I've tried to research watches, but mostly what you find is reviews where someone is evaluating the watch for a number of days, and so on.
It's like AR's. No one buys an AR in any price range then comes here and says it sucks. Usually they take it to the range once or twice, then come here and do a "review".

I think I've read every thread here and have determined that there is a lot of knowledge, but also that many of you live in a different world than I.

I assumed that for $1K you should be able to buy a watch that would be practically indestructible, keep practically perfect time, and last for generations.
Then I find that what many here consider a good watch, is closer to $4K.

When I started this project, I was really wanting a Tag Heuer, but then there seems to be a lot of hate for them because of expensive to repair, issues.
Is that really the case, or is is something blown up by the internet? Like most things, the 99.999% that aren't having issues don't go to the web to talk about it.

I've seen the brand MTM showing up a lot lately, but not a mention of it here. Are they bad? Or is it they have just not established themselves?

Are there any brands in my price range that are well built, good CS, and a US based repair network?

Thoughts? Opinions? Warnings?

Keep looking for one of these

I love my Tag Aquaracer. Before this one I had an older one and I really liked that one too.

I've looked at Seamasters, but I like the Aquaracer better. I seem to be in the minority in that opinion. I also like the Carrera Chronograph and Speednaster Auto in the same price range.

I have a tag formula 1 and love it. Although it's only about a year old.
  I do wear it often including range trips and competitive shooting. The only time I take it off is when I know I'll be banging it around or cutting wood with chainsaw.  So far it's held up great the only thing I don't like is that my $200 citizen eco drive has way way better lume. To be honest the lume on my tag sucks.

Thanks for the feedback.

Did you guys purchase your Tag's online?
I've read that buying online is a gray market and there is no warranty, but then I see where the online guys offer lifetime warranty.
Is that a factory warranty that would be honored by any dealer? Or is it their warranty that is only valid if I sent it to them?

watchmann

Damsko watches are works of art as well as a solid tool watch

Big order which most watches cannot do.

Beyond those which we'll get to, nothing about a watch has been given us for a recommendation. It's not different than a gun or car - you don't go out with $50,000 and start shopping for anything. There are needs to meet and if they aren't met then the used car/gun/watch forum gets a workout. That isn't hard to avoid if some due diligence is exercised.

Obviously the watch needs to communicate what time it is - so, in what conditions? Underwater? In pitch dark areas? Full sunlight? Strangely enough all you need to do is see the hands (or digits) and you can orient them by looking to determine what time is indicated. If the markings have good lume it helps but is approaching decor when everything on the dial and bezel has neon intensity - such as with tritium capsules.

And they come in exciting different shades of colors too. Lume is its own decorative element. Dial color, too. White is classic, black adds good contrast, orange for that last iota of readability at an extreme depth of water. Then there are all the other shades of the rainbow, and looking around, they have all been used.

What shape those markers on the dial, and the hands, and any subdials starts getting involved too. At this point it behooves use to open up the discussion to what style watch is desired - just like cars and guns. A 1911 or Chevelle 396? S&W 4566 Tactical or 3/4 Diesel brodozer? There are some expensive G Shocks out there, I don't think that's what you're looking for. So what style watch - and does it actually do what you need? A Cocktail Time dress Seiko won't cut it late at night in the pouring rain when a Dive model with good lume could serve better.

AFAIK there are no search engines that select it for you, and yes, it's a bit confusing. Now add the complications, starting with date, then day, a GMT which indicates a different time zone (another hand, not digital readout,) compass (only with quartz,) moon phase, tides, altitude, barometric pressure, altimeter, tachymeter, ad infinitum. Which leads to -

Mechanical watches and digital watches have some complications that are mutually exclusive. Mechanical watches are often rated by the number of jewels used as axle pivots, and their speed - beats per hour, such as 18,000 or 26,000. The more beats - traditionally - the more precision. And that gets to the three things mentioned.

A $1,500 watch isn't often sold to be an indestructible beater. More often than not they are dressier, with the implied task of communicating social rank, not welded steel plate toughness scraping adobe walls in Afghanistan. They are good stainless cases - highly polished - and in an environment like a auto parts counter will pick up a worn patina in just a few weeks. I have that with a Seiko Orange Monster, barely three years old and it looks like it's been swimming with the sharks. Rough. Not to forget the higher end sapphire crystals are really good looking but are more prone to shattering than a treated mineral glass. Indestructible in a watch usually means a rubber G Shock or Dive model - at $250 - where nobody is worried about the finish. Its going to be treated like a shovel? Don't buy a presentation grade one scoop ceremony gold plated shovel for digging out sewer lines.

Perfect time? Then you would prefer a quartz watch with radio reception of the atomic timekeeping signal, or GPS signal, and then it's limited to battery life replacement. Casio makes those, marked down to $50 at my local Walmart. Other than that, quartz - regulated and certified as a chronometer - will keep better time than a mechanical, which has a lesser standard, even according to the Swiss. Last is an autowind mechanical and truth be known, most buy them because they DO have to finesse them once a month or so to true up being off a few seconds.

Is being off a few seconds a month an issue? That watch isn't going to fix being two minutes late leaving for work, bring back the plane from the loading gate, or get you to rescue a fair haired maiden from the tracks just in time. Almost any $40 commodity watch can do that. The rest is up to you.

And last for generations? Check the vintage watch sales forums. Unless they are regularly serviced - which costs as much as a decent watch these days - and are sheltered most of their lives, watches do not pass down from generation to generation. Despite the hype marketers pitch out of their work stables. A used watch is exactly that, and in a lot of cases they look and perform like one. It also goes to them being built to a price in those days - the expected life of a watch was certainly a lot less than now. No one can predict if any watch will survive being worn on the human wrist and still be handed down in the same impeccable shape as the Crown Jewels. Only those worn to coronations and like ceremonies seem to do that. Museum quality watches are rare - most of us beat them and will continue to do so.

Check the nicer watches on older mens wrists, you will see scratches on them just from desk wear or getting banged on the interior corners of their work building. And if they do hand them down, what JR gets is a two tone silver and gold coffin link bracelet holding a 36mm white dial day date with gold markers and hands, a discoloration on the dial from lack of a good seal, scratches on the buckle, and long long long out of fashion. Very few wear grandpa's watch, even few depend on them. Watches are for the most part jewelry which when damaged beyond economic repair are simply thrown in the trash. The better ones - Omega, Rolex? Disassembled for their parts, just like a wrecked Studebaker.

Some will say you can still find a grail watch that meets the criteria, but like going out to buy a car - what is it you really need beyond spending $1500? Define that with specific features and it will likely fit better and be less a disappointment after you own it. And don't park your new one behind the bleachers at a Little League game where a foul ball will smash the windshield. The horror threads of new owners dropping their Rolex crystal down on the tile floor in the bathroom make us all cringe.

Definitely valid points and things I should reflect on.

Style? Semi-sport. I'm an engineer by trade, but my hobbies are all outdoorsy type stuff (camping, hiking, dirt bikes, shooting,...). It does need to work well in the dark. It needs to fit with jeans or dress, but I'm not in sales, so don't need to impress anyone.

Indestructibility? I really meant not fragile. I will take care of it. I'm not going to wear it cutting fire wood or using a post hole digger. I used to dive, but haven't in years. If I ever get to take that hobby back up, it would be 50M max. The Tag F1 looks good to me, but when 15% of the amazon reviews are 1 star, it's a bit of a concern. If it can't survive a desk job without the stem popping off, it's too fragile. I suppose what I'm thinking is that for that kind of money, it should not break unless you do something stupid.

Perfect time? Well it's mechanical, but I would hope to not have to adjust it every week.

Money? Maybe I'm not enough of a watch guy to be in this forum. As in $1500+ seems like a lot to me for a watch, but not much for other toys. My 25th anniversary is coming up in 8 months, and my wife asked my what I wanted. Of course that was just so she could tell me what she wanted. I said "a Tag Heuer watch", and the research project began. I saw one in a store about 35+ years ago that I really liked, but $300 then would be like $10000 now, ha ha.

I think there is a good diversity of people here to collect real ideas and opinions from people that have other interests than just watches, to help keep things in prospective.

Tags are fine watches. They make nice cases and good dials.

The reason Tag gets the hate from watch gurus is because of the engine. They use shelf grade movements.

You can find the same movement in a $500 victorinox, or a $300 Hamilton. The service costs to retain the factory warranty is absurd since ANY watchmaker can work on the movements.

If you want a nice watch, save a few bucks and buy a Hamilton.

My advice:
Save a few bucks, get a very good watch from another manufacturer that uses the same elabore grade 2824 such as Hamilton, Chr. Ward (if you want something extremely under the radar), Alpina, Sinn, etc.

If you still want a very nice watch, add more to the pot and buy an Omega. Outstanding in-house movement, great warranty and service.

Here's my tag formula 1. I changed to a strap instead of the bracelet.
I like Quartz because I need to know the exact second my shift ends at work lol.
    I wear it a lot. Shooting snowmobiling atv work etc. take it off when cutting wood like I mentioned. Only thing I don't like is the lume isn't very good. I could have saved a little money buying off Amazon but wanted the factory warranty so I waited till on sale at Macy's website because they are a dealer.  I think I paid 900 ish?  Anyway I really like it so doesn't matter.
   If I had 2 k to spend I would have bought a sinn u1 or maybe a resco. Resco are made in the USA but use standard movements nothing fancy.
  Anyway here's a pic

^great looking watch.  The white face and black bezel is a great combo.  I love my old Aquaracer but I think I would like a simpler face. I've had it over 10 years now (incl a trip to AFG) and it's been as reliable as a pair of good work boots.

Hey, that's the same watch I have!  I got it as a gift in 2004 or so, and wear it almost every day for almost everything.  Never a single issue aside from batteries.  5 or 6 years ago, my company had a string of really good years, and on a lark I bought a Breitling Avenger while on a trip with my wife.  Really nice watch.  A couple of years later on another trip, I bought a Breitling Superocean Heritage.  Another really nice watch.  As it would turn out, both of these were too nice for a hillbilly like me, and I ended up breaking both of them by improper winding.  No fault of the watches, that was all on me.  A couple of down years at work prevented me from spending the $1k-ish each to get them repaired, and they just sat there in the case on my shelf, mocking me.  After 2 years of that, I finally got sick of looking at them, and packed them up and brought them to my local jeweler who I have done a lot of business with over the years.  I traded them in and got another Tag Aquaracer with a white face, and a little something for my wife that is sitting in the safe just waiting for our anniversary in July.  Being that they were both broken, I expected to pretty much lose my ass on them, which I did, but at least I got something I could use out of them.  I just look at it as a fairly expensive life-lesson.

The new Aquaracer is really a classy looking watch, and I've gotten more compliments on it in the 3 months I've had it than on all of the other "nice" watches I've had combined.  After having a couple of nice (by my standards, anyways) automatic watches, I've decided that quartz watches are for me.  They're are just easy, and in my limited experience, they seem to keep better time.  Plus, my jeweler does free battery replacements for life on anything bought at their store, so bringing them in every couple of years is no big deal.  I really appreciate nice watches, but for me, it's better to stick with "decent" watches.

Old Aquaracer:


New Aquaracer:

FPNI as usual, I've had mine for 12 years and wore it almost continually until I got a Hamilton last year, I love it