Dress watch quandary

Bearlegs

Bearlegs

Joined
Oct 1, 1999
Messages
166
I got such great response on my flashlight question, I thought I'd hit you guys up for another. I'm thinking of getting a decent watch for dressier occaisions. I wear a Casio G-Shock most of the time now and I love it, but it's black plastic. I'm thinking along the lines of a stainless band and face like the Victorinox Swiss Army officer's model. I have a Victorinox pocket watch which has done very well over the past 3 years. I still haven't replaced the battery. Anyway, I know you can spend a lot of money for a watch, but I don't want to spend more than I have to in order to get a good one. I know Seiko makes some good watches, but there may be other makers some of you may recommend of which I'm unaware. It doesn't need to be gold or really fancy, just keep good time and be reasonably water proof. I actually would prefer something simpler in design than a diver's watch or chronograph with tons of bells and whistles. My Casio has bells and whistles. This should be simpler. Just to give a vague idea of style, here's a link for the Swiss Army one I like.

http://www.swiss-knife.com/asp/detail.asp?lan=EN&code=v.25566&shop=HS

Thanks,
Chris
 
The Fossil Steel series and Skagen both have some beautiful watches at around $100. Check them out online.
If you want a sapphire crystal, check out Tissot--you can get some of those with a nice blue face and simple numerals for $150 or less. (For something like this, I'd probably go to a dealer so I could see it.)
 
Try looking vintage...
Anything new will be super expensive...
Here are my selections
Anything brown or with Khaki's
<img src=http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pded5540d1fb0baeacc3282238810ffc0/fd93c2c7.jpg>

Wearing a Tuxedo will get this one...
fe039102.jpg


A dark black or blue suit will get one of these...
fdeabf1b.jpg


What kind of budget do you have, and what kind of look do you want to convey? That will help narrow down your choices...
 
Wow! I really like that Omega on bottom. I can't afford to spend quite that much, but could go in the $200-300 range. I looked at some Fossils and Skagens - there are some pretty ones. I do like the dress/military look, though I'm not usually crazy about the numbers on the rotating bezel. The aforementioned Omega is the exception, however. Multiple dials on the face look cool, though. Hmmm. Lots to think about.
 
Citizen makes some very nice watches in that price range. The eco-drives never need a battery. The stiletto series is very thin, kind of a nice feature in a dress watch.
 
From my understanding Tissot is the budget line marketed by one of the better Swiss manufacturers (you know, like Omega). They seem to offer real swiss quality at Seiko prices.

Check out www.timezone.com , although be careful as you're standing on a slippery (and potentially expensive) slope.

jmx
 
I have a Seiko Titanium, and have been happy with it so far. Have had it for a little over a year know. Very light and comfortable, and I got the kinetic version, so I don't have to worry about changing batteries. I think I paid a little over $300 at the time.

I am sure that others with more knowledge can give you more exotic recommendations. I bought this Seiko thinking it was really expensive, and I would never buy another watch, but now want an Omgea Seamaster Pro, but can't afford it.:mad:
 
In the tiny bit of research that I did, people were worried about the robustness of the kinetic. Can anyone more tied into the watch community tell me how well they're said to hold up? I do like the styling of the kinetics.

Joe
 
I'd be interested in hearing about the robustness of the kinetic too. So far mine has held up well, but then again I usually only wear it while I am at school, about three days a week. I have worn it to work on occasion, and knocked it around a bit. It seems to have held up fine.

It also still seems to keep time well enough for me, I only adjust it for daylight savings time. In between it doesn't seem to loose any signiificant amount of time.
 
Couple of things to consider before you spend your
bucks, mate.
One how often do you "Dress up" to the 9's ??
Second how much money is available for the watch?

If you'll spend time crusing the expensive watch
sites you notice a trend to the simple understated rather than zip and flash. The watch will compliment a suit or fancy dudes without shouting
"look at me".

Another tip....don't be afraid of a quality used
well cared for watch. That's how I got my Rolex
for a song.:D

Happy hunting mate.:cool:
 
Good Evening Everyone-

Originally posted by im2smrt4u
What is that!? I like it!
Click to expand...

im2smrt4u, the watch that you're looking at in the picture above is a Daniel JeanRichard which is a sister company to Girard-Perregaux.

It is a very nice watch that the company would like to make as competition to IWC, Tutima, Rolex, Omega, and others. It all depends on how they can arrange their pricepoints. The name doesn't have too much recognition in the United States, so deals can be found. The Automatic Diverscope model in the picture is particularly cool because of the "second stem" that controls the bezel beneath the crystal. I don't own this brand, but they are well-respected.

Tightwad is correct, you'll probably get the most utility with a relatively "straight-forward" design without overdoing it on subdials, markers, moonphases, depth gauges, temperature readings, and all the other bells n' whistles you can get these days. For legibility purposes, look to watches that are 36mm and larger.

Oh, almost forgot, don't mention Quartz watches to us purists...MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS are where it's at for us! You'll get to experience this in detail as you visit the different horology sites out there on the Web.

You can go to TimeZone, but you've been warned... ;)

Enjoy,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
My wife surprised me with a blue-faced, titanium Skagen last night. It feels really great on my wrist ... it's like I'm not wearing a watch at all. In fact, I fell asleep wearing it -- something that I would never have been able to do with any of the other watches that I've owned. And it's so ultra thin that it doesn't hang up on clothing or whatever. The blue face is very striking, too (IMHO). I've been getting compliments on it all day, mostly from colleagues but a few strangers too!

Oh, and with a little brow beating the wife admitted that she got it for less than $80 shipped.
 
A nice plain watch looks great with a variety of outfits. You have to be careful though. I started out looking to replace an aging (and despised) Citizen. I always got nice comments on the watch but it was always in the shop. After three trips to Citizen, it would still only get 8 months out of a new battery and would just stop occasionally, just to restart later.

So I started looking around the web. Then I found Timezone. I think one of the bastids here recommended it to me just like we've done for you. The next thing I know I had to have a Seamaster.

Now I love my Omega. It's a plain Seamaster Professional Automatic. It was a 40th birthday present from my wife and the plain Laser Blue face goes with pretty much everything. Since I got it I gave my step son the Citizen as well as my Casio Indiglo diver and wear the Omega everywhere. It looks great with a suit and is solid stainless and waterproof to 300 meters so I'm not likely to hurt it while knocking around in less formal situations. Unlike the Citizen or Seiko all metal bracelets, the Omega bracelet will NEVER come undone accidentally at the wrong moment.

The problem that I'm running into, and you're in jeopardy of running into is that just like knives, there's a lot of variety available in quality watches, they just cost more than knives!

Now I've just got to figure out how to get that Breitling Blackbird that recently caught my eye.

jmx
 
Sieko, Citizen, Invicta, Croton, Skagen, Fossil, Casio, Dakota...just to name a few.

Paul
 
kartago.jpg


All the requirements of the Watch purists, Automatic movement, Traditional Rolex Submariner styling, Hacking and windable movement...
All for about 250 bucks.

Look for one at Chronometer.net
The owner of the site, Chris Hooper, enjoys an excellent reputation from the guys at Broadarrow.net
 
Seiko kinetics

i spoke about two months ago with a local jeweler who sells Seiko, Rolex, and Citizens. My question was the same as yours about the Kinetics. Their stance was, " we'll never order any more"..Sold well, but aftermarket problems plagued them. They refunded about 60% of their total sold kinetics.
 
Look at www.campmor.com Wenger Swiss SMT

they have a Swiss Army Watch on sale for like 40 bux. Reg 160.
Looks nice, tells time, and it's not too flashy.

My rule is to buy a watch my Grandfather would wear. It has to look classy, not flashy polished steel.
 
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