The Watch Discussion Thread

[Mike Rotch]

Though it's getting some mixed reviews.

That's because, without wanting to sound like a douche, that watch is a bit crap

It is what is known as a mushroom brand - a Chinese company that has either purchased the brand of a long dead legitimate watchmaker, or invented their own Anglicized name, and slapped in on a generic chinese movement.

The movement will be a backward engineered design at worst, or if you are lucky a Seagull movement (Seagull being just about the only legit Chinese watchmaker doing their own thing).

What that means is there is no guarantee of accuracy (can you live with +30 secs a day*) and the prospect of no watchmaker worth their salt wanting to touch it with a bargepole? it is a pleasing design, but just go in eyes open . If you do like skeleton watches, I'd suggest you look around and remember the adage - you get what you pay for. 👍

*ETA movements can have the same precision, but a watchmaker can easily bring that down with a service.

 

[Bram Turismo]

That's because, without wanting to sound like a douche, that watch is a bit crap

It is what is known as a mushroom brand - a Chinese company that has either purchased the brand of a long dead legitimate watchmaker, or invented their own Anglicized name, and slapped in on a generic chinese movement.

The movement will be a backward engineered design at worst, or if you are lucky a Seagull movement (Seagull being just about the only legit Chinese watchmaker doing their own thing).

What that means is there is no guarantee of accuracy (can you live with +30 secs a day*) and the prospect of no watchmaker worth their salt wanting to touch it with a bargepole? it is a pleasing design, but just go in eyes open . If you do like skeleton watches, I'd suggest you look around and remember the adage - you get what you pay for. 👍

*ETA movements can have the same precision, but a watchmaker can easily bring that down with a service.

That's a shame, it really does look nice.

 

[Monatsende]

Looking to buy myself a new watch with some money I recieced for my 21st birthday and have been looking at this Swatch Gran Turismo London. Any reason I shouldn't go for it? I know very little about watches so if anyone has any good suggestions in the £100-£250 range I'm open to ideas, preferably not a metal strap though.

No reason why you shouldn`t buy a Swatch. Even more because battery changes are free in official Swatch Stores, like Swatch Stores owned by Swatch Group. Standard retailer will charge you for this.

 

[photonrider]

Mike mentioning Sea-Gull sent me flying though the 'net resulting in my coming across a whole flock of them.
Would love to have one of these - would be a really nice addition to my humble collection.

 

[Jet Badger]

My sister in law got me this as a surprise Christmas present and I'm smitten.

View attachment 495825

I quite like mine, it's a little banged up now but it does everything I need from a watch.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

That's because, without wanting to sound like a douche, that watch is a bit crap

It is what is known as a mushroom brand - a Chinese company that has either purchased the brand of a long dead legitimate watchmaker, or invented their own Anglicized name, and slapped in on a generic chinese movement.

The movement will be a backward engineered design at worst, or if you are lucky a Seagull movement (Seagull being just about the only legit Chinese watchmaker doing their own thing).

What that means is there is no guarantee of accuracy (can you live with +30 secs a day*) and the prospect of no watchmaker worth their salt wanting to touch it with a bargepole? it is a pleasing design, but just go in eyes open . If you do like skeleton watches, I'd suggest you look around and remember the adage - you get what you pay for. 👍

*ETA movements can have the same precision, but a watchmaker can easily bring that down with a service.

My friend recently paid £50 for a skeleton watch that is exactly this sort of thing. It's from a company called "Lord Timepieces" and they're very definitely a mushroom brand, selling skeleton watches for exorbitant prices with no guarantee of quality.

Meanwhile, I recently purchased a secondhand Rotary Aquaspeed (GS00100/04, if you want to search for it):

It's not the most elegant thing but it is, to my eye, a relatively attractive design. I like having a proper chronograph, and it has the benefit of being waterproof to 100 metres. It seems very well made and it's quite comfortable. For £30 I'm pretty satisfied.

EDIT: That image is massive. Let me find something a bit better.

 

[Walrus76]

This new Bulova "Moonwatch" or "Dave Scott re-edition" chronograph seems to be very interesting. Omega Speedmaster is one of my all-time favourite watches...however I simply can not afford one. Price of new Speedy went literally to moon lately (now here in Europe about 4000€). Only thing that concerns me is the size of this re-issue. This will be very likely a big monster like Bulova's Precisionist chronos. I have a new Bulova Accutron II "Moonview" and so far it has been a great watch.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

That looks great! ^

 

[Ettick]

That's because, without wanting to sound like a douche, that watch is a bit crap

It is what is known as a mushroom brand - a Chinese company that has either purchased the brand of a long dead legitimate watchmaker, or invented their own Anglicized name, and slapped in on a generic chinese movement.

The movement will be a backward engineered design at worst, or if you are lucky a Seagull movement (Seagull being just about the only legit Chinese watchmaker doing their own thing).

What that means is there is no guarantee of accuracy (can you live with +30 secs a day*) and the prospect of no watchmaker worth their salt wanting to touch it with a bargepole? it is a pleasing design, but just go in eyes open . If you do like skeleton watches, I'd suggest you look around and remember the adage - you get what you pay for. 👍

*ETA movements can have the same precision, but a watchmaker can easily bring that down with a service.

I'd personally recommend not buying skeletonized watches that don't use in-house movements or cost less than a few thousand dollars (though you may not find one of these without the other). The whole point of skeletonization is to show off a beautiful movement, and those don't come cheap. I think they're a bit cheesy otherwise.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Omega Speedmaster is one of my all-time favourite watches

One lesson I learned through my collecting, is that buying a watch that is "a bit like" the one you really want, is like eating dessert. It tastes nice but never kills the hunger. That is a lot of money yes, but second hand they are much more reasonable and my suggestion would be to save (even if it takes years) and get what you really want instead, unless part of your journey also has the objective of filling the watch box with more dessert

 

[Shaun]

@Mike Rotch isn't the speedmaster the watch that gave you endless headaches with a repair issue.
Do I recall correctly that you got it sorted out in the end?

 

[Kamuifanboy]

@Mike Rotch isn't the speedmaster the watch that gave you endless headaches with a repair issue.
Do I recall correctly that you got it sorted out in the end?

My Speedmaster Racing has worked flawlessly for 4 years now. Absolutely no issues aside from some scratches on the buckle, which is pretty normal and only a $110 part to replace.

 

[Mike Rotch]

@Mike Rotch isn't the speedmaster the watch that gave you endless headaches with a repair issue.
Do I recall correctly that you got it sorted out in the end?

Yep, good memory 👍 - 9 months at the watchmaker and it needed another one to diagnose the problem. I'll get it resolved when it's next watch service time, which will be in the next 18 months or so.

Random tid bit too, Kamui's and my Speedy are the automatic versions, not the 'moon watch' per se, which is manual. The auto is basically a chrono movement bolted onto a non chrono ETA movement and are a pain in the nuts to service as everything needs to come apart as a result of the marriage. The manual one is fully integrated from the get go. The auto is also generally a lot smaller than the manual. /nerd

 

[Kamuifanboy]

Yep, good memory 👍 - 9 months at the watchmaker and it needed another one to diagnose the problem. I'll get it resolved when it's next watch service time, which will be in the next 18 months or so.

Random tid bit too, Kamui's and my Speedy are the automatic versions, not the 'moon watch' per se, which is manual. The auto is basically a chrono movement bolted onto a non chrono ETA movement and are a pain in the nuts to service as everything needs to come apart as a result of the marriage. The manual one is fully integrated from the get go. The auto is also generally a lot smaller than the manual. /nerd

Yeah, I kind of half regret getting an Auto. The manual's are more classy, slimmer, and much lighter. I really wanted the SeaMaster Planet Ocean Skyfall timepiece but I couldn't afford it, and I wouldn't have been able to get one in time if I could.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

My latest.

Major respect for those of you know what this is, and the XJ220-like nature of it.

 

[High-Test]

Yes.

 

[photonrider]

My latest.

Major respect for those of you know what this is, and the XJ220-like nature of it.

With the tuning fork on its face, for sure it's an old Bulova. Made for Jaguar?

@Mike Rotch , @Walrus76 - what did you guys think of the horological lesson towards the last five minutes of the Sea Gull clip? I just marvel at the mechanical engineering involved in there. Just mind-boggling, and yet a complication that seems so logical, so easy, so simple as to be even obvious.

 

[Walrus76]

Photonrider, that was very nice and informative clip to watch. Some months ago I was actually tempted to buy Sea Gull with black dial, but instead I decided to purchase Bulova Accutron II and one very cheap, but quite stylish Gigandet (Cosmograph Oyster homage) with 'panda dial'. That video above reminded me of my 38mm Russian Strela chronograph, with Poljot 3133 movement. That watch was hand-winding mechanical too and very accurate timepiece, and in my opinion nice looking too. One of my favourites. Sadly, I was stupid enough to drop it once on the bathroom floor and I think that repairing the watch costs way more than I paid for it. New German assembled 'Strelas' are over twice more expensive. That said, it definitely has something to do with the fact that Poljot 3133 mechanism is no more manufactured in Russia...

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

With the tuning fork on its face, for sure it's an old Bulova. Made for Jaguar?

@Mike Rotch , @Walrus76 - what did you guys think of the horological lesson towards the last five minutes of the Sea Gull clip? I just marvel at the mechanical engineering involved in there. Just mind-boggling, and yet a complication that seems so logical, so easy, so simple as to be even obvious.

1963 Bulova Accutron (I) Spaceview with the Tuning Fork Movement....aka the most precise wristwatch in history at the time of its manufacture...until the Seiko Astron came out just a few years later with its slightly-more-precise Quartz movement. So it was a world beater that was almost immediately eclipsed by another world beater, similar to the Jaguar XJ220 - Mclaren F1 relationship.

 

[High-Test]

While the Accutron I is the XJ220, the Bulova 23 is the good old XK 4.2.

 

[photonrider]

Photonrider, that was very nice and informative clip to watch. Some months ago I was actually tempted to buy Sea Gull with black dial, but instead I decided to purchase Bulova Accutron II and one very cheap, but quite stylish Gigandet (Cosmograph Oyster homage) with 'panda dial'. That video above reminded me of my 38mm Russian Strela chronograph, with Poljot 3133 movement. That watch was hand-winding mechanical too and very accurate timepiece, and in my opinion nice looking too. One of my favourites. Sadly, I was stupid enough to drop it once on the bathroom floor and I think that repairing the watch costs way more than I paid for it. New German assembled 'Strelas' are over twice more expensive. That said, it definitely has something to do with the fact that Poljot 3133 mechanism is no more manufactured in Russia...

I never expected the authentic Sea Gulls to be that expensive. Another idle dream in my bucket list.
It was the Accutron that got me into Bulova - strangely enough an ad in the Readers Digest in the 70's - Scott wore one on the Moon when the crystal on his Omega popped while moonwalking and he had to use his backup Bulova. That was the only 'private' watch ever worn on the Moon and AFAIK was sold recently for about $1.5 M.
Ever since then, while I had had many other brands on my wrist, my collection of Bulovas (or their second line, Caravelle) have been a major part of my collection. Can't remember when I last wore something else other than a Bulova on my wrist - as a regular everyday work-day watch - for many many years now.

 

[Shaun]

GTP, take a deep breath, sit down and prepare yourselves.

Behold, a Chairman Mao waving hand watch.

Personally I think the red star atop the second hand is a great touch.


I couldn't pass up the $2 price tag at an op-shop just for the giggles.

 

[PureAlpha1206]

My newest

 

[Bram Turismo]

Anyone here have any experience with AVI-8 watches?

The Supermarine Seafire is currently on sale, and it does indeed look very nice:

 

[Frisky]

Hey guys, looking for a bit of advice. I want a cheap mechanical EDC, which lead me to the Seiko 5. Anybody got any experience with them?

 

[Brett]

Hey guys, looking for a bit of advice. I want a cheap mechanical EDC, which lead me to the Seiko 5. Anybody got any experience with them?

I have one and have been very happy with it. Here is a post I made after wearing it for a week:

@High-Test Thanks! I was not certain I would be happy with the purchase. However, after wearing the thing for a week, I could not be happier. It is so much nicer than the Timex I was wearing. Nothing wrong with the Timex, the Seiko is just better quality.

My only complaint is I have to remove the spring bars to use the leather strap. The leather is slightly too thick to fit between the watch and spring bar and in comparison to the NATO straps, not quite rigid enough either. So far, I have only worn the watch on the leather band because of that, even though it looks fantastic on the black and gray strap.

I should really follow up on that second paragraph. I no longer have that issue with the leather strap. I no longer have to remove the spring bars to get the leather strap on. I probably should, especially now that I am better at using the spring bar tool, but have not been doing so when I have worn it with that one.

Here is a picture of it on my wrist:

My only complaint would be that this watch has made me want more watches.

 

[TB]

Here is a picture of it on my wrist:

We're Seiko bros!

I didn't realize I'd had it for over a year already! I haven't had to do anything special to keep the solar battery charged (which was a concern I had) and the only times I've adjusted the, er, time, is spring and fall for DST. I can't really ask for more from a watch than that. Besides it looking gorgeous, of course.

 

[Frisky]

Wow! I've heard that they were very good value for money but I didn't realise they were that good. Definitely going to be making a purchase soon. I'm going to get a fabric strap as well because they seem to fit really well with them. Cheers!

 

[Beeblebrox237]

This came today. I love it.

 

[Joey D]

Seiko 5's are always awesome.