what watches should I buy?

[Jeimi]

So I was offered a bunch of watches and I'm completely new could you guys help me figure out what to buy? All non runners

Also again I think this is the right area to post.

Edit: i'll also video call the person later to make sure its not random images off the internet

Edited January 28, 2022 by Jeimi

[Plato]

5 minutes ago, Jeimi said:

So I was offered a bunch of watches and I'm completely new could you guys help me figure out what to buy? All non runners

Also again I think this is the right area to post.

Looks like there maybe some nice watches in the second image but it's next to impossible to tell with the low resolution. If you're starting out with watch repair then it's advisable to start off with a running pocket watch movement like a Unitas 6497 or 6498. Large enough to work on with plenty of spare part availability and documentation. 

[watchweasol]

At first look they are all ptetty clean, how many are thy and the approx cost, what proportion are mechanical or quartz and what experience have you got in actualy repairing watches. as there are enough there to keep you going for a long time , just asssing the watches will take time and knowledge. Then there is the good advice given by plato start on the big ones first.       good luck.

[Klassiker]

All of them? None of them? It depends so much on what you want to do with them, what your expectations are, how much they each cost etc. it is impossible for anyone to advise you on the information you have provided.

[Jeimi]

I made a post on Kijiji looking for watches around10$+ and I told the seller to give me a bit to pick a few. I'm more interested in the pockets since that's what I would be starting with but I am also asking incase there are any gems cause I'm not quite sure how to properly identify watches yet

EDIT: oh and i'm trying to avoid ones with battery's i would like to work on mainspring watches

Edited January 28, 2022 by Jeimi

[Plato]

3 minutes ago, Jeimi said:

I made a post on Kijiji looking for watches around10$+ and I told the seller to give me a bit to pick a few. I'm more interested in the pockets since that's what I would be starting with but I am also asking incase there are any gems cause I'm not quite sure how to properly identify watches yet

Looks like there's a Seiko or Citizen Bullhead in the second image, not sure if they were popular fakes so there's a chance it could be genuine. There's also what looks like a Tag Heuer Link which would have been faked a lot. Ask for better pictures of the lower section of the second image. Neither watch would be good to start training on but they could make you some money to invest in your endeavours. 

[Jeimi]

My general plan to help me on the path of the hobby is i want to start with the non running watches cause atleast around where i live they are alot cheaper and if i can resell the ones i get working to buy more old watches to try and fix.

EDIT:also thank you guys very much for the reply's  i'm honestly a bit shy to post here since i'm new to it all.

Double EDIT: also i'm gonna be going to the city on the 1st what kind of shops should i try to stop in to find old watches? pawn shops might be an idea but i'd think they could be overpriced ?

Edited January 28, 2022 by Jeimi

[Nucejoe]

Need clear pictures, but Seiko or Citizen, get that bullhead. 

 

[watchweasol]

Firstly do not be shy to post on this forum, if you want advice please ask the members are would genuinly help you with any question no matter its content.  Regarding shops, Pawn shops I think would be on the more expensive side but the thrift / charity shops would be where to look, Garage sales, Car boot sales  but be careful what you buy because a lot of quartz/battery watches get dumped in these places  but you will find a few Gems.

[spectre6000]

Obligatory: "Check out the 404 Club thread."

Running pocket watches to start is one school of thought. I get it, the parts are bigger and easier to handle, and you know it works, so you'll know that something you did caused it to stop running once you get it back together, and you can feel guilty and have a good excuse to drink some scotch. Others (like me) prefer mid-grade Swiss movements that are [i]likely[/i] just in need of a clean. They're also much more likely to have readily available parts to replace what you sproing into the ether, snap off, bend, or more creatively borkulate. Additionally, they're more representative of what you're ultimately going to be working with unless you just like pocket watches or something. You're almost certainly going to bork your first victim up pretty good, and if it's a runner, you took one out of service. Plus, who knows if it was salvageable when you got it in the first place? Clean conscience, and the scotch budget stretches a little further for a nicer bottle next time (and no one likes cheap scotch)! With a pocket watch, your likelihood of finding parts without resorting to a donor (and thus likely taking two out of service) is much lower than with a wristwatch movement.

The flip side with the 404 mid-grade Swiss wristwatch movements is that it's often difficult to tell if they're [i]PRE[/i]-borkulated and beyond your skill until you're already out your hard earned fiver. If you are tolerant of a little failure (you need to be even with the running pocket watch approach) and ambiguity, it's a less expensive way to get off the ground. Also, an inexpensive way to keep playing once you get your feet under you. Especially if you can turn a non-runner into a decent looking runner, and sell it for enough profit to pay for itself and a failure, or a bad buy, or a tool, or some scotch to drown your sorrow when you bork yet another friggin hairspring.

Meanwhile, back to your photos: If there are some high value watches in there for $10, that'd be great. Snag what you can, but don't touch anything valuable until you get a handle for how easy it is to break things beyond fixability, and subsequently get a handle on said breaking. We don't have the ability to tell you that from those photos though. I'm not sure your conversion rate (Kijiji says Canada or Australia if I've caught those winds correctly), so $10 for an anonymous non-runner may be a decent deal or a little high. £4.04 is $5.42 today, but KoalaCoin is $7.74 and thus a much better deal if there's a decent keeper or two in there. Output from the Maple Mint is between the two.

If it were me, I'd give him an offer of £4.04 (converted and rounded down to the nearest convenient dollar/half/quarter) for all the mechanical watches he has. Bulk discount for the ambiguity. Take the quartz too if he wants them gone, and then swap batteries, and sell the runners on eBay (or whatever) as is, but don't expect to recover more than the cost of the battery.

Edited January 29, 2022 by spectre6000

[jdm]

21 hours ago, Plato said:

Looks like there maybe some nice watches in the second image but it's next to impossible to tell with the low resolution.

That exactly but the OP should be aware that if he limits interest to few ones and these are genuine, any savvy seller will check market prices and ask accordingly. And yes I would be vary of offers, etc...

[Jeimi]

allright so i just got back from the city sadly i did not manage to find any watches in the city while i was there and then the seller stopped responding to me when i asked if we could use a site to secure the transaction. ;-;

so it might be awhile until i can get my hands on some watches cause shipping is around 20-60$ just for single watches so i'm trying to find a bulk deal to make shipping worth it.

thank you guys for all the help i'm gonna keep trying to find ways to get my hands on some watches.