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."
this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Beautiful. I have a calculator like that.
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.
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
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.
$15USD
I own a few watches but I only think my Breitling navitimer b01 and Rolex Wimbledon are heirloom pieces.
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.
Any watch can be passed down. Price is irrelevant.
Idk I have a 1961 omega sea master auto tv dial that holds time better than any seiko I’ve ever worn. It literally will keep perfect time always. I only paid a couple hundred for it, going to give it to my kid someday. And this is coming from someone who’s owned Rolex’s, Hamiltons, nomos glashutte. I just love this watch
My grandfather was a big outdoorsman, and he specifically left me his rifle and his hunting knife when he died. I am not an outdoorsman, and have zero use for either of these items. I keep them (in a box, in my garage) because they were his, and because it is meaningful to me that he wanted me to have them. But I have no idea if they were expensive or not, if the rifle still works, etc. And I don’t really care.
I also have my grandpa’s old trucker jacket, which he used to wear all the time, and which he probably bought cheap at a Montgomery Ward or something. It’s held up remarkably well, it fits me perfectly, and it actually suits my style quite a bit. And more importantly, I associate this jacket with my grandpa way more than the knife and gun I never saw him use, and it has much more sentimental value to me. I wear it occasionally, and always think of him when I do. My grandpa did not intend to pass this down to me, and probably would be surprised to learn I’ve kept it. But it’s definitely one of those things I would try to save in a fire.
It’s a lovely idea to keep a watch you intend to pass down to your kids, but I don’t know how useful it is to worry about having a watch that’s “worthy” of being an heirloom, or to think about whether it will be affordable to service… It’s at best a coin flip whether it gets worn at all. And the item of yours that actually becomes a part of their life might be something you’d never suspect.
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.
Sentimental values are not tied with monetary value
Not really a price point but rather everything not quartz and rubber.