Any watch nerds on Icrontic?
After years of not wearing a watch, telling myself that a cell phone was "good enough," my better fashion sense took over and I ended up ordering the Fossil FS4519.
I bought it because it looked nice, not because it was necessarily any "good." Nevertheless, I fell in love with watches and have started pursuing it as a hobby. More recently, it prompted me to crack open my Fossil and discover that it uses a nice Citizen/Miyota quartz movement. Nine point nine out of ten times, quartz is quartz, but Miyota is reputable and reliable, so my blind purchase wasn't a total waste of cash.
Now onto the hobbyism! I've since become especially interested in Chinese mechanical watches, because they're largely unknown in the west (lolhipsterwatches) and offer some sensational value for the money. Some of the long-standing manufacturers are also pioneers in the field of horology, like:
In watch enthusiast forums, there's a term called "mushroom brand," which refers to unknown companies that pop up on eBay like mushrooms. These brands have no provenance and no history, often with specious quality control. Nevertheless, they often use what are supposed to be good movements from some of the above companies. If you're lucky, you get a fantastic mechanical watch for a fraction of the price you'd pay for the same guts in a bigger/better brand. If you're not lucky, you get a shitty C-grade movement that doesn't keep time or doesn't work at all.
...but it's only ~$30 to try your hand. So I did. Twice. They haven't arrived, yet, but these are what I got:
I bought it because it looked nice, not because it was necessarily any "good." Nevertheless, I fell in love with watches and have started pursuing it as a hobby. More recently, it prompted me to crack open my Fossil and discover that it uses a nice Citizen/Miyota quartz movement. Nine point nine out of ten times, quartz is quartz, but Miyota is reputable and reliable, so my blind purchase wasn't a total waste of cash.
Now onto the hobbyism! I've since become especially interested in Chinese mechanical watches, because they're largely unknown in the west (lolhipsterwatches) and offer some sensational value for the money. Some of the long-standing manufacturers are also pioneers in the field of horology, like:
- SeaGull/Tianjin: Amongst the elite few that have developed in-house double and orbital tourbillon movements. Also engineered a prototypical microrotor movement. Manufacturer behind the legendarily good ST5, ST19 and ST25 mechanicals.
- Shanghai Watch Factory: Developed the 3L chronograph, China's first auto movement ready for spaceflight. Also engineering their own tourbillon movements with a wide array of complications.
- Dixmont-Guangzhou: Pioneer of an auto-winder in a tourbillon with their DG80 and DG81 movements.
- Liaoning Watch Factory: Engineer of unbeatable value-for-money tourbillon and mechanical chronograph movements, the latter of which appeared in the British Horological Institute's 150th anniversary watch.
- Timex Weekender T2N650: Not made in America, but nevertheless an esteemed American-owned watch company, the Weekender is a utilitarian and ultra-durable quartz model that looks great with casual wear. Most snobs will lift their nose at the audible movement, but I find the ticking strangely reassuring in a quiet room--reminds me of the old clocks in elementary school.
- Akribos XXIV Saturnos AK410WT: Make no mistake, this is not a high-end watch, but I got a stupidly good deal on it. It features a skeletonized variant of the Hangzhou Watch Company's 2000 Series calibre, itself an excellent "clone" (I use that term very loosely) of the venerable Seiko 7s26. In truth, the HWC's 2000 offers more complications and equal timekeeping consistency, making it an arguably better movement than the one it's alleged to copy. It keeps time very well (+/-5 seconds over 24 hours), and the auto-wind rotor seems to work well. Again, my gamble paid off.
- Orient Esteem FDB08005W: This is the watch that set me off on the path of Asian mechanical watches. I fell in love with it at first sight, but was forced to wait on pulling the trigger because it was out of stock. When it returned, I told myself to wait for a sale and I'm glad I did, as I purchased it recently for less than half of the MSRP. Orient is subsidiary of Seiko, and the Esteem is fully manufactured and assembled in Japan with the Seiko 46A automatic movement. Reliable and beautiful, this is probably my favorite watch.
In watch enthusiast forums, there's a term called "mushroom brand," which refers to unknown companies that pop up on eBay like mushrooms. These brands have no provenance and no history, often with specious quality control. Nevertheless, they often use what are supposed to be good movements from some of the above companies. If you're lucky, you get a fantastic mechanical watch for a fraction of the price you'd pay for the same guts in a bigger/better brand. If you're not lucky, you get a shitty C-grade movement that doesn't keep time or doesn't work at all.
...but it's only ~$30 to try your hand. So I did. Twice. They haven't arrived, yet, but these are what I got:
- Jaragar PMW017: I liked the calendar (though it's not a perpetual calendar) and the dial, and was particularly enamored with the open heart balance wheel. I'm almost positive that this is the Shanghai Watch Factory 2L27 movement.
- And an AK Homme Whothefuckknows: AK Homme is widely reported to be of above-average quality amongst mushroom brands (much like Jaragar), and again I was smitten with the open heart. The listing also describes the watch as moonphase, but in truth it's really a day/night indicator that embellishes the dial. The 24-hour dial is legit, though, and that's pretty cool. It uses the Shandong Liaocheng Zhong Tai Watch Factory ML-7101 that's been rotated to place the open heart at the 10 o'clock position.
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//EDIT: Chiefly because pocket watches present the same issue as cellphones, in that you need to retrieve something from your pocket to tell the time. It is also my personal belief that they fall dangerously close to the "dork" end of the classic/ironic spectrum.
If the former, what's your price range and stylistic preference? I'll nevertheless explain why I chose what I did.
You guys probably know that I'm a clock nut - my grandfather is a watchmaker, and I've always grown up with a watch on my wrist. I love them, and I think they're the most under appreciated yet significant fashion item any person can wear - not to mention totally useful to boot. I've thought about making this thread for years, but I never did because I'm dumb.
The watch I wear the most is my Tissot Ballade III automatic. Stainless steel body (because my skin is toxic to basically anything but stainless or titanium), sapphire crystal, 25 jewel movement, ball-bearing winding rotor, coin-edge face. I love it to death. I also have two simple Caravelles, an Eternamatic automatic winding watch from the 60s, and an Elgin pocketwatch from 1925 (a gift from my grandfather). Totally agree with you @Thrax on the pocketwatch bit. It's fun, but not in any way useful.
Tourbillons own. Though not Chinese (French, created by Breguet), only a few of the best watchmakers of all time have mastered the double axis, so props to SeaGull/Tianjin. I want a timepiece with a tourbillon, but to be completely honest on them, they're mostly show and no substance. Sure, they are devised to reduce the affects of gravity on the escapement, but the effects are negligible at best, and rarely escape the standard offset of user inaccuracy in setting time. Still, they're a hell of a thing to look at:
To anyone considering buying a wrist watch, be prepared to invest real money into it. Don't cheap out on a simple watch - you will often find that they break, keep poor time, scratch easily, etc. A good timepiece is a lifetime investment - this Tissot will last me for the rest of my life as long as I don't abuse it. My grandfather wears watches from the early 1900s like it's nothing. It's worth it to pay $200-450 for a wrist watch.
I know it sounds pretentious to say buy Swiss/French, but seriously, they make the best movements. Not saying Thrax's picks are bad (they're reputable watchmakers), I've just seen enough Euro watches stand the test of time for serious. Built like tanks, incredible craftsmanship.
Just buy a watch, everyone. It beats the living hell out of looking at your cell, and makes you look like a classy dude.
Leather or nylon NATO straps will be light and considerably more adjustable than some stainless band. The links in these bands are placed closer than the width of the links in a steel bracelet, so you'll get dinner adjustment.
I got over something on my wrist in a week.
In the mid- to high-end, I'd say East and West ate easily rivals these days. I also keep in mind that America dominated the Swiss in watchmaking in the early 20th century, to the extent they were cloning American watches. The Swiss finally got over that and, over the course of 70 years, became legendary. The exact same story is transpiring with China: scrappy cloners of Swiss movements learned to work on their own, started churning out movements that are reputable over half-century periods (ST5 and Chinese Standard Movement are great examples).
That said, I'm all about owning a Tissot, Longines and (if I ever have nothing at all to spend my money on) a Baume & Mercier.
There's definitely something to be said for getting a purely mechanical watch, and some day I will own one or multiple and have the nice self-winding storage boxes, but for now, I'm quite pleased with this guy.
I have 2 watches:
1. Seiko Kinetic SKA060. The first real thing I bought for myself (15 years ago, now). Steel bands are the shizz and I won't ever go back to any other material. It needs a new super-cap, but that's a relatively minor fix (I did it once, but bought the wrong capacity and it died really quickly).
2. A 1911 Illinois pocket watch I inherited when my grandfather died last year. It's in relatively good shape, but needs about $200 of TLC (disassembly, cleaning, a couple of minor spring repairs). Digging into the history of a pocket watch is a rathole of epic proportions, so don't look up the serial number of one unless you've got several hours to burn. I don't have a pic handy right now.
@fatcat Your watch embodies why we will never, ever agree on the design of... anything.
Even if it weren't however, I'd be a watch guy. Timepieces are my favorite category of thing. Watches, wall clocks, grandfather clocks, sundials, hour-glasses, whatever. My favorite is a Foucault's Pendulum, but those are unfortunately impractical for home ownership.
My everyday watch right now is a Casio Waveceptor with a stainless steel band and black face:
It's got all the features I like for the practicality of everyday use: stainless steel band, date display, kinetic power, and radio-set.
My current favorite dress watch is my Akribos XXIV Davinci with stainless steel face and black leather band:
I LOVE the classy look of this watch. It reflects my personality and style well, but it wouldn't be practical for everyday use, as it has none of the features on the above list of requirements for my everyday watch. It gets wound and set for special occasions only.
I have a box full of other watches, as well, mostly old dailywears that wore out or were for some other reason replaced. At one point I was really into calculator watches, so there are a few of those in there. I also had a Databank phase in which I really liked the ability to keep phone numbers and calendars and stuff in my watch, so there are a few of those as well (those are functions I have happily handed over to my pocket communicator).
Among them are a few antiques, and a few cool styles, but nothing impressive in name, as I've never really had the funds to gather anything of remark. Someday, I will have the funds for the higher-end watches, but that might have to be a retirement hobby for me.
I also have several pocket watches, most of which are antique, and most of those are not actually in time-telling condition. The only one I actually use is an engraved, chromed steel, modernish piece which matches one in the possession of each of the other Mitey Worriers, and which they received from me on the occasion of my wedding. I wear it as a costume piece on occasion. Some of you saw it (or at least the chain) last ICOK, as it's part of my 'Devil of the Puritan Wilderness' costume.
Most watches are technically unisex, even if they're labelled as "male." Changing the strap color does a lot to enhance the femininity of a watch, for example.
Female watches are also increasing in size, putting watches with 37-40mm dials, once the exclusive domain of men, into fashionable women's territory. If you provide a budget, I could make some recommendations.
@Lincoln:
If you like that, I think you'll like watches by Timex, Wenger, Victorinox, Skagen or Obaku.
If you're particularly snobby, you might steer clear of Skagen or Obaku for having completely fabricated lineages. Skagen claims to be Danish, but it's headquartered in Las Vegas, owned by a Floridian and assembled in China with movements of average quality. Obaku, meanwhile, invokes Japanese provenance, but is designed by Danes and assembled in China with the corpse of Ingersoll Watch Company, an American brand that long ago lost its prestige as it was sold to a chain of successively less talented companies.
Skagen and Obaku are solid, but not as solid as more reputable and truthful brands in their price bracket.
31 jewel movement
self-winding
31 hour power reserve
water resistant to 660'
Not bad for a $70 ebay purchase shipped from Moscow. I've had no problems with accuracy or reliability. One could say the Vostok is the AK-47 of watches; functional, reliable but not refined. Perhaps the best example of this is the steel link band the watch comes with. The folded steel links will tear the hair from your arm if they get even remotely close to your skin. I've yet to meet a Vostok owner who keeps the stock bracelet. You almost are required to switch to a NATO strap with one of these.
If you're looking for an inexpensive self-winding watch, check out Vostoks. They're great starters.
Zarya, in particular, makes a gorgeous (true) moonphase auto based on the incredible Poljot 3105.1. It's a weird blend of dress and field watch, and I love it.
Its less having something on my arm than the flopping around.
Also, this one: http://www.fossil.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12052&langId=-1&catalogId=25005&partNumber=ME1098P&cm_vc=PDPZ1
Considering the price tag and my history with watches, however, it will probably always be an unfulfilled love. :/