Tudor 79190 Full Set or Rolex 14060 Tritium naked for $7.9K

[tchristen]

Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie in this forum and this is my first post too.
I thought I reach out to you in order to get some advices and tips.

I am debating whether I should buy:

A) Tudor 79190 Full Set, 1995 B-series, nice slightly creamy patina, untouched dial and hands, unpolished case, Tudor bracelet 9315/380B, excellent condition with movement fully overhauled in March 2020 and 1 year warranty

B) Rolex 14060 Tritium dial, naked, 1997 T-series, excellent condition, original dial and hand with tritium lume, matching bracelet 93150/501B Z8 (1997) case slightly polished but lugs still thick. However, dial has not developed patina yet.

A reputable dealer is offering me the same price for both watches, US$ 7,900

What do you think? Is it the right time to buy a watch now considering the ongoing worldwide pandemic and uncertain economy. Is US$ 7,900 is a fair price?
Which watch do you think will hold its value better in the long term?


Thanks in advance.

T. Christen

[dricig]

Very high prices.
I wouldn't.
It's always a good time to buy a watch, at the right price!

[3 Putt]

I agree...price is too high for either watch. Do a little more research on price to get a better understanding. I have a 14060 and 79090 Tudor . If forced to sell one or the other, it would be the Tudor.

Good luck with your decision and/or search.

[offrdmania]

They are both about $1500 too much

[tchristen]

Thank you for your quick response!
So you think price is too high even though it is from a reputable dealer?

Another watch dealer I used to buy watches from told me that it is a high but fair price considering that it is from a reputable dealer. So that is the price you pay for having peace of mind.
Market price from collector is probably $1-1.5K less, but more risky.

[Rags]

I have always loved the 79190 Submariner and looked for one for years but they come up so rarely. In a way I'm glad I didn't find one because at the time I didn't know much about watches & movements. The Tudor 79190 uses a ETA-2824 movement which can be found in many watches, Tudor does tweak them somewhat but to pay that much for a watch that doesn't have a in house movement is ridiculous. May I suggest you look at Squale 1545 series. They have the same ETA-2824-2 movement elaborated grade with a ceramic bezel at a fraction of the cost. I own 3 Squale watches and couldn't be happier with them. You can get them from Gnomon Watches. www.gnomonwatches.com

[tchristen]

Yes, the price seems steep to me too. But if I recall, a couple of years ago when 79090/79190 were around $4Kish, everyone said that price was too high. And now, we are in the $8-9Kish. Who has ever though Tudor Sub will reach that high.

I have never heard about Gnomon Watches. But look at them, they look like one of those Submariner Hommage watches.
I think for me it either is a Rolex or Tudor.

[shaunylw]

That’s a terrible price on a 14060


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VintageVagabound]

As others have said the prices are too high but let’s assume they’re both $6400..I’d take the full set Tudor over the Rolex in that scenario

[beachboy17]

Buy a watch that you will enjoy wearing, stop wearing about the value going up and how much.....buy a blackrock etf portfolio if you are looking for a good investment ;)

[swish77]

Need photos to give meaningful answers. Yes, on the surface the prices seem a little high, but condition/patina are big factors.

I might pay close to that for a tritium 14060 if it had fantastic patina.

And remember, what seems expensive today might seem like a good deal in a couple of years.

[tchristen]

I cannot post links to the website of the dealer so you can see the watches (I need 10 posts before I can do so).

Nevertheless, most of forum members seem to favour the 14060. Unfortunately this example does not have patina one would expect from tritium dial.

Maybe someone can elaborate on why some tritium examples of roughly the same period have nicer creamier patina than others. I assume it depends on where you live and how much the watch is exposed to sun and weather condition.

[AJMarcus]

We need pics to really give you honest answers.

The Tudor certainly seems inflated to me.

The 14060, frankly, is an ok price nowadays depending on condition, full set etc.

Everything Rolex in the secondary market is overpriced these days.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by tchristen

Maybe someone can elaborate on why some tritium examples of roughly the same period have nicer creamier patina than others. I assume it depends on where you live and how much the watch is exposed to sun and weather condition.

Correct. And the batches of tritium mixture from year to year were not always exactly the same.

[tekno]

Originally Posted by swish77

Correct. And the batches of tritium mixture from year to year were not always exactly the same.

I’m still wondering why I thought dials/hands age at different rates.

OP, the 76100 and the 79090 would be a better choice, unless you just have to own a sapphire crystal. I have been thinking of snagging a blue 76100 or 79090 and just stashing it. I think they are a good value.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[tchristen]

As I said before, I cannot post links yet and photos yet because I need 10 posts first.

But if you are keen, check out their website to go through their vintage collection: db1983 (dot) com

Concerning patina on tritium dial "Swiss T<25" of 90s Rolexes, it is quite odd. Some have more patina, some don't have patina at all. But due to the change to wg indexes, it will never be like 5513/16800.

Price of Subs, I think they have reached their peak and being stabilised.
Yesterday, a 16610 incl. Box went for CHF 6,800 (roughly US$ 7,200) at a Swiss online auction.
Last week a 16610 Full Set went for CHF 7,500 ($7,900), same online auction.

Putting the brand Rolex aside, I honestly like Tudor more because. But Tudor Subs prices are also too high now.

[Archer_Rolex]

I have a 14060m and a Tudor 79090. To be honest I like the Tudor better. It's almost the same case and I prefer the indices on the dial much more. Plus it's more unique than the Rolex. The ETA movement means most watchmakers can service it.

You should be able to find a full Tudor set for $6,500. You can also order a solid link Tudor bracelet from any AD and it gives the watch a much better feel over the folded link original bracelet. Of course keep the old bracelet as well!

[tekno]

Originally Posted by Archer_Rolex

I have a 14060m and a Tudor 79090. To be honest I like the Tudor better. It's almost the same case and I prefer the indices on the dial much more. Plus it's more unique than the Rolex. The ETA movement means most watchmakers can service it.

You should be able to find a full Tudor set for $6,500. You can also order a solid link Tudor bracelet from any AD and it gives the watch a much better feel over the folded link original bracelet. Of course keep the old bracelet as well!

I agree, the last two acrylic model Tudor subs have great aesthetics. I wonder if the last two acrylic Tudor subs will be coveted a bit more over the sapphire model in the future.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[harry in montreal]

I own a couple of 79090s, and I would trade one for a 14060 pretty quick.

[CPRWATCH]

The Rolex 14060 is a great watch without doubt , but if the Tudor 79190 is in great condition & has the full set I would be seriously tempted to buy it . But I am slightly biased towards the 79190 given that I have a 79090 .

[sillo]

If it's a blue 79190 i'd consider it. You rarely see full sets come up and they were a pretty low production watch compared to the 14060.

[Luxury Wrist]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

They are both about $1500 too much

I 2nd this comment! That’s exactly what I thought to myself when I read his post.

With a little bit more money you can own a new sub date from the AD. Brand new, stickers still on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nikrnic]

The Tudor sounds more interesting to me. I'd walk in with 7k cash and see if that would do it. The 14060 sounds like 6.5k to me.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by tchristen

Thank you for your quick response!
So you think price is too high even though it is from a reputable dealer?

Another watch dealer I used to buy watches from told me that it is a high but fair price considering that it is from a reputable dealer. So that is the price you pay for having peace of mind.
Market price from collector is probably $1-1.5K less, but more risky.

If you ask a dealer if it's ok to pay an inflated price from another dealer ... I think it's clear what he will say. You are essentially asking us to put a value on your personal perception of risk. Based on the responses, it seems that you may be more risk-averse than many of the forum members, who have purchased many watches from other collectors without incident.

Buying from a dealer doesn't necessary give me peace of mind ... unfortunately, I lost my innocence a long time ago with respect to dealers. And there are quite a few collectors whose opinion I value more than most dealers. Putting that aside, there are a few highly collectible references where I would pay a premium to buy from someone whose specialized expertise and reputation I greatly trust (dealer or collector), but not these pieces, which are common and relatively modern commodities.

Also, please put aside your questions about which reference will hold its value. Nobody knows, and you shouldn't be treating the purchase of a mass-produced watch as an investment. Buy the one that you prefer.

[tchristen]

Originally Posted by Luxury Wrist

I 2nd this comment! That’s exactly what I thought to myself when I read his post.

With a little bit more money you can own a new sub date from the AD. Brand new, stickers still on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I partly agree. This is true if AD have them in stock. Unfortunately, they don't - at least the couple ADs I have asked here in Switzerland.
This is why people pay premium prices for Subs on second hand market because they cannot buy them new from AD.
I wonder once they are back in stock if prices of second hand Subs will plump.

[tchristen]

Originally Posted by Dan S

If you ask a dealer if it's ok to pay an inflated price from another dealer ... I think it's clear what he will say. You are essentially asking us to put a value on your personal perception of risk. Based on the responses, it seems that you may be more risk-averse than many of the forum members, who have purchased many watches from other collectors without incident.

Buying from a dealer doesn't necessary give me peace of mind ... unfortunately, I lost my innocence a long time ago with respect to dealers. And there are quite a few collectors whose opinion I value more than most dealers. Putting that aside, there are a few highly collectible references where I would pay a premium to buy from someone whose specialized expertise and reputation I greatly trust (dealer or collector), but not these pieces, which are common and relatively modern commodities.

Also, please put aside your questions about which reference will hold its value. Nobody knows, and you shouldn't be treating the purchase of a mass-produced watch as an investment. Buy the one that you prefer.

I think the important thing is that you do your due diligence on the seller - no matter if it is a watch dealer or private collector - ask questions and demand high quality photos of everything, serial numbers, movement etc. There are so many scams out there that you can not be cautious enough. I have received many photos of watch dealers on Chrono24 with redone serial numbers where watch dealer consistently said the watch was 100% authentic. Even though I pointed to him how badly the engraving was redone.

Nevertheless, I bought several watches from my trusted watch maker in my city who also sells watches from his clients for a small commission. Even though prices are a little bit higher than online, most of his watches are serviced with a 2 year warranty. On a Omega Seamaster I had an incident and the crystal broke. I brought it to him and the replaced the crystal for free. Or sometimes, I popped by at his shop asking him if he could put one of my older watches on his timegrapher. This is neat.

About watch as investment, maybe investment is not the right word. I would rather say value retention is the better word.
I have some watches in my collection I bought 20 years ago. Omega tank form the 30s, 50s Certina, 50s Omegas, 70s Quartz IWC. At that time I didn't have much money and was just starting out with watch collection.
Today, time has changed and I want to move up the game into higher more collectable watches.
I asked several local watch dealers how much they would pay for these watches. They said they are not interested and wouldn't pay me more than $ 400-500.
I think I paid roughly $1000 for the Omega and IWC at that time.

If I had bought a Rolex or Omega Speedmaster Pro 20 years ago, we all know how much profit I would have made.

So yes, value retention is an important factor when you buy a luxury watch.

[kgglonghorn]

I know this is an older post, but interesting to see that the watch prices have come up to where these were not too bad a deal after all for a buyer that truly wanted the watch. I am sure this wont be a popular comment, but I am willing to overpay for a vintage piece if it is exactly what I am looking for. I trust the market will continue to trend up as the good quality pieces get rarer and rarer.