Watcha wearing?

Some of the "fancy" swiss stuff is chinese parts with only final assembly being done in Switzerland.

I know a guy picked up a few watches in China that are technically knock-offs but made with legitimate components. Serial even registered as valid for warranty on one.

I went years with no watch other than a cheap Casio solar i only wore while jogging.

Then got this Garmin. Wish it wasnt so thick but otherwise good.

 

At a BBQ yesterday my girlfriend's acquaintance got too drunk & was trying to give me the IWC he had on. It was a gift from his rich sister & he thought it was some cheap trinket from a duty free store she passed through. I woke up today second guessing being honest & not accepting it.

 

You could be on a slippery slope there buddy. Taking gifts from you gfs aqquaitance.

 

Like a dowry?

Edit: found a pic of it in my drunk gallery

 

I would have taken it...

 

On second thought, Get him drunk again and take it . The hell with pride and consequences.

 

Anyone ever heard of the Shinola brand? I hadn’t but apparently I look at enough watches that Google decided to start dropping their ads on me. Looks to be a fairly young American company.

 

Worst case would be you get to wear an IWC for a bit until your conscious makes you give it back.

 

1950s/60s Sandoz Aquaplane Swiss made 21 jewels

One of a few things I got from my grandfather before he passed my senior year of high school. This was his watch from when most of my mom's family lived in British Hong Kong before emigrating to the United States in the 1960s. Back lists it as waterproof to 10atm (sort of I accidently swam with it the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college), all stainless, shockprotected and tropicalized which I thought was cool.

After the swim, it stopped running for a few years and I thought I broke it. Had it cleaned and serviced and is running again with zero issues. Band is a little tight now (time is a real bitch) so I may consider swapping out for a Nato strap.

 

As a bit of a post script, I've had to take the watch off. The clasp has ripped a bit of the skin off my wrists. Definitely time for a new strap.

 

I've heard of them, they have some good designs IMO, but they are pricey for what you're getting. They have swiss quartz movements (Ronda), but so does one of my $100 kickstarter watches. I don't think any of their watches are made in the US, just assembled in Detroit. I think their business model is predicated on the idea people are willing to pay more for an American startup, vs one of the multinational conglomerates. Still, they look pretty good and I've been tempted myself, but I'd probably check eBay to see if you could pick one up used.

 

I had the chance to visit one of their shops in Portland and they have a nice variety and their pieces have quite a bit of weight and heft to them. But I found it hard to look past the price tag for a quartz movement with no complications other than a calendar date window.

 

That's a Big Pilot. Tell him you'll take it off his hands, then give it to me plz. They're only about 15k...

 

The quartz wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but for near $1000, it's gotta feel special.

--- edit --- scratch that, for $1k any watch should feel special

 

Picked this beauty up today during lunch.

I wanted to get something I don't mind getting a little beat up.

 

I bought an invicta diver on a cruise ship once. $150. MSRP labelled on it was like $900 (and I know they NEVER sell for MSRP, one thing I hate about the brand.) It would always lose time. I called their warranty department....$40 shipping to them, on the hook for the repair if they get it and its not warrantable, then $40 shipping back to me whether they fix it or not. Customer service was awful. I got it fixed locally for $15 and havent worn it since. Figured out I could buy certain Citizens for around the same price (my most commonly worn Citizen was $700 but thats a diff story). They do have some awesome designs though, I loved the look and feel of that watch.

 

My current collection consist of....

Invicta ProDiver (I forgot the model #)
Citizen EcoDrive Primo CA0467-03E (Black w/ Blue Stripes)
Citizen EcoDrive Axiom AU1065-58G
Samsung Gear S2 (my daily because of work)
Casio Tough Solar AQS800W-1B2 (swimming, yard work)
Martian Notifier (basically useless now because Martian discontinued it and the app that controls it)

 

Great story. Nice lookinng watch