I've always lusted after expensive watches, but my practical side wins here. I've got a drawer full of cool, but cheaper watches I never wear. The antique watches all seem too fragile for everyday wear (sold the solid 18K Hamilton on ebay for 3x what I paid). My Seiko Kinetic is bulky and heavy. I love my stainless steel Citizen Eco Drive, but the diameter of my arm varies too much to be comfortable in a bracelet band in hot weather.

My daily driver? A Timex Expedition. Perfectly accurate, Day, date, Chrono, Timer, Alarm and Digital Compass - all for $30. Seems when I'm wearing one of my other watches I miss one of the functions.

Lee,

Get an old Rolex, either stainless or stainless and gold and use it for a daily watch. If you get it for a good price it will almost never go down in value and you can pass it along to the kids when something better comes along!

Good to see you at the fly-in this weekend and sorry not to spend more time with you. Was a judge there and had lots of work!

JoeA

PS Buy another 911!!!

Make mine a Rolex, I've worn one since 1978 and am on my
sixth. Models have varied from jubilee bracleted datejust to
bark finished 18k presidents with the one currently owner and worn every day a two tone sub with blue dial and bezel. I wish I could send my Porsche motor to Rolex to have them Blue Print it. As an old friend used to say, it would run quieter than a mouse in slippers.


Keith Epperly 87 slant nose turbo look carrera cabriolet

Here's something a little interesting.

I'm currently preparing to buy a Glycine Airman 24 Hour watch, and while looking around at 24 hours watches on the internet I found this

http://www.russiansouvenirs.com/watches_24h.htm

Apparently the russians make some 24 hours watches that run about $60

http://www.russiansouvenirs.com//watch/do10001.jpg

AUTOMATIC
35 Ruby jewels
Luminous hands for night visibility.
Sweep type second hand
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date-of-the month calendar
Case: round, polished stainless steel,
40 mm diameter, h 8 mm
Mineral crystal.
Water resistant 3 ATM
Dial: white, Arabic numerals,
Rotating dial (bezel ring), black.
date window at "3 o'clock" position
Comes with leather band and box

$55 +$10 shipping

I know, the quality is probably not that of a Rolex or Breitling, but for an interesting $60 watch it's probably more than adequate.

When, I graduated from high school in 1966 my father gave me a 1952 Rolex. I have worn this watch since then. The case is gold but the bands (many over the years) have always sorta cheap. About every 5 years I take it to the local watch Dr., This costs me about $300.00 . Other than that the watch works. It's water proof( for real) shock proof , and I beat the cr*p out of it living on my wrist. I think my dad paid $200.00 at a pawn shop. To me this is what makes a good watch. Randy

Well, one thing about a "reputable" forum, is that -when the question arises- one can go back to it and do a search. As it happens, an article on Russian "Poljot" watches aroused my curiosity, which led me to that brand's website, wherein they state making copies of the Valjoux movement...etcetera...

So, I wanted to check up on that, searched the word "Valjoux" and this has led me to conclude that, before venturing out into the wonderful wide world of fine watches, I better do a valve adjustment on my Carrera first.... :o

I wear the cheapo $75 Fossil with the LCD background (Blue Flames in motion)...and it tells time.

Hah. Ive a friend who drives a Toyota Camry. It takes him places.

Paul. Poljots are inexpensive and are a very good introduction to the charms of mechanical watches. Soon you too will know the joy of never really knowing what time it is. But beware, its a slippery slope for many...

stuart 86 carrera 964c4

My wife brought me my first decent watch for my 30th birthday a few months back, after me pointing it out in the shops/duty free a couple of times. Very pleased
Tag Heuer. Carrera. :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1086306773.jpg

I cant wear it every day and it was annoying that it lost time so quickly but I was surprised the cost of the winders in jewelers started at £200/$350.:eek:
so eventually tracked this down at £35/$64

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1086306596.jpg

From CtiDeals
Great little thing totaly silent and reliable.

does this look odd to you?
 

I'm looking around for a vintage Heuer, and I came across this. The price is attractive (relatively) the condition is good too, and it's been serviced (a bit like the PO telling you the engine's been rebuilt.)

When I look at the "hands" it doesn't make sense. The hour hand clearly shows it's *past* 10:30 yet the minute hand is only 7 minutes past. Is it even possible for a watch to have their hands aligned in that way? (Assuming there is a mechanism inside)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1090968518.jpg

Dave
I doubt that it was serviced recently. If so, the hands would have been indexed correctly. Nevertheless, it is an easy thing to fix, but might indicate other problems. Chronographs cost about $300 to overhaul.

See if the Art of Time folks will fix it, they have an in-house watchmaker.

alf

New Porsche Design / Eterna "Indicator"
 

http://www.germancarfans.com/news/20...428.001.1L.jpg

Porsche Design Presents World Premiere at Baselworld 2004
Text & photos courtesy Porsche AG
edited 04-28-2004


The first chronograph with mechanical-digital stopwatch display
Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Bietigheim-Bissingen, is attracting attention at this year's international watch and jewellery show in Basel (15 to 22 April 2004) with a new innovation: The subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is presenting the new "Porsche Design Indicator" to the specialist world – a lavishly designed watch that combines chronograph functions with a mechanical digital display for the first time. This is made possible by what is currently the most complex, series-production wristwatch movement in the world operating inside this timepiece.

The "Porsche Design Indicator" is a groundbreaking innovation in the world of mechanical watches, as it shows stopped time intervals up to nine hours and 59 minutes in large digits. It was developed by the Swiss watchmaker Eterna SA, Grenchen, which is owned by the designer and Porsche Supervisory Board member, Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The price of the "Porsche Design Indicator" is EUR 65,000 (including value added tax). Production has been limited to 50 units per year.

To power the "Porsche Design Indicator's" conventional functions, the developers selected a mechanical movement based on the automatic-calibre ETA/Valjoux-7750. However, the design for the main plate and bridges is completely new. In order to keep the overall height as low as possible, the Eterna watchmakers deliberately avoided a simple modular construction in favour of an integrated solution. To accomplish this, far more than 400 individual components had to be newly developed and fitted into special separator parts. In total, the complex mechanism of this chronograph consists of more than 800 individual components.

The design of the "Porsche Design Indicator" is consciously reminiscent of the styling of the high performance Carrera GT sports car. It represents dynamism, precision, power, state-of-the-art technology and perfection. The housing is made of the light and yet highly durable material titanium. The watchcase is waterproof to 50 metres, boasts a diameter of 49 millimetres and a thickness of 18 millimetres.

As with the first Porsche Design titanium watch in the 1980s, the buttons on the new "Porsche Design Indicator" chronograph are elongated, reflecting the design of the Carrera GT's pedals: full-length cross ribbing improves grip, and a two-to-one lever ratio makes the stop-button easier to use.

On the reverse of the casing, a sapphire glass bottom plate fixed with six screws allows a view of the oversized winding rotor. This – like all watch models in the new collection from Porsche Design – is weight-optimised: the blade of the rotor has been delicately worked with titanium on the inside, which contributes to a low mass while retaining a high level of rigidity. On the outside, however, the blade is made of solid red gold, to generate the necessary winding energy for the four spring barrels. The rotor's design is based on the look of a Carrera GT wheel rim.

This sporty chronograph comes with a robust, yet comfortable, soft caoutchouc band with a secure double hook clasp. On the inside, the black band matches the tread of the high performance tyres on a Carrera GT. This is not just attractive to look at, but also offers functional advantages: the tread grooves allow the skin to breathe, thereby reducing sweating.

Kevin,

Thanks for the info on the winder! Been looking for one but could not afford the ones I have seen so far. Have several auto watches and its better for them to be moving!

Dave,

Thats a beautiful old Heuer watch! I like the old orginal ones a lot better than the ones made after Tag became involved. Hope you work a good deal out on it.

Thx,

JoeA

Where is the best place/brand/etc to get mechanical watch for cheap money? 100 bills is about my watch budget, due to the fact that the Casio's have been good to me over the years, and I barely have enough money to keep up the 911. Does mechanical have anything to do with a sweeping hand vs. a ticking hand? I know Rolex's sweep, and my Casio ticks. I'd like a sweeping hand.

You usually get what you pay for. Save up or use a credit card and get a good used Rolex. One of mine has been on my arm since 1976. Cost me around $300 or so at this time. Still works like a charm.

Now they sell the same watch for $4500-$6000 depending on options and such. You might find a good one used or get another brand but if you end up with a Rolex you can give it to your son... they last that long and you will be proud to have one on your arm.

JoeA

Klaucke,

You're going to have a tough time finding a new one (especially an automatic) in that price range.

Junkers comes somewhat near. Browse under "collection" they have many different lines of watches.
http://www.junkers.ch/e/index2.htm

But in that range, even Seiko and Citizen will generally only be available as quartz models.

Swatch makes automatics that are in your range, the only problem is that one of my requirements for a watch is to be able to tell time at a glance. Easily. Some Swatches are so "busy" on the dial that it's hard to tell the time. To find a legible automatic Swatch you may have to travel a bit. There is a Swatch store in Harv. Square.
http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/59/58619/sa_1.jpg
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/koike/img1031384248.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.rakuten.co.jp/koike/450050/530978/521786/&h=433&w=235&sz=16&tbnid=DhkV51kZB2IJ:&tbnh=121&tb nw=66&start=18&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dswatch%2Bautomatic%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D% 26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG

Interesting read:
http://www.timezone.com/library/horologium/horologium631673144417823408

klauckle, you might consider a Seiko diver.

Known as the poor man's Rolex, they've been around for 40-ish years, were popular with soldiers (many were bought at PX's during Vietnam), have an unadorned classic look, are waterproof to 150m and beyond (depending on model), are very readable with great lume (if not too old), and are quite bulletproof. Go to this forum

http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440

browse around, check out the gallery and history links, and then click on the "trading forum" where used Seiko divers are often sold and on "waynes watch world" where new ones are sold. $100 will get you a non-collectible model in decent used shape on eBay, or the same (with rather less risk) on the trading forum. A bit over $100 (maybe $150) will get you a new one through "waynes".

In a nutshell, the new and recent ones have model numbers like "SKX___" while the older ones have model numbers like "6___" (four digits). I have a SKX013 (new, Japan-made, orange dial) and a 6309-7290 (roughly 25 years old, Japan-made, black dial) and love them both. My wife wears the 013 and I wear the 6309.

Also browse the reviews here

http://www.zetleins.onau.net/watchreviews.htm

Les doesn't review an older Seiko diver, but he reviews a new one with the same movement (7S26) that the divers have been using for decades.

Sorry if I posted about the Seiko diver in this thread before - it is so long I can't go and check.

Edit: maybe I have a SKX007J, I can't remember. By the way, if you think P-nuts are weird, check out watch fanatics. I don't qualify as one, I only have a few watches and can't even remember their exact model numbers.

Cool -- more Pelicans with a watch fetish!

I have a mid-60's "pie pan" Omega Constellation for a daily watch -- great watch and I get many compliments on it.

I have a european model gold Rolex but the prices are such that I don't wear it much at all. 21st birthday present from my father and I intend to pass it on to my son on his 21st keeping the family tradition going.

I like the automatic mechanical watches. Quartz is quartz -- 10 dollars or 1000 dollars -- still a quartz watch. Cheap Toyota or expensive Toyota -- they work fine but have no soul.

I am looking at the Targa Florio watch from TAG Heuer as a possible addition. Very cool especially in person -- neat. Monaco is just too big and little too 70's for my taste.

I recently inherited a small watch collection (mostly pocket watches) that I need to get appraised but some cool wrist watches in there that need a serious cleaning. Something to add to the collection.

Rich

My new addition
 

I got an urge to have a "Bond look" diver watch, complete w/ a Nato strap, but I really had no need for two Subs (unless it would be a "Red Sub" or a Comex, but those cost more than my car). Next best thing was to get something similar but different. So I got the Seiko diver watch and I swapped out the rubber band in favor of the nylon strap.

I must say, the Seiko is a pretty robust piece. Tough, precision made, and a 21 jewel automatic. It's quite a lot of watch for not much over $120. It's so nice, that I lost sight of the fact that it's a Seiko. They are way better than I remember them, back from the Mickey Mouse types of watches. In the end, I got to have the "look" I've been after, and a whole new watch.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1093842021.jpg