Watches

[smltwnrckr]

9 hours ago, TheSanDiegan said:

Here are my favorite three beaters - a Seiko SKX007, a Citizen NY0041, and a Makara Sea Turtle. The Seiko is iconic, the Citizen was good enough to be standard issue for the Marina Militare, and the Sea Turtle is just a bitchin' chunk of bronze. Cannot recommend a good NATO, Zulu, or Perlon strap high enough for a watch you plan on subjecting to some abuse. 

Those seiko divers are nice. I've been eyeing the newer seiko 5 sports and waiting to see if the price will come down just a bit eventually before nabbing one. I have one of the older seiko 5s that I got s good deal on about a year ago that I like a lot and wear all the time.

I'm a cheap sonofabitch and my presbyterian upbringing ensures that I can never enjoy something I bought for myself that isnt absolutely necessary or wasnt a bargain. So I into watches about a year ago and have been relegated to a few entry level automatics, some good-for-under-$100 quartz watches and a handful of cheap but good looking watches. 

[smltwnrckr]

11 hours ago, Stealthlobo said:

Any watch enthusiasts here? Im pretty new to the game and have a quartz Movado. Just purchased my first automatic, a Hamilton. And looking at a Tudor now.... Any connoisseurs advice?

This may sound low rent but places like ross and tj maxx can often have some pretty good deals on halfway decent watches. Also, thrift stores and antique stores are great now that I am getting into watches. Those places sometimes have some great stuff. One of my local thrift stores had an older Soviet style watch for like $50 that I almost bought but decided to wait. Went a couple days later to get it, but it was gone. 

[NMpackalum]

12 hours ago, Stealthlobo said:

Any watch enthusiasts here? Im pretty new to the game and have a quartz Movado. Just purchased my first automatic, a Hamilton. And looking at a Tudor now.... Any connoisseurs advice?

I just bought a black and Sedna gold Omega Seamaster Professional. I got interested in watches when I had a Swiss foreign exchange student’s parents gift me a Maurice Le Croix masterpiece chronograph. I didn’t know for several years how much it was worth. 
 

Tudors, you probably know is a Rolex subsidiary that’s really popular right now especially the Black Bays. It will hold it’s value if not appreciate a little in a few years. The hottest low key brand right now is probably Grand Seiko. Watch Hodinkees interview with John Mayer. It will geek you out. Tread lightly my friend, watches are an expensive addiction. 

[DoubleBlueGold]

6 hours ago, East Coast Aztec said:

I don't  have Patek money.  I recently bought a pair of watches that use wood and metal, but still have a perpetual motion swing for one, and a nautical setup on the other.  They look clean, and I only dropped $90 apiece.  I'll post a pic when I am back from vacation 

I wish I had Tag Heuer or Hublot money. 

[tailingpermit]

I wear the Patrick Bateman Rolex, very early 80’s that needs to be serviced and the face updated with crystal.

[DoubleBlueGold]

1 hour ago, smltwnrckr said:

This may sound low rent but places like ross and tj maxx can often have some pretty good deals on halfway decent watches. Also, thrift stores and antique stores are great now that I am getting into watches. Those places sometimes have some great stuff. One of my local thrift stores had an older Soviet style watch for like $50 that I almost bought but decided to wait. Went a couple days later to get it, but it was gone. 

Pfff. I have no issues shopping at those. I find Marshall's to be the "upscale" budget retailer. Normstrom's Rack sales their main sotres overstock/last season's leftovers at reasonable prices.

[TheSanDiegan]

3 hours ago, Stealthlobo said:

Wow! That awesome!  have the open heart jazz master hamilton. I would love to own an Omega.

I'm actually looking at the black bay fifty-eight bronze Tudor

If I was going to plunk down the money for a nice bronze diver, I would gravitate towards the BBB as well. 

I was lucky to find an inexpensive microbrand that had the right vibe in a bronze watch I was looking for. I could club an elephant seal to death with that thing.

[smltwnrckr]

52 minutes ago, DoubleBlueGold said:

Pfff. I have no issues shopping at those. I find Marshall's to be the "upscale" budget retailer. Normstrom's Rack sales their main sotres overstock/last season's leftovers at reasonable prices.

Yea, I love those places and do most of my clothes shopping at places like them outside of something like a suit. And I've seen good deals on watch brands like Movado and Citizen at those kinds of places before, so I always look at the watch counter to see if there is a deal to be had. But as pointed out, the watch world is a world inhabited by men of expensive tastes who use "affordable" to describe $1,000 watches. I assume some of them are snobs.

That's how it is in the guitar world at least... most people are cool, but there are some snobs there too. I used to play a $100 DeArmond junk guitar at gigs and get shit from tone junkies. It's like, I play this thing here because it's loud and I don't care if it breaks. I'd tell them what I had at home and what I recorded on and they'd shut up pretty quick. 

I started to like watches because they are a lot like guitars. They range from utility to mechanical works of art. You don't need to own a $10k vintage strat to appreciate it, and you can also buy a $500 version that basically does the same thing. And if you like your entry level axe, then it's all the value you need. 

[TheSanDiegan]

2 hours ago, smltwnrckr said:

Those seiko divers are nice. I've been eyeing the newer seiko 5 sports and waiting to see if the price will come down just a bit eventually before nabbing one. I have one of the older seiko 5s that I got s good deal on about a year ago that I like a lot and wear all the time.

I'm a cheap sonofabitch and my presbyterian upbringing ensures that I can never enjoy something I bought for myself that isnt absolutely necessary or wasnt a bargain. So I into watches about a year ago and have been relegated to a few entry level automatics, some good-for-under-$100 quartz watches and a handful of cheap but good looking watches. 

Seiko has jacked up the price of the 5 line since their redesign. A lot of people don't know that Seiko makes some of the finest horological works of art under the Grand Seiko line - Patek quality at Tag prices.

If I might humbly suggest tho, pay the marginal extra amount for the SKX/SPRC/etc lines - unlike the 5 series, these are true dive watches (ISO 6425 certified) with a screw-down crown and a tested depth rating of 200m. The now-discontinued SKX line can be found on the gray market for +/-$200.

[Slapdad]

11 hours ago, TheSanDiegan said:

This is correct.

Cufflinks have to have a place at the table too. And, depending on the year and if it is in style or not, a tie-bar. 

[smltwnrckr]

10 minutes ago, TheSanDiegan said:

Seiko has jacked up the price of the 5 line since their redesign. A lot of people don't know that Seiko makes some of the finest horological works of art under the Grand Seiko line - Patek quality at Tag prices.

If I might humbly suggest tho, pay the marginal extra amount for the SKX/SPRC/etc lines - unlike the 5 series, these are true dive watches (ISO 6425 certified) with a screw-down crown and a tested depth rating of 200m. The now-discontinued SKX line can be found on the gray market for +/-$200.

I like those SKXs a lot. I haven't looked into the new 5 line enough to see what their specs are... Honestly, I am thinking my next purchase would be one of those (SKX) or a Citizen Eco Drive Chronograph. The dive watch and chronograph I have now are cheap but I find myself wearing them a ton, so I would like to eventually step up a grade with each. 

If I ever decide to get into a five-figure watch, it will probably be a Grand Seiko. My understanding is that they are the best horological bang for the buck... expensive, but they really punch above their weight. That may be my gift to myself when I finish my PhD. 

[Slapdad]

I have two Omega watches (Constellation and a Deville) that were my dad's, a Skagen that now looks horribly dated (their calling card of being so thin and the small face shouts 1980's), an ESQ (the sports division of Movado), and Cartier Tank. I had a Rolex that my ex-wife walked off with in the divorce and my favorite was a Tag Heuer Link with diamonds that I forgot to take out of my console when I took my car in for service and it disappeared. I loved the feel of the Tag....still infuriates me!

 

[TheSanDiegan]

2 hours ago, smltwnrckr said:

This may sound low rent but places like ross and tj maxx can often have some pretty good deals on halfway decent watches. Also, thrift stores and antique stores are great now that I am getting into watches. Those places sometimes have some great stuff. One of my local thrift stores had an older Soviet style watch for like $50 that I almost bought but decided to wait. Went a couple days later to get it, but it was gone. 

I've bought watches at TJ Maxx. I once bought a $500 Victorinox chronograph for $49 as a birthday gift for a friend; he was stoked. 

I'd add Kohl's to that list as well. With stackable coupons you can get a screamin' deal. 

[TheSanDiegan]

1 hour ago, DoubleBlueGold said:

I wish I had Tag Heuer or Hublot money. 

There are so many good watches out there for less than what Tags cost, let alone a Hublot. $1,000 gets you a lot of watch in the gray market, including those with a fit and finish superior to most if not all Tags.

[TheSanDiegan]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:25 AM, Slapdad said:

I have two Omega watches (Constellation and a Deville) that were my dad's, a Skagen that now looks horribly dated (their calling card of being so thin and the small face shouts 1980's), an ESQ (the sports division of Movado), and Cartier Tank. I had a Rolex that my ex-wife walked off with in the divorce and my favorite was a Tag Heuer Link with diamonds that I forgot to take out of my console when I took my car in for service and it disappeared. I loved the feel of the Tag....still infuriates me!

 

Your dad has/had good taste.  My first good watch was a Constellation, purchased about 30 years ago.

And my Co-Axial GMT is a DeVille (top-right corner of the box pic on pg1).

Rolex's have a tortured history with my family as well. My grandfather had a Submariner that was stolen from his bathroom by a landscaper he had let in to use it. And my dad had a Day Date he sold for fifty cents on the dollar without my knowledge (hell, I would have given him $.60 on the $1).

Always been a fan of the Cartier Tank as well.

[TheSanDiegan]

32 minutes ago, Slapdad said:

Cufflinks have to have a place at the table too. And, depending on the year and if it is in style or not, a tie-bar. 

I have a few pairs but only wear French cuffs about 20% of the time when I'm in business attire and don't attend many formal functions (pre-pandemic), so they don't get much wear. However, I'm sitting on a pair of jasper New Kingdom scarabs I plan on having set in gold and made into cufflinks at some point.

[TheSanDiegan]

8 hours ago, East Coast Aztec said:

I don't  have Patek money.  I recently bought a pair of watches that use wood and metal, but still have a perpetual motion swing for one, and a nautical setup on the other.  They look clean, and I only dropped $90 apiece.  I'll post a pic when I am back from vacation 

There are a metric f*ckton of fine-as-wine luxury watches out there between the two marker stakes you placed. $1,000 will get you a helluva fine watch that will last longer than you will my friend. I've always considered you a man of taste and would humbly recommend you at least give the idea some consideration.

[NMpackalum]

40 minutes ago, smltwnrckr said:

I like those SKXs a lot. I haven't looked into the new 5 line enough to see what their specs are... Honestly, I am thinking my next purchase would be one of those (SKX) or a Citizen Eco Drive Chronograph. The dive watch and chronograph I have now are cheap but I find myself wearing them a ton, so I would like to eventually step up a grade with each. 

If I ever decide to get into a five-figure watch, it will probably be a Grand Seiko. My understanding is that they are the best horological bang for the buck... expensive, but they really punch above their weight. That may be my gift to myself when I finish my PhD. 

Be careful of the eco drive chronos, I have 2 and even though they look good, one of them quit working even after factory servicing after 2 years. If you look at some of the forums, that’s not unusual with their battery.

[smltwnrckr]

Just now, NMpackalum said:

Be careful of the eco drive chronos, I have 2 and even though they look good, one of them quit working even after factory servicing after 2 years. If you look at some of the forums, that’s not unusual with their battery.

Really? Huh, thanks for the tip. Is that just with the Chronos, or with Eco Drives in general? I will look around more before making any kind of decision. 

[Slapdad]

38 minutes ago, TheSanDiegan said:

I have a few pairs but only wear French cuffs about 20% of the time when I'm in business attire and don't attend many formal functions (pre-pandemic), so they don't get much wear. However, I'm sitting on a pair of jasper New Kingdom scarabs I plan on having set in gold and made into cufflinks at some point.

I just wore a pair last week that have my dad's initial on it....they're not the most expensive or flashy, but they mean a lot for obvious reasons. I also have a pair of cufflinks (and a matching money clip) that was given to my late uncle. His initials were JPA and when arranged in the usual monogram style, spells JAP. For someone who was shot in the leg in WWII on Iwo Jima, wearing those were just out of the question.