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

Those Seiko watches at least the Gen 1 were issued to helicopter pilots.

To be clear, most MoD watches were issued to certain personnel not to every one. Examples are the IWC mark XI, the single-button Lemania chronographs (several versions), the Rolex Subs to divers, etc.
 
Watch servicing.... I have a 50+ yr old Omega Geneve manual winder, and it losing time and making a slightly odd ticking noise. Anyone know who can service it at reasonable cost?
 
bazza. said:
My latest video its an oldie but goodie and something of an icon

Click to expand...

Excellent video. I've had an SKX781 Orange Monster for years. I don't much like bracelets and wear it on an olive Nato with the back strap cut off. I sometimes wish for a black one as well - it looks like the sort of watch Batman might wear, and is easier to read - but I already have enough watches with black dials. New, and for some time after, it was accurate to within 5 seconds a week.

The original Monster's already a classic. Along with the Tuna it might be the most original diver design by any maker. I think it's a striking masterpiece. It was derived from what later became known as the Quartz Monster that was similar in style, but with a polymer shroud that had an unfortunate habit of disintegrating.

I'm not so fussed with the second generation. The tooth-shaped markers are cheesy and I feel the knurled crown is out of character with the rest of the watch. The more expensive third generation has the more refined 6R15 calibre and a cleaner dial than the original but retained the knurled crown.

It looks like your friend's watch needs the bezel removed and the assembly cleaned. It should then turn as smoothly as butter. Mine got so stiff once that I couldn't rotate it at all!
 
alanbeeb said:
Watch servicing.... I have a 50+ yr old Omega Geneve manual winder, and it losing time and making a slightly odd ticking noise. Anyone know who can service it at reasonable cost?
Click to expand...

Ditto. I have a Lemania chronograph in need of a service. It's been sitting in a drawer for years as I'm unsure whether it justifies spending £250+ on it.
 
^ Splashed out (sic) and bought a Commie turtle recently:

7gdLEBBh.jpg


Was pleasantly surprised by the overall watch and finish. Hadn't expected a whole lot for under €80 delivered - and I know about the limitations of the design and the manufacturing processes - but find it a fun and interesting thing, a bit different. Might replace the bezel, but will wait until I've worn the watch in a bit - see if the Soviet aesthetic grows on me :)

q3DuNuUh.jpg


The case back and lugs certainly aren't up to Rolex standard, but (a) you cant see them in normal use, and (b) if they are sufficient to be rated waterproof at 200m - at the price - hard to complain.

Also, it's my first ever Nato strap. A bit of googling highlights at least 3 different ways to mount the watch on the strap and fasten it. I'm currently going with the 'thin' approach, with the 2nd flap of fabric located below my wrist, as it feels slightly more natural.

As an aside, can anybody give me a definitive explanation as to why that 2nd strap actually exists ? Other than providing the ability for the watch to be worn in different ways - it really doesn't seem to add anything that the later versions ('Zulu straps' I believe ) don't. I cant imagine the original designers just went to the added cost of including it to give wearers more flexibility on how they use it..or did they ?
 
-alan- said:
^ Splashed out (sic) and bought a Commie turtle recently:

7gdLEBBh.jpg


Was pleasantly surprised by the overall watch and finish. Hadn't expected a whole lot for under €80 delivered - and I know about the limitations of the design and the manufacturing processes - but find it a fun and interesting thing, a bit different. Might replace the bezel, but will wait until I've worn the watch in a bit - see if the Soviet aesthetic grows on me :)

q3DuNuUh.jpg


The case back and lugs certainly aren't up to Rolex standard, but (a) you cant see them in normal use, and (b) if they are sufficient to be rated waterproof at 200m - at the price - hard to complain.

Also, it's my first ever Nato strap. A bit of googling highlights at least 3 different ways to mount the watch on the strap and fasten it. I'm currently going with the 'thin' approach, with the 2nd flap of fabric located below my wrist, as it feels slightly more natural.

As an aside, can anybody give me a definitive explanation as to why that 2nd strap actually exists ? Other than providing the ability for the watch to be worn in different ways - it really doesn't seem to add anything that the later versions ('Zulu straps' I believe ) don't. I cant imagine the original designers just went to the added cost of including it to give wearers more flexibility on how they use it..or did they ?
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I have similar, they are great. The face is rather soft and gets scratched, and the original bracelet is horrible, but on a Nato they are bang on. I think the reason for the second layer is that on a chunky watch the inner strap can go snugly around your wristand leave clearance for the lugs.

My Amphibian is a model 060509. The first 3 figures describe the case, the next 3 the face arrangement. Or maybe the other way. Either way, when you put your order together you can mix and match. I did a fair bit of shuffling and I really like the result. It was about £65, 18 months ago. It has recently become my daily wear watch, replacing a Seiko SNK805 that I have worn nearly every day for years. The Seiko still gets an outing every now and again, but the Amphibian has gone from being used once every couple of weeks to pretty well every day. The 509 face style is very 1960s James Bond, you can really imagine yourself as a SMERSH villain grappling with Bond to the death under water.
 
Good thinking on the strap. Wonder was that another unexpected benefit rather than the primary reason though ?

Mine's the 701 case shape - which is more turtle shaped than yours I think, The mix and match / configurator on their website is something else: I shortlisted approximately 30 combinations of case/faces/straps/wiht-without date versions - and virtually reached mental paralysis in the end :) Half tempted to go back for another one,,but that would be just gluttony.. I guess .. :)
 
I always thought that the nato strap was designed so that if you snag the watch and pull a spring bar out of the lugs, the watch would stay on your wrist, rather than falling off.
 
It does - but if you think about it, a single length version of the strap (without the extra bit) will do that anyway.

Was googling for a description / some pics and came across this:

https://theoandharris.com/watch-101-what-is-the-difference-between-a-nato-strap-and-a-zulu-strap/


Wonder if the explanation below is in fact the answer ?

What the extra bit of strap, and its associated keeper, does is it allows for increased security on the wrist, such that, if one springbar fails, the watch will not only be protected from dropping, but will also stay relatively stable on the top of your wrist, rather than being able to freely slide all the way around.
 
As above, the watch would still stay on even with one strap. I think it's to stop the watch sliding if hung up. The one strap design is the RAF version.
 
My late father and I both received Boctok (Vostok) diver watches courtesy of my sister's ex (Russian) family. Neither kept time and we eventually binned them. My dad (ex RAF) quipped that had WW3 lasted for more than an hour none of the Russians would have known what time it was.

This was in the late 1990s - I wonder if the quality has improved since then ?

They looked like this:

vostok_amphibia_1.jpg

 
I suspect they haven't changed a whole lot at all - certainly design wise.
The QC might have (one hopes :) )

Interesting video on the design - and how they are built down to a price:

 
I think I’ve been over this before, but I always cut a NATO’s second/back/keeper strap off. Otherwise, the watch rides too high on the wrist and is more prone to snagging. I’ve also found alternative methods of wearing the strap weird and uncomfortable. And of course, if you lose a springbar, the back strap offers no more security.

None of my watches on back strapless Natos slide down the strap if hung on a hook. Not to say it can’t happen with some watches, but if so a thicker Zulu - if you’re ok with the chunkier hardware - is likely to help there.
 
sean99 said:
My late father and I both received Boctok (Vostok) diver watches courtesy of my sister's ex (Russian) family. Neither kept time and we eventually binned them. My dad (ex RAF) quipped that had WW3 lasted for more than an hour none of the Russians would have known what time it was.

This was in the late 1990s - I wonder if the quality has improved since then ?

They looked like this:

vostok_amphibia_1.jpg

Click to expand...
That's the Vostok "Scubadude" and something of a classic. Still available now. I think that they are rather like the Dnepr and Ural motorbikes, unchanged since the 60s but still being chu rned out.
 
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