Watches

[bamackc]

http://www.princetonwatches.com/shop/SS012279110.asp

My next buy.

Once you go Sunnto you never go back.

 

[toytech40]

mechaniced for 25 years and gave up on wrist watches early on due to safety issues and also always breaking them. Tried carrying pocket watch but didn't work either. So just depended on clocks which seemed to be almost everywhere. Then used cel phone for watch, but found there are just some places i do not take my phone, or just do not want to stop to dig out phone to check time. So a couple of years ago I got one of these and it has held up well.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...products-57035-42219&ev3=recommended_products


or the improved version




http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...?feature=product_4&kw=watch&processor=content


I can even drop it in my pocket if going to a nice dress up affair and still have a watch with me without having hanging on my belt.

They also have a leather wrapped one if you want a dressier one

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...products-42219-57035&ev3=recommended_products

 

[american lockpicker]

http://www.princetonwatches.com/shop/SS012279110.asp

My next buy.

Once you go Sunnto you never go back.

Some Sunntos are Chinese now IIRC.

 

[bamackc]

Some Sunntos are Chinese now IIRC.

The core is the only one that I know of and I own one, It's awesome!! It's accuracy and sensitivity can't be matched by any other wrist top ABC I'v ever seen or heard of, and the menu drivin' interface is sweet.

It will fu*k any G-shock sideways, and it looks 10x slicker.

I love mine.

 

[Strouty]

I used to be one of the guys who bought new watches every few years, spending $50 or more adds up. If you wear a watch try and buy one with the sapphire crystal and a metal case. Those are the things that generally cause problems on a watch. The sapphire won't scratch and the steel housing won't wear out like the plastic ones. All you have to do is have the battery replaced every few year and if you were diving with it I would recommend the seals be replaced as well.

 

[Roots]

My daily work watch is a Tag Aquaracer. It holds up exceptionally well, in my line of electrical-mechanical work.

My sunnto core regularly sees class V whitewater and holds up to my part time wrench turning.

I was really tempted to pick one of those up for awhile, as an outdoors watch. While mine aren't quite subjected to class V ww, I'm more of a class III frequent swimmer, I'm still mortified with the durability of Suunto's since they moved production of their cheaper models from Finland to China. Their Chinese quality control was just horrendous initially. It's since improved according to the watch review sites, but even the current reviews show it's almost a luck of the draw whether the watch still works after 1-2 years.

 

[bamackc]

My daily work watch is a Tag Aquaracer. It holds up exceptionally well, in my line of electrical-mechanical work.



I was really tempted to pick one of those up for awhile, as an outdoors watch. While mine aren't quite subjected to class V ww, I'm more of a class III frequent swimmer, I'm still mortified with the durability of Suunto's since they moved production of their cheaper models from Finland to China. Their Chinese quality control was just horrendous initially. It's since improved according to the watch review sites, but even the current reviews show it's almost a luck of the draw whether the watch still works after 1-2 years.

Mine is at a year and a half and holding strong, I held out on buying till they got the bugs worked out. Other than the battery going out only after 8 months I'm impressed (it blows all there other ABS's out of the water).

I'm a proud dumb *** class V creek boater!! I call Little River Canyon and its tributaries my stomping ground. Time on the rivers and streams only comes after time with my wife and kids.

 

[Barry Tucker]

I hope you are aware of what those are worth. DRSD. Regards Barry

 

[richfinn]

I wear a TAG F1 Chrono, but not when I work on cars the risk of shorting it out and burning your arm is too high, buy a cheap plastic watch or a nurses fob watch to pin on your shirt or stick a clock on your toolbox.

 

[Elroy]

Elroy has a simple observation:

Anyone who claims to successfully wrench with a wrist watch on their arm is a lying *************

I understand That Elroy has tried it and reports it doesn't work

I call BS

We'll see who's full of it when you run a 1,000 amps to ground and end up with a Timex tattoo

 

[toolmiser]

I have worn a Citizen Eco drive titanium for about 5 years. It has held up well. I had to spend about $10.00 this year to replace some pins in the band. I had trouble with other ones reacting to my skin, no problems with this one though. I think I have about $200.00 into it.

 

[Roots]

Luminox its Swiss and the navy seals use it(although why they didn't go with Omega or Rolex like the Brits do is a mystery...)

That's actually more of an astonishingly successful bit of marketing sleight of hand than anything else! The actual watchmaker for the Seals, for a mere 2 production runs and they didn't meet the final quality requirements, was Stocker and Yale not Luminox. A clever businessman, from the UK I believe, convinced Stocker and Yale to refer to the watches as Luminox watches, and grant him the licenses to sell watches under that name with a similar appearance/styling.

Still they are an incredibly cool looking watch!

Mine is at a year and a half and holding strong, I held out on buying till they got the bugs worked out. Other than the battery going out only after 8 months I'm impressed (it blows all there other ABS's out of the water).

I'm a proud dumb *** class V creek boater!! I call Little River Canyon and its tributaries my stomping ground. Time on the rivers and streams only comes after time with my wife and kids.

If you have a good one, they really do blow away all of the other ABC watches out of the water, no doubt about that! It does sound like they did get everything squared away with their quality issues, even the watch obsessive sites state as long as the serial number isn't from the first few batches or production runs, it'll be near perfect

I'm a long ways from serious creeking, but really enjoying a pyranha karnali I picked up last year, as my first boat! Great emphasis on the family as well, cheers

 

[american lockpicker]

That's actually more of an astonishingly successful bit of marketing sleight of hand than anything else! The actual watchmaker for the Seals, for a mere 2 production runs and they didn't meet the final quality requirements, was Stocker and Yale not Luminox. A clever businessman, from the UK I believe, convinced Stocker and Yale to refer to the watches as Luminox watches, and grant him the licenses to sell watches under that name with a similar appearance/styling.

Still they are an incredibly cool looking watch!

Interesting. I wonder do they use these?

http://www.countycomm.com/GPQdate.htm

 

[Mugenlude]

Monster's my every day watch, but when things get rough and/or dirty, a Casio G-Shock. It'll take whatever you can throw at it.

This.

 

[Roots]

Interesting. I wonder do they use these?

http://www.countycomm.com/GPQdate.htm

Only if the Seals have recently given up on swimming and diving, that watch is just slightly better than "splash proof". In fact, it's not even water proof. Most seem to wear Suuntos, G-Shocks, and Pathfinders.

 

[route246]

I agree that for the most part a sapphire crystal does not scratch very easy but it does scratch. I'm not a mechanic or tech and I wear a Rolex Submariner daily that I bought over 30 years ago and have never changed the crystal, however, when I take it in for service the nicks on the side always get noted by the intake person. They need to use a loupe to see the nicks but the surface of the crystal has remained scratch free for 30+ years and I'm pretty rough on my watch. I've replaced the band once (you don't want to know how much that cost), the rotating bezel once (when I jerked something out and my wrist went flying into a metal pole the the bezel assembly exploded out of its spring-loaded mooring) but the crystal has been amazingly strong.

Rolex is exactly like SO without the warranty. You can get the parts forever and you can always find someone to buy it from you if you need the money. I paid $1250 new for this one in 1980 and the same model now goes for over $5000 new and I can sell it now for way more than the $1250 I paid in 1980.

I have had this watch for almost a year now. I had two other styles before this, they all held up fairly well (scratched and wore the bezel down). This one is titanium and has a sapphire crystal. Rolex uses the sapphire crystal too. It DOES NOT SCRATCH. The case is cut nice for your wrist. I bought mine on sale for $330. They were a $1000. I love it so I will take it off if I am painting or doing something ridiculous, but I do wear it most all of the time. Every time I hear the front scratch against something, I always freak out but when I look it stays scratch free. The reason I wanted this one was the last one the case wore out so the adjustment screw was not water proof anymore. I figured that was important, so I researched and found this one. You can't beat carbon fiber and titanium! I could not use the band it came with, I always use the velcro ones that have the watch on a stretch mount, so if you catch it on something it does not rip out the pins.

 

[NinetyTwoFifty]

OK, I've got to ask. How much did the band cost???

 

[route246]

$1100, give or take. Breaking the band was my fault. I hooked it on a stack of lumber while I was walking past during our remodel and really deformed the links which were pretty worn/bashed already from my prior abuse. I am not one to covet or cherish anything I own, including vehicles, my pro photo gear or tools. I use them and I use them without regard for preserving the "newness" of them. I usually don't resell much of what I buy and usually throw it away or hand it down. I can't understand these people who "preserve" their pristine cars for years, being careful not to run up miles on them and keep them in showroom condition. What for? So you can look at it and be frustrated about having to be so careful? Not for me. I buy a vehicle and I drive it. I wash it once or twice a year whether it needs it or not. I even might wax it if I have the time. But, I do change the oil religiously and I make sure all of the routine maintenance gets done. My cars are usually not very clean but they are all mechanically in top shape.

Anyway, I took my broken watch in to my local authorized jeweler and almost gave birth when she told me the cost. I made it clear that it was not white gold or platinum and she said that's the price. My wife said, Merry Christmas, and told me to just pay it. At the time the watch was 25 years old and it has served me well. I ordered the band and now I have a "new" looking watch.

Routine cleaning and adjustment "only" costs about $450-$500 and happens about every 4-5 years. So, for about $100/year in maintenance for the past 30 years I've worn this watch on a daily basis and I never have to change batteries. I go swimming and scuba diving and never have to take it off, either. It's made like an F80 ratchet, another fine piece of man jewelry. Use it, use it hard and repair it when it wears down. Nothing finer.

OK, I've got to ask. How much did the band cost???

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

I wear an old Casio that I got 10 years ago on sale for $12. I don't need a pretty watch to work in, I just need one that tells me what time it is. For outside of work, I normally wear a Gruen that was my great granddad's.

 

[canuckian]

Routine cleaning and adjustment "only" costs about $450-$500 and happens about every 4-5 years.

Seriously? damn...another bill I have to pay! My wife and her parents bought me a Rolex Milgauss last month for my 40th birthday. Love the watch and I like that it's not "blingy" like a lot of other Rolex's out there but $500 to get it serviced? my car doesn't even cost that for routine maintenance!!! I do like that the face is sapphire. I don't wear the watch anywhere near anything I'm working on but I have been known to be a little hard on my watches - smacking them off the metal door facings at my work, the car door, my desk, etc. I guess I'm just clumsy!! I have had a Tag Heuer cronometer for a few years that has a sapphire face. The body of the watch is beat to hell but the face is perfect. Funny thing is, the Seiko divers watch (I have a few watches) I mentioned in an earlier post is in great shape except for the face.

I do like the look of those japanese watches posted earlier and I will have a Luminox someday - love those watches!

 

[Joe Mamma]

Think about a Seiko diver like a SKX007, and an aftermarket nylon strap wrist band made by Maratac or someone similar.

The watch is an automatic, so it never needs batteries. It winds itself based on wrist movement. But, it's accuracy can be bad (like 30 seconds off per day).

If you didn't know, that watch has a cult like following on the internet.

Joe Mamma

 

[Joe Mamma]

route246 and Strouty, I'm curious, how accurate are your Rolexes?

route 246, has your watch's accuracy changed over the years?

Joe Mamma

 

[davesnothere]

Cell phone all the way.

 

[KCarGuy]

Sorry about the lousy Photo, But here is my VERY FIRST EVER watch that I owned.
Still have it, still works!
A Timex Explorer watch.
I was about 7 or 8 when I got it...That makes it around 1964!
I have a few of my Grandfathers watches, One of my fathers and 2 Other's.
My first one...the Timex Explorer and most likely my Last one...
...a Nice Old Seiko (7559) that is around 25 years old.

 

[murph64]

$500 to get it serviced?

I've had a Sea Dweller as my every day watch for the last 12 years, and so far it only needed one "tune up". After the sticker shock from Rolex, I found a local jeweler that did it for about $250. And yeah the crystal is tough, mine has one good ding on the edge, and one or two smaller ones you can feel but are tough to see.

As part of the tune up they were going to buff out the nicks and scratches in the band and case - I said "no thanks, I like it looking lived in"


Andy

 

[lwlobo]

I'm pretty hard on watches, although not auto shop hard on watches. I used to go through a decent watch (Fossil, Timex, etc) or Cheapo every year or two. They'd die, batter would go out (which I usually replaced myself) or the bands would break. The only watch I now wear is my Citizen Eco-Drive with a Titanium Band that my wife got me for Christmas a while back. I love it. It's probably 4 or 5 years old? Still looks nice, very lightweight, and powered by light. It's a simpler day/date model which I prefer. I think it cost about $125 from some online watch store (or maybe Amazon).

Funny story about Rolex's:

When we were getting married my wife wanted to get me a watch for our wedding. She saw a billboard with a nice looking Rolex on it, a Day/Date Model. So she went to the Jeweler listed on the billboard and started asking. The guy behind the counter showed her some different models. She asked about the price on one she liked and the guy told her 28. She was a little baffled by this and asked about another. It was 35. Now she was really confused. Finally she asked, is that 35 dollars? No, 35 hundred, the guy replied as he took the watches and put them back in the case. My wife-to-be knew the watches couldn't be 30 bucks, but she never imagined a watch could cost 3500! Years later we went into a store in SF and saw a Platinum Rolex for over $30k. By then she obviously knew more what to expect.

So for our wedding I got a nice Colibri stainless pocket watch with my initials and our wedding date engraved. If I ever find the guy who stole it he'll wish he hadn't.

 

[route246]

It runs on what is affectionately called, "Rolex Time" which effectively means always a minute/week slow or fast. When I take it in for service they always ask how it runs and I tell them, "It's good, it runs on Rolex time so you can leave it the way it is." The insider joke is that if you have them calibrate it they will usually make it worse and keep it for an extra week to test it. A minute a week is pretty good and that's where mine is now (slow). Once a week I sync it with my iPhone setting it about 30 second fast. By the next week it is running about 30 seconds slow. I've been doing this for decades so it's like a habit. I have had it come back from service once where it was dead on perfect for 4+ years but that has only happened once.

In general, they are not very good for keeping accurate time. That's what cell phones are for. Most cell phones keep very accurate time and synchronize off the network because of TOD pricing plans. If it's free calling after 21:00 they damn well better be displaying 21:00 correct to the second or they can face class action lawsuits for overcharging.

route246 and Strouty, I'm curious, how accurate are your Rolexes?

route 246, has your watch's accuracy changed over the years?

Joe Mamma

 

[route246]

Sea Dweller is nice but that thing weighs a ton and built like a submarine. I take mine to a place that ships it to the Rolex service center in Texas. It costs a little more but I trust them and they have never let me down.

I've had a Sea Dweller as my every day watch for the last 12 years, and so far it only needed one "tune up". After the sticker shock from Rolex, I found a local jeweler that did it for about $250. And yeah the crystal is tough, mine has one good ding on the edge, and one or two smaller ones you can feel but are tough to see.

As part of the tune up they were going to buff out the nicks and scratches in the band and case - I said "no thanks, I like it looking lived in"


Andy

 

[route246]

Before we got married I asked my wife if she wanted a Rolex or a diamond engagement ring. I didn't have much money at the time but I was willing to go $3K into debt on my credit card for my budget. She thought about it for about 2 seconds and said she would like a Rolex. She saw mine and liked it and she already had her grandmother's wedding ring handed down to her so she opted for the watch instead of another ring. I knew right at that moment that I had chosen the right woman to be my wife because that sort of practicality is rare in females. She said a ring can be a phony zircon and nobody would know but fake Rolex watches look fake and she knew it was a rare opportunity to get something she would probably never get otherwise. She still wears it daily, it's been in for service twice and the sapphire crystal is intact and flawless. Many of her friends who got rings for their engagement really envy her now when they look at their ring and then see her watch.

Funny story about Rolex's:

When we were getting married my wife wanted to get me a watch for our wedding. She saw a billboard with a nice looking Rolex on it, a Day/Date Model. So she went to the Jeweler listed on the billboard and started asking. The guy behind the counter showed her some different models. She asked about the price on one she liked and the guy told her 28. She was a little baffled by this and asked about another. It was 35. Now she was really confused. Finally she asked, is that 35 dollars? No, 35 hundred, the guy replied as he took the watches and put them back in the case. My wife-to-be knew the watches couldn't be 30 bucks, but she never imagined a watch could cost 3500! Years later we went into a store in SF and saw a Platinum Rolex for over $30k. By then she obviously knew more what to expect.

So for our wedding I got a nice Colibri stainless pocket watch with my initials and our wedding date engraved. If I ever find the guy who stole it he'll wish he hadn't.

 

[RBailey]

Citizen dive watches, bullet proof !

I had an old battery driven one of these for over 15 years but getting batteries properly changed out here (Arabian Gulf) was a pain.

At the last flat battery I went for a new one, same type but the Ecodrive (Solar) model. About 3 years in now and expect to get even longer out of the new one than last and without pain of changing batteries.

It is heavy and strong enough to drive nails !

And yes I have used it diving, deepest 90m, way outside PADI ;-)
(But only as back up, Primary = AP Vision and Back up = Sunto).

Cheers,
Richard B.

 

[Patrick Boyle]

I currently wear an Orient Mako every day with a Maratac Zulu band. Icredible watch for the money, and very accurate out of the box.

I've got one of these bad boys in the mail. Been waiting months for the chance to buy one:

Just a comment about SEALs and Luminox: It is indeed false that Luminox is issued to them. Like most special forces, they can basically wear whatever they want as long as it's mission-appropriate, the same way they have a lot of say in what weapons they use while operating. They aren't held to the same rigid standards as a lot of the military. If an operator didn't have a preference, they would most likely wear a watch from whatever contractor is currently making issue watches for the government, nothing special.

 

[NinetyTwoFifty]

Wow, I like that Mako. How much did it cost?

 

[Patrick Boyle]

Believe it or not I paid $80 for it, though for the life of me I can't remember how I got that price. I ordered it direct from the manufacturer though. Here is the link: http://orientwatchusa.com/cem65004b They do 30% off sales all the time so you can usually get them for around $100.

This watch has a bit of a cult following. Do a search on this forum if you really want to be persuaded to buy it. http://forums.watchuseek.com/forum.php

 

[NinetyTwoFifty]

Amazing!

It looks like great quality, how do you like it?

And what was that second watch?

 

[Patrick Boyle]

I love it. It's a quality piece that's built really well. The date pusher at the 3 o'clock position and the dial really give it a unique look for a diver watch. My only complaint is that the crystal scratches very easily. Eventually I'm going to have it replaced with a sapphire crystal.

The second watch is a Maratac Pilot: http://countycomm.com/maratacpilotauto.htm It's a watch that supposedly has been custom ordered by some government agency and County Comm is selling the over-runs. They're hardly ever in stock, but when you can catch them the price is incredible for the amount of watch you're getting.

 

[NinetyTwoFifty]

I think I'll get one of the Makos. Thanks for sharing!

 

[t100]

Suunto Vector and Casio Sea Pathfinder for me now.

 

[Even 11]

I have several watches (probably 25+) but the one that gets that call most often while working (Even wrenching) is an older Citizen WR100 Chronograph. It takes a beating and still looks great to me. Bright yellow dial and metallic blue chrono dials. I do have a Seiko that gets worn pretty regularly as well.

-Dane

 

[Toolhorder]

I have a Seiko auto 5. Works great and never needs a battery. As long as you wear it the watch holds good time. I never wear it when working on cars though.

I'm looking at Rolex someday but it's not in the cards right now with two young kids. I can tell you that if I do end up with a Rolex it's going to get oil on it an I'm okay with that.

 

[dfmkevin]

Got this Nike Oregon watch a few years ago as an everyday watch...

In December I found a picture of a watch that designer Scott Wilson created using the 6th Gen iPod Nano and I loved the look, while reading more about it I found out that Scott had actually designed my Nike watch. No wonder I liked the new design...