Quartz sadly, I scurried off to the website earlier. Might email them later to see if they’ve any plans for an automatic version.

With my current Breitling experience I am wishing I hadn’t gone for automatic, that’s the reason I am having to have it serviced at the cost of a bloody good new watch.

Up until recently I’d only ever had quartz watches and couldn’t see why you would pay more to get an automatic which is, by almost any measure, an inferior product.

However having bought a couple of Orients almost on a whim there’s definitely something about them which puts me off quartz completely.

Whilst expensive automatics like your breitling probably should be serviced by an authorised centre I’m happy getting my £150 watches serviced locally if I bother getting them done at all.

Not sure what servicing costs are for the EB but I’ve had my Traser battery & seals replaced and watch pressure tested every 2-3 years for £30 a time. All being well, the EB battery’s meant to last for nigh on 5 years so I don’t see servicing costs been a problem! (famous last words…!)

This one. Mainly for running, but useable on the bike (you go into Garmin Connect afterwards and change the activity type to cycling)

My loverly wife bought me this~

@ Breadcrumb- That’s nice, I like the colours on the face.

Yep Breadcrumb – that is a very good looking watch. Loving the orange detailing.

Jeffc, that’s a lovely old Rolex and I’m sure it will be a great investment as well.

I got a cheap, but nice IMHO Boccia watch from Amazon a lot like this one.

Thanks guys, I’m really happy with it. It was just what I had in mind, took some finding though.

Prawny, I’ve been looking at those boccia’s myself as they’re quite like the mondaines but much cheaper. Did you get it at Christmas and is the strap any good? Read some reviews that they’re quite short and I have mans wrists.

Thanks straightliner. I really love it. As an investment it’s very hard to say but new it would have been about 200 usd in 1961. Now you’ll struggle to get one in this condition for much less than 20k usd. Will it keep going up, who knows? But it looks nice and is robust enough for daily use.

Double post

Gents…

Replicas… seen some really good ones of late but they were bought in HK or dubai. So any ideas where I can try on decent replicas in London?

Not a tight arse honest … 😀 … just rather absent minded and I really don’t want to be literally (after stupidly misplace it) dropping 3+k on a watch.

Not a tight arse honest … … just rather absent minded and I really don’t want to be literally (after stupidly misplace it) dropping 3+k on a watch.

Sure that’s why we pay house insurance to cover it, if lost 😉

Something like this made its way into my possession …

Bregante, I got it for my birthday the week before christmas so I suppose I must have ordered it late november time. The strap isn’t massive, I have probably normal-thin wrists and I’m on the middle of 5 holes on it. I think to be off the end you’d have to have some fairly serious arms.

I don’t have a ruler or anything with my, but I’ve just stretched it across my keyboard and it’s from the A to the colon keys to the hole I’m using if that helps. There’s about 5-7mm between holes, so an extra 10-15mm of strap

Sure that’s why we pay house insurance to cover it, if lost

See I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t use insurance even when I’ve got it… never claimed for a thing.

I got a Dieter Rams Braun for my Birthday DrJ – Lovely watches. Wear it loads, though partly because its really thin compared to the rest of my collection and so fits under tight shirt cuffs nicely. I got this one

Really liking the vintage Seamaster and the Elliot Brown. One day I hope to have a Speedmaster MKII in the collection, and Elliot Brown is on my list now too – loved Animal Watches back in the day!

I got a cheap Casio “mucking about” watch. Slightly funkier than the standard terrorist issue basic Casio.

It is what Bin Ladin would have got if he hadn’t been shot to death amidst his stash of mucky books.

I got me the G-Shock I was after. G7900!

It’s huge and very red

Slightly OT but as there are some watch lovers out there you may be able to advise.

Just had a call from the jeweler and they have quoted 272 for a service plus an advisory replacement of lens and dial for an additional 300! Can anyone think of any reason why the dial and lens would need replacing? It was in spot on cosmetic condition as far as I was concerned when I sent it in, it just needed the internals fiddling with.

Loving all these watches, the EB is new to me so may have to have a little snoop around see if I can find a secondhand one.

Love the little 20 by the 4. Stoner watch.

shh 🙂

Amongst others I have a Braun the same as Mr bens, one of my favourite watches, really clear and easy to tell the time and wears very comfortably.

johnj2000 – what watch is it that’s being serviced?

Did the lens come with a coating to prevent reflections and has worn away? Does the dial show any signs of fading or cracking of the colour?

For some expensive watches the manufacturer will try and return it to as close as new as possible, however in the case of some unusual or low volume models, when this has been done it’s actually devalued the watch in the long run.

Nothing fancy for me. Another Casio. It should take a few years of abuse.

Analogue only this time. Alarms and the like are better even on my fairly old phone.

Clear and easily read.

I find it ironic that one of the first watches on this thread, the 70’s seamaster, was what I was wearing on Xmas day, I made it out of the front door & it’s strap disintegrated dumping it on the path 🙁
I have no idea if it’s worth getting a new strap, polishing the scuffs from the shoulders & getting a new glass or if I should just let it go 🙁

Anyhow I quite like the look of this

🙂

johnj2000 – what watch is it that’s being serviced?

It’s one of the cheaper Brietlings, the Wings model. Hadn’t noticed any deterioration in the dial but there was a tiny scratch on the lens but I wasn’t worried about it. I am getting the feeling they are just after some cash so am going to just go for the service.

I have no idea if it’s worth getting a new strap, polishing the scuffs from the shoulders & getting a new glass or if I should just let it go

If the watch is still going it seems a shame not to use it, nice watch as well.

Just for referance, and it has taken me just outside of the edit window to find the right image, the one I had was the same as this

but with a silver face, I would dearly love another that keeps time & is less fragile, it was a beautiful watch 🙁

Get that baby a new bracelet and get a good jeweller to give it proper polish, it’s a cracker. Probably do another 30 years.

Thanks, I’m tempted, but it just doesn’t keep time unless your very active, maybe self satisfying 24/7 (I wish) would work?
But the reason I only got it out for Xmas was reason enough to tell me it’s not worth spending about £1k to restore it, a new strap alone is over £400! 🙁

Leather strap? My Brietling came with a lovely leather strap originally, only changed as I got the metal bracelet as a Xmas gift one year. Once you have it re strapped you have a valid reason to keep it moving 24/7, and now and again you can get someone else to wear it so you do t get too tired 🙂

jeffc : That rolex is absolutely **** lush, very simple face and understated with nae unnecessary chronograph dials – my kind of watch entirely.

I had a good nosey at a few replicas (ie, blatant knock offs) in one of the big malls in China a while ago. The watches wouldn’t fool anyone who owns the real thing or knows much at all about watches. The quality on the stuff I saw varied from very poor to passable, but nothing was really at the level of quality you would expect from something like a Seiko 5. Even if the quality were right, details like the size and proportions of the case mean you won’t fool anyone.

To be honest if you want something that looks special for not a lot of cash, the only worthwhile ways to go about it are to get a custom seiko or a second hand vintage watch.

Thanks somafunk. to be honest, pics don’t do it justice. I feel very lucky to have found one in this condition. Here’s another of my favourite old Rolex – from 1966:

i cant afford a rolex as such as that unless i sell a kidney so i had to settle for a yobokies seiko 5 mod, this one below , similar to the rolex but so much not the same in quality or design.

Yet again that rolex is an absolute timeless design, you are to be commended on your taste sir 😉

My yobokies seiko 5 mod is a crass copy of that rolex

Well seiko is probably one of the few non European manufacturers who can actually turn out a good mechanical movement. Some of their grand seiko movements are the equal of anything rolex makes and sometimes better. It’s a reasonable homage, while not pretending to be something it isn’t (unlike some other divers out there)

Could any of you guys recommend me a good website to buy a quality second hand watch, looking to use some of my late dads money to buy something as a keepsake.