So I'll preface this by saying I know pretty much nothing about watches except what I've read in ~1000 posts of this thread, and maybe a few other watch threads.
I had always had it in my mind ever since I started making real money that I would get a Breitling Bentley GT. Loved the look of it, still do. However, when the time came and I had the funds lying around, I finally went to try one on. Thing is huge. I'm not a small guy, but I could never imagine wearing it. Totally turned me off. Pretty much every Breitling I've seen in person was way too big and shiny, not for me.
Since then, and while looking at this thread, I've developed a taste for a more "classical"(?) looking watch and a leather strap rather then steel. I also like the glass back that shows the inner workings as well as maybe a little spot on the face that shows it as well.
Some watches in the thread I like:
Now obviously I would rather not spend this much, but a general idea.
Other brands I like that aren't quite so expensive:
Lots of IWC ones suit my taste, though I'd prefer a "skeleton" type piece and don't see too many of those.
I like the look of some Hamiltons as well, but again would prefer some of the inner workings to be showing. The skeleton version is a bit excessive, as pretty much everything is showing..too much.
Which brings me to my big question. Sea-Gulls. Someone posted a very nice one and I was shocked to find that it was less then 400$. Upon further investigation on their site usseagull.com, I found that half their watches were 300-400$ range and the other half was 3000$+. Wtf. Obviously the ones I like more are in the upper range, though I don't like them THAT much more. My favorites are specifically the tourbillon models, which are in the 4-5k range. So what am I getting with one of these rather then 400$ models? Different materials? They still seem to be made out of SS. Different technology? Again I know nothing about watches. Is this even a good brand? Should I not be buying a 4k watch from them? I dunno.
Also, the whole manual or automatic thing. How exactly do you wind these watches? I really don't have a preference as long as it's not too much effort. I would rather base my decision on the style of the watch rather then to have to sort by manual/auto.
I don't mind spending 5k on a watch if that's what it takes, just that I also wouldn't mind spending 400$ on one that looks pretty much the same and works similarly.