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Sentimental values are not tied with monetary value
Problem is these things can be so expensive to maintain. If we’re talking $100-$200 a year average, what watch do I really want to be putting … $5k+ in to?
Someone said $1k might be controversial, so maybe I’m super snooty in I think $5k or more, I at least want it to be worth as much as it’ll cost to maintain
I also want to make sure the company will still be around next generation. Christopher Ward? Great watches, I like them better than say, Tissot. But if I had to pick a company to choose a generational piece from - I’d have to give the edge to Tissot’s longer heritage.If the standard service procedure (ie. every ~5 years) is to replace the whole movement, I’d say that’s not heirloom material. It’s all very arbitrary
I’ve got a timex from my grandfather. He wore it everyday I can remember. Couldn’t be worth more than $50 brand new, but it’s priceless to me.
Same. I got a mid-90s quartz Tag from my dad. It’s not going anywhere.
The story behind a watch means so much more than what the actual watch is, or how much it costs.
I will eventually be passing on several 4-6 figure watches to my children. What they do with it matters little to me. If they choose to sell it, and put the funds to something that means more to them, by all means. But the one watch I expect them to treat with the respect it deserves is my G-Shock DW5600 that was gifted to me by my parents for graduating law school.
My parents aren’t wealthy people. But they made every sacrifice, happily and willingly, to ensure that I had every advantage in life. When I graduated we were in no position to spend the $100 on something so frivolous like a watch, but my parents did it anyways, because they remembered that I had wanted one since I was little, but they could never find room in our budget to justify it. So the G-Shock is much less a watch, and much more a celebration of my parents, and their selflessness.
And that’s why it’s the one watch in my collection that will be passed down as an heirloom. That, and that it’ll likely outlive my bloodline.
Beautiful. I have a calculator like that.
My son was super excited for an 80s Swatch I gave him. I’d tried to get him to wear other watches, like the SKX007 and a couple Seiko 5s and an old Hamilton military issue but the Swatch stuck.
I have watches from $50 to $7000. Any of them could be passed down, and for a variety of reasons.
Sentimental value aside, my collection of Seiko Cocktail Times would be the low end of the cost spectrum. $250 to $550.
It’s not just the price point but also a watch that will still be significant in the next generation. Lowest price point would probably be for something like a Tudor or Omega, and something timeless there
Just got giggles I’ll go a different direction then the other comments do far–if it has a good enough story, price doesn’t matter at all. Imagine receiving your grandfather’s timex that he wore while summiting Everest without oxygen and paddling an outrigger from California to Hawaii. It would feel like the coolest watch on the planet, right?
More than 20k for it to start feeling like a considerable purchase that you want to keep forever not a novelty item you buy for your own enjoyment.
It doesn’t matter how much it costs. But it does make it even better that the watch is no longer made or the model is discontinued. It will be priceless to the holder, and even more highly sought after by watch enthusiasts.
Im still wearing a Swatch i received as a gift from my sister 12 years ago.
For me, the sentimental value outweighs the intrinsic value.
That said, as a resident of 3rd world country, any watch exceeding 1k USD (about 2 months wages in here after conversion) starts to feel like a forever piece. For me at least.
Anything from 20.00 on up.
The price point is actually less an issue than how well-maintained it is (to a certain extent this speaks to its quality more than its purchase price), I think. Therefore an heirloom watch can be one at any price point, because it would be a combination of both sentimental and monetary value/functionality that makes it a “forever piece.”
IMO as long as it’s serviceable then there is no price point. Mostly applicable to mechanical watches.
For example, if my grandpa had well worn SKX. I’d still consider that a pass down piece because the movement is serviceable and worned by grandpa.
Not really a price point but rather everything not quartz and rubber.