Buying watches at Amazon.com?

When you buy gray market watches you take your chances. I bought a Hamilton Khaki Automatic via Amazon and got a smoking deal that is until the watch stopped working. Hamilton would not honor the warranty and getting it fixed would cost more than I spent on the watch to begin with. At least it has the correct time twice a day.
 
Smith357 said:
When you buy gray market watches you take your chances. I bought a Hamilton Khaki Automatic via Amazon and got a smoking deal that is until the watch stopped working. Hamilton would not honor the warranty and getting it fixed would cost more than I spent on the watch to begin with. At least it has the correct time twice a day.
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I think L.L. Bean has had that Hamilton for pretty good prices, under a hundred? Been awhile since I saw it in their catalogs.

The Swiss Army Brand line has some good watches that seem a little more styish than similar Citizen and Seiko products. I don't know who actually makes them, but they are Swiss and use the standard good quartz (ETA?) movements. I'm almost certain that they aren't made by Victorinox, the knife maker. Swiss Army Brands is a US company which also imports the Victorinox knives, luggage, etc. The Swiss Army watches impress me a little more than those with the Wenger brand, which, again, I seriously doubt were made by the Wenger cutlery firm.
 
Texas Star said:
I think L.L. Bean has had that Hamilton for pretty good prices, under a hundred? Been awhile since I saw it in their catalogs.

The Swiss Army Brand line has some good watches that seem a little more styish than similar Citizen and Seiko products. I don't know who actually makes them, but they are Swiss and use the standard good quartz (ETA?) movements. I'm almost certain that they aren't made by Victorinox, the knife maker. Swiss Army Brands is a US company which also imports the Victorinox knives, luggage, etc. The Swiss Army watches impress me a little more than those with the Wenger brand, which, again, I seriously doubt were made by the Wenger cutlery firm.
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I really like my Victorinox Swiss Army Watches and have quite a few of them, I have always thought they were a pretty good bang for the buck in a Swiss watch.

VSA Ambassador w/ ETA 2836 Automatic movement
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VSA Solar Compass w/ ETA 2804 Mechanical
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VSA Ti Ground Force w/ ETA 2824-2 Automatic
vsagf4.jpg


VSA Maverick Diver ETA 255.141 Quartz
maverick5.jpg


VSA Ratchet Field on NATO Garrison with ETA 256 Quartz
vsa_2057.jpg




For the OP take a look at what World of Watches has to offer in the Tag line, they are a Tag authorized dealer and have pretty good prices with excellent service. I have bought from them and have always been satisfied.

http://www.worldofwatches.com/Tag-H...e_id=1&rid=XE02NsIDyE4-pHmn8CCHurw1w2_aVwlMDA
 
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A watch is for telling time , not impressing people obsessed with 'bling'! I wore a $200 Swiss-made Wenger darn near every day for almost 12 years. Working in a machine shop by day , and on motorcycles at night. Swan and showered with it often too. That watch took a beating and kept perfect time. Battery every 2 years or so. Finally shattered the crystal , and didn;t think twice before finding and ordering another (slightly nicer) Wenger I liked on Ebay.

And I'm sending my old one back for a new crystal!
 
Do NOT buy a Tag from ANYONE other than a Tag dealer (new). same as a Rolex or Omega. They will NOT honor warranty or service.
 
BuckeyeChuck is right, LOL. Dabbled in this world in better times(pardon the pun).

Because of how klutzy I am, I've knocked or jarred a couple of past automatics off-kilter. Couple hundred in repair or resetting is just NOT FUN, whether the piece was $500, or $2500. Thus, for daily wear, I settled on this 'boutique' piece:

Bathys Hawaii

The big date is easy on the over-40 eyes, and the luminosity is 2nd-to-none. LOL, only one 'watch geek' has ever recognized it.

That said, Tag and Omega both make some outstanding pieces with quartz movements. So, you can get the LOOK, w/o the heartache I went through.
 
o3rugby1 said:
Do NOT buy a Tag from ANYONE other than a Tag dealer (new). same as a Rolex or Omega. They will NOT honor warranty or service.
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+1...This is almost always true. The old saying, "if it looks to good to be true than it probably is." comes to mind here. Ever wonder why those name brand expensive watches could be sold so much cheaper??? It's not because they "sell a higher volume and get better prices." Many times the watch manufacturer removes "very neatly" the serial number just so they dont have to warranty the watch. Generally speaking, all high end watches have a serial number on both the outside and inside of the case. On Omegas it is very micro small but it's there on the back {or not if they removed it} Rolex has it between the lugs, so you have to remove the bracelet to see it. My wife has a Tag but I never bother to look, got it from the MIL not me. Now, all that said...if the serial number was removed by the factory to sell at a place like amazon it wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying it. It is still a Tag and still a very nice watch that is not very likely to need a warranty anyway.
 
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