The watch thread: pocket, wrist, sporty, showy? You name it!

[Rob998]

It does, it's nothing special iirc.. They charge like a rhino for the fitting.

Battery, pressure test etc from your local Timsons should be about £15, and sometimes they do free batteries for life promotions.

 

[tones]

My dad used to fly large planes for a living (well , navigator then flight engineer) and for many years he would wear watches he got for free from magazines, or $10 "rolexes" from Singapore.

My main problem is finding something suitably pilot that will fit on her tiny little wrists!

 

[-alan-]

My main problem is finding something suitably pilot that will fit on her tiny little wrists!

Does she really want a 'pilot' watch ? .. only reason I ask is that they seem even less common amongst pilots than Submariners do in genuine sub-sea types.

 

[Still]

It does, it's nothing special iirc.. They charge like a rhino for the fitting.

Battery, pressure test etc from your local Timsons should be about £15, and sometimes they do free batteries for life promotions.

Thanks for the pointers, man.
This is the first battery powered watch I've worn in 35ish years!

 

[Marmite]

Was quoted £80 for battery changes on a Longines Grand Classique Quartz and a couple of Mondaines.. Being a Yorkshireman who has spent nearly 2 decades in Scotland, (in other words, I'm tighter than 2 coats of paint) I bought the right spec Renata batteries off Amazon and did the job myself for under a tenner. I guess a divers watch with a screw on back (rather than press-on or set screws) may require investment in the right tool for removal.

An easy DIY job if you can forego the pressure test.. In my experience, most divers watches don't go any deeper than the washing-up bowl.

 

[Spike]

Does she really want a 'pilot' watch ? .. only reason I ask is that they seem even less common amongst pilots than Submariners do in genuine sub-sea types.

Once upon a time most professional divers wore a Submariner. Now superceeded by a dive watch.

 

[tones]

Does she really want a 'pilot' watch ? .. only reason I ask is that they seem even less common amongst pilots than Submariners do in genuine sub-sea types.

Ultimately entirely up to her individual taste. Certainly what you say is true - you don't see many Breitling Navitimers and the like! And I suspect that the original long-distance pilot watch, the Rolex GMT-Master (designed for the pilots of Pan Am) isn't much used any more by aircrew.

 

[-alan-]

I'd say she's pretty well positioned to know what works and what doesn't in that sphere anyway now

Could never abide the Navitimer btw - always thought it was an overly cluttered, hard to read thing that was neither pretty nor functional.

 

[hockman]

These days, all these branded 'tool' watches are really just marketing bullsh*t. They have been surpassed by real 'tool' watches such as G-Shocks and dive computers. No real pilot, military officer or diver wants or needs a $5,000 'tool' watch.

Look at Grahams, they claim that they make and supply pilots with their watches. Such BS, and that clumsy chronograph trigger. I can't imagine any real pilot would want such an atrocity on his wrist.

 

[tones]

Could never abide the Navitimer btw - always thought it was an overly cluttered, hard to read thing that was neither pretty nor functional.

To be fair, the Navitimer comes from a time when people used slide rules and electronic computing power occupied an entire room. It probably fulfilled that function (never having liked the thing myself, I can only guess).

 

[tones]

These days, all these branded 'tool' watches are really just marketing bullsh*t. They have been surpassed by real 'tool' watches such as G-Shocks and dive computers. No real pilot, military officer or diver wants or needs a $5,000 'tool' watch.

Very true, but, in true Oklahoma! style, I'd like to say a word for the cowboys. In December 1975, I bought a Rolex GMT-Master. I still have it. It really has been the most remarkable watch, totally bomb-proof, utterly reliable, keeping going while friends' IWCs, etc. fell to pieces. Admittedly I didn't pay £5000 for it, and I wouldn't buy one now (the new ones are incredibly big and ugly and the price of my model has vanished into the stratosphere), but it was truly one of my better buys.

 

[hockman]

I am not surprised. The Rolex, despite its cliched status as a 'bling' and overpriced watch, is a honest and well-made watch, much more so than a lot of other brands. Certain models were actually used by divers and pilots. For instance, the Sub was issued to British Navy divers and similarly, the French Navy had used Tudor Subs.

Although I have to say, it also has its share of BS marketing...

 

[Spike]

“Although I have to say, it also has its share of BS marketing...”

I’d love you to point me to the BS marketing.

 

[narabdela]

I’d love you to point me to the BS marketing.

How long have you got?

 

[Spike]

I would really appreciate you pointing out marketing BS that ROLEX have put out, especially their tool watches.

 

[ian123running]

I know nothing but are commercial pilots these days allowed to use their own watches for anything to do with the flight? Do they have to use the plane's (and I guess GPS) systems to tell the time?

 

[-alan-]

I;d quite comfortably hazard a guess the only thing they use a wrist-watch for is making sure they're not late in the car/train/taxi heading to the airport - and only then if their phone is out of charge

 

[tones]

I know nothing but are commercial pilots these days allowed to use their own watches for anything to do with the flight? Do they have to use the plane's (and I guess GPS) systems to tell the time?

Judging by the plastic quartz cheapie our daughter is currently wearing, I'd guess not!

 

[Sid and Coke]

The Rolex Milgaus in the centre has been worn every day since i bought it new last year. I set the time exactly last October when the clocks changed to GMT and it has gradually gained 1 min and 45 secs since setting.
Not such a big deal being a little early for a meeting/event.
For time accuracy I refer to a Casio G-Shock waveceptor radio controlled watch, which i set the mechanical watches too, or dial 123 on the phone.

 

[Mr Cat]

yep, I like a Steinhart - one of my next watches will be an Ocean 1 bronze... and also an Orient Panda...