ultimately get fixed, but it has made me wary of IWC. I know that's unfair as they're a decent brand.
After that, I never really bonded with the watch and sold it not long after.
my Tissot Le Locle Chrono. first 1000€+ purchase and got bored with it after a few days.
sold if after a few months.
Weird...Whole Le Locle line looks stunning.
Chronos especially
Agreed, but I can tell you without a doubt that I’d rather have the 3 watches instead of the memory of sound.
For me, it was the Bulova Lunar Pilot. Great specs, looks great, historical Moon connection, good size for my 7.5" wrist. I should have loved it, and I didn't. It felt awkward on my wrist because of the flat case and I could never get used to the way it fit my wrist, so I eventually sold it.
It's rare that someone is this honest about having a Rolex🤣
Thanks about that... Gave me a good laugh😅
I’m just not a guy who should have something that expensive on my wrist … didn’t realize it u til I owned it
My SKX mod. I thought that by adding all the upgrades it would transform the watch but I prefer the original. I underestimated how hard designing watches is!
Agreed. One of the insights of modding for me was how hard it is to come up with a design that comes together as a whole, and that the ability to build to spec is a definite advantage of established watch manufacturers.
3 for me:
Seiko Cocktail: Found it too large for a dress watch. Sold it.
Bambino: Same issue as the Seiko. Sold it and now have the 38mm version, which I love.
Dan Henry 1962: just feels a bit cheaper than I was expecting. They’re coming out with a bracelet option that I will most likely buy. I just find that I don’t wear the 1962 enough.
I think I'm about to do it with the Bulova devil diver.
I think I'm about to do it with the Bulova devil diver.
Whats wrong with it?
For me, it was the Bulova Lunar Pilot. Great specs, looks great, historical Moon connection, good size for my 7.5" wrist. I should have loved it, and I didn't. It felt awkward on my wrist because of the flat case and I could never get used to the way it fit my wrist, so I eventually sold it.
It's no surprise since a lot of folks in this thread seem to have lost interest in a Speedmaster, and the Lunar Pilot is very similar IMHO.
My biggest letdown, the explorer 1...looks so great on pictures and videos, and so loved by so many....but once on my wrist it was like...oh no, this is just so dull and boring, sold it within 2 weeks.....a few years later I bought it again but now in 39 mm, I thought that might be the one.......oh crap, same feeling, that one I only had for a week, luckely I immediately found someone who took it over from me
Whats wrong with it?
Nothing yet.
Mine was the Junghans Max Bill Chrono. I saw Teddy review it and fell in love. It was a lot for me to pay, but I just loved it and wanted a white dial chrono to go with my black dial B&M Capeland (the previous model). I was so excited when it came, couldn't wait to get it on my wrist. Opened the box, took it out and, "Ugh!" The textured dial didn't show well in the pics, though I could make it out after the fact, but it has a gravely texture that I found just plain ugly. I tried to tell myself I'd get to like it but after putting in on, it just looked worse. Boxed it back up and fired it back.