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

It is a Somon - one of their recently reissued Ettühssalg models I believe..

 

Aye, excellent movements. The Alpha movement (hand wound) in my Tangente is extremely accurate and very slim. The watch is less than 7mm thick and thus very light to wear.

 

@stevied - yep still like yours!

 

That's a nice watch but it's not a Longines. You will find that Longines chronos from earlier times to be very expensive too. They were a very highly regarded watch maker and collectible and arguably superior to Rolexes for chronographs. It's a pity that the brand has been so devalued and is now marketed as just a mid level watch.

 

Fashion indeed. There were many other makers which were regarded as superior to Rolexes. My watch maker still remembers the time when Omega was more expensive than Rolex. Look at the prices here for different chronographs. Yes, the Cosmograph is the most expensive but the prices of other watches weren't that far off. Especially the Orfina! Pity it has not gone the way of the Rolex because I have one!

http://chronomaddox.com/general/c_and_d/connoisseurs.html#Top

 

The main benefit of the NATO construction is that it one of the pins lets go on a conventional watch it will fall off your wrist. Obviously if you are doing something brave and militaristic at the time that's probably it gone. With a NATO it will flap about but you won't lose it. I've had this happen to a watch with a normal strap, I was cycling and retrieved it with a few scuffs but the NATO it now wears would have stopped this.

 

Yes, I read that while Googling. And it makes perfect sense. My point was that what is today marketed as a NATO strap existed before that as a "summer strap," for comfort in hot weather and, presumably, to avoid rotting a leather strap, possibly something precious like crocodile, with sweat. And perhaps also as an "on holiday" thing as opposed to "in town."

 

The Seiko digital watch they feature was more expensive than an Omega Speedie! Wow.

 

Dead right. It was cutting edge technology. Quartz precision versus some spring wound junk that's 100 years old. you want the latest Tesla or some Austin relic that you have to start by hand? A lovely slim, silent lappy or some mechanical typewriter?
Only in recent years have we decided that older mechanical engineering has its own appeal. Back then it was about getting something to do it better, and quartz watches did. Always accurate, never needs winding. A new battery every 2 years, otherwise forget it.

 

Yes, back then quartz watches were more expensive than their mechanical counterparts. Better in every way and requires less care and maintenance and eventually costs came down so much that they virtually wiped out the big boys in Switzerland. A lot of Swiss watch makers went belly up and were only subsequently revived when mechanical watches became fashionable again. So when a lot of current Swiss companies brag about their heritage and history, it's a bit of marketing BS and stretching the truth. Many were nothing more than a non-operating entity with a historical 'name' which was bought over by investors and then cleverly relaunched. I am not saying that these companies don't make decent watches today but so much of the marketing lure of big Swiss watches depends on the myth of its heritage and historical expertise.

Mechanical watches are nothing more than luxury products marketed to the max. It's just fashion, not that there's anything wrong with that.

For me, I must say quartz watches are my favorites despite much experience with mechanical ones.

 

Sorted:- Brendan Haddock Jewellers in Roseburn fixed my slow Seiko SARX017 and also got an old Omega Geneve working again. Water had got into it. But its well over 50 years old now, must be about 1969 vintage I reckon. They charged considerably less than half what the online watch repairs quoted for the Seiko! V. happy.

 

One of the most attractive qualities of an analogue watch is the fact that it does not require electricity to run. I love the fact that my Doxa dive watch need only be opened up every 3/4 years for a service and recert of it's water resistence. I do use a dive computer but the Doxa is always more fun to take along on the dive.

 

Went to the Newark Antique fair today. Could have picked up a 70s Gold Oyster Perpetual for 6K, that was his opening bid. I guess that could haggle down a bit.

 

I have my Grandad’s Geneve, it looks exactly like yours. It was a long service gift when he worked for Mather and Platt in Manchester, I believe circa 1973. He retired shortly after and died in 1976 whilst holidaying with us, I was 8 at the time. Lovely bloke.

Cheers BB

 

My Dad has my Granddad's 1950s gold Rolex presented to him by Anchor Butter for long service. When he inherited it to him it was just his Dad's watch. I remember as a kid him complaining about the outrageous cost of getting it fixed by the local jewellers..

 

I've just serviced one of them for a friend it hadn't run it in years

 

How’s the course going Bazza?

 

Have to say Rob I'm really enjoying it, here is my latest video about the course

 

Yes it's a wonder of human ingenuity that a small contraption of wheels, spring, gears and jewels can power a watch. More so if it is self-winding! I appreciate all this having collected vintage watches for years.

Many aficionados consider quartz watches to be 'soulless' and cold. But for me, they are also a wonder, being powered by tiny battery and regulated by the oscillation of a quartz crystal. How ingenious!

My Seiko divers are accurate to a fault, all have a battery replacement interval of about 5 years and no real need for a service for many years. I love them.

 

I'm happy to wear quartz watches no problem. My favourite is probably my Casio Duro, which I wear on a wrap-around velcro strap. It's my 'man' watch and the fact that it's quartz makes no difference to me. The only time I don't like quartz watches is when you have a very dressy-looking watch and it has a seconds hand. A seconds hand on a dressy quartz watch spoils the timeless look of a classy gentleman's watch.