Just seen this, I have a 20 year old a Ebel sportwave. Never had a service, I get the battery done by a guy in Banbury, in a little trailer. Cost £3.
It has just stopped prematurely.
Oh dear.

£580…hmmm.
a mere £340 for this

however the 1959 version…

that…won’t ever go back to Geneva….they quote £880!! which is nuts, as its a far simpler movement.

http://www.omegawatches.com/customer-service/watch-intervention/service-prices

Hmm, well for me, cheap bikes are less fun because they perform less well

So isn’t the parallel that cheap watches are less enjoyable because they perform less well? For that, you’d have to understand that being utterly accurate is not a key function.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I do have a swank watch or two – but not one of your common Rolexes, one of these:

Hewlett Packard HP-01 by Ben Cooper, on Flickr

It eats batteries, but it’s the ultimate geek watch possibly 😉

Hi Fred,

*wayves*

xx

So isn’t the parallel that cheap watches are less enjoyable because they perform less well? For that, you’d have to understand that being utterly accurate is not a key function.

Now I’m really confused. I thought the whole point of a watch was to tell the time. You’re going to have to explain what the key functions of a watch actually are.

Hi Fred

Not just me thinking that then.

You might as well save your money

best laugh of the day old bean. 😆

aracer, the key function of high end watches is to be admired, in my view. they are a piece of jewelry primarily. I know it is daft. yep, I agree, but I enjoy my watches.

One of the worst fashion sins imo is wearing anything analogue looking that costs less than say 2K pounds. Unless like I said its a Swatch.

One of the worst brands of watches and biggest accessory sins are for example Tag Heuer watches IMO. Why – It shows that you ‘care’ about your watch, but that you could not afford a proper watch. If you cannot afford a proper watch then just buy a Swatch. Otherwise save up a bit of money and buy a cheaper IWC etc…
(S)nob. Define ‘a proper watch.
99.9% of people wouldn’t recognise a really expensive watch from an average priced one, and probably wouldn’t give a shit either. Only people like you who make instant snap judgements of people, and who they are, based entirely on a watch or their shoes, or whatever, using your own predjudice as a guideline.
My favoured watch, bought because I love it’s clarity and simplicity, I’ve seen very, very few watches costing ten times the price that I would swap it for:

In fact, I have only seen one watch that I would buy and wear, given the money, and that’s this one:

Which you’d still look down on, kukonaya, because, while its made in the Rolex factory, it’s not a Rolex, and is about £1000 cheaper than the base Rolex.
But all you care about is how you appear to your hipster friends, which is, ultimately, superficial and false.
Oh, btw, I do actually own a TAG, cost me £250 around thirty years ago.
Still works, although it is, like me, a little worn around the edges. And I don’t much care, either.

MrSmith : IRL Troll

Count, it is a shame Tudor aren’t in the UK currently. Of their Heritage range I like the black bay for appearance, the Pelagros is a little too much like the original snowflake sub and you can get one of those for not much more then half the pelagros.
There are a few Swiss made watches around that are clear and simple, you seem to like the military style, have you looked at CWC? They are similar in price to Seiko but with ETA movements.

GfS With a handful of Fake Omegas from Bali, and a nice Casio ]which sadly got spin-kicked to death by a big chap around a punch bag one drunken evening…]

🙂

MY NAME IS OZZY MANDIALS, LOOK UPON MY MIGHTY WATCHES AND DESPAIR.

It’s just a watcch dude..

but i am ozzy mandial, oh, it doesn’t work. fak. I AMMM OZZY MANDIAL though etc. funny thread 😀

Now I’m really confused. I thought the whole point of a watch was to tell the time. You’re going to have to explain what the key functions of a watch actually are.

Actually, I said that being utterly accurate was not a key function. Have you ever been 1/1000th of a second late for something?

If for you, the sole purpose of a watch is to tell the time, then of course you’d choose the cheapest. Nothing wrong with that.

My watch is old. I like objects that have history.
My watch has sentimental value, being chosen by me as a gift from my mates on my 30th.
My watch is slightly battered, I like things that look used.
My watch keeps terrible time and requires frequent winding, I find this charming.
My watch only comes out on special occasions, for me it seems somehow a part of these events.

There are 5 key functions for me, and the only one related to timekeeping views accuracy as a negative! Other people might have different reasons. Sure, some people might have slightly distasteful motives, which I highlighted as a bit of a joke.

Been resisting this thread…..

I have a wooden boat, it’s not as good as a modern fibreglass boat, it’s more expensive to maintain, slower and just not as good. 

But… It was made by hand, it needs a bit of love to keep it afloat and it’s a bit special. A wooden boat has never been used to attract fittie hotties but I like my wooden boat, I appreciate the work that went into making it.

I have a Land Rover, blatantly thrown together by blind Monkeys in Birmingham, it’s slow, noisy, cold, leaks, lacks airbags and ABS and does far fewer MPG that a Skoda Octpractical, but it was built by hand (poorly) and I love it. I smile driving it. (I hated our New Golf Tdi thing, loathed it!)

My watch has no electricity, just lots of tiny cogs pushing other tiny cogs that make it work and this fascinates me. I love it. It loses time, stops and isn’t clever enough to work out which months only have 30 days, so it needs a bit of help now and again. I could have got a super efficient Casio G S-watch that could tell me the time in Bogota to 1ms for less than the cost of a service. But I have had one and it was a factory produced disposable commodatity that was always destined for and probably now is landfill.

I loved the steel, handbuilt Mercian bike I had (RIP) much more than the better lighter carbon bike I now use.

Cheaper & better doesn’t mean it’s as good 🙂

aracer, the key function of high end watches is to be admired, in my view. they are a piece of jewelry primarily. I know it is daft. yep, I agree, but I enjoy my watches.

Fair enough. At least you’re prepared to admit it. Like many others on this thread, I wouldn’t dream of spending that sort of amount on jewelry (though I’m happy to admit to spending money on bike stuff which has only aesthetic benefit, nowhere near the amount some people will spend on a watch though).

I must admit I have spent £300 on a watch though. Here’s a picture of the one I own:

mate at work comes back from Greece with a ferrari watch with stick-on extra dials. also has a whole bunch of other fake watches. He’s 66 on his 4th wife and a lover of teh ladies. Loves his Knowingly-taking-the piss-fake bling. Couldn’t meet a better dude.

I got a Iron man Triathlon for sports, 3 Breitling copies from far east when pissed? that the wife loves and a Oris divers for my 40th to pass to my Grandson- just as my Grandfather passed a Longines gold watch to me.I am not from a well to do family but my Grandfather worked hard to give my Father and me chances. I have worked hard to give my future Grandson chances and a watch symbolizes our climb from outside Lav to Mortgage free at 40 years old .Hopefully the watches will carry on? if not my Grandson gonna get some sweet rides when he is 5 foot tall ha ha

Neil, that small seconds Omega is lovely. *Thumbs up/generic kudos forum term*

I’ve git a semi at the thought of so many people irritated that I’m wearing a Breitling right now, it’s an even better felling than feeling richer than the Casio wearers…

I’m wearing a Breitling right now

Ooof! Keep talking you filthy beast….

LOL at username/irony/subject collision above.

Is this still going? Have we achieved world peace yet? Anyone changed their position? No, thought not. 🙂

I’m wearing a Breitling right now

Bond never wore a Breitling, just saying. 😉

I have – I was at work, then I went home and now I am back at work again.

Bond never wore a Breitling, just saying.

Thunderball. Just saying.

Bond? Seiko man I heard (for a bit)…..

I’m wearing a Breitling right now
Ooof! Keep talking you filthy beast….

It’s a self winder, and it’s not going flat in a hurry….

LOOK UPON MY MIGHTY WATCHES AND DESPAIR

Best most erudite pisstake of the thread, well done, made me laugh 🙂

I use my phone to tell the time. I wonder if the reason people don’t appreciate the engineering that goes into it is because they don’t understand it?

If you claim to be interested in engineering you should be absolutely blown away. It makes the contents of these watches look like toys.

Moly, they’re electric which dunt count. It’s witchcraft dontchaknow 🙂

Electrickery isn’t real engineering – that’s why this:

Is infinitely cooler than this:

It’s a self winder, and it’s not going flat in a hurry….

Thunderball. Just saying.

Huh, howzabout that…

Electrickery isn’t real engineering – that’s why this:

Is infinitely cooler than this:

Nope. The latter is cheaper, better and more reliable. Any engineer would appreciate that. People who think cogs and gears are better in engineering terms are romantics or blinded by nostalgia I reckon 🙂

The latter is cheaper, better and more reliable.

Cheaper, yes. But that Curta is 60 years old, has never needed batteries, and can still do many calculations faster than an electronic calculator 😉

Cheaper, yes. But that Curta is 60 years old, has never needed batteries, and can still do many calculations faster than an electronic calculator

Many?

Sounds like you are making excuses for it tbh. Plus I’ve got solar powered calculators that never need batteries.

Romantic. That’s it.

Gears and cogs?

Keep it real.

Is this still going? Have we achieved world peace yet? Anyone changed their position? No, thought not.

No, but we know exactly how long we’ve been bickering for.

No, but we know exactly how long we’ve been bickering for.

Only if someone has been timing the thread with a digital watch.

Sounds like you are making excuses for it tbh

Yup 😉

I said many calculations because the reason it’s faster is due to the entry method – if you’re adding a long list of similar numbers, for instance, it’s quicker to change one or two digits and crank the handle than it is to type in the whole number again.

Plus I’ve got solar powered calculators that never need batteries.

Any of them 60 years old yet? 😉