Wrist watch lovers?
- Thread starter drummerman
- Start date
James Evans
Bedroom Bodger
Any love for Farer watches on here? They keep cropping up on my facebook feed and look rather nice.
JTC
PFM Villager...
Option 2 would be a Friday, so Sub or Millie.
Actually, one of my slight hesitations before buying a dress watch at this sort of price is the leather straps - how durable are they? I've not owned any quality watch with a leather strap before, but based upon my experience with a nice but inexpensive Seiko, leather straps wear out fairly quickly. Is this universal, or down to the Seiko perhaps using inferior leather?
drummerman
pfm Member
I really like everything about this watch, very nice. - Glad to hear it wears well.
Today I have picked up my Longines Conquest. - Also lovely and a lot of watch for the money. Understated but smart. - I will put a few pics up within the next few days.
I had the chance to compare the 39mm with the 41mm in the shop and decided on the 39. - Now that I'm home and had a look in the mirror (I know) I think I may should have gone with the 41. - I will go back to the retailer tomorrow and try again. - I have a 7 1/4" wrist on the left and 7.5" on the right. - I normally wear watches on the right and the Conquest looks better on the left ... . - 2mm doesn't seem a lot on paper but it makes a surprising difference.
We'll see
IME a leather strap lasts for a couple of years, if worn daily. Obviously this depends on usage, if you work on a fishing boat and the thing spends all day soaking in sea water it won't last long. A strap on an inexpensive Seiko probably wasn't the best quality in the world when it was fitted. They are inexpensive to replace, so who cares? A cheap leather strap might be a fiver, an expensive fancy one £50. If you absolutely must have the branded one sold by JLC then set aside a couple of hundred quid. It's less than some women spend on handbags after all.
drummerman
pfm Member
The Endevour Aqua Compressor in Black would probably be my choice of those. A fairly simple but clear dial for a diver, good specs and the Panerai'esque shape is kind of endearing. I also like that arrow second hand. - Not sure about glass backs on divers though.
The bracelet options are a little confusing. In the description it says the watch is supplied with both a rubber and metal bracelet yet it asks you to choose when ordering.
Manufacturer own metal bracelets usually cost around £150 to £200 if ordered separately, that's if they are available as an option to buy so if those Farer's come with both that would certainly be a bonus.
AndrewM
pfm Member
If cheaper is your goal, this thread really isn’t for you!
Option 2 doesn’t really work with a dinner jacket (tuxedo for our transatlantic friends) unless you are likely to be mistaken for a dot com billionaire ( or are one), in which case anything goes.
Actually this http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/...toriques-ultra-fine-1955-33155-000r-9588.html is the watch I should wear under my fine white french cuffed dress shirt, just peeping out, when I win the big one. It’s called the 1955 Historiques Ultra Thin as the design is based on a 1955 model. That was my birth year so as you can see it’s obviously meant to be.
Buddy, can you spare £26,000?
Joe P
Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
Andrew,
I appreciate a nice watch — I have an Omega from 1961 I bought for a few hundred clams — but different thickness very expensive watches depending on shirt worn? That’s nutter territory.
Maybe you’re right this thread isn’t for me.
Joe
I appreciate a nice watch — I have an Omega from 1961 I bought for a few hundred clams — but different thickness very expensive watches depending on shirt worn? That’s nutter territory.
Maybe you’re right this thread isn’t for me.
Joe
AndrewM
pfm Member
ive looked at their site. They look to me nice but pricey for what they are, which is essentially a nice design exercise built round pretty standard Swiss watch movements, which I suspect are probably from the ubiquitous ETA range or similar (perfectly good movements of course, but not that expensive).
They will never be good investment from a financial point of view.
To be honest, I feel that you might as well save up a little more and get a watch with a real pedigree if you are interested in owning a good mechanical watch. If not, there are plenty of stylish watches for up to two or three hundred pounds, representing better value for money.
You need to think of the leather strap as some sort of consumable like e.g. a cartridge. I would say a 2 year life span is about right; it would depend on how often and whether you wear your watch in humid weather or not. Some straps are better made of course but ultimately they all need to be replaced regularly due to moisture from your sweat and just wear and tear. Fail to do so and you run the risk of the strap giving way and dropping your precious watch.
I would not bother replacing with so-called 'original' straps, they are all made by a 3rd party any way. Just find a good quality replacement but keep the original branded buckle or put it on your new strap if possible. Watch companies charge a ridiculous sum for a little piece of steel with their logo on it.
I would not bother replacing with so-called 'original' straps, they are all made by a 3rd party any way. Just find a good quality replacement but keep the original branded buckle or put it on your new strap if possible. Watch companies charge a ridiculous sum for a little piece of steel with their logo on it.
MikeMA
pfm Member
Leather straps rarely get discussed, and are probably worth a thread of their own.
In my own admittedly very limited experience there is an almost inverse correlation between the quality of the watch and the quality of the original leather strap. The strap on my Omega Seamaster Co-axial looked very average from the start and fell apart after a couple of years. The one on my Seiko Alpinsit looked so awful I took it off immediately. The best straps I've had are both over ten years old: one on an old Pulsar which is really well made with shaped lug ends; the other is on my Orient Bambino and looks really classy. I find deployment clasps put less stress on straps than buckles.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
I am using the leather strap that came with my Alpinist. After 3 months wear it is becoming rather good - needs a good breaking in like a pair of shoes.
It's true that the original strap on the Alpinist looks awful. It lasts well though, probably unfortunately. I had a decent strap on a Timex auto that cost all of £40 all up, it lasted 2 or 3 years before the strap retainer broke. Any suggestions for a deployment clasp on a leather strap? I'd like to put a decent strap on the Alp.
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
I'm not a fashionable guy by any means, but the Superdry jacket I bought (from a charity shop) will be going back as a donation because it has those metal clip together things at the cuff to extend or shrink the cuff and it always rubs against my watch. I don't care about it rubbing my Casio F-91W but my other watches? Well, let's just say its time's up as a watch-friendly jacket.
narabdela
who?
-alan-
pfm Member
Quite right. One could always take a sartorial tip from Sir Jackie Stewart and ensure one's dress shirts are always tailored with the cuff on the left sized appropriately.
drummerman
pfm Member
AndrewM
pfm Member
He's an "ambassador" for Rolex, translated I presume that means he gets a nice big Rolex as a freebie providing he wears it, obviously in public. A tailor made dress shirt to show it off nicely seems a small price to pay!
drummerman
pfm Member
Ok. Went back to the AD and did another 39 vs 41mm on my 7.25 and 7.5" wrists.
I stayed with the 39. - It just looked classier and fitted better. I immediately knew.
All 3 staff, 2 young women, one the Manager and a male assistant manager thought the same. - It's always good to get some opinions regardless.
Had to scratch that itch but glad to know the advise I give regularly to others ie. the first thought is usually the right one, still wears well.
I stayed with the 39. - It just looked classier and fitted better. I immediately knew.
All 3 staff, 2 young women, one the Manager and a male assistant manager thought the same. - It's always good to get some opinions regardless.
Had to scratch that itch but glad to know the advise I give regularly to others ie. the first thought is usually the right one, still wears well.