An interesting parker question from my wife

[Bill Holcombe]

So I was teasing my wife about our 10 year anniversary coming up and if she would buy me a nice shotgun as a gift.

Her response was interesting. She asked me if I had the amount of money to buy the Rolex Submariner I have always liked but can't commit the funds to purchase. Would I get the Rolex or a similarly priced Parker, a CH I would imagine.


After looking at her for about 5 minutes I surprisingly couldn't decide. I find the shotgun the more practical, but I have other parkers and love watches, even if mine are cheap self winding imitations, but I think history shows the Rolex is the better investment.

Inquiring minds and all that....

[Michael Moffa]

Buy the Parker. I had the same dilemma at the Las Vegas show two years ago. Jubilee Rolex or Parker. G, DHE and GHE later I'm a happy husband.

Spin

[Bill Holcombe]

Oh lol she wasn't offering. This was just a big hypothetical lol

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Ask yourself do they still make Rolex watches? It's been about 75 years since they made a Parker! As they say "it takes a lickin and keeps on ticking", buy the Parker! Gary

[greg conomos]

That's an easy one for me. I'd simply remind myself of the old Yiddish expression, "Rolex, Schmolex!"

[Bill Murphy]

I have a very nice "wearing" watch, a sixties vintage Omega Seamaster winder. I dug it up on a skeet field about 35 years ago while doing some landscape repair, and could never get anyone to admit they had lost it. Every couple of years, it quits and I take it to a very skilled local watchmaker to get it running again. I don't need another watch, so I think I'll buy another Parker.

[Dave Noreen]

The time and date are on my cell phone, and it automatically changes when I cross time zones. What do I need a watch for?

[Bill Holcombe]

The time and date are on my cell phone, and it automatically changes when I cross time zones. What do I need a watch for?

The same reason you need a 100 year old single shot double gun. Craftsmanship, style, ellagance, tradition, etc.

I mean if we were talking about efficiency and such we would all be shooting 1100s or 870s.

[Mike.Smith]

As an owner of both a Rolex and Parkers, I would offer a compromise. Take the money you were going to spend on a brand new Rolex and buy a used Submariner. The styles have changed very little and you can find one for easily half to a quarter of the cost of a brand new one. Take the rest of the money and buy another Parker. Win Win!

[Jean Swanson]

I personally would give it a lot of thought. I can tell you what a divorce cost.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Darn right Allen I have been there three times, you know where the money goes! better say this though Megan and I have been married for 34 years and I would not change a thing lets me buy all the Parkers I want, Gary

[Brett Souder]

I can tell from my experience because my wife bought me both on two separate anniversaries. For one she bought me a Rolex Submariner and for another she bought me a Repro Steel Shot Special. I've had a lot of great shotguns and many other fine watches, the repro parker is long gone, probably was rolled into some other sxs along the way but I will never let the Rolex go. You could find yourself any where in the world and get yourself out of a jamb ( plane ticket, place to stay, currency, etc.) by bartering with a Rolex if you had to. My wife wanted me to have the Rolex and that meant more to me, the Parker was just another gun that I wanted and it just felt more like "stuff" that I wasn't really connected to. Don't really care about which one is worth more today. My kids or there kids can all fight over it when I'm gone and I have plenty of guns to go around for them, but the Rolex is something that I truly enjoyed on a daily basis.

[Mills Morrison]

If your wife asks a question, you better make sure you give the answer she wants. That is my experience.

[greg conomos]

You could also be anywhere in the world and get stabbed in an alley for your Rolex.....it's like wearing a stack of $1000 bills strapped to your wrist in plain sight.

I'd hate to be in the watch making business, as well as the digital camera business. Both are getting a big chunk of their market taken away by the cell phone.

[Brett Souder]

[QUOTE

I'd hate to be in the watch making business, as well as the digital camera business. Both are getting a big chunk of their market taken away by the cell phone.[/QUOTE]

I believe you will see that trend change back in the near future. Who would have thought that there was a market for new high end side by side shotguns twenty years ago? I can buy a great shotgun got $275.00 and never war it out in my lifetime. I think the repeating shotgun is what killed the double barrel market because it was cheaper and more modern, kind of like your cell phone, camera, watch, callender, you name it, all rolled into a neat little package.

[charlie cleveland]

i would have to choose the parker if i need to know the time i will ask my good friend who owns the rolex...charlie

[George Lander]

A new stainless steel Submariner when I bought mine was about $800. You know what they are priced at now. An equivalent Parker purchased around the same time will have appreciated about the same percentage wise. So my take is "NAME YOUR POISON"

Best Regards, George[/U]

[CraigThompson]

I understand the desire for a Rolex of any kind . My pop still has the same one my mom gave him around 1970 .

And with that being said , back in the late eighties when I was hot on the skeet trail I wanted a Rolex . I never did get one however , and very rarely do I ever think about it anymore ! Go figure :rolleyes:

[Bill Murphy]

Skeet trail-Rolex. Yup.

[Michael Moffa]

Just some facts on Rolex. They make 3/4 of a million of them a year. They also don't keep the greatest time. I'm an amateur horologist and could never justify the cost of Rolex. They get the price because they spend the most on marketing. China is the biggest market because it is seen as a complete status symbol. You can also get a fake one in Shanghai for $30 to $350. The $350 fake one is a better watch than the Rolex.

I'd buy the Parker. I was going to give my daughter a Rollie for turning 21. I gave her the 20ga GH instead. She will keep that for the rest of her life. Besides you can caress a Parker in a duck blind and nobody will bat an eye. Do that with a Rollie and you are going to get some funny looks.

[Bill Holcombe]

So what kind of self winding watch do you suggest? I just have cheapo invictas.

[Bruce Day]

I bought a new Rolex for $160 at the Base Exchange at U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand in 1972. Its been cleaned and oiled a couple times and still keeps great time. Its my daily wearer. I have and use my great grandfather's gold Elgin watch from 1895.

Still shooting my grandfather's PHE 16 ga and Mod 12 which I acquired in the early 1970's.

Well made and designed things last if maintained and not abused. I wish we had kept the family Mercedes sedan from that time period but I do have my dad's 1980 Mercedes 450SL. I have friends who still drive the cars they bought as seniors at the Air Force Academy during the late 1960's, such as a 1966 Corvette roadster, another with a 1970 Mustang, bought new.

[Michael Moffa]

Self winding mechanical:

Really good value is a Seiko Sports 5, these are 23 to 25 jewel automatics, usually a date window sometimes a day, exhibition back. Movement is made in Malaysia in Seiko plant. Street price is from $95 to $140. Water resistant to 100m.

A tank of a value is the Seiko Monster series. These are 200m dive watches. they can be had in mechanical, Kinetic (quartz) and solar (quartz). Street prices of $250 to $350. Almost indestructible.

A bigger tank of a value is the Seiko Tuna Can dive watches, 600m waterproof. Large and heavy they are hard to find at a big discount. Indestructible.

Swiss watch quality at Asian prices is the Grand Seiko. About $6,000. equal to anything from Basel. Only just now coming to the US. Typically these were all bought in Japan so no official exports until 2015.

Swiss watch affordable mechanical is going to be based on the Valjoux 7750 or ETA 2892 movements. Swatch owns both companies so they dictate who gets them. The Swiss watch industry sued under monopoly laws to keep them from doing that. A deal was struck that gave the industry time to develop their own movements or to use the Stellita movements. This is what Omega, Panerai, Hublot, TAG Huere etc have done. The movements sell for $200 to $600. Hard to justify in watch retailing for $10,000 - $20,000. Valjoux and ETA make "top" level movements with complications and embellishments, even then they are kind of the Ford and Chevy of the industry.

Note that the Swiss watch guys crap all over Seiko and Citizen. If you want to go American, Kobold, RGM and Shinola use Swiss movements from the above named guys.

[Rich Anderson]

How many Grouse, Pheasants, Woodcock, Quail ect can you get with a Rolex???

I have NEVER seen show and tell at a SXS shoot involving a Rolex or any other watch.

The Parker embodies American craftsmanship and an era of our history that although gone isn't forgotten. They still make Rolex's Parkers are history in your hand.

[Bruce Day]

So what kind of self winding watch do you suggest? I just have cheapo invictas.

I like manual wind mechanical watches because I like the ritual of winding the watch by hand in the morning. Probably anachronistic, but so am I. I even like manual shift cars.

But for auto wind watches, a used 1960's or 1970's Omega ,Rolex , Longines, Eterna, is a great value and parts can be obtained if they ever need anything. For new watches, about anything with an ETA movement is fine. Eterna, Sinn, Hamilton, lots of lots of varieties depending on the case you want. True watch lovers want in house made movements such as those in Vacheron, Patek, etc, but those watches are costly to buy used or new and costly to maintain. Rolex movements are made in house, but they make so many of them that parts are always available. Patek and Rolex are the only watch brands that have consistently maintained value on the used market to keep pace with inflation and often gain above inflation values. A Rolex Daytona variety that could be purchased for $3000 in the 1970's can reach up to $70,000 today. I have a base model Rolex that I bought for $160 in 1972 that sells used today for $2500.

Sinn watches are made in Frankfurt Germany and use ETA movements. The US agent is in Raleigh NC. Can't go wrong with an ETA movement. I just bought a Sinn pocket watch, sterling silver with an ETA movement, one of the few quality pocket watches made today. See if you like anything in the Sinn or Eterna lines. They are reasonably priced and high quality.

By the way, watches don't shoot birds, but people who shoot birds and have nice guns sometimes have nice watches, nice cars or trucks, nice homes, etc. Its choices.

[Mills Morrison]

I like the manual winding ones too.

[Dean Romig]

My dumb brother gave me a "Raulex" for my birthday one year long ago.... I don't think I have ever worn it ;) and I don't think it is worth more that $29.99


But my Parkers certainly are :cool:


Watches - Smatches :rotf:


On the other hand, a beautiful lady about my age, who was a client of mine a couple of decades ago, has kept her 1965 Volvo P-123GT and drives it a couple of times each year "for old times sake." I asked her why "for old times sake."? She said it was the first car she ever got XXXX in. :shock:





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[greg conomos]

Spin Drift, that is an interesting overview, thanks.

Here's the deal IMO....shooting a Parker, as well all know, is greatly different than a Mossberg or even a Winchester pump. A Parker, with only minimal care, can last more than the lifetime of a man. While it might not kill a bird any more dead than a Mossberg, it's fair to say that your chances of hitting the bird are greater.

A fancy wristwatch doesn't tell time any better than a cheap one. In fact, probably less reliably. It requires periodic and expensive maintenance by a third party (unless you happen to be a watchmaker) and is really non-essential to a person having a good time. Lots of us will rejoice over the Parker we used in a hunt, but who revels in the fact that they were wearing a Rolex while they hunted?

[greg conomos]

But...all this talk of guns and watches makes me think of a great old story.....

One time two kids - Tony and Hymie - were hanging out together. Tony Looks over and says, "Hey Hymie - what's that on your wrist?"

Hymie replies, "Why, it's my new Rolex. I got it for my Bar Mitzvah."

Tony can't keep his eyes off it. A few minutes later, Hymie spies something in Tony's coat pocket. "Hey Tony - what's that in your pocket?"

Tony replies, "Oh, it's my new chrome .38 Special. I got it for my Confirmation."

Hymie is fascinated by it.

A few minutes go by and they each blurt out "Wanna trade?"


That night, as Tony get ready for dinner, his father notices the sparkly watch.

"Hey Tony - what's that you got there?" he asks.


Tony shows him and tell him "I traded Hymie my .38 for it!"


Tony's father is dismayed.

"Tony, Tony!", he cries, "Some day you gonna be rich and powerful like your old man. Some day you're gonna live in a fancy house with a beautiful wife like your old man. Then one day, you're gonna come home to your fancy house and find your beautiful wife in bed with another man"

Tony's father holds out his right arm and starts jabbing at his wrist. "What are you gonna do Tony - yell "Hey -Time Out!!!!???"

[George Lander]

Here is my watch story: 1960 I shipped out of Charleston S.C. on the USS Voglegesang DD-862. Kennedy was in office & we were sent to the West Coast of Africa on a "people to people" mission to win the hearts & minds of the natives there. Our first port of call was Dakar in Senegal. I did not take the Bulova that my folks gave me for graduation in 1957 but instead I took a Timex that my Mom found in the street on her way to work at Fort Jackson S.C. that had been run over but was still ticking. I had liberty in Dakar but no money. I was sending most of my meager pay home to my wife.

Walking off the brow of the ship I encountered a local and was asked did I have any American money or jewelry. I told him that I had a watch & showed it to him. He read the word Timex & said "I never heard of TEMEX" I said "you've heard of Rolex haven't you?" He said "Oh Yes I know Rolex" I said "Same Thing" I got about $30.00 in their local money & had my first great liberty in Africa.

Best Regards, George

[Michael Murphy]

I wear a Timex, so I don't have the conundrum of choosing between a watch and buying Parkers.

[Rich Anderson]

I went hunting today with a sweet little straight grip CHE 20ga. I never did look at my watch:rotf:

[Larry Stauch]

Is it really a choice.

Just get both and be done with it.:bigbye:

[wayne goerres]

I didn't know they still made Timex watches. I thought they were out of business.

[Alfred Greeson]

As a Parker owner who has always wanted a Submariner......check Bob's used Rolex's on the web and you can look at many Rolex's and Sub's on any given day. Many jewelers buy their used watches from him. Point is, you see the watches, prices and feel much better, you can always buy a Rolex. Then go to your man cave and pick up your favorite Parker and you forget all about the Rolex for awhile. When you have the best in shotguns, it is only natural that you want a Rolex but a woman who tolerates our guns, muddy boots, etc. and would even consider buying us a Rolex is a treasure in itself so you my friend are one of the luckiest men in the world! Enjoy!

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

I have a Seiko dive watch some where around here but was heavy and only used it when in the water, I like a pocket watch, they are sort of like a Parker in a way, Gary

[charlie cleveland]

i agre gary a pocket watch is like a parker in some ways...i still wear a pocket watch on the week end my favorite is my dads olddollar pocket watch...kinda special....charlie

[Jack Cronkhite]

If I had been asked the question posed, Parker would be the reply. Time for me is simple - the sun is up or the sun is down. Never needed a watch. Cheers, Jack

[Carvel Whaley]

Never wore a watch. Worked on the ocean around the clock and could tell night from day by looking out the port light. Time did not matter, just the day count. Carvel