Funny, a handmade Patek? I wonder where they are made and if those who claim they are handmade have ever been to the factory? I have been there. I have been to dozens of watchmanufacturers. I have seen watches that are handmade, but not at any of the big brands. Not Water Proof: Then again how often am I deep sea diving. ( It can take a few splashes, but don’t take it in the shower or tub.) High-end watches from independent watchmakers like the very first stainless steel One Hertz from Dutch brand Grönefeld (patriotism alert here) might have also been a good investment, but the truth is that there are only a few people on Earth that play in this niche of expensive, high-end haute horlogerie brands. In case you did obtain one for its original price, be aware that your market will be quite small when you want to re-sell it. I like not having to worry about the watch I’m wearing, being upset if it gets bumped. However, at the same time I like the soki enough that I try to not bang it up and limit the abuse. When its time to do yard work or shovel snow I don’t balk if it is on my wrist, this little beauty was less than an extra value meal. I simply turn it around and get to work.

Weight: Very light on the wrist – hardly noticeable! I think the light weight factor is why the soki is getting a lot of wrist time Style / Looks: I think the watch looks semi expensive and people think the label at first glance is a Luminox 🙂 . To me this watch is the perfect utility beater and looks highly fashionable. Outer Paint: The bezel paint is thin, and will scratch off. Bezel paint is not terrible, but thin. After helping my wife’s friend move her TV some of the paint had rubbed off resulting from a bump. Granted, you may have to reset your day and date again since you just advanced, but at least you’ll be in the correct time zone now. More updates to come: Added a calendar notification on my phone to post about the SOKI in 6 months and then again in 1 year. As of now the SOKI watch is my daily time piece.

Talking Shop With Founder of Oak & Oscar ...

There are a number of watches and watch brands that are likely to increase in value, or at least keep value, over time. To start with the last one, it seems that the all-time classics (or “iconic” watches, if you wish) are the ones that keep their value to a certain extent. Even though some of them can be bought at a bit of a discount, or do not have waiting lists as long as some others do, they have proven to be a stable “investment,” so to speak. I did some coverage on these all-time classics in part one. This is what you need to do… Pull the stem out slowly and listen for the snap (the stem stops on the first notch). If you pull the stem out all the way, it snaps twice and ends up on the second notch (see picture below). That second notch is where the stem needs to be to set the time (but you already knew that).

Edit: here's the pics as requested. The factory pins and steel band were tossed already. : face shot, the bad plating on the crown, the misaligned pearl (and a view of the low magnification cyclops), then three shots of the movement. The regulator is adjustable, I just need to find more out about this movement before I go screwing with it. For anyone that cares, I used a Canon Powershot SD940 IS for these, illumination was sunlight, flash was off and macro enabled, no tripod. It’s worth keeping an eye on some brands that go through interesting phases, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be one of these smaller, independent brands I just mentioned. What to think of Zenith, for example? Will the brand grow further and reach new heights? if so, it might be very interesting to take a look at some of the models in its current lineup that are collectible yet might not fit into the direction the company might be heading. If a brand changes its strategy a bit — like, for example, the relatively new brand Linde Werdelin did over the last few years — you might be betting on some of the models that the brand started out with. Models such as the One, Two-Timer and 3-Timer watches can be very interesting to acquire, as they are now still relatively easy to find. Linde Werdelin is still growing quite a bit, doing an amazing job in a higher segment than the one in which it started. It might be the case that some people will go after those early models when the brand starts really taking off. This also goes for other brands that are in a similar flow, of course, i.e., brands that are still in their early days. If you take that into account, there are a number of watch brands that will give you a decent chance on increasing your watch’s value over time. Now let’s do a rundown on a few brands that you need to keep an eye on for the long term. From looking at other name brand watches online the SOKI 001 watch seems to be styled after the Luminox Atacama field. The bracelet and SOKI logo are very similar.As mentioned the things I'd suggest doing with this watch are: replacing the strap/pins, and regulating it. A re-lume is optional but I'm going to do it since I like glowing things. :) I love reading about the ultra expensive watches, but do these people really wear them? Unless you are a Russian oligarch, or a prince of Monaco, I would say no. I like quartz watches. I see no need for the pretense of winding and taking care of a mechanical watch. My beef with Rolex, and Omega, is that they all seem to look the same, and they are like cars, they lose value the minute you drive them off the lot. I wouldn’t turn my nose up on an Omega Presidential however, but I digress. Why bother with all of that when a tiny battery runs the entire watch? Quartz watches are just better, and it begs the question of how interesting Rolex would be today had they continued their research with Quartz watches? The basic question is: “What brands offer watches that tend to increase in value over time?” As I wrote before, there are two answers here, a short version and a long version. The short answer is simple: Rolex and Patek Philippe. The long answer is what I try to cover in the following part of this article.