Watch Newbie seeks advice

Well, while bladeforums was down I was looking for a fix, so I started hanging out on www.timezone.com. If you think the collectors over here are crazy they dont't hold a candle to the nut-balls on timezone. Some of those guys probably have 1 million dollars worth of watches!

Anyway, Here is the watch I choose!!! It is really nice!

Omega Seamaster Diver with Chronomoter in all titanium

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Now, anyone interested in getting a nice watch really should PM me. I found out tons and tons of info about the watch "grey market" and Authorized Dealers (AD). The most interesting thing I found out is about the Authorized Dealers who have these back door policies. You call them up, mention a certain persons name and whamo you have an entirely different price list!

I mean I felt like James Bond or something. I would say "Tom Jones recommended I give you a call." The dealer would shuffle some papers and say "Oh, well, (clears throat) then your price is blah blah" And let me tell you these were not small discounts I saved over $1600 on that watch above alone with full papers serials and factory warranty.

Really a fun jaunt into the world of horology *fancy word for watch nuts that I learned over on timezone.com :)

PS. I will post some pictures of this watch with a nice Walter Brend 50th Aniversary Fighter once I get some lights set up to snap some shots.
 
Kimper said:
Omega Seamaster Diver with Chronomoter in all titanium
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Curious, what exactly does that mean? I've seen that somewhere before, but not being a watch collector, I never paid attention to it. "Chronometer" means a "watch" (time measuring device). How does one get a watch with a watch?
 
hwyhobo;

I believe that a "chronometer" is a mechanical watch that meets certain Swiss acuracy standards. Only watches that meet these standards can be called chronometers. The photo of the Omega shows a chronograph, defined as : A multifunction sport watch with a stopwatch function. Most have two or three sub dials, or minidials, for measuring minutes and hours. (courtesy of Orolus.com) BTW, I really like your photos on Glocktalk.
 
heysox said:
I believe that a "chronometer" is a mechanical watch that meets certain Swiss acuracy standards.
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This is generally correct, but hwyhobo is also right, a chronometer is essentially a time measuring device (historically one precise enough for navigation purposes). The Swiss chronometer institute COSC claims that only the watches it certifies may be called chronometers, and most watch manufacturers play along with this. However, there are a few watch makers that do use the word without certification, reasoning that the word and its definition existed long before COSC, and that the institute cannot claim any exclusive rights on its use. As far as I know COSC does not attempt any legal action against these makers, so it seems they implicitly acknowledge that their claims are a bit shaky.

Kristofer
 
hwyhobo said:
Curious, what exactly does that mean? I've seen that somewhere before, but not being a watch collector, I never paid attention to it. "Chronometer" means a "watch" (time measuring device). How does one get a watch with a watch?
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Yep, Chronometer is a fancy word for stop-watch in my mind at least. The watch I got is for diving, so the thought is you punch it at the start of your dive and time your air supply. The chronometer on the Omega consists of the second hand and the right side small dial (measures minutes) and the central small dial near 6 o'clock (measures hours).

Btw, as soon as I get some kind of light box setup I will take some shots of the watch with the Walter Brend fighter. I just can't bring myself to lay that Brend on a rock outside :)
 
No, chronograph means stopwatch.

Chronometer means the movement in that watch has been tested by the Swiss government and found to meet a standard of accuracy in different positions and at different temperatures.

Both words are often shortened to "chrono," adding to the confusion.
 
Cougar Allen said:
Chronometer means the movement in that watch has been tested by the Swiss government and found to meet a standard of accuracy in different positions and at different temperatures.
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Ah, good info, Couger!
Well, heck, what else does the Swiss government have to do anyway? Maybe set cheese wheels to regulation diameters?!
 
Well, last time I checked COSC wasn't the Swiss government ;-)
But it's true that they are situated in Switzerland. They are a not-for-profit association. Grey Area pretty much has it right.

I guess the Swiss government is busy enough ruling the country.
Cougar is right though about different positions and different temperatures.

Under www.cosc.ch you can find their definition of chronometer:

A chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds and housing a movement that has been tested over several days, in different positions and at different temperatures, by an official neutral body (COSC).

Each chronometer is unique, identified by a number engraved on its movement and a certification number given by the COSC.

Each movement is individually tested for several consecutive days, in 5 positions and at 3 temperatures.

Each movement is individually measured. Any watch with the denomination "chronometer" is provided with a certified movement.
 
If you want to get into details, the COSC itself consists of representatives from the watch industry as well as the cantons, with government representatives in the majority by one. The Swiss government is not hampered by either capitalist or socialist ideology, and when it comes to competion between Swiss and foreign companies the idea of fair play does not apply. There is a great deal of information (and some ranting) from me and others on the COSC standards and the extent of their validity on www.timezone.com -- especially in the Insights forum there, but you might want to begin with http://www.timezone.com/library/wbore/wbore631733384647656250
 
Sorry Cougar, probably it was just a misunderstanding or I'm too pedantic.
The garbage collection here in Germany is state run. But I would never claim that the German government collects my garbage :D

So I guess we can settle on that the Swiss government controls the COSC but not the movements themselves. But maybe we shouldn't discuss semantics here.

Sorry Kimper, didn't mean to hijack your thread. Personally I'm very fond of Sinn. I have two Sinns myself: the 142ti and the new U1. From my point of view their watches are chronmeters although they are usually not COSC certified. But if you insist and pay extra they will have it tested and certified by COSC. But in the end that is just an very expensive piece of paper.

The Omega you chose is very nice. My father has an Omega Seamaster which he has for more than 30 years now. It is still running great although he never had it serviced.
 
Hi Kimper,
Thanks a lot for those purchase sites. I found just the watch I was looking for at a big savings at Overstocked
 
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