Pre-Owned Picks — Survival Watches For “The End of Time”

5 survival watches for you

March 27, 2020

comments 0

With a little wink of course, but in a week when my Ploprof has been described by one commenter as the perfect survival tool, it seemed like an opportune moment to pick our top-five pre-owned survival watches.

Well, I thought about this, and came up with a few more models for you to consider when it’s “the end of time”. Besides the discontinued Ploprof in steel, I selected a Panerai, a Breitling, a Rolex, and — perhaps the sanest choice — a Casio G-Shock. But one with a little twist, of course.

All watches are pre-owned and picked from Chrono24. Every week we pick a few pre-owned watches from Chrono24, the largest market place for wristwatches in the world — watches that we love ourselves, or think they will be interesting to you. So to be clear, we picked the watches, Chrono24 only sent us the images without their watermark and in a proper resolution.

Without further ado, here are my 5 pre-owned picks for this week.

Omega Seamaster PloProf 1200M (€5,335)

Let’s start with this beast. The de facto Omega survival expert. I purchased mine last year. Although Omega told me they were officially out/discontinued (despite the watch still being on the website) the kind watchmakers at the brand basically made me one. So I guess I have really one of the last steel Ploprofs ever made (and delivered). An awesome watch that I should have bought much earlier. This watch wears more compact than it looks, and my colleague and friend Jorg wrote about the wearing experience in this article.

This particular model was re-introduced in 2009 and discontinued 10 years later. The variations in titanium (and with a new movement) are still available though. But hey, you want to feel the weight when it’s the end of time. There aren’t many available anymore in the pre-owned market on Chrono24, but this one is pre-owned and dates back to 2011. It comes with boxes and papers, but take note of the fact it is located in Australia. The price is amazing and much lower than the retail I paid last year, but hey, that’s just a great advantage of being an overlooked model. Keep an eye on the import duties etc. Click here for the offer on this Ploprof.

Panerai Submersible PAM00025 (€4,990)

I recently wrote to someone: I have had a few Panerai Luminor watches, but if I had to buy one today, I’d go for a Submersible. I like the Luminor and Luminor Marina models. When I had mine (sometime in the 2000s) the Subs weren’t really for me. But taste has changed I guess. These days, I would go for a Submersible all the way. What about this PAM00025 to survive the end of days? It is priced just below €5,000 and has this amazing hobnail dial. This watch is located in Cologne, Germany and comes with all the goodies. Click here for the offer on this Submersible.

Rolex Submariner 114060 (€7,410)

No-nonsense times might require a no-nonsense watch. What about this steel Rolex Submariner, just a plain reference 114060. No date, no gold, no nothing. Just a good watch. It comes without box and papers, but who needs them when you’re in survival mode anyway. The old saying goes that a steel Rolex will get your out of certain countries when you have no money in your pockets. Whether that has ever happened to anybody in the real world is debatable, of course. But it is good to know your watch keeps value in dark times. This watch is located in the US and comes as-is. Click here for the offer on this watch.

Breitling Avenger Bandit Titanium Chronograph (€2,650)

Although many of you might prefer the Navitimer, the Top Time or one of their more ‘heritage’-minded watches, in troubling times, a solid modern beater in titanium might be the perfect watch. Here’s the Breitling Avenger Bandit Titanium Chronograph, on a rubber strap. It is powered by a Valjoux 7750 base movement. This caliber is known for the fact that it can be serviced by a watchmaker with just a Wenger Minathor Watchmaker knife (discontinued, but try to find one anyway). As with most Breitling watches, the movement is chronometer-certified. Also, it has a rubber strap for pure survival mode. The watch is water-resistant to 300 meters as well. This watch is offered by a dealer in the US, and comes with box and papers. Click here for the offer on this watch.

G-Shock Solar Full Metal Gold GMW-B5000GD-9JF (€465)

An end of time watch list is not complete without a G-Shock. To boost the luxury level of this entry, I selected this gold-coated model with reference GMW-B5000GD. It is also the only new watch on this list. When Casio dropped these full metal GMW-B5000 models (I have the full steel one, that I spoke about in this article), they came with normal LCD screens. This one has the dark screen, a bit less sought-after than the gold version with a normal LED, but it will still do. What you can do, if you have that Wenger Minathor yourself, is to buy the full metal one that I have, and swap the movements. Then if you can sell the steel one with the black display on eBay again. If, that is eBay, survives the Apocolypse. Click here for the offer on this watch.

What would be your ultimate survival watch? Share with us in the comments below!

Home
Watch Brands
Breitling
G-Shock
Omega
Panerai
Rolex
Pre-Owned Picks — Survival Watches For “The End of Time”

With the exception of the Omega and the Submariner, not a great list. In an actual End of Days situation, you’d never want a battery-powered watch like the Casio because it will be dead in two years and, after that, you’re out of luck. Even if you had a supply of batteries and tools for changing it (unlikely in an End of Days situation), you wouldn’t want to risk your only timepiece by opening it up every couple of years. The gold coating will eventually come off, as it should; if you’re forced to hunt, gold isn’t exactly a good way to blend into your environment. The Breitling and Panerai, both being based on the Valjoux 7750 chrono movement, are far too intricate and fragile to make this list; any moderate sized impact and they’re toast. (The PAM00025 may look tough but its movement is based on a stripped-down Valjoux 7750, which was not a movement designed for diving or shock resistance durability.) The Omega and Sub come out on top, but the Omega edges it out because its co-axial movement has less internal friction and thus can go considerably longer without a movement servicing (which is an End of Days situation isn’t available). The date complication on the Omega might come in handy if you’re harvesting crops or have some other reason to track days/weeks. Overall the Omega is the only watch on the list that has the chance of lasting the rest of your lifetime, although the Sub might also give you 15-20 good years also. But the best choice would be to forget any of these expensive watches and buy five Seiko SKX007s, and wear each of them until it dies, toss it, and then use another one. That would give you durable, mechanical watches to last you a lifetime, and give you some redundancy to deal with the possibility that a watch takes lost or gets irreparably damaged.

Robert-Jan Broer says:

Mar 28, 2020 at 14:40

I beg to differ on the Valjoux 7750, it a very solid movement that has been used for decades and under many different circumstances. The GShock, you might have missed it, is solar-powered. As long as there’s the sun at the end of time, you should be fine.The SKX007 is a pretty solid choice as well! And cheaper than the mentioned GShock.

1. Choplifter says:
  
  Mar 28, 2020 at 19:44
  
  Missed that that particular Casio was solar powered. To be clear, it still does have an internal battery that will wear out over time, but it should last about 10-15 years.

Ha ha ha! You are desperate to get me to buy a ploprof! Want one more every time I see it and of the others on this list I have something almost the same already (pam312, SD4K, chronomat and a g-shock!!!) So now I need it to finish the set!

Robert-Jan Broer says:

Mar 28, 2020 at 14:37

Did you buy one already? You need a survivor set for sure!

1. Pete L says:
  
  Mar 28, 2020 at 15:21
  
  Not yet but I’m looking!

Seiko MM300, a pretty obvious all-rounder survivor watch.

Robert-Jan Broer says:

Mar 28, 2020 at 14:37

A very good choice!

In an end of time scenario I wouldn‘t want to wear a watch worth to be killed for, that‘s for sure.Better an old Certina DS or Tissot Seastar.

Robert-Jan Broer says:

Mar 28, 2020 at 14:36

That’s why we added the GShock, of course. But let’s say you won’t get killed by humans over your watch, you’ll have a few more options.

1. The_Bavarian says:
  
  Mar 28, 2020 at 16:26
  
  Yes, I agree, let‘s say this.The beeing-killed-while-asleep scenario is really too sinister.
  
Donal Biscott says:

Mar 31, 2020 at 08:31

Hi, That is strange. I have a Tissot Seastar Seven from my birth year and have been wearing it since lockdown. Only decided to swap it this morning as I felt kept forgetting to wind it.

1. The_Bavarian says:
  
  Apr 01, 2020 at 19:35
  
  Don‘t worry. We‘re all getting older ????.Vintage Tissots are vastly underrated in my opinion. They offer Omega-like quality for the price of a dinner for two.

Hmmmm, end of days you say…I collect vintage and few are water resistant, and I’d be heading toward water, preferably a lake I’m thinking. Seems only natural to chose a dive watch. My blue ’15 Omega 300m Diver would be my practical as well as favorite choice. My back ups would be an ’06 Sea Dweller, maybe to trade for my life if need be, or the ’18 Seiko Prospex SBP051, that one is heavy enough to use as a weapon.

Hey come on, if this is a Walking Dead type scenario you could loot a jewellers for any watch you want, there is no longer monetary value. Rolex lying around in the rubble because people want want food and bullets. Take what you want, it will probably last longer than you will.

OMEGA SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL MOONWATCHIF IT MADE IT TO THE MOON THEN……………..