Personal shopper request (for a watch)

Yahmanin

Yahmanin

Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Messages
519
My beloved, on the occasion of our upcoming anniversiary, wants to get me a watch or a knife. Knowing me for the picky bastich I am, she gave me a budget, and told me to find one I like. I have $100-$200, so nothing too fancy. I have a whole bunch of knives, but only one watch, so I'm leaning towards the timepiece. I'd like a beater watch, one I'd never need to take off, and would have a hard time breaking. Ocean (not a diver, but I like to swim), woods, gym, etc. I'd prefer analog, date would be nice, tritium or self luminescent hands/numbers or markers and (probably not in this price range) self winding/automatic. I'll happily go with a battery or a winder if the tough factor is there. I'd also give up the date, but I'm kind of stuck on the analog and tritium. I have a nice shiny stainless Swiss Military watch, so a subdued or black case is fine. Also, I have a huge wrist (8 1/2"), most watches need links added, or a longer strap, it's rare that a watch fits me as is, so a large case is fine, and stock bands that run large are nice too. Any recommendations? :) .
 
Citizen Nighthawk. I returned mine only because my wrist was too small...check them out.

Nitin
 
Search ebay for "seiko divers" and pick any that you want with the automatic movement 7s26. These are well known as some of the toughest, reliable, and best value watches for the buck. The classic is the "skx007" (you can enter that as a search as well!). Then pick up a zulu watch strap (be sure to get the 22mm size for most seiko divers) from TAD gear or whomever, and you're set! You should expect to pay around 110 to 120 for the watch and 15 bucks for the strap. Enjoy!!

Edited to add that you should know that these watches usually run fast from the factory, usually from 15 to 20 seconds fast per day, but they can be regulated...

-G
 
Ditto on the Seiko Skx007. I own a few more expensive watches but for a lot of the time the Seiko is glued to my wrist. It looks great and can take most anything you can dish out and come back for more.
 
Esav's suggestion is at the top of the pack at the moment, but the Seikos do look pretty good. Two questions:
) How thick are they? Tough and slim seems better than tough and fat, more thickness ups the odds of smacking it.
2) How is the Seiko's luminosity? The Tritium in Esav's rec. will stay bright constantly, does the Seiko rely on the luminous elements being 'recharged'? If so, how long does a good charge last? I've had (cheap) watches that did'nt seem to keep a light charge more than a couple of hours, not as handy in the wee hours.

Thanks for the responses, this is exactly what I was hoping to get. Keep 'em coming, I have a couple of weeks before I'll order anything.
 
Minjin said:
Sounds to me like you're requesting a Seiko Black/Orange Monster.

Mark
Click to expand...
EXACTLY! I have a Black Monster (aka the Seiko SKX779K3) on the way from a recent eBay purchase (it should be here tomorrow :D), and I can't wait to strap that bad-boy onto my large wrist.
 
If you really want glow in the dark to last without external light, you need gas-tritium. I don't know if seiko uses it in any of their models, but the forums at the site below should provide a definitive answer:

http://www.watchuseek.com
(note that they just moved to a vb format like us, but you can still read the older forum if you follow the links)

Traser makes some nice ones, but expensive (quartz):
http://www.watchuseek.com/traser_shop.htm

The countycomm ones may be a good deal (however the tritum ones are also only quartz as far as I can tell)
 
how about the invicta series of watches. the pro divers look like they would work for you and they are self-winding
 
As others have suggested, if you want a mechanical watch, any Seiko w/ an 7S26 movement is really going to be hard to beat (ba-da-bum). I've got a couple of these (an Orange Monster and a standard SKX007K dive watch)--both are accurate and the 7S26 has been compared to an AK47 in terms of being reliable under duress. They are simply unbelievable values by any measure.

For an all purpose strap, look to the NATO or Rhino after market nylon bands (look here for pics). Not only will they work on nearly any wrist size (they are designed to be wearable over wet suits) they can even be secured if the buckle breaks, and will still retain the watch on your wrist if one of the spring bars breaks.

Finally, IMHO a well-lumed watch (the two Seikos will glow for over 7 hours) will be every bit as legible as any trit watch, and tritium vials will burn out (and sometimes can break)

PS, here's the Orange Monster:

Monster2a.jpg


And here's a (slightly modified ;) Seiko diver on a grey, Rhino strap:

YaoMOD3a.jpg
 
Another vote goes to Seiko! After searching in this forum, alot of people recommands Seiko for that price range. For myself, I broke down 2 weeks ago and bought a Seiko 5 Sport (SNK031). Have been wearing it everyday since and like it very much!
 
INVICTA! I have wanted one of those for a long time. Live my dream.
 
Git yerself the Seiko! I too have a larger than normal wrist and the OM on rubber fits me ON THE FOURTH HOLE! I was very surprised at this when I usually am on the last hole on Casio's. I have had my watch for close to a year now, and the only sign of wear is a small gouge on the bezel and better timekeeping. I thoroughly researched the monster's befor ebuying one and the only problem area seemed to be a 'soft' crystal. I have found this to not be the case, I am extremely hard on watches and I have not managed to put one ding on the face of the watch. Someone mentioned it being thick ttoo the point of increased wear, I have not noticed this. It is in fact slimmer and morte ergomonic than my Casio g-SHock Tough SOlar. THe lume lasts for an adequate period with minimal charging. At night I can almost read by the light of the lume if it has a good charge. I am an emt/firefighter and I put a lot of strain on my watches at work. I will only use a Seiko auto from this point forward. Finally, if I haven't convinced anyone that they NEED a Seiko auto, see this website.


http://www.chronoguy.com/horology/seiko/
 
how long will tetrium glow with out a external light source? ive seen some bailsongs with tetrium in them

glowsong.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top