Wrist Watches

22-rimfire

22-rimfire

Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
19,385
I admit I tend to be rather utlitarian when it comes to choosing and using a watch. All of these watch threads have me somewhat interested in a "better" watch but certainly not a Rolex. I consider them mostly jewelry and folks with a lot of money buy them as a status symbol along with their cars. But I know it's a different strokes for different folks kind of thing.

I did some searches on Amazon prior to Father's Day with watches and have been bombarded with advertising for watches that I know absolutely nothing about in terms of brands and quality. I want a "better" watch that I can wear hunting, fishing, on the lake, and to church (dress). What should I be looking for and what kind of a price range is appropriate? What brands are good and what kind of durability can I expect out of these expensive watches? Can I expect them to last 10 years? Do you actually get what you pay for?

What makes a good or a great watch?

Time for Watch 101.
 
Here's the problem I'm seeing. To me, dress means a watch with a leather band. Something you would wear with a button down shirt, trousers (chinos, dress pants, etc.) dress shoes, and so on. And it's these watches that don't really belong out hunting and fishing.

Just my opinion, but dress watches, for me, stay in my watch case. Diving watches and all that don't belong if you want to stick to the "rules."

As far as moderately priced dress watches, I think the Orient Bambino is a good buy.
 
I'll try to help out.... I price range would be helpful too.

Casio G shocks have a well deserved rep imo for being tough, reliable, and affordable. I like a rubber or plastic band. Cloth can get wet, sweaty, and stinky (imo). Metal can be uncomfortable. To me, they make a great fishing, hiking, camping watch. I don't think I've ever paid over $80 for any of mine. Mine is an older version of this http://www.amazon.com/Casio-G5600E-1-G-Shock-Digital-Resistant/dp/B002OS0FLA/ref=sr_1_73?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1403315779&sr=1-73&keywords=g+shock

Dress can mean different things to different people. Usually its analog with leather or metal band. I think stainless steel is more neutral then a gold or black watch. Like texas^ said, I've heard good things about Orient for an entry level "dressier" watch especially the Mako series. A Seiko 5 isn't a bad starter watch either.

If you aren't in a hurry to find something, hit up the local pawn shops or second hand stores. Be on the lookout for knives too. You can find some nice pickup stuff.
 
I know that I gave a wide range of potential uses. I wear Casio G-shocks now; have several and I use them for dress or at least as dressy as I ever get. No tux's for me. I also have a Wenger analog watch that I find nice and wear it for more dressy times or when I feel like an analog watch. But these aren't $200-$300+ watches. They last and they're pretty tough especially the G-Shocks.

If I go to a pawn shop and look at watches, I really have no idea what is good or bad. I have little knowledge of the various brands or if quartz movement is good or what jeweled means in real terms. Does that make it more accurate or higher quality and more reliable?

I go to the department store and they have the standard brands and I really don't know if they are any good either. I don't want to have to replace it a year from now because it just stopped working. I always come back to Casio watches because I know they work, last years, and are tough.

You might call me a Timex guy except I wear Casio's. I basically bought a couple Casio watches and have been pleased with them and had little need to learn about the more expensive stuff. I know little about what makes a fine watch except price or even if a particular price is a good value. I know little about this stuff.

So, that is where I'm at now. I don't have a budget. It might be $200 or it might be $500 if the watch is very good. But I'm not particularly into jewelry. I just want water resistance, shock resistance, and accurate time keeping for months....

Seiko is a brand I know sort of. Bought my wife a couple Seiko watches which she promptly breaks. What about all these other brands?
 
I've had a Seiko Monster for 2 years, been all over and it works fine. I also have a Citizen watch that has worked flawlessly for 5 years. Get your wife a G-shock, betcha she won't break it.
 
22-rimfire said:
What about all these other brands?
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As I said, traditionally, dress watches mean leather bands. However, you'll see men all day wearing metal bands with their suits. It's a no-no to some, and acceptable to others. I don't do it, but when you said "dress" along with church, that could mean all sorts of things nowadays, I mean, we have cowboy churches where I live. :)

I'll toss out a suggestion for you. Bernhardt Binnacle Diver. It's a small company in North Carolina. Runs around $260, and they are great watches for the price in my opinion. Each one is individually numbered too, as they are made in batches. It's a diver as per the name, but they look good in most situations. Just Google Bernhardt watch company, and you can take a look. Miyota 8215 (workhorse of a movement), sapphire crystal (rare in watches of this price), steel screws in the band (which are better than pins) and 200M water resistance. They also have the Binnacle 2 for the same price, and it's a little more dressier in my opinion as it's not a diver, but it still sports the 200M water resistance.



As far as Orient goes, they're a well known company. They are also the largest manufacturer of automatic watches in Japan and they use their own in-house movements.
 
Have to say I'm not a total dunce on watches, but I was looking for suggestions that didn't make the assumption that I could distinguish between one name brand and another in terms of relative quality. I have sort of gotten into a rut of using what works for me for about 20 years. You see respected knife brands like Schrade that go bankrupt or out of business and somebody buys the trademark and begins to sell chinese made "Schrades". That is what I fear with watches like Bulova, Citizen, Seiko and so forth. You buy an old classic brand name and you're essentially getting junk. I appreciate your responses. I have already been googling men's watches and reading.

I wanted to take a simple approach to this thread in hopes that I might get good suggestions and anyone reading it down the road might find it useful too.

Was looking at the Bernhardt. Pretty nice. When they say "automatic", I assume that means battery operated? Correct?
 
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^^Automatics do not require batteries. They will be wound by shaking the watch, or winding the crown, depending on the watch.
Most of the higher end watches are automatic or 'mechanical'. Having said that, there are some very nice quartz watches that require a battery.
Personally, I like both worlds. I have a couple of Seiko's that are auto. And they keep time fairly well. Most companies will say around 15 to 30 seconds per month. I believe that the companies that you mention, build both in Japan and other Asian countries. I know my Seiko Pepsi Cola is a Japan made watch. They will state that on the watch face. Also, look for the letter 'J' at the end of the serial number.
All in, you can get a very decent watch, Swiss made or Japan made, for a very nice price, if you do your homework.
All the best
Cheers
 
Personally I love my Citizen BM8180-03E, it's small compared to the flavor flave sized watches that are pushed on us today but it fits comfortably on your wrist and the numbers are large and easy to read and luminate quite well. Their solar polar technology is top notch, from what I recall it has a 6 month reserve if it's taken out of light on a full charge and if you take care of it the battery is suppose to have 80% max charge in 20years. I've beaten up this watch for a little over a year and it's stood up to abuse that would make most watch owners cringe in horror.

From what I've seen on a watch forum seeing 10+ years of service is kind of expected and most people have little problems getting that, but their eco-drives came out in the 90's I think and that is reports from the first adopters. If you really wanted to you can toss a leather band on it, though personally I would toss a mil spec or nato band on it and have 1 or 2 spares so you can rotate them out and wash them when they start to smell as being active tends to do that to watch bands. I still need to do that with mine, I've just resorted to using an ultrasonic cleaner for now to wash the band (keep the watch case out of cleaner if you want it to keep working).

Plus side to the whole solar side of things their pretty much zero maintenance if you don't wear them for awhile just have place dedicated for your watch on a dresser to soak up the light in the meantime and your good. Automatics are a bit more complicated and you have to rotate them into what you wear, shake them, buy a winder, etc and tend to not be quite as accurate as quartz watches as a whole from what I hear on the low to mid range. Normal battery powered watches are quartz to my knowledge and should need no explanations on what to expect.
 
macknife12 said:
^^Automatics do not require batteries. They will be wound by shaking the watch, or winding the crown, depending on the watch.
Most of the higher end watches are automatic or 'mechanical'.
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Mechanical watches are either automatic or handwind.

In automatics, a rotor (or hammer in many older vintage watches) automatically winds the main spring as the wrist moves.

In handwinds the main spring can only be wound using the crown.

Not all automatics can be hand wound. Most Seiko automatic movements fall in this category.

If you want a well priced and robust automatic watch, just google "Seiko 7s26". Can't really go wrong with any Seiko containing that movement.
 
I have a Seiko dive watch, solar powered. No batteries, very durable and stays right on time. Wear it everywhere.
 
I'm also a G-Shock guy. Before G-Shocks I had a Seiko mechanical diver, I decided that the reason I wear a watch is to know the time and the Seiko was always off. Then I got a couple different Citizen Eco-Drive watches. These are similar to the "Tough Solar" G-Shocks in that they use solar to charge a capacitor and run a quartz movement. The Citizens were crazy accurate, 5-6 seconds from daylight savings time beginning and end when I would reset it.

For reasons unknown I'm getting another Seiko automatic that should be here Monday. The second generation Monster can be hand wound. I've always preferred the rubber type straps to leather, steel bands pull the hair on my arms and never stay in place, they drive me nuts. The Monster is dressy enough for anything I dress up for.

Picture shamelessly stolen from the world wide web:

SRP315.jpg
 
I personally strongly prefer a nicely made stainless steel or titanium watch band. The first thing that came to mind for your variety of uses is a Citizen Eco-drive. I have a few, and love them all. Extremely high quality watches that are classy looking and low maintenance. Wearing it around, especially outside, means you'll never have to consciously charge it, and absolutely never change a battery. My favorite for general wear is a Citizen Eco Drive Stiletto. I have the black ion and satin finish models of the tonneau shape. For something to be worn outdoors more, I would look into something with a bit more water resistance. I have the AT0880-50E Chronograph, and for as much as it is and does, it is very sleek and classy - a great dress watch in itself. I would also suggest the watch I've been longing to get for a good while now, the BL8000-54L. If you think increased water resistance won't be entirely necessary for you, as the Stilettos can take a splash just fine, I would wholeheartedly recommend one from that line.
 
It would seem that I should probably stick to the G-Shocks for work and outdoor activities and look for something more dressy for the other times with a backdrop that I might just have the better watch on when I go fishing or working outdoors just because that is what I have on at the time. Watches get dunked when fishing, so some water proofing/resistance is important.

I have never been particularly enamored by the typical metal bands on watches as they are just too loose on my skinny wrists.

I have some checking to do. Years ago I had a Bulova automatic (mechanical) watch that I liked. I just didn't remember that automatic meant mechanical as in non-battery or solar powered. I remember twisting my wrist to wind it. It eventually stopped running, but it fit into my life at the time. I was in my 20's then and much more concerned about my appearance then than now.

Thank you for the thoughts and suggestions. Keep them coming if any of you have additional suggestions. I think that I will probably get an automatic watch this time. I also want to upgrade a bit on my G-Shocks, but I have always liked them.
 
ElConquistador said:
For reasons unknown I'm getting another Seiko automatic that should be here Monday. The second generation Monster can be hand wound. I've always preferred the rubber type straps to leather, steel bands pull the hair on my arms and never stay in place, they drive me nuts. The Monster is dressy enough for anything I dress up for.
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Seiko's 4R36/4RXX movement, also found in many different Seiko models of varying price. In the three years since its introduction, it too has shown itself to be a tough, robust movement. Not only able to be hand wound but hacks too (though I prefer movements without the hacking feature).
 
22-rimfire said:
I have some checking to do. Years ago I had a Bulova automatic (mechanical) watch that I liked. I just didn't remember that automatic meant mechanical as in non-battery or solar powered. I remember twisting my wrist to wind it.
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Automatic is the mechanical non-battery operated watches this does not include solar powered. Solar powered is closer to battery powered watches than automatics, in terms of maintenance and how they work.

Lot's of weird terminology and confusing stuff, I spent a few months researching a bunch of this stuff a little over a year ago and I still know almost nothing.
 
About a month ago I had purchased another G-Shock. Anyway, I determined that the compass part of it was simply broke or it was locked into compass mode. Took it back today and traded into a Casio Edifice. Pretty nice watch with clean lines. I just decided that I really didn't need another G-shock. Anyway, I still plan on getting a dressier watch.
 
I've been eyeing a Mudman g9300, I wish the price would come down on the GW9300 but it's staying over $300... ...too much for the atomic clock feature which I almost can't live without now.
 
Question: On watches in general, who actually uses a chrongraph? I have a stop watch that I use to measure sports related items, but have never used a watch for this purpose even though many of the digital watches have a stop watch feature and the more traditional (non-digital) have chronographs. Seems to me that it is mostly a looks or styling thing for watches in general.

I googled the Mudman G-9300. What I came up with is a Casio watch that runs around $130-$140. Just checked on Amazon...$305 for the "GW" model.
 
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22-rimfire said:
Question: On watches in general, who actually uses a chrongraph? .
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I would guess that 97% of people who own chronographs, don't actually use them, or have never used them other than playing around. They just like the looks. Personally, I like diver's and pretty simple faces. Although the Vostok Komandirskie on my wrist now isn't exactly clean.

And actually, If you want an interesting and tough little watch, check out the Vostok Komandirskie. They are a Russian watch company that made watches for the Soviet army for years and years, and they are still in business. Many were sold to us during Desert Storm as well. They are mechanical (you wind them by hand) and use an in-house movement developed by Vostok. They are hard to find unless you know where to look, and Ebay is the place to look. I have bought several from a guy named zenitar on there who ships out of the Russian Federation.
 
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