Hey everyone, i wanna get a new watch

While some here will thinks outa my mind go over
to e-bay and look there. I bought a rolex ( yes,
it's a real rolex) , an seiko chrono , and pulsar
work watch at unbeatable prices:D

The selection there,over time,is astounding!:eek:
 
well im not getting a rolex

and im not too keen on buying online, id rather liker to go to a store and try it on, im mjust looking here for opinions
 
Tightwad's right -there is a huge selection of watches on ebay. Buyer beware, though - make sure you deal with a reputable seller. I got a great deal on a Breitling several years ago.

jmx,

Those O&W watches look fantastic for the money. Do you know anything about their overall reliability? I see that they use a proven Swiss movement, but haven't heard a whole lot about the company. Might have to pick one up....
 
I have to chime in about O&W's too. They're really quite nice watches for the price. I got one for my birthday a few weeks ago to replace my Swatch Body and Soul. I'm really no watch expert so I don't have much to compare to, but for costing only a little more than twice as much as my swatch, the quality of this is at least 10x better. I got mine from West coast time, its the WCT model with the new face and hands, but otherwise the same as any other O&W. The bracelet is solid steel (my previous watch's was not solid). Easy to read at night. Waterproof farther down than I'll ever take it.
 
[QUOTEThose O&W watches look fantastic for the money. Do you know anything about their overall reliability? I see that they use a proven Swiss movement, but haven't heard a whole lot about the company. Might have to pick one up....[/QUOTE]

Well here is what I can tell you about O&W watches. These watches were quite popular during the Vietnam war with servicemen overseas. They would order watches from a catalog back then and have them sent to their duty stations. O&W nearly faded into obscurity when Mr. Ollech passed away, and quartz watches took over the market. A few years ago, Albert Wajs (The "W" in O&W) ressurrected the company and once again began putting out new watches. These watches are made in Switzerland and most feature the workhorse ETA 2824-A2 autowind movement. He has also made a few manual wind watches using A. Schild movements and ETA manual wind modules. For the most part, these watches are an economical entry into the world of mechanical watches. Here is an image of an MWR M1 which sold for $250.

baowm1.jpg
 
You cant go wrong with the O&W watches, great dollar for value or Mr Marx, he is a great guy to deal with!
Go automatic and never go back.
Tuna out
 
Hey Guys, a question from a Watch Newbie - why would someone spend $250 for an O&W when a Seiko auto diver seems similar for a lot less $$, and seems to have a better reputation. Be gentle guys, as I said, I'm a newbie and just wondering, as I've been thinking picking up a Seiko for myself, but you have me wondering...:)
 
I've never heard anything bad said about O&W watches. There are certainly more Seikos in the world, so they're probably talked about more. To me the comparison here is like comparing a Toyota Camry to a BMW 325 or Mercedes E320. Both are competent, but there's more people with Camrys so there is a greater bublic consensus about them. It doesn't mean that they're better cars.

jmx
 
Originally posted by BobHWD
I have had several solar powered watches, and when the cells died, I had to throw out the watch.
Click to expand...

I don't disbelieve you, but I am skeptical for a couple of reasons.

First, the estimated failure period for most of those batteries is greater than the time since the first Citizen Eco-Drive was produced. There were probably solar-powered wawtches before that, but I haven't run across any that made it to large-scale manufacture.

Second, according to Citizen they can replace the internal battery on my Skyhawk if it ever gives out.

So I would like to know whatever details you can provide about your experiences. Which makes and models have you had die on you? Roughly how long did they last before giving out? This is a topic I would like to learn more about and real-world experience is a lot more useful than theory. I hope you'll share yours.

--Bob Q
 
Originally posted by bquinlan
I don't disbelieve you, but I am skeptical for a couple of reasons.

First, the estimated failure period for most of those batteries is greater than the time since the first Citizen Eco-Drive was produced. There were probably solar-powered wawtches before that, but I haven't run across any that made it to large-scale manufacture.

Second, according to Citizen they can replace the internal battery on my Skyhawk if it ever gives out.
Click to expand...


Well here's how it worked out for me. Eco-Drive is hardly the first solar watch to make it into mass production. I had a Seiko "Silverwave" solar watch. After about 5 years, the storage cell crapped out, and when I contacted Seiko, they said that the model had been discontinued. Not only had it been discontinued, but that they no longer used that particular cell so it was not replaceable. That's the truth.

silverwave.jpg


I also had (have) a Lorus solar. Not long ago, I noticed that it too had the tell-tale signs of not holding a charge. This was after about 3 years of ownership. It would run for a few hours when exposed to sun, but never overnight out of the sun. When it was new, it would run for days if not weeks. All the various stores look at me with a blank stare. They say they have plenty of batteries, but have no idea what the f$%@k I am talking about when I ask them to replace the solar storage cell. Now I could send it back to Japan, but this watch was less than $100 to begin with, so it's not worth my effort really.

So there's clarification. One Silverwave became obsolete and non-repairable. A Lorus is sitting here, because no one (except the Japanese factory) has a clue as to the storage cell needed. And I'll add that I have one Citizen Dive watch that has not been running in about 3 months. I haven't even begun to figure out what's going on with that particular solar watch. I am not a watch idiot, I can replace my own batteries, check the gaskets and even check for water resistance with my own resistance testor. I can even service many of my mechanical watches. I even have a Vibrograph to regulate my mechanical watches. But I'll be damned if I can fix any of my solar watches. I have heard this same thing from many other folks too.

Best Regards,

Bob
 
Thanks for the info fellas. I've been looking into buying an automatic after graduation and one of those O&W's will probably be it.
Matt
 
Hey Kinzli,

I'll support your purchase on a Seiko!

I just bought the Seiko auto diver and have been quite happy with it.

The problem is, I know that I'll work my way up the auto food chain (as I did with knives). Now I have two collections to work through, and to explain to the wife :eek:

I figure the Seiko is my beater (EDW) watch. If I scratch it, so be it. I can deal with it given how inexpensive it is.

As I said, I used the Seiko as my intro into the world of automatic watches. I have at least a dozen quartz watches, but now none of them match up to the Seiko.

Consider me an auto convert for life... :D
 
I just received my O&W professional dive watch and it is awesome. It uses a great ETA movement and keeps great time. It is an automatic so there is no need to worry about batteries or solar. Howard over at www.westcoastime.com is great person to do business with. These watches are well worth the money. I checked out the others and I am very happy with my choice. Check out the website, he has quite a few different models too choose from. Also in your price range are the Marathons. I am going to order one of those for a beater. The price range for a quality watch seems to be about $250. I think it would be best to check it out and save up a little more. I just finished doing alot of research on the subject and buying over the internet was not a problem thru a reputable dealer. Also check knifeforums.com in there watch section, they have great info. Good luck.
 
About e-bay.....
Keep in mind that several B&M businesses also
sell on e-bay. That adds a measure of saftey
to buying there if your careful. You might say
that e-bay is the modern day version of the
old Sears & Roebuck catalog from decades ago.

Something for everyone! :D
 
Originally posted by BobHWD
Well here's how it worked out for me.
Click to expand...

That was great information! I think the battery technology in solars is getting better, but there is clearly more reason to be cautious than I knew about. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

--Bob Q
 
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