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Oooo,v which one! I like the fleiger
Flieger Klassik 40. Type A face. No date. No logo.
Waiting to see if one pops up in the 25 days of Christmas sale
Type A dials are my preference too, I'm not keen on the more cluttered nav-B. I also like stowa as they have historically, authenticity with fleiger watches. Fingers crossed for you!
I am the opposite. I prefer type B fleiger. Fleiger are not the most cluttered of watches at the best of times.
Help me out....
Middle_oab wants a watch for Christmas.
He has tiny wrists so must be small. Is there equivalent of a Swatch in digital - on one hand quite simple and contemporary, on the other hand quite fun...?
The polar opposite of most Casio watches...
Budget is £50ish
I was going to buy a Stowa Flieger but was bothered by the fact I couldn't try on or even see an actual watch before buying as Stowa are mail order only, a bit of a leap of faith, although they do look lovely, went with a Tudor Ranger in the end, which is perfect on a nice NATO.
Started to get into watches this year, 1st is my 1920’s (ish) Rolex, before they were Rolex, the movement is WM Rolex but i can’t find much out about it, was bought by my great aunt after the second world war, inherited from my grandfather. Second, Parnis diver, total bargain £63 for an automatic. Third, quartz Hamilton Khaki field, slightly regret not getting the mechanical.
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Parnis looks good. I like that stealth bezel look, epitomised by the (somewhat pricier) Rolex Yachtmaster 42
The Parnis is excellent, 40mm so suits my small wrists, not the fanciest movement but was a bargain and nice first diver
Had a type B Laco before and sold it. Busy but interesting face.
Tudor Ranger on leather is also something I fancy. Was bidding on one on eBay last month but missed out in the end
PSA. Bit big for my tastes but the 44mm Geckota K-01 is half price over at Watch Gecko
£149 down from £299
clicky
For those into divers', look at the Scurfa range. Great VFM and great looking. Designed by a saturation diver and watch enthusiast.
Kato if you see a Tudor Ranger on a bracelet they're good to go for too as you can really soften the price of the watch by selling the bracelet on Chrono24, they fetch very good money on there as do the camo NATOs that come with the watch (way too gung ho for me). I didn't like any of the straps that the Ranger came on so bought it on a bracelet specifically to sell and soften the price of the watch, the bracelet and the camo NATO fetched five hundred Euros, although this was a couple of years back, which made the price of the watch much easier to swallow.
But omega are pushing their prices up constantly.
I've noticed this too. First the AD told me it was due to Brexit/supply fears and the £GBP losing value - that was 2.5 years ago and the prices have risen still.
I think it's more so they're seen as a direct competitor to Rolex - it's a marketing play.
It's kind of working, too - the secondary market seems to be tracking closer to MSRP - if I sold my Speedmaster today I'd get either what I paid for it 2.5 years ago or maybe even slightly over. You've not been able to say that about Omega, especially a bog standard Moonwatch, ever in the brand's history.
Blimey - I just checked again. An Omega Speedmaster Professional with the hesalite dome now retails at MSRP of £4000 (!!!) That's a full £1k more than I paid for mine 2.5 years-ish ago.
I think you're right. In terms of case, bracelet, dial and movement quality I'd say there is little to choose between the two brands. Design and branding there is s bigger difference but omega do seem to be trying to close on Rolex., although Rolex seem to want to push up to pp, ap, jlc territory. Tudor are pushing up behind omega... Basically a lot of brands are pushing prices up hard!
My 10 year old Submariner 14060M has a cr@p strap. Rubbish from new. They wanted £1000 for a replacement strap 🤪 it is, however a lovely watch that means something special to me.
The Omegas always had nicer straps. The Rolex straps have been improved recently but I’m not a fan of the newer Submariners TBH.
Orient have a new Orient Star diver out which looks really nice and is a bit different to the usual sub "homages".
Link to picture cos I can't get an actual picture to work.
plyphon
Member
Blimey – I just checked again. An Omega Speedmaster Professional with the hesalite dome now retails at MSRP of £4000 (!!!) That’s a full £1k more than I paid for mine 2.5 years-ish ago
Hackett Watches will do it for £3295 still. I was going to px my quartz Seamaster but was advised to hold onto it
miketroid, I know what you mean, omega bracelets improved years before rolex did, but the bracelet on a modern rolex is good, solid links, and the glidelock clasp on sports models is good and esy to use. the omega adjustable clasp is similarly good now...but rolex had the glidelock for 4 or 5 years before omega caught up there. other than that, I'd say its very hard to pick out any quality differences bryon the movements where rolex are ver, very good, but omega are probably a bit better ....but I'm an omega fan so respect that others may disagree.
That orient is nice, and I'm not really a fan of the others people have linked on here. 44mm though, too big!
Talk me out of this? I want a Pepsi, and the Solar appeals.... is it worth adding to the collection...?
I’d say its very hard to pick out any quality differences bryon the movements where rolex are ver, very good, but omega are probably a bit better
The new Omega co-axial is an incredible movement - too early to say about longevity, but currently the performance, finishing and technical prowess is well up there with Rolex, and above in some categories.
The issue I take with Omega is that their Moonwatch still comes with a 1861 movement which is almost as old as the Speedmaster design itself. I know its a workhorse movement that has pedigree etc etc which holds a lot of weight - but it becomes hard to justify it's tolerance of +/- 10sec tolerance when even the "cheapest" of Rolex watches comes with a Superlative Chronometer Official Certification which is +/- 2sec ... it's a noticeable difference. Last time I checked my Explorer it came in a +0 secs...
Orient have a new Orient Star diver out which looks really nice
Agree with tthew, lovely apart from the sizing. No design cues at all that I can see from the sub but I wouldn't be expecting a sub homage from a Japanese major anyway.
I want a Pepsi, and the Solar appeals…. is it worth adding to the collection…?
Well, I've never liked Pepsi bezels and the only solar I'd entertain would be a Casio Tough so I'd say no. But you want one and have seen one that appeals so why TF would you care what I think? Are you talking Seiko here? There are loads of other Pepsi style bezels around if you want to branch out a bit.
Aficionados, any tips on good places/sites for women's watches?
Triple points if you have direct links to a watch that is designed for very small wrists, is anti-bling, beautiful in a modern and understated way, and under £400 (the last part does not apply to my partner!).
For anyone who is hankering after a Sub but can’t get hold of one, a jeweller I know in Stourbridge has a 2 tone version with a gold and back face, gold and steel bracelet, 2nd hand, in store. Not cheap but it does look lovely.
TT subs are a bit marmite though.
...the only solar I’d entertain would be a Casio Tough...
Not even an Eco-Drive Promaster diver?
I have to admit I'm slightly taken with them, and I'm not so fussed about automatic divers anymore...
That said I'm toying with getting a GW-M5610 as it would make a proper beater. So yeah Casio tough solar FTW...
As for that linked solar Prospex I don't doubt it's good VFM but there's just something 'off' about a Dive-style Chronograph it doesn't quite correlate (IMO), it's like it doesn't know what sort of watch it actually wants to be, so it's going to try and be as many different watches as possible... just me perhaps.
Talk me out of this?
Sorry, didn't see the link first time round or I'd have also been manking about the visual fussiness of a chrono being at odds with a diver and only getting Hardlex when you're paying the thick end of £300. But that's the Seiko tax for you and we clearly look for different things in a watch!
I’m toying with getting a GW-M5610
The 5610 is very nice but I'm leaning more towards a white AQ-S810. Very affordable but not cheap enough for me to break my "no more watches in 2019" resolution! I had an orange AQ-S800W briefly but it was a little too dainty and the legibility was too compromised.
Sorry, didn’t see the link first time round or I’d have also been manking about the visual fussiness of a chrono being at odds with a diver and only getting Hardlex when you’re paying the thick end of £300. But that’s the Seiko tax for you and we clearly look for different things in a watch!
After sleeping on it I've changed my mind anyway, I think my next purchase should be non Seiko and a bit more "special" or "classy" in watch terms however long it takes.
I've been inspired, by this thread, to revive my +1, which has been sitting in a drawer for 5 years.
It's a Christopher Ward Quartz Chrono, and from memory when I took it in to the local jeweller 5 years ago for a battery change, they said there was nothing wrong with the battery, it was the movement. The crown also doesn't screw in.
I've sent it back to Christopher Ward, and have just been presented with a £300 quote for a service and repair, which includes a new case. The watch cost me about £130 brand new! I've asked why it might need a new case, so I'll wait to see what they say.
The market rate for a quartz service seems to be about £120. Forgive my ignorance, but when a new movement (ISA 8174-220) seems to be about £38, wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just swap out the movement, rather than servicing the old one? What am I missing?
Service price is all inclusive. Add the hourly rate to to change the movement, put all the sundry seals, cleaning etc. to the parts price, probably* works out more than a service.
*IANA Watchmaker.
Unfortunately the economics of watches in that price range means that the service cost often renders the watch beyond economical repair. It's worth doing if the watch is sentimental, of course.
The movement swap will also include water proof testing, swapping the seals, etc. All takes time.
It has some sentimental value, but I'm not sure I can justify that much.
@kato - now I’ve got my Black Bay GMT (and a North Flag), I’m actually debating whether to sell my Ranger. It’s on leather, but the original Tudor strap could do with being replaced so I’ve got a Geckota one on now, with the Tudor deployant.
The 5610 is very nice but I’m leaning more towards a white AQ-S810.
I've just picked up a 2nd hand AW-591, so I've got a cheap ana-digi G-shock it's OK, ticks a few boxes (sadly not solar), but it's just reinforced my desire to get a Square G, in which case why not get the Solar/6 band version (for an extra £25)... I suppose a square like the 5000/5610/5600 (depending on your price point) is just another obvious box to tick, if you like Casios, especailly G-shocks, but hardly an essential...
A mate at work actually has a black AQ-S810 as his day to day watch. I chatted about it with him a while back and like you he chose it because it's not comically oversized, doesn't cost the earth, has analogue display but also useful things like stopwatch and alarm functions and it's solar powered...
AQ-S810
Oooh - nice, and £33 on Amazon currently, quite like the stealth black one. I'm considering selling my Garmin Intinct as I'm just not using it and this could replace it as my camping / rugged watch.
During the Black Friday Aliexpress sale I ordered the San Martin homage to the Seiko 62mas diver. The 62mas is a stunning watch, shame Seiko priced their own remake out of the reaches of most people.
Oooh – nice, and £33 on Amazon currently, quite like the stealth black one
I know, a proper "beater" price - still not low enough to trigger my embargo overide though! Watch it with the stealthier ones though, they look nice but I find legibility at a glance is a bit lacking if that's what you need in a watch.
I ordered the San Martin homage to the Seiko 62mas diver
Better looking than the Seiko homage to their own earlier model too, IMO. I was very tempted, there was a bronze/green option I really liked the look of but I managed to find enough willpower until the urge passed. It's not completely passed, I may have to revisit the San Martin store some time in the New Year.
anyone seen an Elliot Brown in the flesh?
They look quite tidy in the pics... and British?
Canford:
Tyneham
Anyone seen an Elliot Brown in the flesh?
They look quite tidy in the pics… and British?
I'd never heard of them and now I've looked at their website I think I know all I need to. They don't look horrible but from what I could gather in a couple of minutes they look to be charging 400-odd quid for a case wrapped round £20 worth of low end Swiss quartz movement, and their website is an absolute masterclass in utter bullshit and misplaced apostrophes.
Not my cup of tea.
£20 worth of low end Swiss quartz movement
That one up there ^^ claims to be automatic.
That one up there ^^ claims to be automatic.
Looks like it, but that's not one of the £400 watches I was referring to. They're looking for £800 for that one.
I’ve got a canford.
They are owned by one of the original owners of animal and there original watch designer
It’s a big watch, mine has a metal strap which also makes it a heavy watch.
It seems well made (probably over built for what it needs)
But I like it and a thynham is on my wish list
The thynham is a bit smaller which should make it a bit more usable.
That said they are overpriced new and depreciate like a lead balloon. Have a look on ebay and you can often pick one up that’s been hardly worn for less than half what they are new.
I've got a Canford, really nice solid watch in the flesh and gets great reviews across various watch websites even though they acknowledge that on paper it doesn't look great value.
I've had a couple of email conversions with the owner and always found him to be a really helpful guy.
Just spotted this on the G-Shock site
Bit spendy, really quite spendy, but has my stealth smug gland twitching.
cheers for the Elliot Brown comments.
Weight is something that's not really mentioned with watches, which surprises me a bit, as it surely is a factor. I usually wear either a Swatch or a Boss, as both are nice and light. I also have a cheap 'diver' watch (Accurist) but that's noticeably heavier and nowhere near as nice to wear. Maybe I have weak wrists...
I guess titanium would help, over heavy steel?
Who does good sub-£400 watches then johnners?
The default answer for sub £400 watches in usually a seiko of some form. (But if every one had the same watch life would be boring)
Well made, good value in house movement, usually automatic, big choice of styles and good value (especially if you look at creation watches and get lucky and don’t get picked up by customs)
If your thinking of an Elliot brown then a seiko samouri or turtle would be worth looking at aswell
Or a hamtun titanium watch with a seiko nh35 movement
https://hamtun.co/products/kraken-h2-black
Or you could end up like me wanting one of each
£400 ish I'd agree with itlab and look at Seiko as 1 option.
I'd also be looking at the Orient watches on Creation, the various Mako models are well worth a look.
Sub £400, Steinhart. Much better than they ought to be for the price!
On the Canford front, I've had one for several years and inspite of the cost to value ratio I still love it.
It does weigh a fair bit though.
I'm not in any way delicate with watches either, so it's probably more me than them. That being said, I've trashed 2 leather straps (retainer band for the strap tail snapping off on both). I've had 2 of the rubber straps where the sizing pin tore through the rubber. It seemed to have a faulty crown at some point and would stop randomly despite the battery being ok (this was replaced free of charge). Most recently I dropped it and gave it a good bang on a tiled floor, I now have an Ellio Brown as the t went stray and ended up stuck to the inside of the glass for a while.
So in summary, yes it's expensive, yes it's hardy but not unbreakable. It's one of my favourite looking watches still (Stainless case with a black face and silver hands - it was a custom spec originally). It beats the crap out of my delicate wrist when I wear it, I have quite a lump on the bone at my wrist that it rests on. Customer service has been great with hand written notes from Alex back in the day. However, I'm currently riding to work daily and using a garmin to track my rides and runs so it doesn't get worn much at all, the garmin is functional, but I have no love for it stylistically.
Found this one, which is similar to the Canford but a lot cheaper...
Seiko SNK 809 - £61 at Creation
Any opinions in here about the Tissot Seastar 1000? Looking for a dive watch roughly in that ball park figure, something I'll be keeping forever as it'll have sentiment behind it.
Any recommendations similar to that?
https://www.tisso****ches.com/en-gb/shop/t1204071105100.html
I've got one of those @reggiegasket and it's cracking for the money, keeps good time, no complaints.
It's not a big watch, 38mm if memory serves but it sits well on the wrist.
Nice one Lunge. Just seeing if there's a blue face version to buy in the UK.
I'd probably swap out the strap for a rubber one but that should be no problem as it's a std 18mm lug.
Who does good sub-£400 watches
It depends - sub £400 is a huge category, and despite the impression you can get from the enthusiasts of the high end stuff the vast majority of watches sold are sub £400. It's also totally subjective, if I was looking for a big brand with an in-house movement Seiko and Orient have a lot of pieces in that price range, and in loads of styles from chrono to dive to field, and more dressy stuff too. If you want something Swiss some Hamilton and Oris will just edge into the sub £400 category. It really depends what style of watch you're after too, but if I were looking for value and originality I'd probably head for a smaller manufacturer or a micro brand. Among all the homages you'll find a lot of original designs, usually wrapped round a dependable Japanese movement from Seiko or Miyota, or maybe even a Selita or ETA at the higher end of that price range.
BTW, every watch I own is sub £400, almost all of them very comfortably so!
Found this one, which is similar to the Canford but a lot cheaper…
Seiko SNK 809 – £61 at Creation
I've got a SNK805 - same watch but with a green face. I love it, it was my daily watch for several years. Very different size to the Canford though, much smaller (37mm vs 44mm) and shower proof at best vs the Canford's 20atm. The SNG15 might be a better bet, it's got 10atm water resistance and splits the size difference at 41mm. Still only £77 at Creation.
Creation has a Hamiltion Khaki Field for £225... (a bit similar to this one).. must resist
I actually prefer the smaller faces/dials.
Anything over 40mm in a field/dress watch just looks a tad too big IMO.
I actually prefer the smaller faces/dials.
Anything over 40mm in a field/dress watch just looks a tad too big IMO.
Totally - I've a few 42mm divers which I think wear OK because the bezel takes something off the apparent size, but I've a Flieger and a chrono in the same 42mm which always look bigger.
Well with all that talk of G Shocks and me favouring brass watches currently, I bring you
GST-B200G-2AER:
Coated, solar, bluetooth for time zones, alarms etc and and and and.... Carbon 88g. But - is it fugly or charmingly unique? I can't decide.
But – is it fugly or charmingly unique?
Hideous
😀
But – is it fugly or charmingly unique?
God, I can't really tell. The face doesn't look legible enough for my failing sight which rules it out for me, though at least the digi display looks a useful size for once. I don't hate it.
me favouring brass watches currently
Seen the Ventus Mori and Northstar? Actual brass rather than the usual bronze and just released after filling their kickstarter orders (I think). Employing that old chestnut of an impending price rise to promote sales!
Charming isn't the word I'd use. Butch you can have.
Just been to see about my broken SKX, (couple of pages back now) the watchmaker says it's not winding, which I'm a bit dubious of, but he is going to repair it. Taken him a week to get that far, good job I'm in no massive hurry for it! 😁
Seen the Ventus Mori and Northstar?
Just googled - yes they look nice. About that G Shock, the more I look at it the better it gets as an "unusual" talking point. Of course its technically its very adept also. I reckon its a bit of a marmite watch for sure.
The issue I take with Omega is that their Moonwatch still comes with a 1861 movement which is almost as old as the Speedmaster design itself. I know its a workhorse movement that has pedigree etc etc which holds a lot of weight – but it becomes hard to justify it’s tolerance of +/- 10sec tolerance when even the “cheapest” of Rolex watches comes with a Superlative Chronometer Official Certification which is +/- 2sec … it’s a noticeable difference. Last time I checked my Explorer it came in a +0 secs…
If they changed the movement it would no longer be the only watch certified for EVA and NASA would be forced to evaluate a bunch of new watches. I bet they'd choose something different after 50-odd years of progress and it would be marketing suicide from Omega's perspective.
If you want a different movement there are plenty of other Speedmasters to choose from. The fact that the Moonwatch has barely changed in 50 years is one of the main reasons I love it and I can live with mine gaining a consistent 5s per week.
I’ve been inspired, by this thread, to revive my +1, which has been sitting in a drawer for 5 years.
It’s a Christopher Ward Quartz Chrono, and from memory when I took it in to the local jeweller 5 years ago for a battery change, they said there was nothing wrong with the battery, it was the movement. The crown also doesn’t screw in.I’ve sent it back to Christopher Ward, and have just been presented with a £300 quote for a service and repair, which includes a new case. The watch cost me about £130 brand new! I’ve asked why it might need a new case, so I’ll wait to see what they say.
The market rate for a quartz service seems to be about £120. Forgive my ignorance, but when a new movement (ISA 8174-220) seems to be about £38, wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to just swap out the movement, rather than servicing the old one? What am I missing?
CW will replace the movement at service - makes no sense to pay one of their watchmakers 3-4 hours labour to service the old one when a new movement is so cheap. Replacing the case because the crown won't screw down sounds fishy. If the threads on the crown tube are gone the tube can be replaced in minutes and they only cost a couple of quid. They'll probably fit a new crown rather than replacing the gasket in the old one, maybe new pushers too. You're looking at £60-80 worth of parts there if the case tube is replaced and two hours max to do. This is why Rolex, Swatch group and an increasing number of other manufacturers won't supply parts to independent repairers - far too much profit in it when you have a monopoly on spares.
If they changed the movement it would no longer be the only watch certified for EVA and NASA would be forced to evaluate a bunch of new watches. I bet they’d choose something different after 50-odd years of progress and it would be marketing suicide from Omega’s perspective.
If you want a different movement there are plenty of other Speedmasters to choose from. The fact that the Moonwatch has barely changed in 50 years is one of the main reasons I love it and I can live with mine gaining a consistent 5s per week.
You're right - I hadn't considered the NASA certified aspect too much. That's a huge draw of the speedy - the fact it's still certified for flight.
Though saying that - they sell the sapphire version as 'certified' - but NASA only certified/flew with the hesalite version, right? So there must be some leeway in that certification. I wonder if the movement is the crux of it. They also flew with the 321 movement (which Omega have just reintroduced) so wonder if they've already certified the 1861 once before.
Anyway - I really don't like the co-axial speedmasters. Well, not compared to the professional anyway. I fell in love with the history and still love my Speedy! I wore it yesterday, in fact.
If you want a spaceflight certified watch the Casio G-Shock DW-5600c is the one!
Gahhhhh, bloody image linking.
I'll try again with this:
"I’m someone who hasn’t got the money to burn on Rolex’s etc, so am a budget peruser.
So far my favourite is my custom 80’s SX007 7002 (and a couple of broken ones). Have a few Seiko 5’s, a couple of Vostoks, etc. I also have a couple of Grayton Harriers which were an interesting Amazon find.
Was a bit of a Master copy collector, but found that they generally couldn’t take daily use, often failing when knocked or dropped. I do fancy one of those Parnis’s tho…
However my pride and joy is my quartz Heuer Diver 980.006 – a rare and appreciating little curio – 40mm case, but super tough."
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Also, obligatory Garmin, but who cares about a FR235.
Don't forget this beauty is available for about £550.
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You’re right – I hadn’t considered the NASA certified aspect too much. That’s a huge draw of the speedy – the fact it’s still certified for flight.
Though saying that – they sell the sapphire version as ‘certified’ – but NASA only certified/flew with the hesalite version, right? So there must be some leeway in that certification. I wonder if the movement is the crux of it. They also flew with the 321 movement (which Omega have just reintroduced) so wonder if they’ve already certified the 1861 once before.
Anyway – I really don’t like the co-axial speedmasters. Well, not compared to the professional anyway. I fell in love with the history and still love my Speedy! I wore it yesterday, in fact.
The sapphire version isn't certified. The case back tells you that it was the first watch worn on the moon but there's no mention of it being flight certified like on the standard version.
It was the 105.003 with the 321 movement that was originally certified and the 105.012 was the first watch worn on the moon. I guess when the 145.022 with the 861 movement was introduced in 1969 NASA decided that the spec hadn't sufficiently changed for it to require re-evaluation.
There are plenty of other watches flight qualified by NASA but still only one qualified for EVA after over 50 years, and the fact that it's basically a vintage watch you can still buy new is pretty cool.
Ever wondered what watch is on the wrist of a Premier League footballer:
Wonder no more!
The Who Wears What Watch list: (With thanks to When Saturday Comes)
https://www.barringtonwatchwinders.com/who-wears-what/
In the very unlikely event that anyone cares, the player with the Premier League's most expensive watch is apparently Chelsea's Willian.
Good knowledge, thanks Fudd.
Agreed on your last point - it's an incredibly cool watch.
Don’t forget this beauty is available for about £550
Needs more minute markings.
It does. You're right :O)
Following on from the tough solar, Square G musings the other day I've just gone and ordered one of these:
(GW-B5600-2ER)
Not sure if I really want or need the Bluetooth features, but it's got a negative display, it's solar powered, does world time, and has multiband 6 plus it cost tenner less than a GW-M5610 so I sort of had to...