Swiss watches

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

Slipjoint Addict
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
20,039
No, I can't afford the higher end Swiss watches. I already own a few Freestyle analog watches that are out of commission, need new batteries, new bezels etc. I currently wear a Casio analog model, nothing fancy, about 80 bucks at Walmart. I did purchase a Seiko Black Monster dive watch from a NY online watch company several years ago, and it runs too fast. I get a couple hours in a day faster, and haven't sent it in to Seiko to be recalibrated. The deal that I got on it was not worth it, and the no return policy kinda soured me on the whole deal. Live and learn.

I've been looking at Victorinox and Wenger watches, both made in Switzerland. Specifically the
Swiss Army Garrison Elegance Watch from REI. I would like to get one for my birthday coming up, hoping it will coincide with a 20% off coupon. Great warranty and a rebate for next year. I am looking for a good watch for work, I work in an office. Just a treat for myself. I know I can probably get it cheaper, I'm looking at it from the standpoint that the coupon and rebate next year, would it be worth it. I've seen some higher end Swiss watches that friends have, I would like to go for one of those, but can't afford it. Any suggestions for Swiss watches are appreciated.
 
For a more "sporty" oriented watch, and one that works well for these tired old eyes, Luminox. The Tritium indicators are really nice and should give you ~10 years of service life and the larger face models are super clear and easy to read.
 
What's your budget?

:thumbup: on your choice for the Victorinox. Also, take a look at Tissot and Hamilton. Tissot is considered the brother to Omega. Hamilton is an old American brand that is now Swiss made - check out their Khaki range. Omega, Hamilton, Tissot - all under the Swiss Swatch group. Add to the flavor of your watch choice... I enjoy the history of the company as much as the choice in timepiece. Maybe go vintage?
 
A jeweler will regulate an automatic for pretty cheap. I have a Maratac SR-1 that was running too fast. I took it to the watch shop across the street from my office and the jeweler there regulated it while I waited for $25. It keeps perfect time ever since.
 
Grizzley said:
A jeweler will regulate an automatic for pretty cheap. I have a Maratac SR-1 that was running too fast. I took it to the watch shop across the street from my office and the jeweler there regulated it while I waited for $25. It keeps perfect time ever since.
Click to expand...

Do you think he pressure-tested it to make sure it retained water resistance after opening the case?
 
I've owned a lot of the Seiko watches with the 7s26 movement, the same movement as the standard Monsters. All of mine have run 20 to 45 seconds fast per day. If yours is significantly different from this then it might be magnetized or something like that.

I have a number of Swiss watches but I also still have some Seikos that I like a lot. If you buy either of these brands from a jeweler it is like paying more than MSRP for knives, even most online watch retailers are high. Your best bet for buying watches is from watch enthusiasts on forums, just like the way we buy knives.

If you buy most European brands with quartz movements you can get really taken to the cleaners. I bought a European watch some years ago, and in the same timeframe I bought I Casio on sale for about $15. When it came time to change batteries I found that the expensive European watch had the exact same cheap Japanese quartz movement as the Casio. If you buy a european brand mechanical watch then you generally know what the movement is and you know what you are getting. This is similar to buying a no-name knife and not knowing what steel is in it vs. buying a brand name knife that tells you what the steel is.

Swiss Army does make at least a few watches that have good European mechanical movements but most of their watches are cheap watches with cheap quartz movements. I have nothing against cheap quartz movements and I have a few that I wear, just don't pay more than $20 for them.
 
Sid Post said:
For a more "sporty" oriented watch, and one that works well for these tired old eyes, Luminox. The Tritium indicators are really nice and should give you ~10 years of service life and the larger face models are super clear and easy to read.
Click to expand...

Seconds on the Luminox! Love mine, never take it off.
 
bdmicarta said:
.
Swiss Army does make at least a few watches that have good European mechanical movements but most of their watches are cheap watches with cheap quartz movements. I have nothing against cheap quartz movements and I have a few that I wear, just don't pay more than $20 for them.
Click to expand...

As do so many others. A while back at the encouragement of a friend of mine that works in a jewelry store I started to change the batteries myself in my watches. I have a few expensive watches, and a lot of medium quality specimens.

I found out what my buddy told me was exactly true. SO many watches have the same exact inexpensive movements, even those with nice complications. Opening up the backs on about 30 watches has soured me on paying for a "nice watch" unless I thoroughly research what I am buying.

I don't mind paying a small sum for a utility type watch, but don't want to pay a premium for window dressing that hides the same inexpensive movement found in cheap watches.

Since I can't afford rebuild on nice mechanical watches (that about ran me to the poor house!), I am happy buying a quartz watch with a good movement and solid build.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
As do so many others. A while back at the encouragement of a friend of mine that works in a jewelry store I started to change the batteries myself in my watches. I have a few expensive watches, and a lot of medium quality specimens.

I found out what my buddy told me was exactly true. SO many watches have the same exact inexpensive movements, even those with nice complications. Opening up the backs on about 30 watches has soured me on paying for a "nice watch" unless I thoroughly research what I am buying.

I don't mind paying a small sum for a utility type watch, but don't want to pay a premium for window dressing that hides the same inexpensive movement found in cheap watches.

Since I can't afford rebuild on nice mechanical watches (that about ran me to the poor house!), I am happy buying a quartz watch with a good movement and solid build.

Robert
Click to expand...

That's why I buy vintage Swiss watches when the makers used in-house movements. Can't beat a Rolex 157X movement series or any of the old Omega movements from their 30mm family of movements. In a modern mechanical, I just stick with the Seiko 7s26 movement. It's robust and in-house.
 
leghog said:
That's why I buy vintage Swiss watches when the makers used in-house movements. Can't beat a Rolex 157X movement series or any of the old Omega movements from their 30mm family of movements. In a modern mechanical, I just stick with the Seiko 7s26 movement. It's robust and in-house.
Click to expand...

I love those old vintage specimens, and sometimes they aren't too pricey which makes them really tempting. But we have no qualified watch makers here to work on the old models, and sending it off has proven to be dicey at best. And expensive.

About $350 dollars later, my 100 year old Hamilton pocket watch has been "repaired" twice, and while it is clean as a whistle and gorgeous to look at, it is dead as a door nail. It runs like a champ for about a year, then something always breaks.

A good friend of mine has an old Heuer watch, made loooong before "Tag Heuer". It is 35+ years old and he got it brand spanking new. He isn't rough on watches, but knows they will need maintenance and repairs. Due to poor repairs locally the watch has worked, but not well. To remedy this, he even sent it to three different factory authorized repair shops. Granted, the watch is one of the most complicated watches I have seen, made for professional pilots (which he is) but no one can get it repaired right. It ran like a champ when new for about 3 years, trouble free. It all started when he took it in for a crystal replacement (in the age of tempered glass crystals, not sapphire) and a cleaning.

Looking over the receipts for the watch, he has about $4,000 in repairs, averaging a little over $100 a year to own it. According to him, he has actually worn that that watch for about 5 years, the rest of the time it is in a drawer or at the repair shop.

Like you, I am fine with the Seiko movements. I had a friend that was a watchmaker here in town and had all manner of certifications for different manufacturers and makers. Sadly, he is no longer with us. But he told me before he passed that at this point in time that if he was buying a mechanical watch, the only movement he would consider would be the Seiko. He felt like the others out there failed to provide a completely consistent, reliable product.

Robert
 
I know nothing about the movement in my watches, but I got tired of changing batteries in my $100 range watches, so i invested a little more into a Citizen eco drive (runs on natural and artificial light) and it has not skipped a beat in about 6 years.
 
midnight flyer said:
Like you, I am fine with the Seiko movements. I had a friend that was a watchmaker here in town and had all manner of certifications for different manufacturers and makers. Sadly, he is no longer with us. But he told me before he passed that at this point in time that if he was buying a mechanical watch, the only movement he would consider would be the Seiko. He felt like the others out there failed to provide a completely consistent, reliable product.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. I have owned a lot of the Seiko 7s26 movements and they are a good basic workhorse. One advantage of them is that they are very durable so you don't have to worry about servicing them, just keep wearing them. My favorite Seiko is the "Sumo" which has the 6R15 movement, a good step up from the 7s26 but also more expensive. But back to the point- the ETA 2824 movement is a very good Swiss movement. It is cheap, accurate, durable, and used to be used in a lot of different watch brands until the manufacturer decided to start restricting supplies to other companies. In my experience this is the most reliable movement available.


HuntBomb said:
I know nothing about the movement in my watches, but I got tired of changing batteries in my $100 range watches, so i invested a little more into a Citizen eco drive (runs on natural and artificial light) and it has not skipped a beat in about 6 years.
Click to expand...

I have owned 3 eco-drives and I have had trouble with all of them. Citizen advertises a long standby life for the batteries but if they are not fed a fairly constant diet of light the power cells will die early. I found several companies on the internet that do a good business changing the power cells and they say that the average power cell lasts only about 5 years. I discovered this too late for the 3 of my watches. I only have one left and when I sent it in for a new power cell, Citizen instead put in a new movement (for a higher price) so now I am very careful how I treat it. I have a Luminox that is supposed to last 7 years on one battery, and I can buy the battery cheaply and change it myself. Why would I want a Citizen that would only last 5 years and cost about $100 to be fixed. Well I will keep the one that I have because I really like its styling.
 
mazibuko said:
Seconds on the Luminox! Love mine, never take it off.
Click to expand...

Their warranty program and qc has gone to crap in the last few years....I cannot recommend the new stuff, or the current owners of the brand!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I wear a Marathon TSAR 100% of the time now but I have had a few Swiss Army watches and was impressed. The Dive Master 500 was a tank of a watch.
 
Kohai999 said:
Their warranty program and qc has gone to crap in the last few years....I cannot recommend the new stuff, or the current owners of the brand!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Just before I bought the TSAR I was thinking about the Luminox Modern Mariner but right about that time my sons Luminox Steel Colormark minute hand fell off (seems to be common with them these days). I called Luminox and they said it would be close to 100.00 to repair it. Told them no and it would be the last I bought unless I got a great deal on one. Had a local Jeweler fix it. He charged 15.00 and said they would not come off again and that it should have been done right from the factory. Their warranty is worthless. He only had this watch for 2 or 3 months before the hand fell off.
 
Wengers are some of the best value quartz watches available IMO. I got this for $80 shipped.

nTIu6yA.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top