Considering selling my AW for a mechanical watch - update: decision made!

[Strangedream]

If I had unlimited cash this wouldn't even be an issue, but as a middle class working man in my early career I gotta make a decision.

It's odd for me to say this but as much as I like my SBSS S5, I don't love it. True the AW has amazing features and is a wonder of modern technologies condensed in a tiny package that can do 60 times more things than a classic watch. Yet, no matter how many times I customize my watch faces and bands I am still left unsatisfied by this wrist computer. Somehow, I feel more infatuated with the beauty of gears and clogs, the satisfying click of a mechanical chronograph, the look of a physical second hand sweeping through the dial ...

Now here's my dilemma, either I sell my AW and bands (I have a lot of them now) for ~$900 and get my dream watch at a bargain $2,000 and feel pride and joy wearing it. Or I just pass that bargain, keep my AW, and try to enjoy life with what I already have.

PS: The watch is a genuine Zenith Class El Primero 01.0501.400 if that matters. I've never really been a Rolex/Omega guy.

UPDATE:

Thank you all for dropping your vote and opinions! While this is a personal decision, I really appreciate you guys took the time to share your thoughts with me

I'll most likely keep my S5 for a few more years until it depreciates enough for me to consider upgrading. Meanwhile I shall enjoy my time with it. Hopefully by then my paygrade will also have improved to the extent I can afford both my dream mechanical watch and the S10 (or S9).

Logic won this round!

PPS: Poll's still open for late comers who still wanna be heard!

 

[jaytee86]

i think it will ultimately have to be your decision because people's opinions won't matter as much as your own. And it seems you have made up your mind from the way u describe the mechanical watch.

For me i find great utility in my AW functions, and i do love the white ceramic + band swapping. it's fun! And usually mechanical watches are huge (i have small wrists) and look bad on me, so the apple watch is actually the first watch i had which i feel fits well and looks nice. Hence my vote for AW.

you'll just have to take the step (whichever it is) and don't regret!

 

[Strangedream]

i think it will ultimately have to be your decision because people's opinions won't matter as much as your own. And it seems you have made up your mind from the way u describe the mechanical watch.

For me i find great utility in my AW functions, and i do love the white ceramic + band swapping. it's fun! And usually mechanical watches are huge (i have small wrists) and look bad on me, so the apple watch is actually the first watch i had which i feel fits well and looks nice. Hence my vote for AW.

you'll just have to take the step (whichever it is) and don't regret!

Thanks for the advice and casting your vote!

I can't agree more with you. It's a battle between logic and passion. My brain tells me the AW but my heart tells me the automatic watch.

My wrists are thin too (5.9"), but the watch I'm looking at is a 38mm chronograph and just sits nicely on my arm.

 

[Brien]

Well, FWIW mechanical watches will not depreciate like an AW. Not the worst idea to sell now, maybe by Series X you’ll reconsider.

 

[xraydoc]

I'd much prefer an Apple Watch.

Imagine how many biennial upgrades to an Apple watch you could get for that same $2000. The series 3 GPS 42 mm is only $229. Get the affordable model every two or three years and you'll be kept pretty well up to date.

Regardless of what I could afford, I don't think I'd feel comfortable strapping $2000 to my wrist.

 

[staggerlee41]

I've already made up my mind and have been wearing an Apple Watch since 2017. I was a traditional watch guy, though not one who chased the high end brands that you seem to enjoy. While I appreciate and do miss those characteristics you've described about mechanical automatic watches, it's the data the Apple Watch provides me that I don't want to miss out on. Specifically, the health data.

The thing with the AW is it's technology and year over year there will be improvements made--some years more so than others. That's why it's hard for me to justify spending the outlay for anything but an aluminum, though I truly covet a SS Apple Watch.

This isn't about what my choices are though. Go with your gut.

 

[Strangedream]

Well, FWIW mechanical watches will not depreciate like an AW. Not the worst idea to sell now, maybe by Series X you’ll reconsider.

The servicing fees of the mechanical watch will eventually catch up with the depreciation of the AW though.

 

[matrix07]

I’ll never go back to mechanical watch.

 

[Itinj24]

$900 for a used SBSS S5 with used bands? Would you even be able to fetch that price?

 

[QCassidy352]

Personally, I have no interest in or use for mechanical watches. They are just jewelry to me, and I don’t like or wear jewelry.

That said, OP: you should do what makes you happy, which is clearly to go for the mechanical watch.

(I suppose the even more enlightened answer might be to not worry so much about material possessions, since they won’t really make you happy anyway, but as someone who just bought a S5 when he had a perfectly good S3, I won’t go there.)

 

[Miat]

The servicing fees of the mechanical watch will eventually catch up with the depreciation of the AW though.

I am a fan of mechanical watches. But...

The service costs are often overlooked by inexperienced buyers. Just a basic service by a pro, of even a basic good condition mechanical watch, is at least 2-3 hundred $ every 3-6 years. And the more expensive and complicated the watch, the greater the service costs.

Doesn't get much cheaper by servicing it yourself. Quite apart from the skills and often highly specialised tools required, the specialised lubricants (which you really do have to use) only have shelf lives a bit longer than the service intervals, so chances are you would have to buy new ones every time, and watch lubricants are EXPENSIVE, and if using them only for one or two watches you will be wasting almost all of them.

 

[Plutonius]

If I had unlimited cash this wouldn't even be an issue, but as a middle class working man in my early career I gotta make a decision.

It's odd for me to say this but as much as I like my SBSS S5, I don't love it. True the AW has amazing features and is a wonder of modern technologies condensed in a tiny package that can do 60 times more things than a classic watch. Yet, no matter how many times I customize my watch faces and bands I am still left unsatisfied by this wrist computer. Somehow, I feel more infatuated with the beauty of gears and clogs, the satisfying click of a mechanical chronograph, the look of a physical second hand sweeping through the dial ...

Now here's my dilemma, either I sell my AW and bands (I have a lot of them now) for ~$900 and get my dream watch at a bargain $2,000 and feel pride and joy wearing it. Or I just pass that bargain, keep my AW, and try to enjoy life with what I already have.

PS: The watch is a genuine Zenith Class El Primero 01.0501.400 if that matters. I've never really been a Rolex/Omega guy.

I wouldn't consider spending much on a traditional watch.

That being said, the only reason I wear a watch is to tell time.

 

[Strangedream]

$900 for a used SBSS S5 with used bands? Would you even be able to fetch that price?

On top of 3 original sport bands I have an original SBSS link bracelet and a rare original black leather classic buckle with DLC connectors/buckle. All of which are nearly new.

 

[Strangedream]

I am a fan of mechanical watches. But...

The service costs are often overlooked by inexperienced buyers. Just a basic service by a pro, of even a basic good condition mechanical watch, is at least 2-3 hundred $ every 3-6 years. And the more expensive and complicated the watch, the greater the service costs.

Doesn't get much cheaper by servicing it yourself. Quite apart from the skills and often highly specialised tools required, the specialised lubricants (which you really do have to use) only have shelf lives a bit longer than the service intervals, so chances are you would have to buy new ones every time, and watch lubricants are EXPENSIVE, and if using them only for one or two watches you will be wasting almost all of them.

The model I have in mind is an integrated chronograph so it's easier to service. But because the El Primero has such a high vph it will need more regular check ups. According to various forums the service cost for this watch should be around $400.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

As someone who has collected mechanical watches for years I have to say definitely mechanical. I still wear mine and get far much more enjoyment from wearing them than I do the AW. In an era where the smart watch has reignited people’s interest in watches, the mechanical industry is experiencing a fresh wave of interest. Go for it!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I am a fan of mechanical watches. But...

The service costs are often overlooked by inexperienced buyers. Just a basic service by a pro, of even a basic good condition mechanical watch, is at least 2-3 hundred $ every 3-6 years. And the more expensive and complicated the watch, the greater the service costs.

Doesn't get much cheaper by servicing it yourself. Quite apart from the skills and often highly specialised tools required, the specialised lubricants (which you really do have to use) only have shelf lives a bit longer than the service intervals, so chances are you would have to buy new ones every time, and watch lubricants are EXPENSIVE, and if using them only for one or two watches you will be wasting almost all of them.

You’ll find most watch manufacturers will admit a service can be done every decade, not earlier unless you are deep sea diving etc.

 

[bobsamm]

I sold my AW4 few weeks before S5 was announced thinking i would get a new one, went back to my seiko divers and then didn't bother with getting a AW5. Had a AW2 before that too.
Not much you can do about a phone but it started annoying me seeing every second person wearing the same watch, bit of an exaggeration but it felt like it.

 

[Strangedream]

As someone who has collected mechanical watches for years I have to say definitely mechanical. I still wear mine and get far much more enjoyment from wearing them than I do the AW. In an era where the smart watch has reignited people’s interest in watches, the mechanical industry is experiencing a fresh wave of interest. Go for it!

Thanks mate! If I do get it I will share some pictures on this forum.

I wish I was at a point in life where I don't have to make such decisions and can just keep both. I'll eventually get there.
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I sold my AW4 few weeks before S5 was announced thinking i would get a new one, went back to my seiko divers and then didn't bother with getting a AW5. Had a AW2 before that too.
Not much you can do about a phone but it started annoying me seeing every second person wearing the same watch, bit of an exaggeration but it felt like it.

I don't mind what people wear but the AW looks very standard and doesn't ignite as much emotions in me as I hoped it would. Sadly for me it took me longer than my return window to realize that.

 

[Matteo[V]]

If I had unlimited cash this wouldn't even be an issue, but as a middle class working man in my early career I gotta make a decision.

It's odd for me to say this but as much as I like my SBSS S5, I don't love it. True the AW has amazing features and is a wonder of modern technologies condensed in a tiny package that can do 60 times more things than a classic watch. Yet, no matter how many times I customize my watch faces and bands I am still left unsatisfied by this wrist computer. Somehow, I feel more infatuated with the beauty of gears and clogs, the satisfying click of a mechanical chronograph, the look of a physical second hand sweeping through the dial ...

Now here's my dilemma, either I sell my AW and bands (I have a lot of them now) for ~$900 and get my dream watch at a bargain $2,000 and feel pride and joy wearing it. Or I just pass that bargain, keep my AW, and try to enjoy life with what I already have.

PS: The watch is a genuine Zenith Class El Primero 01.0501.400 if that matters. I've never really been a Rolex/Omega guy.

No doubt, Zenith.

You can buy an apple watch alu in the future...

Remember, apple watch will be obsolete, El primero will not do that

My dream watch is a Omega seamaster 600mt chrono... used obviously
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If I had unlimited cash this wouldn't even be an issue, but as a middle class working man in my early career I gotta make a decision.

It's odd for me to say this but as much as I like my SBSS S5, I don't love it. True the AW has amazing features and is a wonder of modern technologies condensed in a tiny package that can do 60 times more things than a classic watch. Yet, no matter how many times I customize my watch faces and bands I am still left unsatisfied by this wrist computer. Somehow, I feel more infatuated with the beauty of gears and clogs, the satisfying click of a mechanical chronograph, the look of a physical second hand sweeping through the dial ...

Now here's my dilemma, either I sell my AW and bands (I have a lot of them now) for ~$900 and get my dream watch at a bargain $2,000 and feel pride and joy wearing it. Or I just pass that bargain, keep my AW, and try to enjoy life with what I already have.

PS: The watch is a genuine Zenith Class El Primero 01.0501.400 if that matters. I've never really been a Rolex/Omega guy.

No doubt, Zenith.

You can buy an apple watch alu in the future...

Remember, apple watch will be obsolete, El primero will not do that

My dream watch is a Omega seamaster 600mt chrono... used obviously

 

[dsh3]

I wear my LTE Apple Watch daily, mostly for activity tracking, but also for being able to receive messages and calls without my phone nearby. The LTE is especially great as a long distance runner, so I'm always able to call someone when out on a long run, should something happen.

I also have a Tudor Black Bay GMT which I wear at nicer occasions, or on days where I really want to go off the grid with the Apple Watch put in the drawer.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the feeling of a nice mechanical watch for telling the time and date. When wearing my BB GMT, I often find myself just glancing at the watch and all its details for no apparent reason.

 

[BillGates1969]

I went for the mechanical.

I love my AW. It has stopped me wearing my Rolex - I only wear that when I am charging my AW.

However, if I could only have one, I would go for the mechanical. The feeling of looking at the time on a nice mechanical is a lot more rewarding than the AW.

If you are worried about fitness, get a cheap Fitbit for your other wrist

 

[Strangedream]

My dream watch is a Omega seamaster 600mt chrono... used obviously

The seamaster is a sexy watch no doubt and Omega has a prestigious history too, but it's still a bit too flashy/sporty for my taste. Personally if I had to go Omega I would opt for a speedy pro because it's more versatile. I'm a sucker for chronographs even tho I'd seldom use them. But eh 99% of folks who buy subs don't dive either.

 

[Donnation]

I personally don't think I could go back to a mechanical watch. The Apple Watch is really the only watch that I've religiously worn. I use it for so many things and going to a mechanical watch just wouldn't be the same for me.

On the other hand, the mechanical watch you are looking at will probably last you the rest of your life. Its also very beautiful. Good luck on your decision, definitely not an easy one.

 

[bigjnyc]

I own a Breitling, a Rolex and a Tag.... I can count on one hand the times I've worn them in the past year to be honest... Ever since getting the Apple watch that's all I wear.... I have the stainless steel with a metal band so it looks like a nice dressy high end watch.... I think I wore the mechanical watches to a few events, like a couple of weddings and this fund raiser gala where I wore a tux.

 

[ipponrg]

The seamaster is a sexy watch no doubt and Omega has a prestigious history too, but it's still a bit too flashy/sporty for my taste. Personally if I had to go Omega I would opt for a speedy pro because it's more versatile. I'm a sucker for chronographs even tho I'd seldom use them. But eh 99% of folks who buy subs don't dive either.

I look at it this way. The Speedmaster is timeless, and the Seamasters are more modern. Many years ago I was cross shopping the two. On my wrist, the Speedmaster is more dressy and more old fashioned. I went with the Seamaster PO instead, but I still love the Speedmaster

Both are versatile in their own ways.

The servicing fees of the mechanical watch will eventually catch up with the depreciation of the AW though.

I’ve had my PO since 2010. Haven’t serviced it. It cost me $3300 from an AD.

I think the whole “should I sell my aw for a mechanical watch” is an engaging convo topic, but it’s clear you are not really interested in selling. I would say just keep your AW.