What to buy for an everyday watch ??

BUACHAILL

Hey follks first time posting thread in here... great forum btw.

OK I currently own a Tag Heuer Carrera, got it last year and bought it with the intent of wearing it everyday but just kills me when I get marks on it so want to get something else to share the bruises.

I have attached a few pics of my Tag for you to see.

At the time I got this I was also looking at Breitling, IWC, Omega and Zenith but for one reason or another I loved the Tag and it fit my budget. I am realistic as to what expect for my budget of €1000 approx for a new watch but really want something sporty while giving some class also. I really am not a slave to a name just want something that looks well and has quality also.

OK folks let me know what you have or what you suggest. I am happy to go upto 1k but if something works for 300 even better

Thanks a mill in advance.

ronnie3585

Stowa's are fantastic watches. Very well put together, classy and you'll get one new for under a grand.

Link.

You really shouldn't overlook buying second hand. There are great deals to be had over on TZ-UK. I've bought four watches over there in the last 12 months in as new condition for half the retail price.

BUACHAILL

Thanks Ronnie

I am very open to a second hand watch, it would just need to be in excellent condition. Let me know if you see anything worth consideration and thanks again.

Bullseye1

Here you go a beautiful Aqua Terra Blue Dial Co-Axial.
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fs-omega-seamaster-aqua-terra-39-2mm-blue-dial-rare-641087.html

BUACHAILL

Gorgeous looking watch to be fair. Probably workout a little expensive for me with everything completed but thanks for sending the link. appreciate it.

Bullseye1

How about a reissue of the original Strela (first watch used in space walk). This one comes with the cyrillic text and only €575.
http://www.watchexclusive.eu/product/3093/men-s-sturmanskie-3133-1361618-strela-chronograph-watch.html

Bullseye1

Steinhart Watches have a few nice watches for your budget.
http://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/

BUACHAILL

Another great looking watch, not as classy as the Omega but cant go wrong for a mechanical mechanism at that money !! and looks different which I like

bogmanfan

If you want to go for another Tag, I'll be listing a F1 Chronograph tomorrow. It's in great nick, and well under budget.

BUACHAILL

send me a pm please with a pic if possible and some details

peasant

A few ideas from Russia (where else, coming from me )

Sturmanskie chrono (handwind)


Aviator chrono (also handwind)


both at half your budget or less from here http://www.vostok-watches.com/ but also available from other sites and on the bay

Or perhaps a nice Panerai-style automatic for under 200 Euro?


This and plenty other models from here
http://www.m-watches.com/catalog/vodolaz-moscow-classic-automatik-241604311019-p-247.html?cPath=30_46


Both the mentioned websites offer plenty food for thought for half your budget or less ...and if that's not enough ...there's always this one

http://www.poljot24.de/en/index.html

where among a few hundred other Russians you could also find this, for example

BUACHAILL

Thanks Peasant, some great options here.

My god this will be tougher than I thought, so many options

peasant

Well ...be careful with the Russians.
They're so affordable ...you'll end up buying more than one

slippery slope ....:D:D:D

BUACHAILL

ha ha Just had me head in my hands there..... thinking F.ck I want them all.
There goes the kids college fund

peasant

now prepare for the coup de grace

A 200m water resist, automatic, full lume dial, all stainless steel, stylish, great quality (can vouch for that, got one myself) Russian diver ....




yours for a miserly 138 Euro shipped
http://www.ebay.de/itm/RUSSIAN-VOSTOK-AUTO-AMFIBIA-REEF-WATCH-8424-NEW-/190634559697?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2c62b488d1

Now there's a daily beater if there ever was one

BUACHAILL

Peasant how many Russian watches do you have ??

peasant

emmm ...nearly twenty

(but there are some really cheap vintage ones among those)

BUACHAILL

peasant wrote: »

emmm ...nearly twenty

(but there are some really cheap vintage ones among those)

Good man ! Im not sure I would get away with that.
How many in total ? only answer this if OH doesnt read this :eek:

peasant

To be honest, I've kinda lost count ...there's a few at the watchmakers, two in the post and one in project stage ...counting them all including pocket watch, stopwatch and one broken one I think I'm homing in on 25.

Bar one Swiss and one Japanese they're all Russian (or with Russian movement)


The OH has a good few herself by now

Reloc8

Sporty and classy - it'd be wrong not to show you some seikos. These are Japanese Domestic Market that you won't get without importing, unless you found a second hand for sale on a forum :-

The Alpinist http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SARB017/SEIKO-Automatic-Alpinist-SARB017.html

SARB021 http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SARB021/SEIKO-Automatic-Watch-6R15-SARB021.html

The Scuba - if you want Diver style (comes with a deep blue face as well - looks great). This is often regarded as one of the best value for money work horse watches out there http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SBDC001/SEIKO-Prospex-200M-Diver-6R15-Automatic-SBDC001.html

I've used the seller I linked to a few times - all worked out very well - great service. You do have to budget for import duties (around 20% I think). But as I said eh mine all worked out very well.

Up sides with these - fantastic quality for the money, all well within your budget even allowing for import duties, for me the rarity in this part of the world is also an upside.

Down side - if you care about such things, some people think of these as 'just a Seiko'.

However, a) there is no such thing as 'just a Seiko' and b) if by 'just a Seiko' you mean top quality materials, fantastic designs and a fully in-house movement then fair enough - 'just a Seiko'.

Those at Seiko seem to keep the really good stuff for the Japanese domestic market - these are quite a bit more high end than what you typically see for sale in an Irish jewellers under the Seiko brand.

The Alpinist doesn't come up second hand that often that I've seen. The Scuba has been very popular and does pop up with some regularity.

Deep Thought

BUACHAILL wrote: »

ha ha Just had me head in my hands there..... thinking F.ck I want them all.
There goes the kids college fund

Be Careful of Peasant....once he and his Russian Watches get into you head ..you are doomed for ever:eek:

Deep Thought

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Here you go a beautiful Aqua Terra Blue Dial Co-Axial.
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fs-omega-seamaster-aqua-terra-39-2mm-blue-dial-rare-641087.html

mmmmmmm

May take a look a this myself if Buachaill doesn't mind

May scratch the itch I have been discussing on here lately

BUACHAILL

Deep Thought wrote: »

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Here you go a beautiful Aqua Terra Blue Dial Co-Axial.
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fs-omega-seamaster-aqua-terra-39-2mm-blue-dial-rare-641087.html

mmmmmmm

May take a look a this myself if Buachaill doesn't mind

May scratch the itch I have been discussing on here lately

By all means please do its a stunner

Reloc8

^ It certainly is - I have that watch with black face on stainless. Can't speak highly enough of it - not too small not too big, highly versatile, excellent movement.

Deep Thought

Reloc8 wrote: »

^ It certainly is - I have that watch with black face on stainless. Can't speak highly enough of it - not too small not too big, highly versatile, excellent movement.

Hi

Just wondering what the lume is like on this....is it very visible at nite?

Reloc8

Deep Thought wrote: »

Hi

Just wondering what the lume is like on this....is it very visible at nite?

Hi,

Its nothing to write home about at all - on the weak side if you set your standards according to say a Seiko diver.

Mitch Buchannon

Reloc8 wrote: »

Deep Thought wrote: »

Hi

Just wondering what the lume is like on this....is it very visible at nite?

Hi,

Its nothing to write home about at all - on the weak side if you set your standards according to say a Seiko diver.

I think you call most Lume weak if your measuring it against a seiko diver.
My PO is pretty damn good but Seiko divers are usually out of this world !

Deep Thought

Mitch Buchannon wrote: »

I think you call most Lume weak if your measuring it against a seiko diver.
My PO is pretty damn good but Seiko divers are usually out of this world !

mmmmm

I like a good lume..

Would the weak lume be outweighed by the watch itself...can it be tolerated?

Mitch Buchannon

Deep Thought wrote: »

Mitch Buchannon wrote: »

I think you call most Lume weak if your measuring it against a seiko diver.
My PO is pretty damn good but Seiko divers are usually out of this world !

mmmmm

I like a good lume..

Would the weak lume be outweighed by the watch itself...can it be tolerated?

Id imagine the lume on the Omega AT would be not too dissimilar to that of the PO.
Here us a quick lume shot I have taken of my PO.

Reloc8

Good lume shot - the lume on the AT is functional but no where near as good on that. In fairness 'weak' is a reasonable description.

Zagato

Nice shot,

Having tried to take some lume shots myself, I think they're not very useful at judging the brightness of the lume, unless we all agree to have a standard exposure length, or have it beside the pic
-otherwise you can make a relatively weak lume look astounding

I just think that would make them more informative

Mitch Buchannon

For that shot I went outside , came back in and took the picture on an iPhone 3GS. I have no idea about exposures etc on the phone.

Zagato

Yeah was thinking that after I posted, most cameras, and those on phones, automatically set exposure length. I guess it's just worth noting that lume shots can be misleading, I don't mean you Mitch, but on seller's photos etc.

Deep Thought

This is a pic the seller sent me, albeit with his phone, its very weak

Bullseye1

I'm not hugely pushed on a lume, besides it needs to build up its lumination during the day. If he wasnt wearing this on the day he took the picture it might explain the weakness.

Reloc8

That shot of the AT is pretty much accurate as regards what you're getting in terms of lume from this watch.

Wibbs

I'd tend to agree. Unless it's relatively recent Tritium tube type lume, or tritium full stop, or old stylee radium where the phosphor material is still active(rarely), modern non radioactive lume is pretty weak as far as real dark/overnight legibility is concerned. Bright at first but fades pretty quickly. It's a pity radioactive material is considered well dodgy these days.

m4r10

How about a Fortis Marinemaster B-42? If you buy second-hand, you'll be left with some change as well and it's sporty enough while it will look good with a shirt as well:

Deep Thought

Was offered a used PO 42mm Black / White on Rubber for 1700.

All papers cards and boxes..

Is this good?

Snake_Doctor

Reloc8 wrote: »

Sporty and classy - it'd be wrong not to show you some seikos. These are Japanese Domestic Market that you won't get without importing, unless you found a second hand for sale on a forum :-

The Alpinist http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SARB017/SEIKO-Automatic-Alpinist-SARB017.html

SARB021 http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SARB021/SEIKO-Automatic-Watch-6R15-SARB021.html

The Scuba - if you want Diver style (comes with a deep blue face as well - looks great). This is often regarded as one of the best value for money work horse watches out there http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-SBDC001/SEIKO-Prospex-200M-Diver-6R15-Automatic-SBDC001.html

I've used the seller I linked to a few times - all worked out very well - great service. You do have to budget for import duties (around 20% I think). But as I said eh mine all worked out very well.

Up sides with these - fantastic quality for the money, all well within your budget even allowing for import duties, for me the rarity in this part of the world is also an upside.

Down side - if you care about such things, some people think of these as 'just a Seiko'.

However, a) there is no such thing as 'just a Seiko' and b) if by 'just a Seiko' you mean top quality materials, fantastic designs and a fully in-house movement then fair enough - 'just a Seiko'.

Those at Seiko seem to keep the really good stuff for the Japanese domestic market - these are quite a bit more high end than what you typically see for sale in an Irish jewellers under the Seiko brand.

The Alpinist doesn't come up second hand that often that I've seen. The Scuba has been very popular and does pop up with some regularity.

Man, I really like that SARB021 - just as a matter of interest do you know what the accuracy of those movements are out of the box?

Mitch Buchannon

Snake doctor ... A fan of the show "The Unit " ?

Reloc8

Snake_Doctor wrote: »

Man, I really like that SARB021 - just as a matter of interest do you know what the accuracy of those movements are out of the box?

I don't think I ever had that movement myself so can't speak from personal experience but its the same one as in the 200M Prospex 'Scuba' and the Alpinist which both get great reviews for reliability - in fact its the seiko workhorse for watches at this price point on the japanese market.

The specs given by seiko are +25/-15 secs daily and I would expect a typical movement to come in well within those parameters. Reports on www.watchuseek.com for it indicate people are getting well within +-10 secs daily.

There's a great 'cosmetic' review here if we're talking 'enabling' http://jikanwatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-of-seiko-sarb021.html

Here's a good techy discussion of the 6R movement http://forums.watchuseek.com/f21/performance-comparison-between-6r15-7s26-caliber-movements-120512.html

Snake_Doctor

Mitch Buchannon wrote: »

Snake doctor ... A fan of the show "The Unit " ?[/QUOTE1]
Well spotted Sir!
I see you are a fan of Baywatch yourself...;)

Snake_Doctor

Reloc8 wrote: »

I don't think I ever had that movement myself so can't speak from personal experience but its the same one as in the 200M Prospex 'Scuba' and the Alpinist which both get great reviews for reliability - in fact its the seiko workhorse for watches at this price point on the japanese market.

The specs given by seiko are +25/-15 secs daily and I would expect a typical movement to come in well within those parameters. Reports on www.watchuseek.com for it indicate people are getting well within +-10 secs daily.

There's a great 'cosmetic' review here if we're talking 'enabling' http://jikanwatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-of-seiko-sarb021.html

Here's a good techy discussion of the 6R movement http://forums.watchuseek.com/f21/performance-comparison-between-6r15-7s26-caliber-movements-120512.html

I like the line in the cosmetic review "a poor mans grand seiko", that about sums up what I am looking for. The movement gets excellent reviews. Just gonna havta wait till my birthday:(