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Thoughts on mech watches, money burning a hole. Upto £4£. Any thoughts/experiences?
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Watches for £4.... you get a basic watch I guess.
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Assuming you mean 4 grand... how about something discreet, un-ostentatious, and that doesn't shout that you're a shallow snip - you know why!:
www.watchfinder.co.uk/Graham/Chronofighter-R.A.C-Watches/2CRBS-c13980-watch.aspx
Hmm maybe not :-)
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 6 Jun 11 at 00:58
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I have bought 3 Seiko watches from this seller, all in this style.
Black, Blue and Olive
Superb watches for the money and no, they are not fakes.
tinyurl.com/6j5w3dw
tinyurl.com/6ys94ff
tinyurl.com/6d22ttt
Last edited by: MrTee43 on Sun 5 Jun 11 at 09:18
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www.brittons-watches.co.uk/NEW_SITE/index.htm
As stated in the other thread recently I would have a look in here. Lovely 2008 (as new) Omega Moonwatch for just over 2K. Can't go wrong with an Omega - doesn't shout ostentation but looks classy enough.
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>> www.brittons-watches.co.uk/NEW_SITE/index.htm
>>
>> As stated in the other thread recently I would have a look in here.
>>
The site does not work for me beyond the first page.
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>> Thoughts on mech watches, money burning a hole. Upto £4£. Any thoughts/experiences?
If you are rich and £4K is chick feed to you, then go for it. Otherwise I'd think again. In my opinion it is an expensive item to have on a wrist but of course others may disagree. It makes you vulnerable to theft, and it is liable to damage. Do you want to wear it while doing dirty jobs or sports activities? No, in which case you need several watches, and to remember to change over when appropriate.
There is an alternative which is a watch built round an ETA mechanism. These are high quality Swiss mechanisms with good finish suitable for a display back. Makers such as Christopher Ward, Stowa and Limes use them as do many others.
www.stowa.de/lshop,showdetail,130726344423336,en,1307263492-23754,marine,marineautsilbermattdat,2,Tshowrub--marine,.htm
Bear in mind that you will pay about £100 for a service by a non brand repair shop and servicing will be every 4 or 5 years. And they might mark the case when opening the back. Even the top brand repairers can mark cases, so I am told.
I like the Nomos range. I wish I'd bought a Nomos Tangente when they were cheaper a few years ago. Possibly not to your taste though. The problem with posh watches is that you might get bored of the design, then you lose a lot of money selling a used watch, possibly with obvious scratches and marks on the case, although you can get it repolished. Or you have it sitting around in a draw.
Of course if you are a brand victim (spot the angle I come from) and want a Rolex, then go for it. Actually used examples probably have a not unreasonable resale value as long as you pay a reasonable price, and sell privately. But there are LOADS of fakes around, and it can be very hard to spot them, even if you open the back.
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Current Omega movements are "based on" ETA movements, whatever that means. Generally not the 2824/2836 though, but certainly the 2892 and the chronometer movements.
ETA and Omega are owned by Swatch Group, along with Rado, Longines, Tissot and other brands.
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I treated myself to a Stowa - much cheaper than the Seamaster I own, but is a more left-field brand as not many people have heard of them, a tad large for my taste, it has been de-badged in the style of a certain German car brand - it still looks a treat and has a cracking night display with clearly legible numbers - proper numerals ! I love the feel of it and the personal service from the company's owner...
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>>he 2892 and the chronometer movements
Correction, I meant the chronograph movements.
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I know this isn't really in the same league, but my son was given a new Tissot something or other less than a year ago, price about £250 and the battery recently died - the manual says expect it to last two years. When he took it back to the dealer's they quoted him £230 to replace the battery and re-waterproof the watch. When he blew up they said they realised they had made a mistake, etc, etc, and it would be all covered by the guarantee.
Now that people are being tempted into buying up-market watches instead of throw-away items, can we expect the watch business to go the same way as the motor trade? Will people who know no better be ripped off by the main dealers? And will people with expensive mechanical watches be talked into a rebuild every couple of years, like owning a Ferrari?
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 6 Jun 11 at 00:58
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That's "dealer servicing". It shouldn't be too hard to find a reliable shop to change the battery for a few pounds. Somebody with experience and a bit of care can remove and replace the back to change the battery and it will be fine. If you want the water resistance guaranteed then you should send it to the service centre yourself if you can, and it will cost you more - but I'd be amazed if it is anywhere near £230.
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I took a chance and let Timpson change the battery on my Breitling; it never goes deeper than the bathwater and it has been fine for that! My current favourite is a Citizen Skyhawk. Battery charged by any light source, 15 minutes in the sun charges it for 6 months, radio controlled in Europe, USA and Japan, and very waterproof Also has timer, stop watch and alarm and all world time zones
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>>my son was given a new Tissot something or other less than a year ago, price about £250 and the battery recently died - the manual says expect it to last two years. When he took it back to the dealer's they quoted him £230 to replace the battery and re-waterproof the watch
You could try
www.chealwatch.com/tissot.htm
or here is Tissot's services price list in CHF -
support.tissot.ch/?mod_repair
both ITRO £25.
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>>When he took it back to the dealer's they quoted him £230 to replace the battery and re-waterproof the watch>>
Seiko charges £25 for this service (you'll have to add the cost of sending it and having it returned as most watch outlets don't seem too keen on the re-sealing side!)
If you need a vintage Seiko watch repair, contact:
www.vintageseikorepair.co.uk
They are subcontracted by Seiko to repair vintage watch models and did a top class job on my 30-odd year old chronograph example last year.
See end of this link:
www.seiko.co.uk/faqs/repairs
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Further to Leif's post, there are a few watches here using swiss mech movements.
www.chronomaster.co.uk/index.htm
I have a Glycine Incursore (the one with the sub-seconds dial at 9 o'clock) that I am astonished to see is now £795 to buy - I doubt if I paid £300 for it, new.
My GMT watch has conked (the only working quartz watch I owned, a Citizen ecodrive) and I'm tempted by the Steinhart Ocean Vintage GMT at £345. I always liked the look of the 1970s Rolex Explorer on which the appearance is based (though the Rolex wasn't actually a dual time zone watch IIRC - the extra hour hand just went round once per day rather than twice, and wasn't separately adjustable). As far as I can ascertain the Steinhart is somewhat badge-engineered and produced by Grovana.
There's an argument that watches like this are a waste of money as they are neither fish nor fowl - a much cheaper quartz watch will be more accurate and probably durable, and they aren't a Rolex so they won't make a wealth statement if that's what you're after. Neither are they worth spending a fortune on servicing for.
Limes caught my eye when they came to the market maybe 10 years ago. They were cheaper then. They appear to be quality products though.
Apologies to Nick whose question hasn't been answered. If you really want to spend £4k on a watch, look at Rolex, IWC. The right one can retain a decent proportion of its value in real terms if you look after it. If you want an investment, look elsewhere unless you know the market very well.
Any watch over £100 is basically jewellery, or a toy.
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I rather have a thing for teh cheaper Armani watches. Ive had them for years, they have a look I cant resist. Usually £280-400, when I can afford it and mine have lasted although the straps dont ( £25 a pop!! ). Doesnt fit my image at all I know.
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This site has some interesting pieces: www.timefactors.com/new1.htm
I bought a Seiko mechanical from them several years ago. Have to send it off to Rye (Eddies recommendation) for servicing some time: don't know anyone who can do a decent job. I've got one or two watches, including an odd triangular-cased Orfina watch made in a batch for MoD personnel in Berlin. Not valuable - but belonged to family.
Last edited by: NortonES2 on Sun 5 Jun 11 at 16:03
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I have never spent more than about £35 on a watch. All I want is something light and slim, that's easy to read - and that means having hands. If it shows the date, that's OK, but will need resetting in some months anyway. Just as long as it's pleasantly functional.
I couldn't give a Tissot about what make it is.
Is there something wrong with me?
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FocalPoint said:
>> I have never spent more than about £35 on a watch. All I want is
>> something light and slim, that's easy to read - and that means having hands. If
>> it shows the date, that's OK, but will need resetting in some months anyway. Just
>> as long as it's pleasantly functional.
>>
>> I couldn't give a Tissot about what make it is.
>>
>> Is there something wrong with me?
Nothing wrong that therapy won't cure ... ;) Seriously though, I have known some quite wealthy people (millionaires) and none of them wore posh watches. One wears a nice but inexpensive Seiko quartz, and another wears a really odd geeky looking thing. It could be said that they have no need to make a statement. Rolex has a reputation of being favoured by estate agents and car salesmen, presumably because it is a way to make a statement about how good one is at the job i.e. it is a status symbol. Not that I am knocking Rolex, or people who wear one. We all have our own tastes.
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"Here is a subtle, classy understated timepiece"
The one review said it all in its breathless prose and inability to read the maanual etc..
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Ah yes indeed. The FFS model if I'm not mistaken?
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This company revived my dieing Seiko Kinetic watch. Useful info on the site too.
www.kinetic-repairs.co.uk/
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 14 Jun 11 at 15:02
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A Skagen watch is the featured product on the QVC shopping channel today.
No idea if it's any good - I was concentrating on the presenter Julia Roberts, who is well fit.
tinyurl.com/63t9dyy
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I've had one these for a few years. Clever thing. Solar powered and it keeps perfect time due to its radio signal reception thingy. Good when travelling too as it sets itself to local time when it "sees" a signal. I use it a lot for holidays, swimming, diving, and other occasions which involve mud / dirt / water etc.
www.watches2u.com/watches/casio/gw-002e-1ver-mens-g-shock-tough-solar-digital-watch.html
Not exactly a style statement but its very functional.
For almost everything else I use my 25 year old Tag. Good watch that. My ex-wife bought it for me. Only thing of even slight value I got to keep apart from my shotgun but I sold that before I was tempted to point it in her direction. Haven't seen or heard of her for 22 years now so she's quite safe to come out by the way !
Heh Heh !!
:-)
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>> in her direction. Haven't seen or heard of her for 22 years now so she's
>> quite safe to come out by the way !
Heard from her the other day. Now the gun has gone she wants the watch back.
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Aye well, she'll maybe be needing the money by now. She certainly knew how to spend it back then...Presumably someone generous has funded the past couple of decades.
:-))
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Modern watches are mainly of two sorts. Or were in my day.
A type that controls time using a crystal (xtal for short) --- in a tube about 8 mm long and 2.5mm diameter, approx. Its inside oscillates when driven by its electronics at a very stable frequency to control time accurately using electronic gearing (counters etc.) These xtals come into the country at a few pence each and are much the same in all these watches, so paying anything above about £25 for a watch is purely to show you are a wealthy person -- no business of mine if that is what you want to do. But nothing of significance for you in terms of time keeping. The one you pay a couple of pounds more for may have a trimmer on the xtal to tune it by a very small screw driver to a bit better accuracy.
I have some very nice watches (to me) that I paid no more than a tenner each for. Several different colour faced ones to go with all the various coloured jackets I own -- yes I use to like, err, impress the ladies, years ago, or so I thought. There used to be a lady near here who had an acquaintance in the import business who used to let here pick out the best looking of these low cost watches for her stall in a shopping centre. And the nice ones were really nice. I bought umpteen, they made nice presents. Perhaps buy a better bracelet.
The xtal type should have a long battery life as the electronics are low power. Unless a tiny battery has been used to be cheap, or because it is a very small watch.
The other type uses miniature tuning fork that is kept going mechanically by electronics. Not sure of the frequency of the 'fork'. No doubt Wiki does. But the 'fork' ratchets a wheel round -- a method to gear down the fork quiver by enough to drive the fingers without going via a lot more 'cogs'. A bit more power hungry, I guess.
There is also the (old fashioned) moving weight type driving a mechanical movement.
My guess is most of the works of these fork ones will also be much of a muchness in their time keeping.
So, again, I think expensive watches are bought to impress rather than for being better time keepers. I have seen a watch advertised as " will shortly become available" in a National newspaper at some astronomical cost, that has a black and white mundane looking face, that I would guess you gave £3 for if I did not know different. They sell because the are know to cost a lot.
Just a few thoughts. Not out for an argument.
Last edited by: busbee on Tue 14 Jun 11 at 19:34
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You missed out the purely mechanical, energy stored in a coiled spring, a need to be actually charged up by twiddling your fingers round a tiny knurled knob, or by rapid wrist movements. (down BBD)
Hellishly expensive (in relative terms) to make - Surely there is some joy and hence price to pay for having such mechanical perfection on your wrist?
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>Surely there is some joy and hence price to pay for having such mechanical perfection on your wrist?
Here's a video of what is done for a service on one of my watches (I have an incurable watch fetish) - click on "Mechanical Chronograph Maintenance". One section of the video shows all the parts ready for cleaning.
www.breitling.com/service/
Last edited by: Kevin on Tue 14 Jun 11 at 20:26
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...A type that controls time...
Now there's a feature I would pay extra for.
}:---3
Much guff is written by watch companies on the subject of time, as if that was what they were selling. (Imagine similar prose from a thermometer maker on the subject of heat.) A lady in a shop who was showing me an Oris (whose offerings then were stylish in a low key way, but these days get tackier with each new iteration) once asked me why time was important to me - presumably because she'd been trained to. Fatuous question, of course, and I gave what I hope was a tactful answer about machines and craftsmanship.
Never did buy an Oris; I rather went off automatic movements, so I went to the extremes and now have a time-only handwinder and a radio-controlled Casio.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Tue 14 Jun 11 at 21:11
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If you have four grand to spend, I would go for an Omega.
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My dear wife bought me a Seamaster as a fiftieth birthday present - I love it. Currently in for repair (bracelet) within warranty....but I can't wait for it to come back.
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I have a Seamaster that my wife bought me in the 80's. It has been an excellent timekeeper, has been serviced only once, and is worn daily.
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Digital watches seem to have made a comeback - style gurus such as our very own Humph recommends one for everyday use.
I've gone off and on digitals.
The Timex I rarely wear is analogue, but I can now no longer read the date window without my reading glasses.
Some people used to find analogues superior because they could 'see' the time from the position of the hands on the face - it's why watches with no numbers are readable.
But thanks to mobiles and computers, I think we are all now used to reading the time in numbers.
I'm OK with either, but prefer a digital display.
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It's been analog watches for me for years. I may be tempted back to an analog as a "bike" watch some day..
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I think, for what it's worth, the trick is context as with any garment or accessory. If the situation requires a formal dress code then a classic analogue is more likely to suit whereas with casual clothing a digital can look appropriate.
I though, tend to wear what I want when I want so can't really claim to follow any hard and fast rules. If I choose to go to work in a suit I can but equally I can go in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt if I decide to so my choice of watch for the day tends also to be a bit random. ( In the old meaning of the word of course ! )
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...I think, for what it's worth...
On questions of style, my opinion is worth less than most, but I think Humph is spot on.
A digi Casio with a black plastic strap looks naff with a suit.
If that's the only watch you have, better in those circumstances to put it in your pocket.
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Interestingly, or possibly not, Bill Clinton always used to wear a Timex "Ironman" digital when he was President whether he had a suit on or not. Their head office is in Little Rock Arkansas, not terribly coincidentally...
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...Interestingly, or possibly not...
That's tolerably interesting - I didn't know Timex is an American company.
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Indeed they are. Used to have a manufacturing branch in Dundee too though. Gone now.
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...Used to have a manufacturing branch in Dundee too though. Gone now...
That is also tolerably interesting because I'm sure the couple of Timexes I bought as a child were stamped 'Made in UK'.
My first LCD was a Timex.
I think my first, and only, LED watch was made by Texas Instruments.
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>> Indeed they are. Used to have a manufacturing branch in Dundee too though. Gone now.
Which at one time, turned out more electro mechanical sub assemblies for use in all sorts of equipment. They even built full computers on a subcontract basis at one time.
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The Scottish workers at the Timex Dundee factory had a reputation for militancy and strikes....
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There was going to be a large ford sub assembly factory there too, but the unions fought over a single union closed shop, so it went to Spain.
Dundee was the most unionised engineering workforce in the country. When NCR shut up shop they had no workforce left.
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You don't hear much from the unions about that how their behaviour affected the de-industrialization of this country. They just blame Maggie.
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"Hellishly expensive (in relative terms) to make - Surely there is some joy and hence price to pay for having such mechanical perfection on your wrist? "
Ah, but you normally can't see the works while your walking about, and so only you know what is inside it. Perhaps that is all that matters.
My father was quite useful with his hands and often cheaply acquired things needing repair. He had a couple of mechanical pocket watches that had fascinating insides. One had a miniature bike chain in the drive mechanism. He had repaired the chain. I guess by taking a broken link out.
Perhaps the proper place for them is on open display under a glass dome.
We also went through the chiming and grandfather clock era. Nowadays you can buy all the bits to make such things. I have a colleague who sells the bits. The original owner went bust and he bought up all his stock at an auction.
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Watches - rtj70
