A must have for the classic P-phile (and watch interested)

[aseem]

This is the watch for the classic Porsche (and especially RS) fan.
http://www.motochron.com/PagesGB/GBpage12.htm
Note the odometer numbers!

Also check out the homepage of Dr. Konradsheim http://www.rsr.at/ (cool url) I suppose this is a curiosity for the especially interested (and in German)

[MBAtarga]

Wayne,

This reminds me of the saying "if you have to ask, you can't afford it!"

[aseem]

Wayne, the RS watch has a quartz movement which are cheap to produce, the 906 has an 'automatic' meaning its a self winding mechanical watch (you know with tiny little moving wheels and stuff )
I

[Porsche911NYC]

Looks like something I can find on Canal Street here in NYC for $10.

[Milu]

What is the difference between a cheap and an expensive watch?

Quality and Marketing.

A Patek Phillipe has little details like handfinished and polished screws where they are only seen by a watchmaker when servicing, as well as all parts made in house instead of bought in and assembled. Not to mention exclusivity.

Every clown who puts his name on a fashion product also seems to be marketing a cheap and flashy watch at several times the price of an unknown label and with equivalant quality.

Porsche Design marketed some quite fine watches years ago, no relation I think to the current Porsche 911, Turbo and Boxter watch offerings.

Swatch watches when first sold deflated the quartz watch market, then became a fashion item and then a collector item. I can remember Italians coming to London and paying for their holiday there by buying specific swatch watches that were collectable and hard to find in Italy that they could buy in department stores in London. And then that market collapsed.

I have seen Rolex knock offs that wouldn't fool my cat at 20 metres and were sold at cheap and cheerful prices. I have also seen Rolex copies that fooled experts even when opened to expose the mechanism, (confirmed as false because their paperwork didn't track properly with the factory). In reality identical to the real thing but at one third the price and obviously no guarantee. In addition there are lots of genuine Rolexes around that have been modified to convert them into more desirable models, a bit like RS replicas!

[cegerer]

"real" watch enthusiasts wouldn't be caught dead with a Quartz movement strapped to their wrist!

It's all about the "movement' - that's the mechanism contained inside the case. Most mechanical movements - regardless of watch brand - are made by only a few companies (i.e., LeMania, ETA, etc.). Some movements are purchased complete and installed by the manufacture into their case and with their dial. Some inscribe their own name on the movement to make it look like it's their's!! Others purchase only the components of the movement (the ebauche). They than 'hotrod' the movement before assembling it and installing it in the case.

That said, a good mechanical movement can only be accurate to about 2-3 seconds per day. A drugstore cheapo Quartz movement is good for at least 1/2 second per day - assuming the battery works!! But the difference is that the mechanical movement is an artform. It's a precision machine that is astounding in it's complexity and size. I'll give up 2 seconds/day for that any time. -- Curt

[Milu]

[i] But the difference is that the mechanical movement is an artform. It's a precision machine that is astounding in it's complexity and size. I'll give up 2 seconds/day for that any time. -- Curt [/B]

I'll "second" that!

[Saffs]

Originally posted by cegerer

It's all about the "movement' - that's the mechanism contained inside the case. Most mechanical movements - regardless of watch brand - are made by only a few companies (i.e., LeMania, ETA, etc.).

Agree entirely.
Here's a nice, IMHO, Porsche Design watch:

The Porsche Design PO11.
Of course, the ultimate Porsche aficionado watch is an original Heuer Monaco. A gorgeous watch. I'm an Omega Man myself, though....

[beepbeep]

I prefer old mechanical Atlantic

[Joe Bob]

http://www.rhswatches.com/tagheuer-monaco.asp

REPLICA

[Kurt B]

Self winding? I think that violates the conservation of energy.

Yeah, it has a little heat receptor that takes excess heat from the surrounding air/human and transforms it into kinetic energy? I guess that's possible, of course, but completely impractical. And if it uses a battery, THEN THAT DEFEATS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF USING A MECHANICAL WATCH.


THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SELF WINDING WATCH. Jesus. H. Christ.
Stop effing with me man

[Brian993]

I own a daytona that winds with a shake of the wrist. If I dont wear it for a few days it stops. There are also machines available that will move the watch to keep it wound. It is as self winding as it gets but it needs movement. Thats all I can tell ya, beyond that its a mystery.

[cegerer]

Almost all mechanical movements today are self-winding. My current 'daily driver' watch is the Heuer Monaco re-issue. Figured it would be more reliable and I'd be less concerned with scratches, etc. than an original. Next on my buy list is a Hanhart. They're making some re-issues of their 1930/40's pilot watches that are very nice and reasonably priced:



Also looking at their vintage dashtimer for the 911!

[Markus30]

Self-winding movements have a rotor that spins around it's axis when the watch is moved. Actually gravity-powered, I suppose. This rotor then winds a spring which powers the watch.

IWC (International Watch Company) used to produce Porsche-Design watches in the 80's. You can see their ads in old issues of Panorama's. IWC is located in Schaffhausen Switzerland, where Germany is the primary language.

I agree that the movement is a big factor in pricing watches (that and marketing, of course!). Companies that produce their own "in house" movements are few and far between these days, and their products are priced accordingly. Current fashion has some companies producing watch cases with glass (often synthetic sapphire) backs so that the movement can be viewed from the back of the watch. If it's a self-winder, you can see the rotor spin.

Here's a great site for watch enthusiasts:

www.timezone.com

Regards,
Markus

[jwetering]

Yeehaww...a watch thread.

I have been meaning to ask how many guys here wear the Omega Speedmaster Professional - aka the moon watch.

This watch has been in production since 1957, and is still the only watch that is officially certified for manned space missions by both NASA and the Ruskies.


The "speedy"The only watch ever to have been to the moon....and it has done so more than once. Omega makes manual and quartz versions too, but the "pro" is the original. The full story is here:

speedmaster history

It's a mechanical movement...but manual winding. The crystal is made of polycarbonate.

Here's a pic. I got mine about 4-5 years ago, and if you think the wife freaked out when I bought the P-car, you should have seen here when she found out I spent $2600CANADIAN on a watch!

[CamB]

I looked at this with no replies, go away for a little while, then come back to this!

My family "makes" watches - I grew up with them. We have our own label (effectively what the guy offering these watches has). You actually have a few choices:

- go to a watch manufacturer and buy complete watches with case, dial, hands and movement to your specification (we do this from Asia and to some extent Switzerland)

- go to the component manufacturers and buy the components and assemble yourself (we also do this, buying components from Asia)

We only use ETA movements (as in the link). It is interesting - watches can be either Swiss Ebauches or Swiss Made. Swiss Made means the watch is (more or less) entirely assembled in Switzerland, but doesn't guarantee the case etc is actually from Switzerland (although the movement is). This applies to the majority of mid-priced Swiss watches (I'm not going to mention names). The really high end stuff is still made entirely in Swtzerland (eg Rolex, IWC, Blancpain).

Swiss Ebauches is only a guarantee that the movement components are made in Switzerland - they are assembled in Asia. Ebauches is french for "parts", I think.

So, what am I saying? Well, mechanical movements aside (and they are not THAT expensive), the main differences between a $200 watch and a $2000 watch are:

- quality of case material
- quality of finishing on case
- quality/thickness of gold-plating (>5 micron is good, >10 is excellent)
- glass (sapphire is much better than mineral - you CANNOT scratch it - just try )
- quality of printing on dial, plus texturing etc
- solid vs pressed steel bracelet, or varying quality of leather strap

However, this might cover off up to about $500. The rest pays for advertising.

Oh, and an ETA quartz movement represents only about US$5 (ladies size) to about US$30 (gents size, day and date) of the retail price on any given watch. Chronograph and any other crap is all more $$$.

[aseem]

[IMG]c:\Mine dokumenter\Mine bilder\Klokker\TargaFlorio.jpg[/IMG]

Why am I unable to post pics from my harddrive?

[CamB]

I just checked the prices - the watches do not represent particularly good value - I would estimate they are US$150-200 watches with a fancy dial, for one which has an asking price of Euro 295.

The dial is marked "Swiss Made", and he is based in Austria...

... but I bet he meets the rules for "Swiss Made" (he may actually buy them from a Swiss supplier).

That the watches are "individually made - not mass-produced" is pretty irrelevant - they only take about 1/4 of an hour to assemble.

The dials are cool though

[CamB]

You need to get the pictures onto the Pelican server first using the "Attach file" or "Paste multiple" link under the "reply" box.

One last thing on the watches - a lot of the reason the 906 is so expensive is that it is a "certified chronometer" which involves a whole lot of extra crap I know little about. A quick search turned this up:

http://www.a-reymond.com/chronmtr.htm

[ferrari2porsche]

I've got the Omega Seamaster professional. Love it!