Cheap Watches

338375 · Jul 12, 2014

Metal Made Fox said:
Just buy a Patek Phillipe and call it a day.

I know this has been covered many times over the years, but it blows my mind that people will pay thousands of $$$ for a " high quality " watch, that doesn't keep time as well as a $20 Timex...
The fans will argue that the workmanship/craftsmanship is as good as it gets, but in my mind if the workmanship is that great, it should keep better time than an inexpensive watch...

I've been wearing Timex watches for years. I have yet to have one totally crap out. I just eventually get bored and buy a new model...
I've been wearing a Timex diver that looks awful damn close to a Sub-Mariner for about 5 years. Got it at the W Mart for $49.00

Railsplitter · Jul 12, 2014

That's some pretty good timekeeping, UffDa. I'm no expert on watches but I do know that it's hard to beat one second in 30 days. Pretty impressive.

Just yesterday I picked up my first Timex in probably about 15 years or so. It's a T49925 and so far I'm loving it. In my opinion it's a really nice watch for the $49.92 I paid for it.

I've owned 3 or 4 Timex watches over the years but I only remember one of them having the Indiglo feature. I gave that one to a friend after only owning it for a couple years. The watch was great. I just thought my friend might like to have it. I plan to keep this one until all of the life is drained out of it. I have a question for you folks that have owned Timex watches with the Indiglo feature for several years.

Does the Indiglo hold up as long as the watch does?

Thanks.

leghog · Jul 12, 2014

338375 said:
I know this has been covered many times over the years, but it blows my mind that people will pay thousands of $$$ for a " high quality " watch, that doesn't keep time as well as a $20 Timex...
The fans will argue that the workmanship/craftsmanship is as good as it gets, but in my mind if the workmanship is that great, it should keep better time than an inexpensive watch...

I've been wearing Timex watches for years. I have yet to have one totally crap out. I just eventually get bored and buy a new model...
I've been wearing a Timex diver that looks awful damn close to a Sub-Mariner for about 5 years. Got it at the W Mart for $49.00

No different than it blowing many people's mind that some will spend thousands of dollars for a hand made knife that cuts no batter than a $50 knife. Me? I rarely pay more than $20 for a knife and very rarely pay more than $30. With watches as well as with knives, different strokes for different folks.

UffDa · Jul 12, 2014

Piso Mojado said:
The compass bezel on your Timex Expedition is to assist you with map reading. Place your watch on a map oriented north, and the bezel will show you (for example) NNE.

An analog watch can be used as a solar compass, instructions here:

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-skills/how-to-use-a-watch-as-a-compass/

The compass bezel on your digital watch can be used as a substitute for the analog hands it doesn't have.

What is this map reading that you speak of?

That's what a GPS is for. Of course, it's nice to be able to read a map when the GPS takes you the wrong way on a one way street.
(I have had that happen........twice.

)

I started this thread tongue in cheek. I am sort of making fun of the Rolex threads. The guy that I used to work for wears a Rolex and carries a $20 knife. Another guy came into the shop
to show off his $12K watch. I don't remember what it was and never heard of it anyway. The thing must have been 2 1/2" in diameter. As has been said many times, whatever floats your boat.

Even if I could afford something like this, I wouldn't buy it let alone wear it. I would probably have to ask the guy with the Timex what time it is.

cchu518 · Jul 12, 2014

I had a gshock for almost 20 years. It had a memory bank function and I had been thinking recently how irrelevant that was in today's world. I ended up picking up a Timex expedition shock/compass watch. It has a digital compass function complete with declination adjustment. I use it mostly for hikes and kayaking. I expect 20 years of duty from this one as well!

bdmicarta · Jul 12, 2014

If you want a watch to tell time it is hard to argue with a quartz Casio or Timex, just as it is hard to argue with a Rat 1 or Spyderco Tenacious or lower priced Kershaw if you just want a knife to cut things. I have some more expensive watches and I buy them and like them for the same reason that I buy and like knives more expensive than a Tenacious. That doesn't mean that you get a whole lot more with a more expensive watch, but you do get more.

Even more so with watches than with knives, know what you are buying and what it should cost. Buying a cheap watch from the wrong place will turn it into an expensive watch in a hurry. I think most of us would feel silly going into a retail store and paying $750 for a Spyderco PM2, but you can do the equivalent with watches very easily.

Liberando · Jul 13, 2014

"Does the Indiglo hold up as long as the watch does?"

Railsplitter, yes indeed, I've had a few Timex watches that finally gave up the ghost after long and faithful service, and while the rest of the watch was dead/dying, the Indiglo feature still worked fine.

leghog · Jul 13, 2014

Couple of other cheap watches I occasionally wear. Why? Because they are fun. I have more that I've just never taken pics of.

Railsplitter · Jul 13, 2014

Liberando said:
"Does the Indiglo hold up as long as the watch does?"

Railsplitter, yes indeed, I've had a few Timex watches that finally gave up the ghost after long and faithful service, and while the rest of the watch was dead/dying, the Indiglo feature still worked fine.

That's excellent news! Thank you for the feedback.

The other Indiglo Timex that I owned had a separate button for the Indiglo but on my new one you just push the crown in to activate the light. I got to playing around with it and I realized that I can activate the Indiglo one handed by simply twisting my wrist upwards. That had me a little worried because I thought I might wear out the Indiglo by turning it on when I didn't really need to. It takes a pretty good twist to push the crown in so unintentional activation shouldn't be too much of a problem but I'm sure it's going to happen now and then.

I have a G Shock and the instructions state that the light will become dimmer with use and wear out over time. I'm glad to hear that the Indiglo feature does not suffer from this.