Near undestructable mecanical watches?

I love wrist watches, and have researched what I ultimately wanted in a watch for the last 15 years. I currently own 8 watches, including 3 Seikos(1 to be given to my brother-in-law for the Holidays), a vintage Gruen Curvex, a Tag-Heuer Formula 1, 2 G-shocks, and and a Yaoized O&W which I am giving to a friend for the holidays

Mechanical watches are not inherently superior to quartz watches(as a matter of fact, Seiko makes fine time-keeping watches) except for one thing-they can be rebuilt, making it a true lifetime watch.

That said, for me, Rolex was the only choice, and I recieved a Sea Dweller as a gift from my mother two weeks ago. It has lost 20 seconds in that two weeks. It is rated at 4,000 feet.

Depending upon your needs and desires, Sinn, IWC, Bell & Ross, Breitling, Panerai, Rolex, and Omega all make excellent watches.

I have a friend who owns an Omega Planet Ocean and he loves it. It is a BIG watch, with an excellent movement, loses a few seconds a year(less than 10, I understand). Panerai makes some of the largest watches out there.

Omega, IWC, and Breitling are available at Costco, and represent excellent values. Rolex can be purchased on ebay for about $1,000 less than we paid new, but a warranty and piece of mind can also be priceless.

Good luck in YOUR search for the perfect watch, I have found mine.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks Steven - I have 2 self winding watches. A Cartier Tank Americaine (the most beautiful dress watch ever made in my opinion) and a Baume & Mercier Capeland Chrono. I enjoy the knowledge that I have a piece of finely crafted mechanic, rather than electronics, but I agree with you that quartz watches are fine.

I've had the Capeland for 10 years now, and I'm thinking of upgrading.

I don't want a Rolex (don't like them that much) or a Paneria (like them but they're too big for me). So I'm looking.
 
Don't know about the poor service. My experience has been nothing but very good. Six watches to date and no problems what-so-ever. The second watch I bought was thrown violently against a concrete wall with me attached ( strange story )
I returned it and he said it was a mess. Sent me a new one no charge and threw in a metal band.Go figure. I have the impression that he is not actually a watch maker but a seller, hence he farms the repairs out. I do not doubt other members word but this is just my experience.
 
trakker45 said:
Rado Ceramica. $1700-1800. Great watch. It is made of the same ceramic material that the space shuttle is made of, and has a sapphire crystal. I have worn mine every day since I bought it new in 2002. There isn't a scratch on it- the ceramic is very durable.
Click to expand...

extremely hard materials are also extremely brittle.

if i was getting a tough watch i´d get a omega seamaster or a really beefy breitling or maybe a vacheron constantin, but omega first.
 
I'd have to go with the seiko 7s26 mvt in any of their dive watches, best bang for the buck out their in a mechanical {except for the seiko 5 line} the sad thing is a $40 timex/casio digital will kick its butt in the accuracy dept. later,ahgar
I heard someone say once that the problem with quartz is "they have no heart" don't know exactly what he meant but makes sense to me.
 
My seiko divers on a Rhino band has been everywhere with me in the past few years. Trekking, sea kayaking, diving, day-to-day yard work around the house etc. I can't fault it, it loses about a minute per month and despite it's bulk is one of the most comfortable watches to wear long term.
 
Yes, the best bang for the buck mechanical is the Seiko 7S26, I have several but they're not accurate, but extremely reliable.

The best high end has always been the Rolex. Classic design and robust movement.They are now on of only a few manufacturers to make their movement in house. the other big maker of both movements and cases are Ademaurs Piaget, Patek Phillipe. I can't think of the other ones. These are the biggies. The rolo has a rep and has been the standard of plain and simple tank like watches, especially the sea dweller.

Other watch maker's are really case makers, that make their cases to fit movements that they buy. Some customize them like Zenith, some tags, omega.
 
That said, for me, Rolex was the only choice, and I recieved a Sea Dweller as a gift from my mother two weeks ago. It has lost 20 seconds in that two weeks. It is rated at 4,000 feet.
Click to expand...

I've heard the "Rolex's don't keep good time" comments quite a bit, but the SD on my wrist has kept to within a second or two a day, for the year I've had it. And I check it frequently. Certainly every watch is unique, but I don't believe the accuracy mine exhibits is particularly unusual. I adjust it once a month and it's seldom more than 30 seconds off of spot on.

Perfect? Nope, but certainly as good as any Omega, IWC, or other high end self winder.

The SD is a tank, nothing else really comes close. Like wearing a bank vault on your wrist.
 
no experience with the sea dweller but i've had 2 submariners over the years and i'm 50/50 for them. the first i got was pretty accurate, probably + or - 45seconds a month give or take. the second quite frankly sucked, even after a trip back to the factory/repair facility it still varied quite a bit. love the look and overall quality of the piece but it makes me sick a $20 quartz will kick its butt in the accuracy department. but the same is true for the seiko divers but i just keep on getting them. later,ahgar
 
Well, the quartz mentioned above will always keep better time than any mechanical watch, just because it's a quartz.

The Rolo, is the watch, that classically says that you made it, though there are MANY, MANY, more expensive and perhaps better looking and more accurate watches (Patek's, Piaget, Briguet's, etc).

The Rolo is the only one that almost everyone recognizes by name. Only watch junkies (me included know the more obscure brands I mentioned above. The common man at the street level won't know. But, they all know the Rolo name.

It's also the only one that retains a lot of it's resale value and can be cashed in for much of its value anywhere around the world, traded for your freedom to get out of jail, etc. Just based upon brand recognition. Some idiot may know a more expensive brand.
 
JEFFREY said:
IMHO I wouldn't touch " BALL " with a ten foot pole.
Been there, crap watch high $. Rolex ? didn't keep that great of time, even after a one year tune up at $500.00 bucks. ...QUOTE]


Well opinions being like noses I will say the Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon runs great and is a tank. After two years with it I have no regrets. Glad you found a watch you liked since a Rolex didn't work for you....

I can't recommend any 1,000+$ watch for extreme abuse though. Sort of like using that Rick Eaton folder as a screwdriver.
Click to expand...
 
I've tried for almost 25 years to kill my Submariner (temperature extremes, high g's, cat shots, rapid decompressions, the recoil of tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, etc., etc.) and had no luck whatsoever. I finally just gave up. It refuses to do anything except keep on running. So now I've moved on to IWC and have commenced testing to see if they make a good watch. Check back for a full report in 2032. ;)
 
Terry Monk said:
What????? Have you actually seen them there? I had no idea.
Click to expand...

Below MSRP too. I read somewhere that the watches does not carry manufacturer's warranty, since Costco supposedly is not an authorized dealer.

I've seen my local Costco carry a Seamaster and a Breitling chronograph- not all the time though.
 
I like my 'aeromatic' "german" (Assembled! not made...) watch. They make a few divers watches too, branded as 'Tauchmeister' i think all pretty cheep on Ebay. They were ging at about two hundred bucks last time i looked.
The advantage of a Chinese movement in a big watch ( like their divers) is the cheep plastic ring the watch sits in within the case can act a little like a shock absorber.
The movement in my so called 'limited edition' (or mabye just differnt cases and faces...? "aviators" watch keeps to within 20 seconds a day 'out of the box' and is pretty consistnt (about +/- 3 sec) and is 'hacking' so i can stop it, as well as self winding. It might not be the best watch in teh world, but for a hundred bucks i didn't get ripped off.
I dont see the point in spending a grand or more on a watch for "real world" wearing, those who do have more courage or money then I!
 
ERdept said:
Well, the quartz mentioned above will always keep better time than any mechanical watch, just because it's a quartz.
Click to expand...

And there is definitely something to be said for that. If you need PRECISION time keeping, Japanese quartz is the way to go. They also make great beater watches when working under your vehicle or in the shop. A BIG downside is when the battery craps out, which has happened to me twice. I will be checking my Seiko Kinetic for long-term running.

ERdept said:
The Rolo, is the watch, that classically says that you made it, though there are MANY, MANY, more expensive and perhaps better looking and more accurate watches (Patek's, Piaget, Briguet's, etc).
Click to expand...

That is funny for me, because my mom is actually the one that made it.:D But you are right about more expensive, and more accurate. That is why there are so many choices. It has been a little less than a month since I got mine, it has lost about a minute. That is 12 minutes a year. I can certainly live with that.

The first Rolex Submariner that I ever really paid attention to was when I was tattooing professionally, and Doug Christie, the NBA basketball player(at the time for the Raptors) was getting tattooed at my shop. We chatted about the watch for about 10 minutes, and he clearly had pride in ownership of his SS Sub, rather than just being a bling thing. I started paying more attention to Rolex after that.

ERdept said:
The Rolo is the only one that almost everyone recognizes by name. Only watch junkies (me included know the more obscure brands I mentioned above. The common man at the street level won't know. But, they all know the Rolo name.
Click to expand...

When I was researching the watches, I compared Rolex to most of the available competitors. The way the bezel is finished, the hands, the metal bezels around the luminous paint, the finishing on the back, the finish on the dial itself.....all these things stood out as being more desireable to me. There is just such a CLASSIC feel and look to the watch.

ERdept said:
It's also the only one that retains a lot of it's resale value and can be cashed in for much of its value anywhere around the world, traded for your freedom to get out of jail, etc. Just based upon brand recognition. Some idiot may know a more expensive brand.
Click to expand...

This is a good and valid point, and the kicker for why I picked the Sea Dweller. 1. I hate the cyclops......2. The Sea Dweller is less common, and consequently, quite sought after.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I have the 2 most indestructible mechanical watches - Rolex Submariner and a Seiko SKX007J. Both tested from tropical diving, hard contact sports and telecom work. You can go wrong on these watches.
 
o1Alex said:
I like my 'aeromatic' "german" (Assembled! not made...) watch. They make a few divers watches too, branded as 'Tauchmeister' i think all pretty cheep on Ebay. They were going at about two hundred bucks last time i looked... I dont see the point in spending a grand or more on a watch for "real world" wearing, those who do have more courage or money then I!
Click to expand...
I also have a Tauchmeister (mine's a quartz, 'tho), and they are "alot of watch for the money"...Mine looks just like a $5000 Rolex, and seems to keep excellent time:
Tauchmeisteronbracelet.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top