Watches, then?

holnrew

Grumble, I feel poor as bollocks.

Cacofonix

Seiko.  I have two.  One is from Greece and has two possibilities for the language of the days of the week.  I use the English ones, because that's how I roll.

My father bought a Seamaster years ago, and he threw his seiko at the wall when he got it.

Totally embarassed that the seiko survived the impact but the seamaster broke down within weeks of normal wear. It did get repaired and lasted pretty much forever after that.  And as a scuba diver, it did get tested at pressure too.

I also bought  a Festina from Crete, which is and was awesome, but the battery died, and there are no "watches of Switzerland" places within 100 miles to get it replaced.

Rolex - apparently there is a note in the box that says if it runs fast, put it on its back at night, but if it runs slow put it on its side, or something.  What?  At £5k it had better run perfect!!!

boogieman

Cacofonix;235015" said:

Seiko.  I have two.  One is from Greece and has two possibilities for the language of the days of the week.  I use the English ones, because that's how I roll.



My father bought a Seamaster years ago, and he threw his seiko at the wall when he got it.



Totally embarassed that the seiko survived the impact but the seamaster broke down within weeks of normal wear. It did get repaired and lasted pretty much forever after that.  And as a scuba diver, it did get tested at pressure too.



I also bought  a Festina from Crete, which is and was awesome, but the battery died, and there are no "watches of Switzerland" places within 100 miles to get it replaced.



Rolex - apparently there is a note in the box that says if it runs fast, put it on its back at night, but if it runs slow put it on its side, or something.  What?  At £5k it had better run perfect!!!

I've got a Festina too. Why take it to a Watches of Switzerland just for a battery change? Get a replacement off Amazon and do it yourself, it'll only cost about 40p for a new battery.

chrispy108

I might get one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pebble-Black-paper-Android-iPhone/dp/B00BKEQBI0

I suspect most of you won't approve...

Richardj

I have a couple of TAG's, an F1 I got in the mid '90s because I am a big F1 fan, and a 2000 professional because I like the simple/classic stainless steel/blue dial combo.  They keep excellent time, the batteries last on average 4-5 years and I like the sporting history of the brand.

However, the watch I really want is an Omega Seamaster.  Looks very good, works beautifully and a certain uber-cool agent wears one!

FX_Munkee

boogieman said:

I've got a Festina too. Why take it to a Watches of Switzerland just for a battery change? Get a replacement off Amazon and do it yourself, it'll only cost about 40p for a new battery.

This. If it's a screw back case, get a tool of 't 'bay for about a fiver. If it's a push close you might need a "case closer" which are about a tenner.

TimmyO

stickyfiddle said:

I'm pretty sure the correct answer here is a Seiko. The SNZF17 is a pretty looking thing and boatloads cheaper than anything swiss. 

http://image.rakuten.co.jp/watchking/cabinet/08/snzf17j1-b.jpg

Some day I'm sure I'll end up with something posher but probably not this year.

"Ah, I see you wanted a Submariner"   <-- get used to hearing that I reckon ;-) 

Many years ago I really pushed the boat out and bought myself my dream watch. A total extravagance. I've worn it nearly every day for about 16 years. And in that time I've not been tempted to get anything else, because I got the one I wanted first time around. 

In 10 years time you'll have kids and whatnot and might wish you'd done it when it was at least possible, albeit hard to justify.

But remember, if you can do it, then wanting it IS justification :-) 

TimmyO

and on a more general note - sometimes this place has interesting stuff 

http://www.rltwatches.co.uk/

stickyfiddle

chrispy108 said:

I might get one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pebble-Black-paper-Android-iPhone/dp/B00BKEQBI0

I suspect most of you won't approve...

That's not a watch- it's a toy. Watches don't become obsolete after 5 years

TimmyO

one-handed watch 

http://rltwatches.co.uk/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=7&product_id=2

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

stickyfiddle said:

I'm pretty sure the correct answer here is a Seiko. The SNZF17 is a pretty looking thing and boatloads cheaper than anything swiss. 

http://image.rakuten.co.jp/watchking/cabinet/08/snzf17j1-b.jpg

Some day I'm sure I'll end up with something posher but probably not this year.

"Ah, I see you wanted a Submariner"   <-- get used to hearing that I reckon ;-) 

Many years ago I really pushed the boat out and bought myself my dream watch. A total extravagance. I've worn it nearly every day for about 16 years. And in that time I've not been tempted to get anything else, because I got the one I wanted first time around. 

In 10 years time you'll have kids and whatnot and might wish you'd done it when it was at least possible, albeit hard to justify.

But remember, if you can do it, then wanting it IS justification :-) 

I knew you'd say pretty much all of that. The thing is, even with a Tag Aquaracer or Omega Seamaster is still basically a knockoff Sub. I could of course get a knockoff from the markets in Dubai. Apparently very convincing and usually made with decent Seiko movements.

Neil

*Warning, watch hobbyist who may bore you*  

People who know nothing about watches may not know the difference between say a Rolex and a Tissot but to a watch fancier they are worlds apart.

The main difference in mechanical watches is between in-house makers who design and make their own movements and the vast majority of parts and the lower level assemblers who use generic movements, parts etc. A  comparison may be with something like a famous guitar make and a much cheaper copy that looks superficially the same to the uninitiated but contains cheap hardware, pickups etc etc. 

Certain makes of watches have been very good investments over the years BTW Tag is not one of them. 

I collect mainly vintage watches and don't like paying through the nose so I scour flea markets etc in my spare time. Through this I was able to get my Gibson Les Paul in a straight swap  for a watch that stood me in £140. 

If you know what you are looking at vintage watches can be very lucrative. 

Here are a couple of my Rolexes, a U series Sea Dweller and an  A series Submariner..

I also like old Omega Speedmasters, here's my crappy site if you are interested..

http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

holnrew

I really like skeleton watches where you can see the movement.

TimmyO

Neil said:

*Warning, watch hobbyist who may bore you*  

People who know nothing about watches may not know the difference between say a Rolex and a Tissot but to a watch fancier they are worlds apart.

The main difference in mechanical watches is between in-house makers who design and make their own movements and the vast majority of parts and the lower level assemblers who use generic movements, parts etc. A  comparison may be with something like a famous guitar make and a much cheaper copy that looks superficially the same to the uninitiated but contains cheap hardware, pickups etc etc. 

Certain makes of watches have been very good investments over the years BTW Tag is not one of them. 

I collect mainly vintage watches and don't like paying through the nose so I scour flea markets etc in my spare time. Through this I was able to get my Gibson Les Paul in a straight swap  for a watch that stood me in £140. 

If you know what you are looking at vintage watches can be very lucrative. 

Here are a couple of my Rolexes, a U series Sea Dweller and an  A series Submariner..

I also like old Omega Speedmasters, here's my crappy site if you are interested..

http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

Nice.

Mine:

Neil

^^^

Can't beat an SD.

Did you buy it new?

It will date from 1998-2000.

thermionic

FX_Munkee said:

boogieman said:

I've got a Festina too. Why take it to a Watches of Switzerland just for a battery change? Get a replacement off Amazon and do it yourself, it'll only cost about 40p for a new battery.

This. If it's a screw back case, get a tool of 't 'bay for about a fiver. If it's a push close you might need a "case closer" which are about a tenner.

I bought one of those tools, for an old TAG that I didn't want to pay £40 (probably more by now) for it to be sent to Manchester for a battery change that takes 10 days. The tool is utter crap and it has failed to open the back.

TimmyO

Neil;235093" said:

^^^

Can't beat an SD.



Did you buy it new?

It will date from 1998-2000.

Yep I bought it in either 98 or 99, I don't recall exactly. The box and papers are in the loft somewhere.

boogieman

thermionic;235125" said:

FX_Munkee said:



boogieman said:






I've got a Festina too. Why take it to a Watches of Switzerland just for a battery change? Get a replacement off Amazon and do it yourself, it'll only cost about 40p for a new battery.












This. If it's a screw back case, get a tool of 't 'bay for about a fiver. If it's a push close you might need a "case closer" which are about a tenner.










I bought one of those tools, for an old TAG that I didn't want to pay £40 (probably more by now) for it to be sent to Manchester for a battery change that takes 10 days. The tool is utter crap and it has failed to open the back.

I just use a pair of thin nosed pliers for screw backs does the job a treat. For push fit backs I use a swiss army knife.

viz

chillidoggy said:

Yeah, c'mon Sticky, you know joneve is right, you want it really!

Anyway, this really isn't the place to come when you want to be persuaded NOT to buy something, now is it?

@chillidoggy I thought you were banned from threads that might encourage people to spend a lot of dosh?

badlydrawnbanjo

richardhomer;234625" said:

[quote="jellyroll;234614"]It's a shame the mechanism isn't visible because it really is astounding how it works 

Fortunately Omega make ones with transparent backs...
[/quote]

My Tag (a wedding present from the wife) has a transparent back.
http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o605/banjo74/23CCEB5C-4DAC-485A-A993-87EDFFCA4415_zpsa5rk4bdg.jpg

http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o605/banjo74/1902E010-DA45-4931-B90A-24AA200C2C61_zpse865lv7d.jpg