best watch ?

S

squid meat

Joined
Jun 20, 2001
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I've been wearing a Swiss Army for about 6 months, but want to spend a little more for a nicer watch. Probably no more than $ 500.oo. How does Swiss Atmy quality compare to Citizen, Seiko, Invicta and Luminox ? These are the brands that I might consider buying.

Thanks, Stinky
 
Check out Timezone.com. Or, do a BF.com search under "best watch" or "favorite watch" and you'll see this topic's been covered many times over.

Bottom line, in the under $500.00 segment of the market, you're looking at a plethora of good analog quartz-movements distinguished from one another only be the design aesthetics and name-branding.
 
$500 on the used market will buy you a lot of watch. Heck, even new retail, that will buy a pretty darn good watch ;)

In your price range on Timezone, you can choose from a lot of great watches. The Omega Seamasters are classics and almost in your range. I picked up a Revue Thommen Chrono and have been really impressed with it (~$2000 retail) from the Timezone site. I would strongly encourage you to watch the Timezone for sale forum for a while and see what shows up at the various pricepoints.
 
I can't speak for the BEST watch but I can tell you that I'm pretty impressed with Luminox watches. I just bought the basic model 3000 series and it is alot of watch. Swiss movement, tritium hands and dial, and is waterproof up to 200m. For 125 at tadgear.com, I couldn't have asked for more. They also make some higher end looking watches that look really cool.
Have fun,
Matt
 
I have several Luminox watches and IMHO these are better watches $ 50 manual wind / $80 battery
The manual wind tritium vials are huge & way brighter then the tritium vials in the Luminox.
http://www.broadarrow.net/sale.htm < scroll down the page to the inexpensive ones )
 
i have a swiss army watch, too, i have had it for just over a year... but if you are looking to buy a bit nicer, more expensive watch, check these out : Nixon Watches they're personally my favorite watches and once i get a bit more cash im gonna buy one
 
Shootist16 is right - Ollech & Wajs make nice watches. The Cougar is a great watch at a reasonable price. Wait until August when it will be available with re-designed hands that will show up better at night. Check Chronomaster.co.uk or westcoast time.
But if you have a little more money go for a Sinn.
I have a EZM3. A truly wonderful watch.

zinnezm3-w300.jpg
 
It wouldn't hurt to also take a look at the Seiko 200m Quartz Dive watch. They are pretty nice, and won't "break your bank".
 
Anyone have experience with Limes? They look like a pretty good and reasonably price line from Germany using proven movements.

Limes
 
I concur with a previous post to check out the used market. Some premium watch brands suffer from massive depreciation. I suspect that this is because they inflate their list prices beyond what the watch merits, but that doesn't make it a bad watch. The Breitling Chronomat is highway robbery at $3500+, but you can routinely get it new for 25-30% off. I see Breitlings (especially quartz models like the Aerospace) selling routinely for 1/3 of their list price with very light use. TAG Heuers, while offending serious watch aficionados, are good watches in the big scheme of things and also don't hold their inital value well. You may be able to pick up a quartz Breitling, and certainly a quartz TAG, for the $500 you are looking to spend. Plus you get a little brand cache if you are looking to get some compliments. A Glycine Airman is also a nice military style watch that you can get for around that price, which is cool because no one but a watch guy would be able to ID it. The vintage market is a neat place to look as well, you can get really cool watches aesthetically for reasonable prices. I have a 1945 Breitling Premier chronograph in 18k rose that I got restored, and it looks really cool. It has an original dial, so it definitely looks "vintage", with a fine patina on the face. I am assuming, however, that as a knife forum member, you are looking for a sports watch of some form or another, and thus the vintage market may be less appealing to you. Let us know what you get!
 
You have gotten some good advice so far. The first thing you should decide is whether you want an auto mvt. or a quartz. Quartz watches are cheaper, they keep more accurate time, and theyre also probably a little more reliable, but they lack style and the satisfaction that comes from owning and using a finely crafted piece of precision machinery. For that reason, i only wear and own autos. I personally like Sinn, (I wear a Sinn EZM3 every day and love it), i like the Omega Seamaster Chronometer, and i very much like the Baume and Mercier Capeland S line, truly a remarkable value for the $, though they do run about $1500 wholesale($2600 retail). I believe theyre every bit as good as their $4,000 Rolex counterparts.

One of the great bargains out there is Seiko's top of the line perpetual calender Divers watch. Its a supremely precise quartz mvt, more accurate than the Luminox mvt, and i believe Luminox watches are more of a gimmick watch than a finely crafted timepiece. Take away their tritium vials and they are unimpressive as watches. I know the Luminox fans will be offended, but, i examined several of them very closely when i was considering buying one, and i found their quality control to be less than great. If youre interested in the flaws i discovered on SEVERAL of them, different models, email me and ill be happy to tell you. Anyway, for the same money you can have the Seiko and IMO, its a much better watch, built like a tank. Sinn watches are the watch that Luminox pretends to be, Sinn is the real deal, and priced accordingly. If you want the best divers watch, and you dont mind going over your $500 limit (by about $2,000 :), get an IWC Aquatimer. It makes a Rolex submariner seem like a flimsy toy, truly the ultimate divers watch. :)
 
My advice. Don't go to timezone.com. Repeat. Do not go to timezone.com. That site is the equivalent of cyber crack. Once you start realizing the beauty and precision of an automatic watch there is no turning back. Quartz will seem dead and lifeless and will peak your interest as much as shoe strings do. Within the first two months of visiting timezone.com it became my home page and I had bought/sold/traded almost six thousand dollars in watches. This is from somebody who also started off with a swiss army watch.

For five hundred you'll probably get a minimally decorated standard ETA movement which is pretty standard. Look for Solid link bracelets and saphire crystal preferably or acrylic crystal as a second choice. Super luminova is good for short bursts of intense glowing unless you like continuous dull glowing which is the trademark of titrium. Other than that, it's all about style and whatever smiles at you.

Here are my picks at different price levels.

Up your budget about two hundred dollars and look for an omega seamaster. Not an in house movement but close to it. It's ETA heart is completely reworked and is 9/10ths the rolex movement at 1/4th the cost. It has the water resistance, durability, COSC accuracy, and great looks. In my opinion, no other watch comes close to it at this price point.

If you want to stay at about five hundred, look for the Sinn 656 or 356. The 656 is the ultimate in legibility and is rugged due to it's proven ETA 2824 movement. The movement isn't pretty or refined but it's pretty damn tough for an auto. The super luminova glows like a flashlight so you'll be able to read the time at a glance day or night. The 356 is basically a clone of the much more expensive IWC and is considered a classic from a styling point of view. It's a chrono driven by the valjoux 7750 which is a good thing if you have some use for it. It also glows like crazy and if nothing else the chrono is something fun to play with when you're bored.

Lastly, if you really don't want to spend the five and only want to spend around two hundred look for the Seiko divers. The seiko divers are classic watches that are known for thier robustness. They are automatic, powered by an undecorated in house seiko movement, and are practically indestructable. Stainless steel case, 200 m water resistance, super luminova, and solid link bracelets. These are watches that will look great, take tons of abuse, and can be replaced at a whim given the cost.

If you still need help, take a quick peek at timezone.com but don't blame me if you get hooked and start dreaming of pateks at night.

see ya
 
I wore a Citizen Quartz diver for years as a dress watch and have always had a Casio diver as a beater.

Someone here mentioned Timezone.com and since then I've been f____d.

I've spent way too much time looking at watches (virtual and real time), I've aquired an Omega Seamaster (wife said "Happy 40th" but the bank account said, "ouch!").

Worst of all I'm pretty sure I'm not done.

I think I have to get a Seiko Diver just to replace the old Casio (and hold me over for a while).

jmx

PS The good news is that the 20 year old step son really seems to like the old Citizen so it's not languishing in a drawer.
 
I was looking at an Aquatimer. I like it better than the Hydro IWC made for Porsche, plus you can get it in steel, which I prefer. Th one thing I'm not wild about is the logless case. I am more of a traditionalist in that reagrs, and I prefer the classic styling of the SeaDweller as my personal bad-boy dive watch.

My watch buying has taken a temporary backseat, as I am stocking up on knives and guns. I usually go vice to vice, spending money on one and then switching to the next in rotation!
 
Brothers & Sisters of Wrist Chronometers,

There's a seller on E-bay that will honor his base price, (i.e. about half off), on a Seiko SKX-173 or SKX-175. he's got an 888 number. Casio, Seiko are excellent choices. And considerably under the $500 level!
Squid Meat. Some heavy industrial strength users have less than a high regard for the Luminox. Their comments indicate a good initial impression but have gone to either one of the timepieces noted above. If you're a rugged, outdoors, Spec-Ops type you may want to defer to a heavy duty watch.

Regards,
Lance Gothic
Shibumi
 
Invicta is very much worth looking at. They have a wide choice of quartz and mechanical watches to choose from.

Paul
 
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