After 30+ years of collecting watches and vintage fountain pens here are the 3 things I have learned:
1) buy what you like. I have $100 watches, and $10,000 watches. The ones I love most are those that make me smile. They may have been watches I waited until I found one at my price point, or those I have been fortunate enough to stumble upon and had the funds to purchase.
2) Never pay retail. Check out auction sites (
Heritage Auctions | World's Largest Collectibles Auctioneer), find the one or two antique shops in your area and get to know the owners, hit the flea markets and ask around. Never Pay Retail. Even wait a year or two for the latest watch to gather some age. Every high quality watch I own can be brought back to newer condition if it has not been gouged, or severely damaged.
3) saying you want a good quality watch is like saying you want a good pair of shoes. Read, educate yourself, and understand what separates good, from great, from superior watches. The price points are pretty clear, you want an automatic under $200 , don't expect Swiss quality or anything that will last more than a few years of rugged use. (Rubber quartz watches are another story). An automatic over $1,000 don't expect 14k and maybe non-swiss parts, but it will look nice and turn a few heads). Over $5,000 and you have a lot of options.
You get what you pay for, and there are plenty of scammers and fakes around. I have purchased Omegas, Tags, Rolexs, Breitlings, and many others from retail, dealers and auctions. I have bought fakes in the past, but learned very quickly the power of bargaining when I knew more than the sales person or antique store owner. In fact more often I get a better discount because I educated the owner on the finer points of what makes one Hamilton 3-times the price of another. Or what makes a one Bulova Astronaut worth $1,200 and another $300.
Learn all you can...with the internet this should be easy peezy.
Good luck,
Jim