what kinda watch? (lets keep it fun, all right?)

[Tom]

I had surfed for hours and hours and the computer pretty much crawled to the speed of chilled molasses, by the time I got things moving again the original thread had been moved to MO, which IMO was a good idea. But I spent too much time and effort to just give up, and so I'm gonna start a new thread. But I ask a couple things - one, its just a hobby/interest, so DON'T take things so seriously, and remember, it should be no trouble to be nice to your neighbors

(cut and pasted in)

Okay, cheesecake, I'l give it a try since I can't hurl a thunderbolt down from the sky at selected targets and tell people who know better to stop acting so childishly. That would be equally condescending of me.

Now, about watches.

Re: cellphones - sure, they have the time, but they're no easier (and often harder) to dig out from your pocket or belt clip or whatnot (esp w/ quad paws) and no one hangs their cell phone from their neck. So, watches have a good use after all.

In the old days (before quartz) a wristwatch, or even further back, a pocketwatch was simply essential, much as a cell phone is today. Therefore its no suprise that in a wide variety of cultures a watch reflected who you were, or who you WANTED to be (and also, who you didn't want to be). There's the problem IMO - a lot of people here just took it TOO SERIOUSLY, and then went off their own way.

I can see how one might feel miffed, but there's little reason to begrudge anyone for bragging about a nice watch the same way we would brag about a nice car, etc.

I was daydreaming about it and had a few thoughts.

I would make an arbitrary rule of thumb for how much you should/could spend on a nice, everyday watch. I considered 1) a month's pay 2) a week's pay and 3) 2 week's pay. Let's say you make $3000 a month, or $36k a year. That's actually below average for a lot of folks, but I'd feel rich as a king making THAT much. You could get something mighty nice for 3 grand as long as its not gold (which jacks up the price quickly). I mentioned I used to have an Omega Seamaster, sold it. But I always wanted the Seamaster GMT, and here's one at a nice price http://www.watchseller.com/omseamprofau3.html for quite a bit less than 3k. There's a couple Rolexes for sale there too. BTW this isn't a sales plug per se, since I've never purchased there, but it does have a good rep, and the site is easy to explore.

Then I decided that well, maybe a month's pay is too much, how can a watch be that important. So, what's in a week's pay? Well, for me that's about $300. What can I get for $300? Nothing, because I'm an Omega snob and wouldn't think of spending less than a grand? Not so fast, becase I found an Omega I've been wanting for YEARS, even more so than a Seamaster. Its the Omega Dynamic, and there's even one on ebay that's currently bidding at well under $300. Although I suspect it will probably be more since the Dynamic is a near-cult Omega favorite (like TR and Ferrari, I would donate some pretty important parts to get an Omega Dynamic Targa Florio version).

But its pretty tough to find a NIB/LNIB mechanical watch for $300 that really stands out. So.........let's try 2 weeks pay? And while we're at it, let's stick our thumb in the taxman's eye and keep our hard-earned dollars. So now I've got about $800 to spend. hmmm.....maybe something like this? http://www.bernardwatch.com/Revue-Thommen If RT's have been favored by all those past Presidents, they can't be TOO wrong, right?


If mechanical and automatic isn't your thing, several brands offer quartz equivalents in their lineups, notably Omega and TAGHeuer, and they usually cost less and are cheaper to maintain/repair. But the workmanship is usually half the fun of watches.

For all kinds of useful info I'd suggest http://www.timezone.com and peruse the various forums, and there's plenty of technical info, etc.

I've been searching in vain the last three days for that Seiko GMT watch I thouht was the Flightmaster. Closest one I found on the Japanese market was the new SpringDrive version, cost about $4000 USD. Ouch, not the $700 or so I remember it being 4 or 5 yrs ago. But again, that's part of the fun and I'll find it, eventually. Buying it may be another matter entirely I'll prolly just have to settle for a plain jane Seiko Military like this one http://www.chronograph.com/store/mli...?idproduct=385 - at $85 it's a screaming good deal.

Enjoy....

Tom

[alhavel]

"no one hangs their cell phone from their neck"

Sorry, but that is where mine is, or in the top pocket of a long sleeve shirt, don't want to blow you out of the water !!!!

[bob clark]

When I was 14 my father died and my uncle, a police detective for what was then known as the Pennsylvania Rail Road, moved into our house. When thieves would break into sealed (a special thin metal seal was used to assure that no tampering was done) but slowly moving railroad boxcars they would just throw all the contents of the boxcars onto the sides of the tracks and they and their cohorts would then walk along the tracks and recover/steal all the stuff. You name it and it shipped by rail. TVs, washers and dryers, refrigerators, freezers, food, on and on. Well on ocassion, after my uncle learned who was really getting a lot of the insured and recovered freight (the big wigs in the offices) he started bringing a few of the items home himself. Anything that wasn't in a sealed boxcar would automatically go to auction and sell for pennies or dimes on the dollar.

We had a garage full of whiskey, vodka, gin, wines of all kinds and even an upright deep-freezer to keep all the stolen frozen food in. At 14-15 and unbeknowns to my uncle, I got my share of the whiskey and gin etc. Hey, police detectives don't make a whole helluva lot of money and there were 13 of us living in a 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom house so he had to feed us somehow! Well one day he brought home a box of 12 watches that were all packed in their own jar of water. I guess it was to prove that they were really waterproof. They looked really cool in those jars of water. Anyway, he told me that as soon as I could do 20 pull-ups on the official "pull-up" mimosa tree in our backyard that I could have one of the watches. He was an exercise nut of sorts and was a boxer during WWII and afterwards went to the YMCA everyday to stay in shape. Police detectives need to be in good shape and he was a really tough guy. He's 86 now and is almost blind (macular degeneration) but jogs, exercises and stretches everyday... he's still in pretty good shape considering his age. He beat the shit out of some wiseguy at a bar last year! I guess you never forget how to box. So I went at it practicing everyday going from a starting point of around 10 pull-ups until one day I made it up to 20. So I finally got my first wristwatch.... but I didn't like the plastic watchband that it came with.

While I was visiting the person who killed my father in prison I learned of a prisoner in there who did carved leatherwork. Belts, purses, etc but especially watchbands. So I bought a nicely carved leather watchband from the guy.... I was a hippie back then and bought a watchband with peace signs and whatever carved into it. Got quite a deal on it... the prisoner wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and his customer-base was kinda small so it was a buyer's market! Hahaha. It looked kinda like the leather watchband that Scorpion posted a link to in the other thread (about an inch and half wide) but had small metal snaps on it where the watch pins connected to.

I really liked the watch and watchband and had it for many years. I don't remember whatever became of it. Too many beers ago I guess.

Anyway, that's the story of my first watch.

I no longer wear a watch or jewelry of any kind but have a few cheap watches in a drawer. Not my favorite one though.

Bob.

[darkeyed_daisy]

Twenty years ago... I got a "Swatch" watch for graduation.... Do they still make those? I still have mine.

ooopss I answered my own question....

http://thestore.swatch.com/casual

[darkeyed_daisy]

Okay I am not really knowledgeable about watches....but what would a chronograph be useful for?

[Tom]

Ahhhh, I envy you, Daisy! You still got your Swatch! You're pretty lucky, some Swatches made in the 80's are suprisingly collectible, altho I say keep it anyway. My grandmother had gotten me a swatch in 1985 or so, I managed to lose it simply by taking it off and setting it on the ground next to a basketeball goalpost, and forgetting about it. 20 years later it still bugs me every now and then.

Chronographs are simply put, a stopwatch in the wristwatch. There are many activities or races, etc that reqired timing. One register will be hours, one is minutes, and one is seconds, and a few fancier ones had a register for tenths of a second (or even hundredths!). One pusher is the start/stop, and the other one resets the hands to zero after use. A chronograph is in watch terminology, called a 'complication' - there are many others, of varying complexity, some fairly simple, some excruciatingly complicated indeed, some watches have more than one complication and some have quite a few all in the same case and can cost a bloody fortune. There's a glossary somewhere on Timezone.com, and maybe Wikipedia has some info too. Hope this helps!

Tom

PS: Here's the TZ FAQ - answers quite a few basics http://www.timezone.com/library/wwat...68591017665598

[betheny]

As I said in that other thread, I'm cheap. I always wanted a Movado watch though, because I think they're pretty. They used to always be on the back page of Vogue, won tons of design awards. Pure black face w/ a gold disc at the 12:00 point.

I found mine on ebay from a pawnshop in Providence RI. Came in the original leather box, has the receipts etc. Took it to the jeweler for link removal, and it is real. It's the first watch w/ a sapphire crystal I've ever had. I'm so impressed with its durability.

$200, bay-beee.

[Tiger Racing]

Originally Posted by betheny

I always wanted a Movado watch though, because I think they're pretty. They used to always be on the back page of Vogue, won tons of design awards. Pure black face w/ a gold disc at the 12:00 point.

That's the Museum watch. Very nice.

C.

[Timaru]

Originally Posted by darkeyed_daisy

Okay I am not really knowledgeable about watches....but what would a chronograph be useful for?

This is my chronograph, as Tom says it's basically a glorified stop watch, the numbers around the bezel allow you to calculate speed over a given distance.

[bob clark]

I have an Elgin Lever 7 Jewel stopwatch here that my stepfather gave to me. I imagine he pilfered it from the "US GOVT" while over in North Africa during WWII. It looks brand new and keeps great time. Along with "US GOVT" inprinted on the back is also ANTIMAGNETIC, SELFCOMPENSATING and WATERPROTECTED.

I guess they were new concepts in watch design all those years ago. He said that he was a cook at some metal airfield they laid down in the desert of Libya so maybe he used it as a food timer. It has two round eyes on the bottom of it that must have attached to a strap around your neck so that when you lift it up to look at it, it's right side up.

Bob.