The watch thread

Jefes Taco · Jun 1, 2015

Ended up ordering one for Father's Day with the thought that I could 1. Return it. 2. Sell it. Maybe for a profit. 3. Keep it.

It showed up today and the wife has mentioned that she wants one for her Birthday, early July, so we're going to order her one once she decides if she wants the 38mm or 42. I suggested she hold off on ordering until mine arrived and she could see if the 42mm is too big. I recommend the 42mm for the larger screen and it's not too big on my wrist. I was expecting bigger.

Off to check CL to see what these are selling for. Still can't get them in store and the wait is still fairly long. But Apple claims you'll be able to buy one in store in June. June 30th is still June.

It's not as big as it seems on my wrist. I also have very thin wrists and dainty hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhGqSEk0gRc

Stubbs07Tacoma · Jun 1, 2015

My Suunto
Love it

coffeesnob · Mar 4, 2016

Just picked me up a nice little Casio forester off Amazon for $ $24.00 bucks Nothing wrong with the old Casio except the band cost about as much as a new watch. This new one has a button that lights up the face. I like that feature.

TacoRph · Dec 11, 2016

I also added a Casio to the collection about a month or so ago. It's one of their G-Shock solar powered models. I like it!

02YotaGuy · Dec 11, 2016

I used to throw my money away on Fossil. I'd get one and about a year later the band would be broken and the Fossil store never seemed to have the parts to fix it, so I'd buy another one. I decided to become an adult and buy myself something better. I picked up a Citizen that I really liked and I wore it for about 3 years before upgrading to the Tag Heuer Aquaracer that I wear pretty much every day and have for the last 2 straight years.
http://www.authenticwatches.com/waf1110ba0800.html

TacoRph · Dec 11, 2016

02YotaGuy said: ↑

I used to throw my money away on Fossil. I'd get one and about a year later the band would be broken and the Fossil store never seemed to have the parts to fix it, so I'd buy another one. I decided to become an adult and buy myself something better. I picked up a Citizen that I really liked and I wore it for about 3 years before upgrading to the Tag Heuer Aquaracer that I wear pretty much every day and have for the last 2 straight years.
http://www.authenticwatches.com/waf1110ba0800.html
Click to expand...

Sweet! That TAG is a really nice watch. I had a TAG from their Link collection that I wore daily for about seven years. It was very comfortable, and kept great time.

cruxofthebisquit · Dec 11, 2016

I finally bought a Seiko a few years ago that was made in the same year I was, 1960.
Not a fan of gold luckily so I can afford watches I like.

ocabj · Dec 21, 2016

My latest addition from a couple weeks ago:

TacoRph · Dec 21, 2016

^Great lume photo!

Drewski · Dec 30, 2016

The only handy pic of my reasonably-sized, standby Tag. Pushing 20 years old, ridiculously accurate. With tiny hermit crab for scale.

Picture taken on a beach outside of Kaohsiung, so I guess you could say I picked up crabs in Taiwan - well, one crab anyway.

TacoRph · Jan 7, 2017

I just picked up a Japanese made, Casio G-Shock, model: GW-5000-1JF. It showcases a classic G-Shock look, a screwed down case back, it's more comfortable than my "beater" G-Shock, and has several other useful features. I definitely recommend it especially if you're already a G-Shock fan.

7r41lbr34k3r · Jan 12, 2017

I'll share a post from a private training forum that I frequent. This was a retired Navy engineer in his 70's, and he made the post nearly 7 years ago. It wasn't until I had searched for a very long time until I could fully appreciate his wisdom.

Watches! I love watches and am about to tell you more about picking out a watch than you ever wanted to know. But, if you follow these suggestions you will select a watch that, in the words of a true “watch enthusiast” will “Sing to you” for a long time.

Dressy or casual: …. or something in between. Generally speaking, younger guys are happier with casual or semi-casual watches while older guys tend to gravitate toward dressier watches. If this is likely to remain your only watch, then go for a versatile semi-casual. Even in an office environment, we expect to see casual watches on the younger guys while the old farts show up for work wearing a dress watch even if they are not in a suit.

Mechanical or quartz: OK, I will fess up that I like mechanical watches much better. While I do own several quartz watches, they don’t have the “soul” of a good mechanical. Most guys who love watches much prefer their mechanicals even though the quartz watches are more accurate. My experience is that my quartz watches will die quite suddenly and usually while I am traveling. I would recommend that you select an automatic. When a quartz watch dies, it is normally cheaper to throw them away than it is to repair them.

Diameter: For the last decade, watch sizes have steadily increased to the point of being ridiculous, but that trend has started to change and watch dealers are getting stuck with a lot of huge watches that are not selling. Generally speaking the lug-to-lug length of the watch should not extend beyond the flat part of the top of your wrist. For me, that means about 45mm for my wrist which is slightly less than 7 inches in circumference. That tends to limit me to an upper watch case diameter of about 40mm. Lug design can come into play here and some watches are designed so that the lugs help curve around your wrist which helps when wearing a larger watch. Here again, younger guys tend to prefer larger watches while older guys will go a little smaller. My favorite casual size is about 38mm and for dress watches I like 34 or 36mm.

Thickness: Some of these oversized watches are impractical to wear over a shirt cuff, especially when they are very thick. I would set an upper thickness at about 14mm and suggest that 10mm will be more comfortable.

Water Resistance: Go for at least 50 meters and more than that if you are going to swim with it. Be sure to get a screw-down crown if you intend to swim with it.

Status Watches: If I won a $20 million lottery tomorrow I would not go out and buy a Rolex because I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I was dumb enough to pay that kind of money for overpriced hype. Their advertizing budget is through the roof and to a lesser extent Tags, Omegas, and Bretlings are overpriced as well. You can get a damn fine automatic watch that has the same movement for a fraction of the cost.

Metal Case: Stainless is the clear winner for the case metal with polished being the dressiest and sandblasted being the most casual. Brushed stainless is somewhere in between. Sandblasted will be the most scratch resistant. Gold plated watches will not hold their finish even though some like Raymond Weil’s have much thicker gold plating. Some stainless watch cases have too much nickel and can cause a rash for some people. Most quality watches have made the change, but get the cheaper watches have not. This may be one of the reasons why see-through crystal backs are so popular. (The other reason is that some of us are fascinated by all those little gears and like to see our watches go “ticky”) If you are going to work in an environment that has strong electromagnetic fields, then a solid metal back is the best choice. Sinn Watches are especially good in this arena.

The Crystal: You must absolutely insist on a Sapphire Crystal, vice mineral crystal or any of the substitutes. The hardness and scratch resistance is profoundly better and will make a huge difference in the appearance of your watch down the road.

Movements: Seiko makes some fine movements and even their 50 year old workhorse Seiko 5 is good. My Seiko 5 is still running 40 years later and they still make (in house) that same movement along with several upgraded movements up to the superior Grand Seiko dress watch which would set you back around $5000.00. Rolex makes its own movements in house and has a firm lock on parts and servicing. Servicing a Rolex is expensive. Most other Swiss, German, and French watches use either the ETA 2892 or the ETA 2824 which are manufactured by the Swiss Swatch Group. Both movements are often, but not always, reworked for higher end watches. The 2892 is the newer model and is being used by Omega and Tutima, but here is the rub: the Swatch Group has learned from Rolex and has severely restricted access to repair parts. The older 2824 is virtually everywhere and is much easier to get serviced. Tags generally use the 2824 along with Oris (a damn fine watch for the money) and several other highly regarded and modestly priced brands like Sinn, Archimede, and Aristo. I recommend getting a watch that used the 2824 movement.

Watch Bands: I am very partial to good leather bands unless you are going into the water where I prefer rubber or silicon. Leather is more comfortable and can hold up for many years, especially if you replace the old buckle with a deployant clasp. It is also easy to dress a watch up or down by changing the leather strap which I can do in about 2 minutes using a special tool that cost about $25. I get my straps, buckles and the tool from strappedfortime.com. In the summer, I like perforated straps on my casual watches. For my dress watches, I like Croc which is much cheaper that alligator.

Watch Style: Take your time in selecting the style of watch (Dress, Dive, Pilot, Military, Field to name a few) since you are going to live with it for some time. For everyday wear, I tend to prefer a simple black faced Pilot watch in one of the reasonable sizes. Dive watches, and some Pilots tend to be pretty big, but there are some that are more reasonably sized.

Good luck! I bought a new watch earlier this year when I completed a year long project. It took me 6 months to finally decide exactly what I wanted. None of my watches ever cost over $600, so your $1000 should get you something that you will enjoy for the rest
Click to expand...

I have a few beaters, but my current workhorse is a Farer Beagle.

MadDaddy · Jan 12, 2017

Cheap $25 beater while in school until I can get fancy down the road....

TacoRph · Jan 12, 2017

hilux22RE said: ↑

Farer Beagle.
Click to expand...

Nice watch! Definitely something you don't see everyday.

TacoRph · Jan 13, 2017

A couple of months ago I was flipping through the Tudor collection when I came across the Heritage Ranger. I knew then and there what my next watch purchase would be. So, without further delay, the Tudor Heritage Ranger:

vbibi · Jan 13, 2017

Gorilla_97 said: ↑

I'm looking into a few different brands right now, thinking about making the purchase as more of a "family heirloom" I can pass down to my 2 sons someday.

I've been told to buy an automatic watch with valjoux 7750 movement. Some of the brands I'm looking at include Invicta, Fortes, Omega, Rolex and Zenth.

Comments or suggestions?
Click to expand...

Good thinking, Valjoux is a proven movement, and can be found in a variety of watch brands. Zenith El Primero was the one who introduced it back in the 50. Now a day is mass produced by ETA and installed with small add ones by many manufacturers. Only Rolex is producing their own movements for a wile now, but even them where using Zenith made movements before. Classic movement. I am not sure about Invicta, but there are a lot of manufactories out there using the 7750 movement. Now a day Omega come in with the Co-axial movement which I hear is very good as far as periodic maintenance is concern. Personally I've got a story for you. I am retired now and last year I had sent my IWC to Miami to be checked. Same movement in my IWC Aquatimer, and after a wile I received a phone call and
informed that they send my watch back. Out of my $800.00 fee for service I've got back $625.00. Why I asked, mister, the guy said, how much time you where your watch every single day? Now, I had only automatic watches since I can remember, but apparently moving from sofa and TV back to my office and PC isn't enough to keep my watch fully winded. So now a day I keep some watches home in the winder machine, and some others at the bank, wile I am sporting a manual wind 8 days IWC Portofino.

suaveflooder · Aug 7, 2021

https://www.gshock.com/watches/master-of-g/gg1000-1a3?gclid=CjwKCAjw3riIBhAwEiwAzD3TiYxUnM5GjGYNJKX2vOfNuR1AdqNXzfx2fzn082Jzr3dqFcKpKVcgpBoCo2IQAvD_BwE

Thinking about grabbing one of these today. Been “needing” a new watch, and I was convinced on the apple, but I would never use it like it was supposed to be used.

I am REALLY liking this

Bagman · Aug 7, 2021

I'd been looking at this Bulova for a while. Decided to treat myself.

suaveflooder · Aug 7, 2021

I had to. It called to me . More than I wanted to spend for a “work” watch, but I love it

IvanhoeTaco · Aug 24, 2021

Just acquired an Omega sea master professional and am looking to try and figure out if its legit. I've watched some videos to spot the differences between a fake and so far it looks like I'm winning, but would like someone who is familiar with these watches to chime in.

Log in or Sign up

Welcome to Tacoma World!

The watch thread

#341
Jefes Taco Well-Known Member

#342
Stubbs07Tacoma Toyota Veteran

#343
coffeesnob Well-Known Member

#344
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#345
02YotaGuy Guy With A Red 80 Series

#346
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#347
cruxofthebisquit Well-Known Member

#348
ocabj Well-Known Member

#349
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#350
Drewski Well-Known Member

#351
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#352
7r41lbr34k3r Practitioner of the mechanical arts.

#353
MadDaddy Pork Rind Extraordinaire

#354
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#355
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#356
vbibi Well-Known Member

#357
suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#358
Bagman Dental Floss Tycoon

#359
suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#360
IvanhoeTaco Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

Welcome to Tacoma World!

The watch thread

#341 Jefes Taco Well-Known Member

#342 Stubbs07Tacoma Toyota Veteran

#343 coffeesnob Well-Known Member

#344 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#345 02YotaGuy Guy With A Red 80 Series

#346 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#347 cruxofthebisquit Well-Known Member

#348 ocabj Well-Known Member

#349 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#350 Drewski Well-Known Member

#351 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#352 7r41lbr34k3r Practitioner of the mechanical arts.

#353 MadDaddy Pork Rind Extraordinaire

#354 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#355 TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#356 vbibi Well-Known Member

#357 suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#358 Bagman Dental Floss Tycoon

#359 suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#360 IvanhoeTaco Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: Off-Topic Discussion

#341
Jefes Taco Well-Known Member

#342
Stubbs07Tacoma Toyota Veteran

#343
coffeesnob Well-Known Member

#344
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#345
02YotaGuy Guy With A Red 80 Series

#346
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#347
cruxofthebisquit Well-Known Member

#348
ocabj Well-Known Member

#349
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#350
Drewski Well-Known Member

#351
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#352
7r41lbr34k3r Practitioner of the mechanical arts.

#353
MadDaddy Pork Rind Extraordinaire

#354
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#355
TacoRph How 'bout them Dawgs

#356
vbibi Well-Known Member

#357
suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#358
Bagman Dental Floss Tycoon

#359
suaveflooder Well-Known Member

#360
IvanhoeTaco Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in