ubiquitous Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Lani hit the nail right on the head; it's all a labor of love. The enjoyment factor and fun comes first and foremost for me in this hobby, and the cost factor comes in second. It's great fun chasing down parts and putting them together to see a finished project come to life. The process of building a creation is also a little therapeutic for me as I find that it's a great stress reliever to sit at the 'bench' late at night, when all is quiet and I can get lost in my own little world working on my watch. Personally, I would have a difficult time buying an already completed franken project mostly because all the fun stuff has already been done. However, I don't have any issues with justifying the cost of buying the parts to build my own. Can it get pricey? You bet. However, it's also very rewarding to look down at my wrist to see a watch that I had a hand in putting together. For fun, here's a small breakdown on a few of my projects currently in the watch box: 16520 Daytona- Case $1,200 Dial $800 El Primero 400 $850 Hands $200 Crown/tube $60 Bezel $500 Bracelet $750 9411 Tudor Sub- Case $250 ETA 2783 $75 Dial $550 Hands $250 T-125 $100 Insert $150 Crown/tube $60 Case work $100 78360 links/93150 clasp/580 end links $450 Omega 2201.50 PO Case $230 Bezel $190 Hands $60 Dial $222 Datewheel $30 Bracelet $300 IWC 3714 Case $200 IWC 78350 $700 TWB rubber strap $40 Case work $100 IWC 3717 Case $400 ETA 7750 $250 German Day/Date $30 Dial $350 Hands $150 Crystal AR $60 I know that the logic of building such watches doesn't make sense to some people considering the money invested, but this hobby isn't about the economics to me. Hobbies in general are expensive, and I'm sure I'd be spending just as much, if not more on other hobbies to keep me busy. Some may argue that there is no intrinsic value with a franken when comapred to a gen, but it's not about the resale to me. I don't build my watches with selling them in mind, but rather to keep. However, it should be pointed out that these watches do retain value regardless of what others may say, be it as a franken on the rep market (selling at what the market will allow), or as parts, which hold their value well on the secondary rep and gen markets. Looking back, I could have purchased some nice gens for what I've spent in the past 6 years in this hobby, but I don't think I'd have learned as much as I have, or had as much fun It's absolutely been a labor of love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deniz21 Posted January 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 wow awsome watches look one post over you and your daytonas are the best ive ever seen man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 deniz, You nailed it! Indeed... It's all about having fun and learning! The nice thing about building is that you get an inside look at how things go together and work as a whole. Another nice aspect is that parts are usually collected over time, which helps spread out cost. While the grand total for a finished product may seem a bit excessive to some for a franken project, I really look at it in terms of components- $300 here, $200 there... To me it isn't much different than someone who frequently buys reps and doesn't wear them The only difference is that the parts end up aggregated into a single watch as opposed to having several unmodded reps sitting in the watch box. But you are absolutely correct- Our reasons for being on the forum are many, and it's what makes us all unique in our own sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coeuss Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Speaking of which, who here has purchased one of the new $800 7750 mvmt reps from Josh. Just curious to see if they are actually worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrkampa Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 I would never buy a rep for over 400$, unless its from Concepta with gen parts like movement and dial/hands.... then we can talk money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omni Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 "Life is a Journey, not a Destination" Repology Translation: "Modding is a Journey, not a Purchase" Ohhmmmmmmmnnnnn.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 "Life is a Journey, not a Destination" Repology Translation: "Modding is a Journey, not a Purchase" Ohhmmmmmmmnnnnn.... :thumbsupsmileyanim: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eton Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Ubi, looks like some great projects! Enjoy and keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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